Forbidden Love

usako99

Rating: NC17
Genres: Drama, Romance
Relationships: Harry & Hermione
Book: Harry & Hermione, Books 1 - 7
Published: 21/09/2008
Last Updated: 19/10/2009
Status: completed

Summer is almost over and soon Harry will be headed back to Hogwarts. For once in his life he things are finally going great, Voldermort has been MIA for months and his relationship with Ginny is blossoming. However after an unexpected change in his plans for the last two weeks of summer, he finds his relationship with Hermione suddenly blossoming too... Follow them as they explore new feelings and through their last year at Hogwarts.

Chapters

1. Prolouge

2. Welcome

3. Settling In

4. Fun at the Rink

5. Track of time...

6. Swimming and Slides...

7. Open Doors

8. Train Ride...

9. Carriage Rides, Sorting Hats and Mice... oh my!

10. Discussions

11. Muggle Memories & Private Jokes

12. It needs to Stop...

13. Discoveries and Owls

14. Discoveries and Owls

15. Perfectly Natural

16. You Know What I Mean....

17. Happy Holidays - Pt. 1

18. Happy Hoidays - Pt. 2

19. Interesting Development

20. Happy New Years!!!

21. Back to school...

22. Comfort

23. Confusion

24. Future Plans

25. Valentines Day

26. So Bleedin Long?

27. Temper, Temper...

28. Glass Houses...

29. Private Passwords

30. Confrontations and Quidditch Pitches

31. Birds and Bees...

32. Awk-ward

33. Coming Changes...

34. Parental Welcomes

35. Quidditch Anyone?

36. Graduation

37. Battle At Hogwarts

38. Resolutions

1. Prolouge

I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.

Forbidden Love
Prologue

Harry sat at his desk staring blankly out the open window; a light breeze ruffled his unruly locks as he released a small sigh. He cast another glance at the calendar on his wall, taking comfort in the fact that it was almost over. He only had a couple of more days at Number Four Privet Drive before he could return to the Burrow for the last two weeks of summer.

Of course, he had hoped for longer but unfortunately that was the only time in the whole summer that Dumbledore would allow him away from the unimaginative, repressive Dursley's. He had begged him to allow him to go to the Weasley's for the whole summer, heck, he and Ron had put on a full campaign, with a signed petition written by Hermione that contained the signatures of countless students, not to mention those of every Gryffindor including Professor McGonagall, but the Headmasters mind was made up and would not be altered.

Harry sighed again, flipping the Famous Wizard card that he had around idly in his hand a few times before deciding upon reading again... for the fifth time... in five minutes.

Circe

A powerful sorceress who lived on an island called Aeaea; near Italy. Circe was a powerful witch with the ability to turn people into beasts on the slightest whim.

A tall elegant looking witch glared at him from the front of the card, her red eyes flashed as long hair whipping around her face. She then lifted her long hand up, fingers outstretch as if she were attempting to cast a spell on him. Harry rolled his eyes, tossing the card on the desk.

'Able to turn people into beasts, huh… well then I guess she's met the Dursley's already.' He thought giving a chuckle at his private joke, he'd have to remember to write that down and tell it to Ron when he got to the Burrow.

Standing he took a hearty stretch, letting out a loud yawn, he then began to pace the room. Harry picked up an old Quidditch magazine off of the floor and flipped through a few pages before realizing that he had just about every article and picture memorized. Giving a huff he tossed it back onto his already cluttered bedroom floor. The speed of his pacing picked up as he once again worked himself up into an agitated state, ignoring the occasional stumble over shirts, books and his Hogwarts robe.

He just didn't get it, why did Dumbledore insist upon being so bloody difficult? The information from the Order was that Voldemort was lying low and had been ever since his failed attack on Dumbledore at Hogwarts last year. Harry gave a small smile in remembrance recounting the night's events in his minds eye.

He was hidden under his invisibility cloak, when Dumbledore realized that Voldemort was there and cast a spell on him so that he couldn't move. After being confronted by the dark wizard and a lengthy battle, Voldemort thought that Dumbledore was far too wounded to defend himself and stood over the headmaster gloating. He was going on and on about how pathetic and senile Dumbledore had become, relying too much on emotions and feelings. As he made another sharp turn, while pacing Dumbledore's prone injured form he did a dramatic flip of his cape that Harry found to be worthy of Snape. During this dramatic flip when he wasn't looking the older man disappeared from sight and by the time Voldemort realized that he was gone and turned to look for him Dumbledore was already shouting his spell. The force of it hit him in the back and sent him flying forward; he landed in a heap next to a small stone statue with a green substance that Harry could only guess was supposed to be blood, flowing from his side. Turning and giving a glare through his snake like eyes, Voldemort then let out a loud hiss, before flying into the air and off of the grounds Disapparating as soon as he got past the magical border.

Harry smiled, 'It was bloody spectacular,' he thought coming to a halt, the grin still lingering on his face. 'Perhaps if Riddle would have accepted his muggle side and watched a few movies, he would know that it's stupid for the bad guy to stand around and gloat,' he thought chuckling.

Since his defeat that night, there had been a bit of a weight lifted off of the shoulders of the wizarding community it general and Harry in particular. There were no more random attacks and had people stopped coming up missing. But even though everything was quiet and had been for months, Dumbledore still insisted that Harry stay with his relatives for most of the summer.

"It's about your safety, Harry," he said, mimicking Dumbledore. "If we let our guard down something could happen to you and blah, blah, blah, nag, nag, nag," he finished in a less than accurate recounting.

"Does dying of boredom count as something happening," Harry mumbled throwing himself backwards onto his bed. Pulling a broken quill from under his back and tossing on to the growing pile of junk on his floor, he then stared at the ceiling and resumed his childish grumbling. "That's it I'll die of boredom, then they'll be sorry... or better yet I can catch the Dursley's severe case of stupidity, if Dudley's any indication then it must be contagious."

As he lay on his bed imagining several new and odd ways for his eminent demise at the hands of his obnoxious muggle relatives, ranging from drowning after sitting next to a nervous Uncle Vernon and his over active sweat glands, to choking on a burnt piece of bacon made by Aunt Petunia. Harry saw something zoom by him, he sat up just in time to see Errol crash into is wardrobe, landing on the floor with a resounding 'thump'.

"Great a letter from Ron!" he exclaimed, rushing to the fallen owl, who now seemed to be trying to sit up.

Picking up the bird, Harry placed him softly on the bed, untying the parchment from his leg, before giving him a small treat.

"You know maybe you should get some rest," he said petting the owl softly on the head "give you time to shake off that concussion."

He then left Errol on the bed and went to his desk to unroll the parchment, reading it aloud.

Hey Harry,

What's up? It's me Ron, but I'm sure that you probably figured that out already. First things first, just found out that Bill and Fleur are expecting a baby. That's right I'm going to be an uncle! Don't worry I promise to be nothing like yours! Well, anyway, because of the news, mum and dad have decided that we should head up to Shell Cottage to visit them before going off to school. Look, I have a spot of bad news, it seems that you won't be able to go with us. I know what you're thinking, but it's not because we don't want you to. It just that the cottage is nowhere near the size of the Burrow and with me, Ginny, Fred, George, mum, dad, Charlie and Fleur's mom, dad and sister all coming around, there just isn't any additional room. I'm sorry mate, but Dumbledore did say he would look for another place for you to stay so that you don't have to spend your whole summer in hell. Well anyway I have to pack, mum keeps checking in on me to make sure I'm getting ready.

P.S. I know what you're thinking it's a little early for them to be having a kid considering the wedding was only about three months ago. I personally have my own ideas, I would tell you what they are, but mum may read this letter before I get a chance to send it and box my ears again like she did when she caught me telling Ginny. I'll fill you in on the train! See ya soon!!

P.S.S. Ginny says `Hi' and some other mushy girly stuff that I absolutely refuse to write down on parchment…ever…in life.

Ron

Harry read and reread the letter several more times before crumpling it up and throwing it in the bin. He couldn't believe it; he wasn't going to the burrow this year! He fought back tears as depression swarmed through him; looking at his bed he noticed the Errol was gone. The owl had probably left while he was staring stupidly at Ron's idiotic letter. He got up from the desk and threw himself down on the bed, hoping against hope that Ron was right and Dumbledore would find him somewhere, anywhere to go.

-------------------

The next morning Harry was awaken by a loud bellow from downstairs.

"BOY!! HEY BOY!!" Uncle Vernon yelled from the bottom of the stairs. "GET DOWN HERE, IT'S TIME FOR BREAKFAST AND I DON'T WANT ANYONE IN YOUR LOT CLAIMING THAT WE AREN'T FEEDING YOU!! DO YOU HEAR ME BOY?!!"

Still half asleep, Harry fumbled with his glasses for a minute and only poking himself in the eye once in the process, finally managing to get them on. Standing and sliding on his house shoes he shuffled out of his bedroom, making his way downstairs to the kitchen still rubbing his stinging eye. By the time that he reached the table his glasses were more than a bit askew so adjusted them before looking down at his plate, and promptly wished he hadn't bothered. The small chipped plate contained one small piece of toast, a single lonely strand of bacon, what looked like it amounted to half of an egg and of course every single item was burnt.

Dudley wobbled into the kitchen, tossing the mail to his dad and flicking on the T.V. on his way to his seat. Harry couldn't help but notice that Dudley's plate was piled high with non-burnt toast and bacon, kippers, jam, a large helping of eggs, rolls and a side of porridge. As he made it around the table and plopped down into his chair, Harry could swear that he heard the poor thing groan in protest. Picking over his food, he allowed his mind to wander to any place but Privet Drive.

Just as he was imagining his great escape, involving a Hippogriff, a strategically placed Skiving Snackbox and an army of newly opened chocolate frogs, his thoughts were interrupted.

"What's the matter is normal not good enough for you," Petunia sneered; taking note the he hadn't eaten a bite off of his plate.

Harry gave her an incredulous look, before looking down at the offending plate.

"This is normal?" He asked in a disbelieving tone, poking at a burnt egg.

"Well, what's this about?" his uncle cut in. His aunt deciding not to interrupt her husband settled for giving Harry a nasty glare before turning and stomping away.

"Well boy, you heard me- what's this about?" Vernon demanded again when he didn't receive a quick enough response.

Harry looked to see his uncle holding up a letter.

"Well since I haven't read it, I wouldn't know, now would I," he said in an innocent voice.

"Don't get lippy with me you," he snarled. "It's addressed to you, but it looks... normal, not at all like the letters your lot normally sends." He flipped the letter back and forth a few times as if waiting for something to happen.

Rolling his eyes, Harry snatched it from Vernon's grasp.

"Why you-"

"It's mine isn't it, so it stands to reason that I should be the one to have it." Harry stated smugly.

Vernon's face turned a blotchy red. "You know back in my day, when boys like you got cheekily they got a nice hard smack across the face."

"Well, we're not back in your day," Harry replied taking his wand out of his pocket and pointing it at his uncle. "And as for that 'nice hard smack'... I dare you."

"Y- yo- you can't use magic out of school, you'll get expelled." The man sputtered, his eyes locked on the wand.

"I believe that I've used magic outside of school before and I haven't been expelled," Harry said looking thoughtful. "As a matter of fact, at least twice that you should remember. Once that night with the Dementors and of course that year that I sent your sister on her little..." he gave a smile "hot air balloon ride cross country."

Vernon recoiled away from him, Petunia emitted a small squeak and Dudley froze with his fork halfway to his mouth. The only sounds in the room anymore were the T.V. and a small 'plop' as part of Dudley's eggs fell from his fork back onto his plate. Harry gave a wink and a wave walking happily out of the kitchen and up to his room to read his letter. As he was heading up the stairs his pleasure at besting his uncle faded to be replaced with curiosity, who would send him a letter? He read the soft scrawling script on the front of the white envelope, smiling to himself.

'Hermione,' he thought.

Entering his room and closing the door securely behind him he rushed to his desk opening the letter along the way. Taking a seat he smiled as he read the contents:

Harry,

Hi, how's your summer... wait don't answer that. Well anyway I received an owl from Dumbledore, telling be about what happened with the Weasley's. Oh, Harry I'm so sorry, I know that it must be torture in that house. Look I spoke with mum and dad and they agreed that it would be ok if you came to stay with us for the last two weeks of summer. I would ask you to owl back your response but mum's a bit afraid of owls since the one Dumbledore sent swooped through the window unexpectedly and almost gave her a heart attack. I'll just assume that you're going to say yes and get on with it. Dad and I will be there to pick you up tomorrow (which should be Saturday by the time you get this) in his car. Be packed and ready to go, we'll have a great time don't worry!!

P.S. Don't worry about bringing Hedwig, I already talked to mum and as long as she doesn't fly around the house, it's ok.

See you soon,

Hermione

Harry's smile slowly turned into a huge grin as he did a happy dance around the room. He was out of here! Even though he didn't get to spend the last few weeks with Ron and Ginny, he still got to spend them with one of his very best mates and away form the Dursleys'. He then re-read the letter a few times, pausing his third time through as something hit him.

'Wait, she's right, Saturday is tomorrow! I have to get packed," Harry placed the letter on his desk so he wouldn't loose it in the black hole that was his room. Then he looked around in dismay at the horribly messy, disorganized, pit of doom; unsure of where to start first.

'This should be fun,' he thought sarcastically, picking up a shirt and sniffing to see if it was clean. "Ugh, ok, that needs to be washed," he said to himself almost coughing from the smell.

The rest of the morning and afternoon was spent much in the same fashion, with Harry gathering his clothes, for wash and packing his belongings. Even though he was busy sorting everything, washing and throwing away trash, Harry still felt like it was taking forever for the day to pass.

'Several more hours,' he thought that evening, while pushing around a dry almost meat-less drumstick on his plate. 'Just several more hours...'

A.N. End prologue, what do you think, should I continue or just give up while I'm ahead... The next chapter should be out next week, for those who think I should just give up... you may want to just skip it. Thanks and remember to Please Review!!

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2. Welcome

Forbidden Love
Chapter 1

Harry woke up extra early the next day -in fact, you could even say that he didn't really sleep at all. By seven o'clock in the morning he was dressed and ready to go, sitting on the stairs with his trunk just beyond him in the living room by the door with Hedwig's cage placed carefully atop it. He sat anxiously, jumping up a bit every time a car passed on the street. After all, he didn't want to take the chance of missing them when they came and since Hermione didn't give a time he decided that this was the best option. Harry heard another car coming down the road and strained to hear if it would turn into the drive, he was so busy concentrating on the sound that he didn't notice it when Uncle Vernon almost stepped on him as he came sleepily down the stairs to retrieve his morning post.

"Wha-what are you doing there boy! You're a hazard you are! Just sitting on the stairs making it almost impossible for normal people to get down to their posts!" he said angrily, giving Harry a small kick before wobbling the rest of the way down.

Aunt Petunia, who was right behind her husband, gave a little sniff before putting her nose in the air and walking down the stairs and into the kitchen.

Harry rolled his eyes, he was in a good mood and he wasn't going to let them spoil it with their senseless prattle and bad attitudes. He smiled, there wasn't anything that they could do to him, he was out of here today and nothing could spoil his excitement. As a matter of fact he was in such a good mood he even refrained from telling his uncle, that normal people didn't need the width of the whole staircase just to get to down the stairs.

He remained on the steps for hours waiting, even when his bum got numb and Dudley gave him a hard kick on his way down, his good mood still remained. Although he must admit, it did help when he moved his hand towards his pocket after Dudley kicked him and his cousin freaked out, tripping on the carpet and bouncing down the last several steps.

Aunt Petunia had grudgingly offered him some of the breakfast that she had made, to which he responded with a firm shake of the head, he knew better than to fall for that. She glared at him for refusing her food and then whirling around, she stomped back into the kitchen complaining loudly to her husband about what an ungrateful and horrible boy he was.

Harry rolled his eyes at her melodramatics. 'She doesn't even want to feed me' he thought. 'Besides, I don't think my stomach can handle one more piece of greasy burnt bacon or it'll explode, after all even wizards can't avoid food poisoning.'

Giving one last look towards the kitchen where he could still hear her complaining, with his uncle now joining in, he smiled to himself and pulled his last chocolate frog out of his pocket for breakfast. Catching it mid jump, he took a bite, and began examining his new wizards card. Giving a sigh after seeing it was one that he already owned three of, Harry put it in his jean pocket and continued to chew while staring thoughtfully at the door.

At about ten thirty he was leaning with his head against the wall counting the cracks in the ceiling when he finally heard a car pull into the drive. Standing quickly he grabbed onto the handrail and watched Aunt Petunia rush to the door after the first ring (she refused to allow him to answer it anymore). He got on his tiptoes leaning a little over the banister in an attempt to see past his aunt to who was standing on the other side of the door, after leaning a little farther out Harry smiled. He had just caught a glimpse of familiar bushy brown hair, a moment later he heard a familiar voice float from the door.

"Hello, my name is Hermione Granger -you must be Harry's Aunt... Petunia is it? Yes, well my dad and I are here to pick him up, he's going to be spending the rest of the summer with us you see." Harry gave a chuckle as his friend gingerly sidestepped his aunt and walked into the foyer. "He should be expecting us, I'm quite certain that he got the letter that I sent, it should have arrived yesterday," she said looking around; a smile lit her face when she spied Harry on the stairs. "Harry!" she exclaimed rushing forward as he hoped off the last few steps; almost knocking him over with the force of her hug.

"Hey Hurbynee," he said, his voice muffled by the mass of brown hair in his face.

She pulled back grinning, "So are you done packing?"

Before he could answer his Uncle Vernon stormed into the living room, his face contorted into a look of displeasure and his bushy mustache twitching, he was followed closely by a nosy Dudley.

"What's going on here boy?!" he demanded, noticing the petite brunette in his nephews' arms.

Dudley peered around his dad, his gaze merely curious until his eyes rested on Hermione; Harry's grip on her waist tightened. A surge of protectiveness flowed through him as his cousin openly ogled his best mate with a look that was down right lecherous.

"She's one of my best mates from Hogwarts and she's here to pick me up." he said, then directed the next part solely at Dudley. "She's a witch you see, as a matter of fact she's the most intelligent and powerful witch in our class."

He smiled in satisfaction as his cousins' gaze went from leering to nervous as he looked at Harry and then back at Hermione. His skin took a sickly white tint as he noticed the wand sticking out of her front pocket.

"Gee thanks Harry," she said giving him an amused look. "So are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, my trunk's right here, let's get out of this place." He cast one last look at the Dursley's who were now looking at Hermione as though she had grown another head, before heading into the living room. Pausing to let her grab Hedwig's cage, he then grabbed his trunk, hefting it up using his knee and then carrying it out of the door.

Hermione followed closely behind holding Hedwig's cage and making sure that the cover was down properly as they headed into the sunlight. They both gave a reflexive turn as the door slammed immediately behind them and shared a mirthful smile as they listened to the locks click.

"Boy am I gonna miss them," Harry muttered sarcastically making her laugh as they walked to the car.

*****************

"She's one of my best mates from Hogwarts and she's here to pick me up." Hermione heard Harry say from next to her. "She's a witch you see, as a matter of fact she's the most intelligent and powerful witch in our class." She cast him a startled glance upon hearing his words, seeing that he seemed to be directing his comments to someone other than his uncle. She craned her neck slightly looking past the large man, at which time she finally noticed and even larger boy.

'I don't know how I could have missed him,' she thought to herself, watching as the boy gave her a bewildered look, before casting a wary glance at her wand. 'Ah, so that's what he's about,' she thought rolling her eyes before looking back at her mate.

"Gee thanks Harry," she said, giving him an amused look; then pulling away a bit she faced him. "So are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, my trunks right here, let's get out of this place." He motioned to the living room, casting a quick glance at his relatives he then headed over to the room.

After entering, he quickly stepped aside and she grabbed Hedwig's cage off of the top of the trunk, falling back as he stepped forward. She was surprised to see him grab the heavy trunk and with little effort heft it up using only his knee, before turning and carrying it effortlessly out of the door.

Hermione followed holding Hedwig's cage, busying herself by making sure that the cover was down properly as they headed into the sunlight and ignoring the strange feeling she got from seeing his small display of strength. She and Harry gave an automatic turn as the door slammed immediately behind them and shared a mirthful smile as they listened to the locks click.

"Boy am I gonna miss them," Harry said sarcastically making her laugh as they walked to the car.

As they neared the beige colored sedan her dad popped the trunk, then stepping out of the car he walked around to the back, waving them over.

"Hello there Harry," he said with a smile, motioning towards the trunk he continued. "You can just put your trunk right in here," he smiled when Harry gave him a dubious expression. "Don't worry, Arthur Weasley enchanted it for me so that it could fit all of Hermione's school supplies. Trust me, your one large trunk is nothing compared to all of the books that my daughter's constantly buying."

"Dad..." Hermione groaned blushing, parents were so embarrassing.

Harry gave a smile, sliding the trunk easily into the trunk and closing it firmly. He then walked around the car and opened the back door, but before he could react Hermione slipped in past him taking a seat and sitting Hedwig's cage next to her.

"Thanks for opening the door for me Harry," she commented with a smile, picking her book up off of the seat.

"Uh, actually..." he trailed off when she gave him an innocent look. Giving a small frown he hesitated and then closed the door, walking up to the front passengers' side. He didn't see it as she and her dad shared amused smiles as he slid into the drivers' side.

"So Harry, you've sure grown a lot," Mr. Granger said as he started up the car.

Hermione watched her friend give a small smile, before looking around nervously unsure of what to say. Taking pity on him and his lack of education on proper conversational skills she interjected.

"Well daddy, you know that teenage boys are prone to growth spurts. But to be fair you haven't seen him since Diagon Alley second year. It's only natural that he would be taller by now." She saw Harry give her a grateful smile in the side mirror.

"True, true," her dad replied, checking both directions as he prepared to make the turn onto the highway. "So what classes are you planning to take this year?"

"Well, I want to take Herbology, Transfiguration, Defense Against Dark Arts, History of Magic, Potions... well I don't want to take potions really, I mean who does except perhaps a few Slytherins. However, it is very useful to have on your schedule and knowing how to make a proper potion always comes in handy. But anyway, where was I- oh, yes, then there's Muggle Studies for a bit of extra credit, Ancient Runes and of course Charms."

Her dad gave a bewildered look in the rear view mirror, "Can you take that many classes? I mean it seems to be a bit... much-"

"Only for those not prepared for, or willing to strive for a detailed and well rounded education," she responded flipping through her book and not noticing as he and Harry shared a look.

The idol conversation continued for the remainder of the ride, with her dad asking about school, their friends and their plans for the summer. Hermione mainly answered the questions and kept the conversation afloat until the time they were about five minutes from her house and her dad asked about sports. Harry came alive as he attempted to explain the rules of Quidditch to her father, looking intensely animated as he tried to construe the intense feeling of the wind rushing through your hair as you rode on a broomstick. Just as they were really getting into the conversation, her dad finally pulled into the drive.

Seeing the escape she had been longing for Hermione quickly hopped out of the car, eager to get away from all of the Quidditch talk. As an after thought she quickly rushed around to the other side of the car, opened the door and took out Hedwig.

"Sorry girl," she whispered to the owl. "I didn't mean to forget you, but I just had to get out of there if I would have heard one more Quidditch team, player or reference I would have screamed."

Seeing Harry and her father already walking around the car she followed them up the drive to the porch where her mum was waiting. Mrs. Granger stood patiently in front of the door, with a pleasant smile on her lips as she tucked a stray strand of hair that the fluttering breeze had blown into her face, back behind her ear.

"Hello, Harry," She said giving a warm smile and a small waive once they reached her. "It's nice to see you again. I don't know how well you remember me, since we only met for a moment and such a long time ago. I'm Hermione's mother Eloise Granger, but you can call me Ella -and of course you met my husband already. Dan, help the young man with his trunk, he is a guest you know." She finished giving her husband a reproachful look and making a small shooing motion with her hand.

"Sorry, dear," he replied, Hermione almost laughed aloud as her dad nearly toppled over from the weight of the trunk. "Working out there Harry?" He asked in a strangled tone as he slowly stumbled into the house, his face red and little veins protruding from his neck. Once he reached the hall he dropped the heavy trunk none to gently onto the expensive hardwood floor.

"Daniel," her mum reprimanded, "be careful you don't want to break anything."

"Oh, you mean other than my back," Dan responded with a groan, rubbing his lower back and giving a curious look to the dark haired boy next to her. "That thing weighs a ton. How on earth were you able to carry it so easily?"

Harry blushed, giving a shrug. "I dunno…I didn't have anything else to do this summer so I spent a lot of my free time working out. I knew that I had to get in shape in case the Volde-er, various... Quidditch teams were more abrasive this year."

"Yeah, mum, dad," Hermione interjected, hoping to help buffer his slip of tongue "Harry's the Quidditch captain for Gryffindor."

Her parents each gave a nod and then smiled. Coming forward they shook his hand congratulating Harry on his position, her dad a little more enthusiastically than her mum since, now thanks to Harry, he actually knew what Quidditch was.

"Well," Mrs. Granger said smiling "Hermione, why don't you show Harry to his room while we get lunch ready?"

Mr. Granger looked between Harry and his daughter for a second before interjecting.

"Honey, why don't I show Harry to his room and Hermione can help you out with lunch?"

Hermione and her mum both rolled their eyes.

"We can do that, if you're willing to be the one to carry the trunk back to the room for him," her mum answered with a smirk.

Mr. Granger looked down at the enormous trunk on the floor and his face contorted into a grimace.

"So, what are we having for lunch?" he asked quickly, clapping his hands together and walking past his wife to the kitchen.

Mrs. Granger, Hermione and Harry shared a laugh as she turned to follow her husband into the kitchen. When she rounded the corner Harry stepped forward and easily hefted up his trunk.

"Right this way," Hermione said still smiling and leading Harry down the hall to what was going to be his new room for the next couple of weeks.

A.N. Well that's chapter one, if you've read my stories you know I don't rush the action, I can just tell you that there will be action in the story. Sorry it was so short; chapters will probably get longer as the story progresses. Until next time Please Review! Ja ne!

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3. Settling In

Forbidden Love
Chapter 2

Upon reaching the room that would be his, Harry deposited his trunk on the floor and stood taking a moment to look around. It was a very nice room, a full-sized bed rested against the wall, flanked by two small bedside tables holding average sized white lamps with light blue shades. One of the tables also had an alarm clock while the other had fresh cut flowers. The room was painted a sky blue with light cream colored trim that matched the coverings over the window. There was a full sized dresser, a wardrobe and a cushy chair right next to the window.

"So what do you think?" Hermione asked from just behind him.

"It's great," he said giving a broad smile and walking farther into the area, having a seat on the bed he bounced a bit. "It's not a cupboard, there's no lock on the door keeping me in, and I don't have to share. All in all it's the best accommodations I've ever had."

"Oh, just wait, you haven't seen anything yet." She said with an impish smile.

Walking fully into the room she headed over to the large window, pulling back the curtains sunlight flooded the area. Harry was pleasantly surprised to see an assortment of tiny rainbows enter, glittering upon everything in the space. He gave Hermione a questioning look, to which she responded by hitting a small mobile that was hanging in the window. The rainbows danced merrily as the crystals tinkled against each other.

"Mum got it years ago when she went to Milan," she said taking a seat in the comfy chair next to the window and looking reflectively out at the sky.

Harry gave a nod as his gaze slowly went from the mobile to her; he was startled to realize just then how pretty she was. Hermione was leaning back in the plush chair, her eyes closed and her head and titled back allowing the sun hit her face as she soaked up the warmth. Her long graceful neck was exposed as her hair fell away from her face and down over the back of the chair. When she brought her head forward again her eyes fluttered open looking directly at him. As their eyes locked Harry felt his body reacting strangely her gaze.

"Hermione, Harry it's time for lunch!" her dad called from the hallway.

He snapped out of his trance and looked down at his hands for some reason feeling embarrassed and flustered. Not at all understanding where it was coming from, Harry took a moment to compose himself and then he looked back at his friend and gave her a grin.

"I think we should go before your dad comes to check on us," he joked with a playful shudder, trying to ease some of the tension he felt.

'What the hell was that,' he thought standing from the comfy bed and walking to the door.

As he reached the threshold of the room her realized that Hermione wasn't behind him, turning to look for her, Harry saw that she was still by the window, now standing and once again looking up at the blue sky. Before he could call out to her Hermione abruptly turned and gave him a small smile, then dipping her head down, she walked past him out of the room. Harry couldn't be sure because she put her head down so quickly but her face seemed more than a little flushed to him. Shrugging it off as a reaction to the sun's rays he followed her to the kitchen.

Twenty-five minutes later Harry lightly rubbed his stomach knowing that he hadn't been this full since his last meal at Hogwarts the end of last term. Hermione's mum had made a huge plate of turkey and ham sandwiches along with fresh cut chips and finishing it off with all the pop that he could drink. He smiled gratefully at her when she offered him another sandwich and waived her off telling her that he couldn't eat another bite and assuring her that he wasn't being modest, but in fact really had reached his limit.

After getting to know one another for a little while and playing a couple of board games, Harry helped Hermione and her mum with dinner, amazing them with the fact that he actually knew his way around a kitchen. Once he had had his second full meal of the day and a wonderful desert of fresh lemon cake with tea, they were shooed out of the kitchen by her parents so that they could clean up. Unsure of what to do next they wandered into the living room, where he told Hermione about his summer at the Dursley's and she told him what she had done for her break so far. As the conversation waned they settled into a comfortable silence, opting to turn on the tellie and flipping through channels until they were able to find something decent to watch.

Harry sat leaning up against the arm of the plush sofa in the family room with one leg bent resting a sock covered foot on the couch and his hand on his knee, while his other foot was braced on the floor. Looking next to him at his best friend he noticed that she was sitting with her legs tucked under her, holding a pillow against her chest as she watched the program, completely entranced. They were watching a marathon of one of her favorite series on a muggle network called Animal Planet, called Molerat Madness or something.

'Leave it to Hermione to even have her favorite television show be educational,' he thought smiling and shaking his head, before turning his attention back to the program.

A couple of hours later the marathon of the series, which Harry had quickly learned from a slightly perturbed Hermione, was Meerkat Manor and not Molerat Madness, finally concluded for the day. Hermione let out a stretch, rolling her neck from side to side a few times to relieve the stiffness.

"Wow, I've never sat and watched that much television," she said looking at him. She then covered her mouth to stifle a yawn before continuing. "Well, what do you want to do now?"

He shrugged, taking a long stretch himself. "I don't have a preference, whatever you want to do."

She looked thoughtful for a second before her face lit up. "Oh! I haven't shown you my new books! I recently purchased the most interesting set of texts on defense against dark arts, they're in my room!"

She jumped up and grabbed his hand pulling him off of the couch. He suppressed a laugh as she enthusiastically dragged him out of the family room towards the hallway. As they passed the door by the kitchen Harry saw Mr. Granger catch sight of them, leaning back in his chair he watched them pass a disapproving frown marring his features. Quickly pulling his hand from her grasp and coming to a halt in the middle of the foyer Harry regarded Hermione warily.

"Uh, Hermione… do you think it's a good idea for me to go to your room?"

She gave him a confused look, "What do you mean?"

"Well, uh, it's just that your dad doesn't…wouldn't, you know, he seems like he may not want me to go into that, er, particular area of the house."

She rolled her eyes, "Don't worry about daddy, mum will talk to him." When he continued to hesitate she grabbed his hand once more and resumed pulling him down the hall. "Come off it Harry, it's not like anything's ever going to happen between us." She said in an annoyed tone, giving him a quick glance over her shoulder.

A moment later they reached her room, upon entering it Harry noticed that it smelled like books, parchment and a faint hint of lilac. Which coincidentally was what he saw when he looked around. The room was painted a soft lilac color; there was a four-poster bed with a soft white mesh canapé over it that had been gathered at and tied to each post with a loose knot. The bed was flanked by two nightstands holding black lamps with white shades and a large wardrobe rested with a large window to it's left. Next to the door was a huge bookcase that seemed to be straining under the weight of the various texts and old school books that she had piled upon it.

There was a large dresser against the wall opposite the bed that had a mirror on it, but instead of being covered in makeup, accessories or other girly items that he had seen in both his aunt's room and Ginny's last summer. There were more books, quills, inkwells, parchment and several other small education related knickknacks. On the wall next to the right of the wardrobe there were several pictures of her friends from Hogwarts; two of her, Ron and Harry, laughing and kidding around, one of her, Ginny and Luna smiling and waving and one group of her, Ron, Harry, Ginny, Luna, and Neville also smiling and waving happily. On her walls hanging just above each of the lamps, there were white scrolls with black Chinese calligraphy on them.

"They say Love and Honor," Hermione commented following his gaze. "We got them on a trip to Beijing the year before I started at Hogwarts."

She walked passed him taking a seat on her bed, after adjusting herself to a comfortable position she patted the area next to her for him to have a seat. Harry noticed that she was holding a rather slim text in her hands, which was odd for her she was usually more partial to the heavy volumes. Looking warily at the spot on the bed, then nervously at the door he took a single step then stopped.

"Hermione, I don't think I should-"

"Oh, Harry really," she responded rolling her eyes. Reaching out she grabbed his hand and dragged him the rest of the way to the bed pulling him down so that he was sitting next to her. "Don't be silly, it's not like we're doing anything wrong and besides the door is wide open."

He sighed and shifted a bit trying to adjust to the weird feeling of sitting on Hermione's bed. Looking around nervously Harry noticed another picture on her nightstand. This one had Ron by himself laughing, smiling and winking. Fighting the small smile that wanted to form on his lips Harry pretended that he hadn't seen the photo and turned his attention to Hermione.

Casting him one last annoyed look, Hermione opened the book on her lap, which was called 'The Dark Arts Outsmarted'. Harry immediately recognized it as one of the same books that they had found in the Room of Requirement during their D.A. meetings fourth year.

"Where did you get this?" He asked, taking the small volume from her grasp and flipping through it.

"I got it form a bookstore in Diagon Alley. I had gone to grab some light things to read this summer and found it behind a stack of old self help spell books." She said with a shrug, removing the text from his grasp and opening it up to a particular page.

"This is what I wanted to show you -it's a series of reflective charms that are good for combating some pretty powerful hexes," she said pointing to some incantations and directions in the book.

Harry looked over her shoulder at the spells to see what she was talking about, lightly resting his chin on her shoulder. The two of them sat on the bed chatting about the spells for the next couple of hours discussing the proper pronunciation and wand usage techniques. However they made sure to keep it at only discussing since they knew that it was unsafe to practice the actual spells they would be deflecting. They had readjusted their positions over time, Harry was now leaning back against the headboard, his legs crossed at the ankles his white socked feet gently rocking back and forth as he talked and listened. Hermione had curled up against him pointing to the interesting things that they could add to the D.A. this year, her shoulder in the crook of his arm and her head resting against his broad chest.

Both failed to notice Hermione's mum and dad peek into the room though the open door. So therefore they didn't notice it when Mrs. Granger slapped her hand over Mr. Granger's mouth and physically pulled him away form the door, telling him not to get so worked up because they were only studying. They also failed to hear him respond tartly that “Studying did not require touching”. Since they failed to notice and didn't hear any of this, they never realized how much they looked like a couple instead of just friends.

*************************************

Hermione was sitting across from Harry five days later at breakfast buttering her toast and trying to think of something that they could do for the day. Just as she took a nice sized bite of her food, her mum decided to use that moment to ask her just what their plans were.

"So, what are you kids doing today? I hope it's something fun, you know you don't have enough of that dear," she finished casting her daughter a sideways glance; Hermione rolled her eyes.

'Here she goes again,' she thought turning her head slightly and glaring at Harry, who sitting across from her and trying (though not very hard) to suppress a laugh.

"After all, you guys really haven't done anything for the last couple of days but sit around the house. Why don't you try something different today, actually get out and about?" She inquired, taking a sip of her coffee and giving her daughter a pointed look.

Hermione stifled a groan, "Mum, we've done plenty. We went to the mall, to see several films, to the large arcade on Main Street, a few different restaurants and to the library."

"Riiight," she gave Harry a sympathetic look "the library…"

"I happen to like the library," Hermione huffed, her spoon halted half-way to her mouth. "It's a treasure trove of information. One needs only to open a book and they're transported to a new and exciting place."

Mrs. Granger shared a look with Harry before turning back to her daughter.

"That's nice dear," she said with a placating smile, "but why don't you take Harry somewhere where he can physically do something today instead of just imagining that he's doing it, eh?"

She gave Hermione a small pat on the hand her smile fixed firmly in place, before retuning to her eggs. Inside Hermione was seething at what she felt was her mums condescending behavior; however, she knew that there was nothing that she could do about it so on the outside she just gave a strained smile.

"Of course mum," she replied through gritted teeth "do you have any ideas?"

Mrs. Granger, who had been waiting for that exact question, leant back in her seat a wide grin taking over her features as she laced her fingers together. Looking very enthusiastic she turned to Harry before responding.

"Well, I have a couple -I was thinking that you could go to the skating rink today. Harry have you ever been skating?" She continued after he shook his head no. "Well, a lot of the kids go there for fun. Hermione has always wanted to go, but she never had any friends to go with." She gave her daughter a quick look before looking back at Harry her eyes twinkling. "I guess that's why she spends so much time being transported around in books."

Hermione flushed a deep red at her mom's comments, how could she have told him that? She kept her gaze averted not wanted to see the look of pity that she knew had probably crossed Harry's face.

"That sounds fun," she heard him say "I've heard a lot about the skating rink but never been myself. I didn't have anyone to go with either. I guess Hermione and I were just waiting for the chance to try it with each other, after all there's no one I'd rather go with."

Her head popped up at this statement and she saw Harry looking at her, a pleasant smile on his face. He gave her a wink before tucking back into his eggs as she suppressed the grin that wanted to come to her lips.

Her mom watched the small interaction between the two before continuing.

"Well, I was also thinking that you two could go to the water park, but it's a bit of a ways away. I would drive you but I wouldn't be able to pick you up, I promised your dad I'd come into the dentistry today at noon to help out with the lunch time rush."

"That's okay mum, we'll go another time." Hermione said now in a better mood.

"Well, I'll make sure to get you there before you have to leave for school," Mrs. Granger said standing. "I'm going to go catch my soap before I have to get ready to go into work, do you have money?" after receiving nods from both she continued. "Okay good, be sure to rinse your dishes when you're done, and be careful on the trolley."

Harry and Hermione promised her that they would do as she asked, and after rinsing her own small plate and coffee mug, she retreated to her room. Hermione stood and turned to Harry with a small smile, picking his empty plate up from in front of him she walked to the sink.

"Thanks," she said placing the dishes in the sink and starting the water.

"For what?" He asked coming up behind her with the soap.

He handed the lemon scented cleaner to her and she mumbled another small 'thanks' as he grabbed a dish towel off of he counter.

"You know for what," was her response.

"No, I don't," he retorted giving an innocent look when she turned her head towards him. "You wash, I'll dry," he added taking the newly rinsed glass from her hand.

"Harry," she stated in an exasperated tone.

"Hermione," he replied in the same tone, giving a small smile when she threw him an annoyed look. "Hey, what I said was true, there is no one I'd rather go with and I didn't have anyone to go with before."

"Sure," Hermione replied, rolling her eyes as she handed him a newly cleaned plate to dry. "You didn't have anyone to go with because you never got a chance to make friends. I didn't have anyone to go with because no one wanted to be my friend," she gave a self decrypting smile "-and with good reason."

Harry grabbed her wrist as she passed him a bowl; her startled gaze went to his as he stared at her, his eyes burning intensely. Slowly taking the bowl from her fingers with his other hand he sat it on the counter and turned her towards him.

"Listen to me Hermione Granger, no one wanted to be my friend either. I spent the first eleven years of my life as an outcast. The only time anyone ever talked to me was when they were calling me names, and the only time anyone ever sought me out was when they needed someone to pound on. I had plenty of time to make friends, there just wasn't anyone willing." He loosened the grip on her wrist, his expression softening. "Look, there isn't any good reason for someone not to want to be your friend. I mean sure you can be a bit...er, pushy at times, but you always have the best intentions. I'd be dead a hundred times over if it weren't for you and I wouldn't trade our friendship for anything." His lips quirked into a smile "As a matter of fact I was just thinking that I should find that troll and send him a thank you card. After all if it weren't for him I may never have found out what a great person you were and what an incredible friend."

Hermione looked at him glassy eyed and gave a watery smile. Turning back to the dishes in the sink she took a moment and a deep breath to compose herself.

"I mean honestly Harry, a thank you card?" she looked back at him with a smirk, handing him a plate before breaking into a smile. "A fruit basket is much better."

They both laughed heartily and began making up different gifts that would be appropriate for a huge mountain troll as they finished with the dishes. When the last dish was washed, dried and put away Hermione suggested that he go hop in the shower first, while she got the trolley information from her mum. Harry nodded in agreement and tossing the last spoon in the drawer he turned and walked out of the kitchen. Just as he made it past the threshold he heard Hermione call out to him.

"You know Harry, if I had had the opportunity to meet you during the first eleven years of your life we could have been outcasts together! And that way anyone who wanted to pound you would have had to go through me first!"

Harry let out a soft chuckle at her statement. He could just see the younger Hermione bravely scolding Dudley and his gang for picking on him, her eyes burning in anger.

Still smiling he turned to look at her and she gave him a wink before turning around to wipe the table. Harry shook his head and went to his room to get some clothes to change into. For some reason, even though it wasn't over he suddenly felt like this was the happiest summer he had ever had.

A.N. Real quick I know Meerkat Manor wasn't around in this time frame but I didn't feel like trying to find a show that was. So there you have it, call it a bit of creative license. Well, that's it for Chapter two -see you next time! Please Review the story and let me know what you think so far.

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4. Fun at the Rink

Forbidden Love

Chapter 3

Harry was staring out at the colorful scenery through the window of the trolley lost in though, when Hermione nudged him. He turned giving a questioning look.

"Yes?" he asked when she continued to watch him without saying anything.

"I'm bored," she replied with a small pout that he, for some reason, found utterly adorable. "I've finished my book and now I have nothing to do," she held up a text that looked to be over three hundred pages long.

Harry watched as she then frowned and glared at the book as though it were its fault that she had finished reading it so quickly, before tossing it onto the seat. He gave a confused look. He could have sworn that when they left her house twenty minutes ago she hadn't even started the thing.

"Wait didn't you just-" she looked at him expectantly and he shook his head "never mind Hermione. So what do you want me to do about you being bored?"

She looked at the roof of the trolley her brows furrowing, as though she were pondering that thought before giving him a cheerful smile.

"Oh, I know I came across this really funny joke. Do you want to hear it?"

Harry arched a brow, Hermione...telling jokes? Wonders never cease.

"Sure," he said aloud, giving an encouraging smile. Hermione ginned in response.

"Okay, you see there was this guy- no, wait this girl -no, no it was a guy, er, I mean it was a wizard, yeah that's it,” she gave a small nod. “There was this wizard and he was making this potion, he went into the closet and grabbed a vile, okay?" Harry nodded, unsure of just where the funny part was going to come in. "Well, he has the vile and it was a vile of Asphodel, he then mixed it with scarab beetle and ginger root. After doing this he went back to his friend Mandrol who was always considered smarter than him and, wait- did I tell you what Mandrol said," when he shook his head no she waved her hand, making a scoffing noise. "Well it was of little consequence anyway. So like I was saying, he walks up to Mandrol intent upon having a battle of the wits to prove him wrong," she then started laughing. "Don't you get it? A battle of wits to prove him wrong... wits," she reiterated, now laughing like it was the funniest thing ever. At Harry's confused look she elaborated. "He wanted to do a battle of wits so he was trying to make a wit-sharpening potion, but you make that with Armadillo not Asphodel," she then started laughing again, wiping a tear form her eye.

Harry smiled in amusement. She looked so radiantly happy with her incredibly lame joke, he almost didn't have the heart to tell her how bad it was… almost.

"Well," Hermione inquired after she had calmed down a bit "what do you think?"

"Honestly?" Harry asked raising his brows; she nodded. "Okay, well honestly I think that you are great at a lot of things... however, telling jokes is not one of them."

She gave an offended look. "What! That's ridicules, that was a great joke!"

He shook his head slowly a smile spreading on his face. "No, no it wasn't."

"Yes it was."

"No, it really wasn't."

"Yes, it really was."

"No, really, like on a scale of one to ten with ten being the most funny and one being the least -you were about a…” Harry paused as if he were considering it “... negative fifty." He gave her a nod. "Yeah, that's it a negative fifty, but of course as your mate I'm being nice," he added giving her a light pat on the arm and a wink.

Hermione punched him playfully as they reached their stop.

"You know absolutely nothing about humor," she commented indignantly as she hopped of the trolley.

"Of course I do," he retorted hopping off behind her "that's how I know that your joke wasn't funny."

She glared at him. "Of course it was."

"Was not."

"Was too."

"Was not."

"Was too."

Their playful bickering continued for the next three blocks and all the way up to the entrance of the skating rink, where Harry paid their small fee to get in. Upon walking inside they found that the rink was a feast for the eyes. Harry didn't know where to look first, brightly colored neon signs were up everywhere as a loud pop song blared out of the speakers. People young and old were walking, talking, laughing, eating and skating; he and Hermione shared a grin and headed to get their skates.

A long time later they were finally ready to hit the rink with the event that Harry was now, much to Hermione's annoyance, calling "the incident" behind them. "The incident" being the twenty minutes it took rent the skates, due to the brown haired girls' insistence upon inspecting every single pair before choosing the one that seemed the least germ ridden. Finally, after Harry pretended to kill himself and the attendant threatened to quit, she grudgingly selected a pair of skates off the counter. And now they were finally ready to find a place to sit, lace up and hit the rink. Seeing a spot not far from them Harry pointed it out and they made their way over.

"Have you ever done this before?" he asked once he was done lacing up his skates, giving her a curious look.

"Once when I was about ten, I went skating on a class trip." She replied while fighting with the knot in her shoelace.

"And..." Harry prompted, "how'd it go?"

Hermione gave a grimace "Well it was going fine until a girl who didn't like me decided to push me down." She looked back at her skates and resumed fighting the knot with added vigor. "Which wouldn't have been so bad if her and her friends didn't then start skating circles around me chanting; '"Hermy Granger bushy manger, gave a comb but could not tame her", only to be joined by the rest of the class." She finally got the knot out of the lace and finished tying her skates; looking at him she gave a shrug.

"It only lasted a minute or two before the teachers broke it up, no big deal. I didn't have to go back next year because I got my acceptance letter from Hogwarts, so... no big deal, I haven't even really thought about it since. After all, kids will be kids." She finished with another shrug and a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

Harry held back the frown that wanted to appear on his features at her words and watched quietly as she then tried to stand up. Hermione wobbled precariously on her skates for a moment before he placed a hand on her back to help her maintain her balance.

"Well, you ready to hit the rink?" she inquired, holding her hand out to him once she was steady.

He took her warm hand in his own as he stood up off of the bench and intertwining their fingers, they made their way unsteadily to the rink. Standing on the edge of the somewhat crowded area, Hermione looked hesitantly at the shiny surface before looking back at him.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" She asked nervously. "We can still catch the trolley to the mall, or catch another film," she looked at the crowded area and then back at him with a hopeful look. "Please?"

Harry gave her a smile in return and slowly shook his head 'no' before stepping out onto the polished floor. Firmly holding her hand, he pushed away from the entrance dragging Hermione with him as he rolled in one direction towards the other side of the rink. Since he was still too nervous to try his first turn, they just kept rolling uninterrupted until they hit the wall opposite.

"See that wasn't so bad," Harry commented turning to look at the dark haired girl next to him.

Hermione let out the breath that she had been holding and then checked her person. Seeing that she was still in one piece she gave him an impish smile.

"Who said it would be?" She replied cheekily before pushing off from the wall and dragging him back onto the floor.

After about thirty minutes they were doing so well on their skating that they had even become brave enough to let go of each others hands. Harry -who had just gotten the hang of turns, was in the process of teaching Hermione how to do sharp ones when disaster stuck, in the form of a speeding ten-year-old boy. Skating backwards to show off for his mates, the little boy barreled full force into Hermione who was in the middle of practicing a sharp turn. When he hit her, he toppled down and like a domino she followed. Harry, who tried to catch her, only succeeded in landing on the bottom of the pile.

The boy immediately jumped up and after yelling a quick apology flew off into the direction of his laughing friends. Since people fall in skating rinks all the time, the situation still would not have been classified as a disaster at all, if it weren't for the next thing that happened.

"Why Hermy Granger, is that you?" A voice asked from in front of him.

Harry, who was unable to see who it was due to the brown mass that was Hermione's hair covering his face, could already tell he didn't like the person that the voice belonged to. That dislike increased when he felt Hermione's body stiffen against his own. She then quickly moved and readjusted her position so that she was now sitting next to him and Harry was finally able to see who had been talking.

Looking up he saw a pretty girl with long blond hair that came to mid-stomach, her eyes held the barest hit of makeup and her lips were colored with some type of pink gloss. She was wearing a pink baby-t that said princess on it that had the `i' dotted with a small crown and a pair of flaring hip-hugger jeans. New looking pink skates peeked out from under the cuffs of her pants, and her hands were resting loosely on her hips. Looking at her face once again, he could see her blue eyes were cold and mocking as they locked upon his best mate. Harry frowned immediately changing his mind; this girl wasn't pretty at all.

"Why it is, isn't it? Hermy Granger... wow, I haven't seen you in years. I thought that you had disappeared off the face of the earth." She said this with a smile, but the look in her eyes implied that she was still hoping it would happen.

"Hello Abigail," Hermione answered in a low voice, attempting to stand.

Harry quickly regained his balance and reached out a hand to help her up before she could fall again. When he kept a hand lightly on her waist so that she remained steady, Hermione gave him a grateful smile.

"Still mowing down innocent people at skating rinks I see," the blond said giving a broad smile to Harry before sticking out her hand for him to shake. "Abigail Grant, it's nice to meet you..."

"Harry Potter," he replied taking the extended hand and giving it a quick shake before dropping it and looking back at Hermione. She was standing next to him quietly watching the other girl with a shuttered look in her eyes.

"Well Harry, allow me to apologize on Hermy's behalf. She was never very good on skates," she gave Hermione a quick disdainful look before looking back at him. "Perhaps I can make it up to you by buying you a soda?"

'Is she flirting with me?' Harry wondered, frowning he shook his head. "No thanks," he said aloud.

"I insist," Abigail replied reaching out and giving him a light pat on the bicep. Her hand lingered for a moment as her eyes widened appreciatively. "My treat," she finished slowly removing her hand and giving him a wink.

"Actually I think that you misunderstood," Harry responded causing her to give a confused look. "You see, you don't need to buy me a drink because you think Hermione," he stressed the name "knocked me down. She didn't, actually I knocked her down." He removed his hand from her waist and took Hermione's hand instead, facing her and he pulled her close. "I just have the hardest time keeping my hands off of her," he ran his fingers through her hair before cupping her face and stroking her chin. "She's just so beautiful, don't you think?" He looked at Abigail and smiled. "But I guess everyone feels like that when they're in love right?" He gave the other girl a wink before turning back to Hermione, whose face was a dull pink; her startled eyes were fixed on his.

Leaning down to complete his charade he placed a small kiss on the corner of her mouth. Pulling back he saw her eyes flutter open, in them was emotion that he couldn't explain anymore than he could explain the one that flowed through him as he continued to stare at her. They were suddenly taken out of their reverie when they were bumped from behind, this time by a little girl with pigtails. Harry's hands immediately went to Hermione's waist to steady her, as he looked at her again he was started at the awareness he felt. He had never realized just how much of a girl she was. The thing is, he always knew she was a girl, but he never really thought about the fact that she was a girl, girl.

'Ron's girl,' his mind interjected and he quickly broke eye contact. Looking around he noticed that Abigail was no longer on the skating rink floor.

Pulling back completely, he ran his hand though his hair in a typical nervous gesture before giving Hermione an embarrassed smile.

"I hope that you don't mind, she just seemed like she needed a little wind knocked out of her sails."

"N-no, of course not," she replied, running a hand through her own hair.

Harry looked around for a minute before looking back at her a small smile playing on his lips.

"I don't know how much help it was," he chuckled. "It's not as if I'm some great prize, heck I probably hurt you more than anything. Now she thinks that you can't get a decent looking bloke."

An unreadable expression crossed Hermione's face for an instant before she replaced it with an annoyed look and rolled her eyes.

"Oh, Harry," she said, once again grabbing his hand, this time pulling towards the edge of the rink.

******************************************************

"Actually I think that you misunderstood," Harry said from next to her, Hermione gave him a quick perplexed look before once again looking at Abigail. "You see, you don't need to buy me a drink because you think Hermione," she smiled when he stressed her name "knocked me down. She didn't, actually I knocked her down." Hermione felt him take her hand once again and moment later she was wrapped in his strong arms. "I just have the hardest time keeping my hands off of her," her eyes widened in shock as he ran his fingers through her hair and gently cupped her face. Then she thought that she would melt right there when he began stroking her chin. "She's just so beautiful, don't you think? But I guess everyone feels like that when they're in love right?" Her logical mind knew what he was doing, but that still didn't stop her heart from speeding up or her face from flushing at his words. She knew that she had been unable to hide her surprise, when his green eyes twinkled at her in laughter.

Next thing she knew he leaned down and placed a small kiss on the corner of her mouth. Hermione hadn't even realized that she had closed her eyes until a second later, when they slowly fluttered open of their own accord and she found herself once again staring entranced into his emerald orbs. The area he had kissed was still tingling from his touch. Suddenly they were bumped from behind, this time by a little girl about seven or so with pigtails. Harry's hands went to her waist to steady her before she could fall again and when he looked at her, she once again became lost.

Hermione found herself fascinated with the way the color seemed to be deepening in his eyes and confused at the feelings that this minor change in appearance made flow through her. This was Harry -she had never looked at Harry this way (unless you count that one time fourth year). She didn't even see him as a boy, well, of course she saw him as a boy -a boy friend, no, a friend who was a boy, not a boyfriend.

'He was Ginny's boyfriend,' his mind interjected. And he was, she and Ginny had even discussed it, Ginny would have Harry and she would have Ron. They were going to have this huge double wedding at the Burrow when Voldemort was defeated, they had graduated Hogwarts and all entered their respective fields. 'So it's decided Harry is for Ginny.'

As if he heard her thoughts Harry pulled back completely, running his hand though his hair in the way he always did when he was nervous about something before giving her an embarrassed smile. She wobbled dangerously, but somehow managed to keep her balance and returned his smile with a weak on of her own.

"I hope that you don't mind, she just seemed like she needed a little wind knocked out of her sails." he said, his face turning a slight pinkish color.

"N-no, of course not," she replied, unwittingly running a hand through her own hair.

Harry looked around for a minute before looking back at her a small smile playing on his lips.

"I don't know how much help it was," he chuckled. "It's not as if I'm some great prize, heck I probably hurt you more than anything. Now she thinks that you can't get a decent looking bloke."

Hermione was glad that she hadn't been eating because she would have surely choked at that statement. Not decent looking? Didn't the boy own a mirror? Couldn't he see himself? After all he had always been kind of attractive, but this summer he had bloomed. He had gotten several inches taller and looked to be around Ron's height now and his shoulders had broadened from all of the working out he had done over the last couple of months. His face seemed more chiseled and masculine, though it still maintained that slight boyish quality, and his unruly hair that had always looked so awkward on him as a kid, now made him look nonchalant and almost... dangerous. 'Sexy,' her mind interjected, she shook the thought away once again reverting to her normal standby... bossy.

"Oh, Harry," she said aloud; grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the edge of the rink.

After they dodged two more kids and Hermione almost landed on her bum about four more times, they finally made it safely out of the war zone. Looking around for a minute Hermione finally located the bench where they had left their shoes. Pointing the area out to Harry he led her over in that direction, since he was having an easier go of it on the skates. Just as they were about to sit she looked down and noticed that they were still holding hands, her eyes fixated on their interwoven fingers. Flushing she looked at Harry in time enough to catch him staring at their hands with what could be described as a look of morbid curiosity. When she made the move to pull her hand away from his, he finally looked at her with an unreadable expression in his eyes. A moment later it was gone to be replaced by amusement. Releasing her hand Harry had a seat on the bench. After a moment he looked at her expectantly and realizing that she was still standing, the flush that had just vacated Hermione's face and neck returned with vigor.

"Oh, shut up," she mumbled taking her seat as Harry laughed.

"What are you so wound up about?"

"Nothing," she answered looking around "so what do you want to do now?"

"What do you mean?" he asked with a confused look "We're not done skating are we?"

"No, I just figured we needed a break," she looked at the floor. "Thanks Harry."

"For what?" he responded scanning the various snack options "Pick your poison pizza, burgers, or hot dogs?" he asked looking at her.

"You know for what," she locked eyes with him. "Thank you."

Harry gave a half smile, blushing a bit. "It was nothing... let me guess, she was one of the girls who tortured you on your class trip."

Hermione raised a dark brow. "One of the girls? Ha, try the girl, the head hauncho, the top enchilada, the big kahuna, the gr-"

"I get it, I get it," he said laughing and holding up his hands. "Well, like I said earlier I'm not sure that it really helped."

Hermione rolled her eyes "Oh, please, how could you not see the way she was hanging all over you?" She then leant forward, placing a hand on his bicep “Let me by you a drink,” she breathed fluttering her lashes and mimicking the other girls actions “my treat,” she then gave an exaggerated wink before rolling her eyes.

“She didn't say it like that,” Harry commented with a dubious expression.

Hermione gave a very unladylike snort. "Harry the girl wanted to... jump your bones, if you know what I mean."

He laughed aloud at her comment his green eyes twinkling merrily and she found that she liked the sound of it. With everything that had happened over the course of the time she had known him, she knew Harry wasn't happy very often. And as he continued to look at her with the huge grin lingering on his face and happiness radiating from him she began to glow herself, feeling more than a little honored that she had something to do with it.

"Pizza," she said after his laughter subsided.

"Well, let's go," he responded, she watched as he easily stood and began to skate away.

Lifting herself up half way she promptly slid and fell back onto the seat, trying again with the same result she gave a frustrated growl. Sure, she wasn't an athletic person but she wasn't so lame that she couldn't stand on a pair of skates was she? As she was about to make her third attempt she suddenly saw a hand in front of her face. Hermione looked up to find Harry standing before of her, his hand extended and his expression stoic, though his eyes fairly danced with laughter.

"Come on, take it," he insisted after she ignored his hand and tried, unsuccessfully, to get herself up again. "Stop being so stubborn Hermione, they're going to close by the time you get off that bench."

She gave him a glare, before grudgingly admitting defeat and accepting his extended hand. Once she was up and steady, Harry guided her slowly to the long pizza line where they waited with several other people to order.

"I could have done it myself you know," she grumbled, casting him a renewed glare when she heard him chuckle from his spot next to her.

Realizing that they were once again still holding hands, Hermione gave a small tug and Harry released her.

"Sorry," she heard him mumble.

"Me too," she replied turning and giving him a quick smile.

Shaking off the small amount of discomfort that she felt, Hermione turned to Harry and asked him what type of pizza he was getting. As they discussed their limited topping options, which included pepperoni, cheese, supreme and hamburger Hermione got the feeling of being watched. Halting mid-sentence she put up a finger to silence Harry before he could question her. She began to look slowly around the rink, a moment later her eyes rested upon the problem, Abigail and two of her friends were watching her and Harry. Hermione frowned as the blond girl leaned over, while sill looking at them and whispered something in the other girls' ear -who then smiled and leant over to whisper to the girl next to her. All three of them then looked at her and started laughing. Once again feeling like that little ten year old girl Hermione shifted slightly averting her gaze. As she fidgeted with the hem of her shirt she felt a pair of strong arms come around her.

"Harry wha-"

"Shh, we have an audience," he whispered in a rumbling tone right next to her ear, his warm breath stirring the hair at her nape and her body barely suppressing a shiver.

What the hell was wrong with her?! Harry had whispered things to her before, since when did it make her shiver? This was all wrong... it used to be only Ron's touch or whispers could do those types of things to her senses. Wait, that must be it, she hasn't seen Ron all summer, maybe she just missed him so much that her mind was subconsciously substituting in Harry. `Yeah, that makes sense.'

After sorting it out sufficiently in her head and coming up with what she felt was a plausible reason for her reactions to her best mate, Hermione relaxed a bit. She even rested her hands atop Harry's, which were intertwined over her stomach. They stayed wrapped together slowly inching their way forward until it was their turn to order.

Just as Harry released her, the older couple that was in front of them turned to leave the line with their food. Pausing for a second as she was passing the woman gave them a gentle smile, before looking at her husband and then back at them.

"Oh, you two are such a sweet couple, you look perfect together." They flushed at the woman's words. "You two are very close, no?" she asked peering at them.

"Isabella, leave the nice young couple alone," her husband interjected "our pizza's getting cold, come on." He grabbed her by the elbow, gently leading her away.

Before he could remove her completely the woman stopped, giving them one last smile. "You'll be together a long time, you're soul mates. I feel it-" she pointed at her heart "-here." With that she gave a Harry a pat on the arm and allowed her husband to guide her towards their seats.

Harry and Hermione shared a bewildered look, both flushing a deep red.

"Old kook," Hermione grumbled moving to the counter to place her order. "Some people really shouldn't be allowed out in public."

"I thought she was nice," Harry chimed from his spot standing next to her as he looked up at the menu.

She gave him a disapproving look. "Well I think she's mental. Did you see the way her husband had to lead her away?" she asked, and then turned to the clerk. "Pepperoni please, once slice...uh, a medium cola and... some mozzarella sticks."

Harry rolled his eyes at her and turned to the clerk, "I'll have the same, except two slices, a large cola and two orders of sticks."

"That's not the same," Hermione grumbled giving him an annoyed look out of the corner of her eye.

"Well she knows what I mean, right?" The clerk smiled and nodded before turning to gather their food.

Once she was gone Harry leant towards Hermione, whispering in her ear. "I don't understand you. How can you live in a world where you know magic exists but think anyone who has some type of mystical power to talk to the dead, read the future or anything like that is a fraud or daft?"

She looked at him, eyes flashing. "I do not think that anyone who claims to be able to do things like... that, is daft I just thought she was."

"And Professor Trelawney-"

She gave him an exasperated look. "Oh, like you thought that Trelawney was sane?"

Harry shrugged "She had her moments."

"So what about the old women, what she said- you know, about us being soul mates and being together forever. Are you saying that you believe that?" She tilted her head giving him a mocking expression. "Harry are we perfect together?" She asked in an annoying singsong voice, batting her eyelashes.

He rolled his eyes; choosing to disregard the comment he looked back at the clerk who had just returned with their food.

She gave Harry the total and a mirthful smile, having overheard Hermione.

Reaching into his pocket Harry pulled out the correct amount of pounds and placed them on the counter, ignoring it as Hermione nudged him.

"Let me see the receipt Harry, I want to pay my half."

"Nope."

"This is ridiculous, since we took that money out of Gring- the bank. You've been insisting upon paying for everything. If you won't let me pay for you at least let me pay for myself."

She almost growled aloud as the dark-haired boy continued to ignore her. Pocketing his change he politely told the clerk that he didn't need a receipt, then grabbing the tray he started to glide away.

"Harry James Potter, you come back here this instant." Hermione commanded in a matronly tone, scooting herself over using the counter so that the lady behind her could place her order. "Harry!" she yelled again when he didn't stop. "Come on..." she said, all of the forcefulness leaving her voice.

Harry turned and gave a smirk. "What's the magic word?"

She glared for a moment, tightly gripping the counter top and stubbornly refusing to answer that. When he continued to just stand there looking at her expectantly as though he had all the time in the world, Hermione felt her annoyance grow. Finally relenting, her head fell and she responded softly with what he wanted to hear.

“I'm sorry what was that?” He asked, his lips turning slightly at the corners and his hand cupped around his ear like he was straining to hear her.

"Please," she said between clenched teeth.

He gave a huge grin and glided back over, balancing himself and the tray, like he had been skating his whole life. When he reached her he gave a slow wink.

"Now that wasn't so bad, was it?" he questioned with a smile.

She continued to glare daggers at him, strongly fighting the urged to punch that smug look off his face. Grabbing her hand once again, while balancing the tray on the other, he gave a slight tug, but just as he was about to lead her away the lady that had been behind them spoke.

"You know for what it's worth, I agree with the older woman," she smiled. "You two are perfect together... I don't think I've seen a cuter couple in a long time."

Harry and Hermione gave her a startled look and it quickly turned to a mortified one as several people, including the girl behind the counter, nodded in agreement.

"Er, thanks?" Harry offered before quickly pulling Hermione away. "Well that was... interesting..." he said once they were a safe distance.

"Daft," she grumbled "the whole lot of them."

He laughed, "They're not all daft Hermione."

She sighed, grudgingly agreeing "True, but they're obviously closed minded."

"What?"

"Well, that can't seem to realize that a guy and a girl can just be friends and nothing more. Instead they just assume that we're a couple and then feel it's necessary to tell us how perfect they think we are for each other."

He rolled his eyes "Hermione, we were acting like a couple, remember? They weren't assuming anything."

She frowned "Oh, yeah... I forgot about that. Well then I suppose it's to be expected."

Harry gave her a tickled look "Whatever you say." He replied before turning to his food and tucking in.

Hermione gave him a glance before beginning to eat her own items off of the tray. The rest of the day they just relaxed and had fun. Feeling a bit perturbed Hermione had tried to keep her distance from Harry so that people wouldn't get the wrong idea anymore, but after her fourth time falling hard on her bum she tired of that plan and Harry once again helped her get along. After a while they no longer cared weather or not anyone thought they were a couple they just wanted to have fun, after all, they knew they weren't a couple... right?

A.N. Well that's it for chapter three, it was a little long but I didn't want to break the rink up into two chapters. After all, the time that's spent at Hermione's house is just the tip of the iceberg. Our students still have to return to Hogwarts, which is something that they'll do a couple of chapters form now. Until then PLEASE review, I want to know what you think. Thanks and Ja ne!

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5. Track of time...

Forbidden Love
Chapter 4

About four days later Harry and Hermione were sitting in the living room. He was watching the tellie and she was curled up on the couch next to him reading a book. Her feet were stretched out so that they were resting lightly against his thigh as his hand softly and instinctively stroked her calf in a slow relaxing motion.

Mrs. Granger smiled at the couple before her silently wondering if they even realized that since their trip to the skating rink last week, they had begun touching one another quite frequently. Nothing suggestive, in fact the touches were quite innocent things, like pushing hair out of each other's faces, holding hands, brushing legs as that sat near one another -just smaller stuff like that. Also, Hermione would often lean against Harry, her head resting on his chest or shoulder while they sat or stood in line for things. Or Harry would do things like he's doing now... though it was usually rubbing her back or shoulder, while he focused on another task.

The fact that the contact was nothing overtly sexual and that they seemed to be doing it without conscious knowledge was the only thing that made her stop her husband from saying anything, and allowed her to still be comfortable leaving them alone.

Giving one last small smile Ella Granger made herself known by clearing her throat.

**************************

Hermione was distracted from her book on ancient folklore when she heard a throat clear. Looking up she noticed her mother standing in front of her, a small smile playing on her lips. She retuned the smile with a questioning look.

"You two don't have any plans tonight do you?" her mum asked her eyes aglow with excitement.

Hermione cast a nervous look at Harry. She wasn't sure where this was headed, but she knew that when her mum looked that excited with whatever she had in mind -it was either really good or really bad. Harry, looking just as nervous as she did after having learned her mum's moods over the last several days, locked eyes with her for a moment before giving a shrug and leaving the task of answering up to her.

"Uhhh, well... we were going to do some studying..." she ventured hesitantly.

"Well study tomorrow," her mum stated now grinning "because tonight your mother has gotten tickets for us to see-” she made a drum roll noise "Cats!"

"Cat's? Mum, I've seen that before."

Mrs. Granger rolled her eyes. "I know you've seen it before but Harry hasn't, have you Harry?"

"Uhhh..." he gave her an apprehensive look "er, no..."

"See," her mum beamed.

"Mum, I don't particularly want to see Cats."

"But you loved it last time you saw it," Mrs. Granger replied frowning.

"I was five. I also loved coloring walls."

Her mum waved her off, "Harry wants to see it, don't you?"

Pinned with her mum's hopeful gaze he hesitated for a moment before responding. "Yeah, er, sure... I'm looking forward to it."

"So it's settled," she said clapping her hands together. "Get yourselves dressed up nice and get ready to go, we leave in about," she looked at her watch "two hours."

With that said she turned as practically skipped out of the room. Hermione turned her head giving Harry a cross look, to which he responded with a light shrug.

"She just looked so excited- I couldn't say no, could I?"

She rolled her eyes. "Of course you could, I had just shown you how mere moments before," she responded giving a light sweep of her hand.

"Well, soooorry- somehow I'm not as good as being rude to your mother as you are."

"I was not rude," she huffed standing from the couch and glaring at him "I was truthful, you should try it."

"Well, what was I supposed to say? Unlike you I haven't seen the play before... it is a play right?"

"A musical," she smirked; when he groaned her smile widened.

"Well what is it about?"

Her grin turned down right wicked as she responded. "I'll let you find that out for yourself." Giving him a wink, she turned and skipped out of the room much like her mother had earlier, whistling a happy tune.

--------------------------------------

Four and a half hours later they exited the theater, Mr. and Mrs. Granger taking the lead with Harry and Hermione trailing as they headed to a French restaurant Mrs. Granger had suggested for dinner. Hermione had her head down and was doing her best to suppress her laughter as the dark haired boy next to her continued to gripe under his breath.

"Why would you call a play `Cats' and have no cats in it?" he asked her quietly, casting an irritated look at a billboard for the show.

"They had cats." Hermione responded just as softly, while keeping an eye on her parents.

"No, they had people dressed up like cats," he replied an annoyed expression crossing his handsome features.

"Well Harry, what did you expect?" she asked giving an exasperated look. "A big chorus of cats meowing for two hours, of course it was people."

He grunted, taking her hand as they crossed the street. "Of course I didn't expect a chorus of cats. But I think that if you have the nerve to call your play `Cats' then there should be at least one bloody cat in the bleedin' play."

She laughed as they entered the restaurant. "Well, I did warn you."

"No you didn't," he scoffed "you refused to tell me anything besides it was a musical. "I'll let you find that out for yourself, Harry" that was what you told me when I asked for more information."

She shrugged casting him an impish smile as they followed her parents through the romantically lit bistro to their table. "Well, you did, didn't you?"

His response was a glare as they reached their seats. When he pulled her chair out for her she suppressed a giggle as he heard him still grumbling under his breath.

"So Harry," said her mum with a wide grin once they were all seated. "What did you think of the play?"

Hermione laughed.

*************

Wednesday afternoon Harry walked into his room, plopping down heavily on the bed. He looked at the ceiling and took a deep breath to relax, a small smile on his face as he thought about his day. He and Hermione had just returned from a muggle miniature golf place called the 'The Mini Golf Grotto', a relatively large put-put golf and gaming area. The Grotto had twenty-four holes on one side of the park, while the other side had an assortment of rides and games.

When they arrived they quickly realized that, while Harry wanted to do the rides, Hermione wanted to do nothing but play put-put. In the end they decided on a compromise; to make him happy they would ride at least four of the rides and then once they were done with that, then they would play the extensive put-put course.

Harry's first three choices were two rather large coasters and one huge thing that looked like a giant rocket and flipped you upside down and in complete loops. All of which earned him some very deadly glares from Hermione, who had apprehension with heights and was none to pleased at his selections. The dark haired boy finished off his rides by choosing to race around a medium sized miniature track in little carts painted to look like muggle racing cars. Once he had beaten her soundly on the racetrack, Hermione sent him yet another glower that promised retribution as she stomped off towards the golf course ignoring his laugher

Harry's delight at besting his best mate was quickly diminished as he realized that as bad as she was on the racetrack, was as good as she was on the mini-golf course. After getting through only twelve of the twenty-five holes, Harry was ready to give up on the idiotic game all together. After all, not only was she whipping him thoroughly, but he also couldn't seem to get his bloody little neon yellow ball past that stupid blasted spinning windmill. After the seventh time his ball was knocked back to him he decided to change tactics. Ignoring Hermione's disapproving frown he grabbed his ball, walked up the little hill and waited until the windmill had passed. When he saw his opportunity he bent down and rolled his ball into the little door, casting her a triumphant grin over his shoulder as it came out of the other side.

Rolling her eyes and suppressing a smile Hermione made sure to let him know that he was getting `absolutely no points' for that particular hole. Grinning and shrugging Harry sent her a wink, picked up his putter and finished hitting his ball into the hole. The rest of the game was pretty much played in the same fashion; Harry rolling his ball through particularly hard obstacles with his hand and Hermione frowning and rolling her eyes.

However, around the twentieth hole he was tickled to see a change in his friend. Sending a cheeky grin in his direction and implementing perfect timing, Hermione walked up the small pathway and rolled her ball across the little drawbridge and right into the hole.

Harry chuckled to himself at the memory and sat up on the bed. He couldn't believe that Hermione had willingly broken the rules and had even actually finished the rest of the game using his crazy method. He never realized that she had such a propensity for breaking the rules… no, wait -come to think of it since she met them that was all she seemed to do. Harry scratched the back of his head giving a wry smile.

'Perhaps Ron and I are a bit of a bad influence,' he thought with one last chuckle.

Pausing he bit his lip for a moment and tapped his chin, feeling like he was forgetting something.

"What was it I had wanted to do today?…" he mumbled, as his brows knitted together in concentration. "Oh, yeah!"

Hopping up off of the mattress he walked around to the foot of his bed to his trunk, opening it he pulled out several pieces of parchment and his quick dry ink and quill. Deciding to sit on the floor so he could use his trunk as a desk, Harry began to try to compose the letter he had been meaning to send to Ginny. This summer he had already written her several letters, especially when he was at the Dursley's. However, last night he was startled to realize that he hadn't written her once since arriving to the Grangers house.

'Well, things have been pretty busy around here,' Harry rationalized to himself, chewing on the end of his quill.

Besides he found that it was decidedly uncomfortable to try to put his feelings down for a girl on a piece of parchment that he knew would be flying through the air on the leg of an owl. With the only thing to stop the whole world from finding out said feelings, being a small piece of twine tied to that owl's leg.

Still that didn't explain why he hadn't written her since he got his last letter from her three days ago. She had told him how much she missed him and how she couldn't wait to see him, along with a few other slightly mushy girlfriend/boyfriend things and had also asked how things were going with the Grangers. It was nothing too intimate since she was living in a house full of several brothers and also one really nosey mum. But still, it had been three days since her letter and he normal responded immediately, within a few hours sometimes if he didn't have chores.

'Man,' he thought, grimacing 'she's probably mad by now. -I better write something good before she hexes me,' he finished with a small smile and a slight shudder.

His girlfriend did have a way with her hexes, especially the bat-bogey one. Remembering her use on a particular Slytherin his smile widened for a moment before quickly disappeared as an image formed of her performing it on him. Shaking his head to get rid of the mental picture and dipping his quill into the ink, he began to write:

Ginny,

I got your letter and I'm doing well. How's it going? I was wondering how thi

He bawled up the piece of parchment throwing it on the floor. No- that was way too general, pausing a moment he tried again:

Dearest Ginny,

It seems as though it has been forever since we last held one another, I received your letter and have been counting off the days until we could meet again. I can almost see your bea

He groaned, okay waaaay to mushy. 'Yeah I could just imagine Ron or the twins finding this, I'd never hear the end of it.' Shuddering at the thought, he bawled that one up too, tossing it on the floor next to his last.

Dear Ginny,

I received your letter; it was wonderful to hear from you. I had been wondering how things were going and how long it would take to get an owl from you. I was glad to hear that Fleur and the baby seem to be doing fine and I too was sorry to realize that I couldn't come to the Burrow this summer. You'll never know how much I was looking forward to us spending some time together with no homework, teachers or nosey classmates; just us. To answer your question things here are going great. Hermione and I are having a blast. I'm actually getting to do stuff that I use to only hear about from Dudley and his gang! You know I always knew Hermione was smart, but I never realized how funny she could be (well except for her jokes). She actually has a pretty great sense of humor outside of school and we're having a lot of fun. In fact just the other day we went skating at a muggle rink, it was the first time for either of us really and though I stayed on my feet, Hermione was up and down every few minutes. You should have seen it, it was classic! Oh, and then there was this old woman who said that we made a great couple, I think she called us soul mates. Hermione swears that she was mental. I don't think that she was though, perhaps a bit misguided and mistaken on that. However, I will tell you that for some reason a whole line of people thought we made a cute couple and actually agreed with the older woman. Can you imagine that? Us- a cute couple- we had to laugh. Heck, we aren't even cute… well, I don't think I am- Hermione is incredibly pretty though. Did you ever notice that she has the most startling eyes? At first I had just thought they were brown, but the closer you look into them you notice that they have small golden flecks in them, expec

Harry stopped mid thought; looking down at the letter he had just written he flushed a deep crimson color. What the hell was he doing, telling Ginny how pretty he thought Hermione was? Perhaps he was the mental one. Blinking a few times and shaking his head he re-read the letter; where the hell was all of this coming from… gold flecks? Had he really noticed that about her? He thought back to when she was teasing him in line at the skating rink and was surprised to realize that he was right.

"Hey Harry, what are you doing?" he heard a soft voice ask from his right.

Quickly turning his head he noticed Hermione standing in the doorway leaning against the door jam. When he faced her she gave a small smile as if she were awaiting his attention, and then proceeded to walk fully into the room. Quickly throwing his hand over the letter he had written and thanking Merlin for quick dry ink, he replied.

"Oh, nothing- just writing a letter to Ginny. She wanted to know how things were going and I'm a little overdue responding to the one she sent a couple of days back." He replied, with a tense laugh.

Hermione pause mid-step giving him an inquisitive look, before walking the remainder of the distance up to him. Moving his two previously discarded pieces of parchment over a bit, she took a seat on the floor next to the trunk and peered at the parchment under his hands.

"Really, I was going to write one to Ron too, but I wasn't sure what to put," she frowned a bit. "I knew that you would probably be writing Ginny back, so I wanted to know what you had told her about what we've done. After all we both know that she'll just end up telling him anyway- hey, what do you have so we don't sound repetitive?" She asked reaching for the paper.

Harry swiftly moved the parchment from the top of the trunk to the floor opposite her, crumpling it a bit with his hand.

"Uhh-"

"It can't be that bad," she commented quirking a brow "unless you wrote her a love poem. Is that it?… Harry are you writing Ginny love poems?" She teased, her eyes twinkling merrily as she feigned another reach for the letter.

Quickly bawling the parchment up the rest of the way, Harry shifted a bit and slid it under is leg so that he was now sitting on the discarded letter.

"No, it's not a love poem," he replied giving a glare. "It was just… a crappy letter that's all. I was just trying out ideas, I didn't like them, so now I'm throwing it away." He gave a shrug, grabbing a new piece of parchment from next to him and dipping his quill in ink again.

Hermione smirked "Yeah, okay. Lunch is ready, by the way."

"Fine -look I'm telling her about the skating rink and Cats, you can tell Ron about the stupid put-put." he said.

Giving a small glance at his fresh parchment and rolling her eyes, Hermione stood and walked slowly to the door, casting him one last look over her shoulder.

"I'll leave you to it then… Lockhart," she called out, laughing and running out of the room as he threw his quill at her.

Heaving a heavy sigh, Harry got up and retrieved his quill for the floor by the wall. Looking down at his newly empty parchment, he scratched the back of his head and then giving light shrug he quickly wrote his letter. Waiving the paper once to make sure the ink was fully dry Harry hastily rolled it up. Then, going over to Hedwig's cage, he opened the door and removed her. Securing the letter to her leg with a piece of twine he gave the snow-white owl a treat and a small pet as he headed to and opened up the window. Watching her take flight and until she became a small dot in the sky he scratched the back of his head again, wondering if Ginny would like his letter. Then, deciding there was nothing more he could do about it, Harry closed the window and turned. Heading out of the room and into the hall he walked to the kitchen to join Hermione for lunch.

--

Dear Ginny,

I was glad to hear that Fleur and the baby seem to be doing fine and I too was sorry to realize that I couldn't come to the burrow this summer. It's pretty fun here with the Grangers, I'm no longer restricted to the backyard and my room but am able to go places. Hermione and I went to a muggle skating rink, which was a lot of fun, I also got to see a musical play called 'Cats' with her mum and dad which… well that's a different story. Well, anyway I can't wait to see you on the train, even if it only for a moment, we have a lot to catch up on. I'll talk to you on the carriage ride!

Bye,

Harry

A.N. Well that's it for this chapter; the next one will be out soon! Please read and Review. Thanks and Jan e!

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6. Swimming and Slides...

Forbidden Love
Chapter 5

Hermione pulled nervously on her ponytail as they entered the large water park. It was the day before they were supposed to catch the train back to Hogwarts and her mum and dad had decided to surprise them by skiving off of work and taking them for one last outing to celebrate Harry's belated seventeenth birthday. She looked over at the birthday boy who was standing next to her, watching as he stared at the park with a look of awe on his face. His mouth was slightly agape, curving just a bit at the corners and his head turned slowly as his eyes eagerly scanned the area in front of him.

The park consisted of over thirteen rides and attractions, including a ride called the 'Freefall' that was comprised of a set of huge slides that were built over five stories high which, by the way, she was not going on- at all- ever. The park also had several more slides, a lagoon and a huge thing called the wave pool. The wave pool was set up to look like a beach and got deeper and deeper the farther you got out until it was about twenty-five or so feet deep. It would also go from completely stagnant to randomly making nice sized waves starting at the back of the huge pool area.

"So what do you want to do first?" she asked the boy next to her.

Harry snapped out of his daze and looked at her a huge grin settled upon his features. Looking around once more, he did his best to determine just where to start.

"Uh, let's see... you wouldn't be willing to try that would you?" he questioned pointing to his right.

Following his gaze she saw the huge 'Freefall' ride in the distance and gave him an annoyed look. He already knew the answer to that.

Harry laughed and quirked a brow "No?" She glared and he laughed harder. "Okay, no it is... Uhhh, what do you say we start a little smaller?" he gave a slight nod of his head in the direction of another set of slides, these were considerably shorter and enclosed in plastic tubes.

Hermione studied the ride for a second then, deciding that it was the lesser of two evils, looked at Harry and gave him a small nod.

"Mum, dad we're going to head over to that ride over there," she told her parents, pointing at the slides.

"Okay Pumpkin, have fun," her dad replied distractedly as he continued to look thorough the fanny pack he had brought- against his daughters insistence that people did not wear fanny packs anymore.

"Honey, don't you guys want to change first?" her mum asked barley stifling a smile.

Hermione and Harry looked at each other and then down at their own clothes. Hermione rolled her eyes realizing that she had yet to put her things away, before giving herself a mental kick because she normally wasn't so absent minded.

Like Harry she was already wearing her swim clothes, but she was also wearing an outfit over her suit. So she did need to put her shirt, shorts and bag in a locker in the ladies changing room, just as Harry also needed to store his shirt and extra pair of shorts.

"Right," she replied to her mum giving a short nod before looking back at Harry. "Do you need a locker of your own, or did you just want me to put your stuff in with mine?"

Harry seemed to think about it for a minute before shrugging. Grabbing the hem of his shirt he quickly pulled the light garment over his head, leaving himself clad in only flip flops and swim trunks. Hermione sucked in a sharp breath before she could stop herself.

'By all that is holy, when did Harry get a body like that?!' her mind screamed.

Removing her eyes from his broad muscular chest she came in contact with his dancing green eyes, Harry arched a brow at her before grinning.

"Are you okay Hermione?" he quizzed looking not at all concerned.

"Fine," she said shortly, feeling a flush creep up her neck.

Yanking the shirt and extra pair of shorts from his hands Hermione turned and made her way to the ladies changing area to get a locker, ignoring the amused look on her mum's face as she passed. Reaching the lockers she took off her shirt and shorts, leaving on her bathing suit and flip-flops. Grabbing a few things from her bag, she put everything into the locker and then closed it, taking the key to hand to her dad when she got back outside. Turning she leant against the cool metal surface and took a few moments to compose herself and get her still erratically beating heart under control.

'This is just Harry,' she thought to herself expelling a long breath. 'So what if he's gotten a little...er, fuller over the summer? It's just the same old Harry. He's like your little brother -you're constantly in trouble, headstrong, impulsive, extremely hot little brother.' She shook her head 'Okay, strike the extremely hot part... oh, this isn't helping.'

Hermione rolled her eyes and gave a small huff, clutching the items that she needed she headed back to the front of the changing room where everyone was waiting. Harry was the first to notice her reappearance, his emerald eyes flashed with something unreadable for a second before it was replaced with a gentle amusement.

"Alright, now I'm ready," she commented when she reached Harry, her mum and her dad again. "Oh, Harry these are for you," she handed him a small cloth and a bottle.

Harry took the items from her, turning them over in his hands before giving a questioning look.

"They're for your glasses," she looked around before moving closer to finish in a whisper. "The little bottle is a form of magical glue -it'll keep your glasses on unless you remove them. The cloth is a magical wipe, it'll keep any water from sticking to your lenses so that you can see," she pulled back. "After you use them just give them back to me and I'll pass them to my dad so he can keep them in his..." she mumbled and rolled her eyes "fanny pack."

"Bloody brilliant, where did you get them?" Harry asked as he wiped down his lenses.

"I got them yesterday when we went to get our books and supplies for school. I came across the set in Flourish & Blotts while you were in Quality Quidditch Supplies buying your broom servicing kit and supplies, " she answered, taking the cloth from him as he once again removed his glasses to place the glue on the ends. "I didn't know we'd be doing this today, I just got it because I thought that maybe you could use it if you had to play a rainy Quidditch match or something."

Harry placed his glasses back on, giving her a big smile. "Well, thanks for thinking of me Hermione, I appreciate it." He then leant forward and gave her a quick peck on the cheek before handing her the bottle of glue back.

Hermione resisted the urge to put her hand against her tingling cheek as her brows furrowed in confusion at the sensation. Looking at Harry she noticed that he was once again scanning the water park, but she also observed that even though he was acting nonchalant, there was a tale-tale flush on his neck and cheeks. Her frown deepened, as her mind attempted to logically figure out what was happening between them. Biting her lip she looked at him a moment longer before giving a small shrug and walking over to her parents.

"Well we're going to head over to the ride, where are you guys going to be?" She asked her mum.

"We're going to be right over there at the lagoon, I th-" she was interrupted as her husband let out a triumphant yelp.

"Ah-ha!" Mr. Granger shouted pulling something out of the fanny pack. "See dear, I told you I brought those nose plugs," he gave a huge grin. "You know that since I was right, you have to take it back."

"I have to take what back?" her mum responded with an arrested look.

"What you said earlier... come on, I was right. I knew what I was talking about, so take it back."

"But it's true."

"Is not," was the indignant response. "They're right here," he walked closer to them holding open his hand so that they could see the nose plugs in his palm. "See, so that means you have to take it back."

"I have to do no such thing," her mom replied, an amused look settling on her face. "That thing is what... two inches deep? Yet somehow it still took you over fifteen minutes to find them."

"Hey- I...it-it was only about ten," her dad closed his hand around the nose plugs, turning away mumbling, "I still found them, it doesn't matter." He spoke at a normal tone, turning to look back at his wife. "And this thing as you called it, is more than two inches deep, thank you very much- not to mention it has cracks... and, uh…crevices. Small things fall into those you know."

Hermione and her mum shared an amused look before Mrs. Granger looked heavenward and shook her head at her husband.

"Uh dad, can you hold these for Harry and me?" Hermione inquired, interrupting the humorous but long conversation between her parents.

Mr. Granger cast one last annoyed look at his wife before turning his attention to his daughter.

"Sure Pumpkin, where are you two headed?" He asked removing the items from her care and placing them into his fanny pack.

"We're going to ride that large slide just over there," she replied pointing to the structure that contained the covered water slides.

"Oh, well be careful you don't wa..." he trailed off as his eyes settled on something.

Giving a confused looked, Hermione turned following her fathers gaze, which lead right to...Harry? Why was her dad staring at Harry like that? Harry seemed to be wondering the same question as he looked around for a moment. Then, realizing that Mr. Granger was in fact staring at him, he gave her an inquiring look his face and posture becoming more uncomfortable by the moment.

"Er, dad..."

Dan Granger's eyes snapped to his daughter and then back to Harry, after flicking between the two of them for a moment he turned to his wife.

"You know honey, that ride looks pretty fun... perhaps I'll join the kids," he offered giving a quick glance back to the muscled teenage boy in front of him.

Hermione suppressed a groan as she and her mum both rolled their eyes at her dad's antics.

"Dan, leave the kids alone." her mum sighed.

"What?" he asked innocently "I'm not doing anything wrong, I just want to try the ride, they don't mind... do you Harry?" Hermione concealed a grin at the panicked look that crossed her best mates face after being put on the spot.

Harry crossed his arms lightly over his chest and offered Mr. Granger a weak smile, before giving her a pleading look. Taking pity on her friend and knowing that she did not want her dad following her around the park all day scrutinizing their every move Hermione spoke up.

"Yes daddy we do mind, or at least I do."

"Wha-"

He was cut of as her mum spoke. "Of course dear, you're right I didn't think about how easy it was to loose things in a fanny pack."

The three of them gave her puzzled looks, "Mum what-"

"So I take back what I said," she continued cutting Hermione off and giving her stern a look. "You are not senile, you're in the prime of your life." She grinned, "How about that?"

"Well...I, er,"

"Isn't that what you wanted Danny," Mrs. Granger cooed looping arms with her husband. "You know that I was just kidding with you anyway, you have one of the best memories out of anyone I know. Not to mention that there is no way someone senile would have your amazing wit." She continued complementing her husband as she slowly led him towards the lagoon, Mr. Granger gave one last desperate look back to the kids as he and his wife rounded the corner.

Hermione turned to look at Harry and after a moment of silence they laughed, heading off towards the slides.

***************************

"Well, what do you want to do now?" Harry asked about four hours later.

"I don't know just something closer to the ground please." Hermione replied looking slightly pale.

After around three and a half hours of pestering her constantly, Harry had finally convinced Hermione to go on the 'Freefall' with him. Well, after getting her to agree to call it a birthday present. The line to the ride wasn't very long since it was a weekday however, climbing the five flights of stairs was not easy. Especially when, for every ten steps they took he had to turn and rush back down five to catch the fleeing Hermione. Finally deciding that the easier course was to just walk behind her, he followed her up the last three flights, gingerly turning her back around every time she tried to retreat and doing his best to stifle his smiles.

Once they had reached the top of the tall platform Harry wrapped his arms around Hermione to keep her from fleeing and to assist her in taking the required steps forward. As their turn neared, he also did his best to ignore how natural it had begun to feel to have her in his arms.

Harry let out an inaudible sigh. He had almost fallen over when Hermione had emerged from the ladies locker room in her swimsuit earlier- and he still wasn't sure why. She was wearing a modest one-piece pink bathing suit that shimmered a bit in the morning sun. Her hair was in a loose ponytail that just brushed her shoulders and a few strands lightly framed her face. Quickly putting on a face of nonchalant amusement he acted as if he didn't notice how the pink color of the suit was dangerously close to her rosy flesh tone, or the way that her flat stomach was hugged by the form fitting material. Not to mention the way that her...she, had, um... filled out. He shook his head.

'Okay, no more thoughts of Hermione filling out.' Harry told himself, returning to the present and giving a huge smile to the brunette next to him.

"Oh, come off it Hermione you enjoyed it," he told her referring to the ride.

"My legs hurt from climbing over two thousand stairs," she replied glaring at him.

"You enjoyed it."

"Not to mention you pushing me all the way up to the stupid slide."

"You enjoyed it."

"I think my bathing suit rode up on me when I hit that bloody bump."

He gave a quick glance at her bum; shook his head and grinned. "You enjoyed it."

"My throat is all sore from screaming my head off on the way down."

"You enjoyed it."

"I probably look all green and disgusting from how sick that thing made me feel."

"You look beautiful and you enjoyed it."

A quick surprised expression crossed her face before she rolled her eyes and a grin settled on her lips.

"And I enjoyed it," Hermione relented with a smaller smile and a slight shake of the head. "But never again, you got that?" she finished poking him roughly in the chest.

Harry gave a smile and a nod, playfully swatting her hand away. "So what do you think about hitting the wave pool?"

She looked over at the large area, it was packed but most of the people were swimming towards the front with only a few being bold enough to venture into the deeper area.

"Yeah, that looks safe enough." she answered with a half smile.

He and Hermione made their way over to the pool area, kicking off their flip-flops next to an empty chair they then preceded into the cool water. Harry laughed as they were splashed by a precocious three year old, who was just learning to swim. Her mum gave an apologetic smile, which they waved off, before giving the giggling toddler a wave as she hopped impatiently in her mothers' arms. Hermione wadded backwards into the blue liquid, her eyes shining as she watched the little girls mother lower her back into the cool water. She suppressed a giggle of her own as the child kicked her tiny legs with all of their might in an attempt to swim on her own.

"I bet you looked just like that when you were learning to swim," Harry commented grinning.

She gave him an amused look, her eyes twinkling "I bet I did."

He gave one last look back to the little girl before looking at the bigger one in front of him.

"So what do you say?"

"To what?"

"Race ya!" He answered, and then quickly disappeared under the sparkling surface swimming towards the back of the large beach pool.

Harry hadn't been sure that she would be willing to play the racing game with him, so he was pleasantly surprised when he looked back and saw Hermione quickly gaining on him. Purposefully slowing down his speed, he made a turn heading towards a near-by sidewall. Silently thanking Merlin and Hermione for the glue and cloth that he used on his glasses, he held onto the wall waiting for her to join him.

"No fair, you cheated." she declared with a frown as she emerged a moment later.

"I didn't cheat, you just lost." he replied with a shrug, barely containing his laughter at her disgruntled expression.

"Oh really?"

"Really."

"Oh really?"

"Really."

Her frown deepened. "Race ya!" and with that she was gone.

Harry blinked for a second surprised by her sudden disappearance before catching on and going after her. Dipping below the cool surface and pushing off using he wall, he quickly gained on her, giving her a cheeky underwater grin as he caught up and swam next to her. He wanted to laugh so badly at the intense scowl that took over her face before she looked forward once again and began to swim faster. Deciding that he had had enough of the game, Harry quickly surpassed her and reached the wall, coming up almost a full thirty seconds before his friend.

"See," he teased with a smirk "you cheated and I still won."

"I did not cheat."

"Of course you did."

"No I didn't."

"You did the same thing I did earlier, did you not?" he inquired quirking a brow.

"Well... yes bu-"

"So if it was cheating when I did it, then it stands to reason that it was cheating when you did it right?"

Silence.

"I thought so."

"Whatever Harry," was her annoyed response "you know if I had ever had to swim under water in freezing temperatures with mermaids chasing me then I would be just as fast has you are."

"Yes you would," he replied with a straight face, when she nodded, he grinned and finished "but you didn't, so you're not."

She shot him a scowl. "I'll have you kno-"

Hermione was cut of as the water moved, looking to his left Harry noticed the swell of a nice sized wave. His grin widened, this looked like it would be fun he thought turning to look at his best mate. However, all thoughts of fun were erased when he saw the frightened expression on Hermione's face as the wave approached. Harry reached out just in time to grab her wrist and keep her from being drug off. Giving a firm tug he pulled her over to him.

"You alright?" he asked his face etched with concern.

"Oh...yeah -just fine..." she replied not watching him but the oncoming wave instead.

Harry smiled a bit as she squished her eyes closed, as though it would stop the impending wave. Turning her, he fashioned himself so that she was pressed between him and the wall of the pool. Hermione's eyes popped open, and he quirked a grin.

"You know, you look kind of like that three year old we saw earlier."

"Oh, that's just poppycock and you know it, I don't even-" she stopped and her legs quickly came around his waist as another wave hit.

Harry braced them against the wall holding on so that they would not be dragged over, as she twined her arms around his neck. Before they could move another wave came, followed by four more in rapid succession. He lifted slightly along with the swell so that their heads would remain above water, wedging her securely against the wall and gripping the edge. Harry felt a surge of protectiveness and compassion as the girl in his arm whimpered during the second wave.

"I think they're slowing down now," he whispered into her ear.

Feeling her tremble in his arms he got the most delicious tingle down his spine. As he tried to repress the confusing feeling, Hermione lifted her head and cocoa colored eyes, framed by long dark lashes met his. Harry suddenly became aware of just how close they were to one another. He could feel her pressed against him more intimately than anyone had ever been. Her long limbs twined around his body and her soft chest pressed against his hard one with only the light flimsy barrier of her swimsuit between them.

Harry reached up, wiping some water drops from her long lashes and wondering about the deepening color of her eyes. They were no longer a light cocoa color but a deep chocolate hue instead -they were also doing amazing things to his senses. Keeping one hand on the wall to hold them up, he gently placed the other on her thigh. Her legs reflectively tightened around him and he bit back a groan closing his eyes briefly only to snap them open a moment later as he became aware that -not only was she affecting him in a...non-platonic sort of way, but that she could probably feel just which way it was. As if she had heard his thoughts Hermione looked down at their closely touching bodies and Harry could have sworn that she pressed herself more tightly against his hardness.

"Uhh... Her-" he cleared his throat "Hermione... maybe we should get out." he said in a rough voice no louder than a whisper.

"Er...yeah, yeah Ha-Harry you're right," she replied her voice no louder than his.

Even after gaining her agreement, Harry found that he was unable to make himself move. She just felt so perfect against him... he had never felt anything like it before. Her warmth seemed to be enveloping him and even though he was in a semi-cool pool he would swear that he was sweating. Hermione also remained unmoving, though he could practically see her mind working and he watched curiously as her eyes flicked down, seemingly to his lips. His heart was in his throat when she bit the corner of her bottom lip like she always did when she was trying to figure something out. It had never affected him before, though he vaguely remembered Ron saying how it drove him mad. Understanding of just why it drove Ron mad finally hit Harry as his eyes unconsciously focused on her mouth, watching hungrily as she nibbled at her lip and wishing that she would allow him to do the same.

"Ahh, pumpkin there you are!" Harry's head popped up and his eyes came in contact with Dan Granger who had come up on the narrow walkway next to the pool. "We thought that it might be you, but we were unsure. Are you alright?" At this question he gave Harry a very sharp look.

"Fine daddy," Hermione muttered quietly, untangling herself from around him. "We were just out here swimming when they started those huge waves."

"Really?" he asked giving a pointed look to how closely they were pressed against one another.

She rolled her eyes "Dad, Harry was just being nice enough to make sure I didn't get pulled off by the waves or drown... that's all," she finished hoarsely.

"That's all?" Mr. Granger pressed, obviously noticing his daughter's lack of conviction.

She glared at her dad "That All," she replied more forcefully.

"There you are Dan, didn't I tell you to leave these poor kids alone?" her mum asked joining them.

"Yes dear, but you also said that we needed to find them and so I have." He gave a nudge in their direction with his head.

Her mum sighed, "Yes, well I guess I did. Are you kids ready to go? I know a great shopping mall around here with this smashing restaurant perfect for your belated birthday dinner. We can see one last film- your choice of course Harry, before you two have to head off tomorrow."

"Yeah sure," He and Hermione said in unison, giving each other a quick glance.

Mr. Granger held out a hand for his daughter to grab but Harry noticed that when it was his time to exit that the hand was conspicuously absent. Easily hefting himself out of the pool he was relieved that, even though it was decidedly uncomfortable to have Dan Granger glaring at him every five seconds, at least he hadn't embarrassed himself. After all nothing kills your libido more than the girl's father glaring at you.

A.N. Well that's it for Chapter 5, looks like we'll be heading to Hogwarts soon... I hope you'll come along for the ride ;-) PLEASE REVIEW!! Thanks and Ja ne!!

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7. Open Doors

Forbidden Love
Chapter 6

Harry slowly opened his eyes and looked around the darkened area. As he did, his eyes gradually adjusted to the dimness of the room with the aid of the faint moonlight that was spilling in through the partially boarded windows. Taking a deep breath, he could almost taste the smell of rotting wood and decay around him as a frown pulled at his features.

"Master..." a low, weak voice squeaked from just to his right.

"Wormtail...what is it that you wish of me?" he responded in a low hissing voice, not bothering spare a glance at the man beside him.

"They have located him, Master... the one whom you seek..."

Turning his head, he saw the small balding man next to him. His head was bowed in a display of respect, his grubby little fingers with their long yellow nails were rubbing against one another.

"Bring him to me."

"Yes, Master," Wormtail responded, backing out of the room, never once looking up to make eye contact.

He felt satisfaction run thorough him at the display. Though he knew that respect was one of the reasons the weak little wizard wouldn't look at him, he also knew that fear was the main reason. He felt his blood rush and his pulse quicken at the feeling of power that surged through him, there was nothing he loved better than the taste of fear- except perhaps being the incarnation of fear itself.

"My Lord," A tall wizard that Harry didn't recognize entered the room, giving a quick bow of his head the wizard looked at him.

"Surpsus, where is he?" he responded in the same low, hissing voice, asking a question that came out more as a demand.

"Well, my Lord," the tall wizard called Surpsus replied, giving another bow and looking quite nervous. "You see, we have located him, but have been unable to... acquire him as of yet."

"What," was the quiet response.

"M- my Lord...the Aurors, they are keeping close watch. -I do not know how they know that we seek him but it seems as though they have somehow gained the knowledge." He finished, casting a nervous glance to the wand clutched by long, pale, claw-like fingers.

"You have failed me."

"No, no... my lord, we still know where he is located and are just waiting for the most..."

"Silence," it was said in a voice no louder than a whisper, but still carried the same effect as a roar. Surpsus gave a terrified look as the wand raised in his direction. "I do not tolerate failure, momentary or not."

The wizard took a step back, "My Lord... please," he plead.

Harry felt a smile curl on his lips "Ava-"

-----------------

Harry shot up in bed, his sweaty shirt clinging to his body and his scar stinging slightly. Feeling scared and disoriented, he looked around the room, bewildered because the smell of rotting wood was still singeing his nostrils. Reaching shakily for his glasses, he placed them on his face, breathing a sigh of relief when the nicely furnished guest room in the Grangers' home came into view.

'Voldemort,' his mind said and his body shuddered.

Where the hell did that come from? He hadn't dreamed about or felt the presence of Voldemort since he was defeated by Dumbledore months ago. What did it mean, and, more importantly, who was he looking for? Was it him...no, no it couldn't be him, the other wizard said "somehow, the Aurors knew". With him, there would be no doubt or secret that Voldemort was trying to get him. So if it wasn't him... then who?

Harry pushed the covers off of his legs, swinging them over the side of the bed they came in contact with the plush carpeted floor. Rubbing his scar again and wincing slightly he tried to think of what to do.

'Hermione,' his mind whispered to him.

Looking at the clock on the nightstand, he noticed that it was about one o'clock in the morning. Would she still be up? He didn't want to bother her...

'She'll be furious if you don't at least try to tell her right away, you know how she is,' he thought to himself.

Heaving a small sigh he pushed up off of the bed and quietly made his way to Hermione's room. Reaching her door he noticed that it was slightly ajar, sticking his head in through the crack to see if she was awake or not, he saw her small form in the canopied bed. Harry frowned, she looked to be asleep... but then- she didn't. Watching her closely, he noticed that she was clutching something in one of her hands. Harry squinted to get a clearer view. Focusing on the item, he realized that it was a black picture frame.

'Why is she holding a picture frame?' he asked silently, his brows furrowing in confusion.

As he was pondering this question he noticed something else, something that made his heart stop. While one of Hermione's hands was clutching the picture, the other was under the light blanket. He gripped the door handle as he felt his legs began to give out on him. The situation was not helped when she tilted her head back her eyes closed and a look of pleasure on her flushed face. Harry struggled to breathe; there was no more question as to what she was doing under those covers. He continued to watch her entranced, knowing that he was invading her privacy but finding himself hard-pressed to care.

The play of emotions on her face was magnificent; she was glowing brighter than any star he had ever seen. Her curly brown hair was fanned out onto the light colored pillow and with the light from the moon hitting her arching body. Every once and a while Hermione's eyes would open briefly and give a fleeting glance to the small black picture frame. Tearing his gaze away from her he glanced at the table next to her bed. Harry felt his stomach drop when he noticed that the picture of Ron - that had been there a few weeks ago - was gone, he looked back at the frame in her hands and knew exactly where it had went.

Looking Hermione's face once more, his grip on the door handle became almost painful as she bit her lip and closed her eyes, her head lulling to one side. He found that his breath had begun to match hers in pants and he could almost feel her against him. Less than a minute later she squished her eyes shut, her mouth opened in a silent scream as her body practically arched off of the bed. Harry's legs immediately gave out and though he had grabbed desperately onto the door handle, his hand slipped due to his sweaty palm. Harry immediately flung himself back so that he wouldn't fall thorough her door. Getting off of his bum almost as soon as he landed on it, he quickly made a mad dash back to his room.

Jumping back into bed he faced the wall and pulled his covers up to his shoulders closing his eyes. A moment later he heard what sounded like the door creak from behind him, Harry attempted to lie as naturally as possible and resisted the urge to hold his breath knowing that it would look suspicious. After about a minute he heard his door creak again, giving it one minute more, he finally turned around and was relived to see that there was no one there. Lying on his back he stared at the ceiling trying to come to grips with what he had just witnessed. Reaching up to run a hand through his hair, he almost cursed aloud when he realized that his glasses were still on his face. Rolling his eyes at his own stupidity and roughly taking the frames back off and sitting them on the night stand he once again turned on his side and tried to get some sleep.

'I can't believe it,' he thought to himself 'who would ever believe that Hermione would...' Harry shook his head in wonder. 'I can still smell her...' he inhaled deeply, shaking his head in wonder. 'Well at least I can't still smell that horrible hou- Crap! I forgot about the dream!' His eyes widened 'Wait, I forgot about the dream?' He had never forgotten about a Voldemort dream 'Though this is probably the one of the only ways that it would ever happen... and probably one of the best too,' Harry thought ruefully as a small smile played on his lips. 'Ok, Harry go to sleep, you have a long day tomorrow, we leave early to get to the station for the train...' he sighed, for the first time ever he felt like he didn't want to go back to Hogwarts.

Pushing the dangerous thoughts out of his mind and trying to concentrate on what he had to look forward to tomorrow, Harry fell into a fitful sleep. However this sleep was not filled with Dark Lords and killing curses, but with alluring wood nymphs, with brown eyes and picture frames...

**************************************

Hermione walked back to her room on wobbly legs.

'Okay, so he didn't see me.' she thought to herself breathing a sigh of relief.

She had never really done anything like that before, but for some reason tonight...

'It was that blasted water park,' she thought 'this is ridiculous I have never been one to fall victim to stupid teenage hormones.'

Hermione sat heavily on her bed nervously pulling her hair over one shoulder. She could have sworn that she had heard someone outside of her room right after she... well, when she finished. As she opened her eyes, she heard a distinctive `thump' that sounding like someone or something falling. However after checking in on Harry he seemed to be sleeping peacefully.

'What in the world is wrong with me?' she thought lying back on her bed, her head brushing up against a dark picture frame. 'I would have been mortified if Harry caught me.'

She picked up the frame and looked at the picture; Harry waived back at her happily and gave her a small wink. As she had noticed earlier, the photo Ron and Hermione were conspicuously absent from the shot. She didn't know what had possessed her, she didn't even know where her picture self had gone... all she knew was that she was still trying to sort out her feelings about what had happened between them at the park when she looked at the picture and noticed that Harry was now alone.

"Then one thing led to another, blah blah blah..." Hermione mumbled, rolling her eyes. "Never again, you." she told picture Harry at which time she was pretty sure that he arched a dark brow at her.

Peering closely at the picture, she couldn't see any difference, so, with a small shrug, she got up and placed the photo back on the wall. Sitting back down on her bed she considered taking the picture of Ron out of her drawer where she had placed it when she took down Harry's photo, but ultimately decided against it. She did not need photo Ron smiling and winking at her. Heaving another sigh Hermione took a quick trip to the restroom and then returned to bed, climbing in and falling asleep. However, tonight her dream didn't consist of the usual romantic evening with a red haired boy, but of a steamy evening with a dark haired one instead.

----------------

Hermione stood next to Harry at the train station, her dad was pulling her trunk for school out of the car and placing it on the push cart.

"Well, honey I guess this is it," her mum said with a watery smile "we're gonna miss you both."

She then came forward, first enveloping Hermione in a tight hug and then doing the same with Harry. As she pulled back, Mrs. Granger placed a small kiss on Harry's cheek and gave him a bright smile.

"It was great having you, Harry. Feel free to visit anytime," she took a breath and stepped back.

"Bye, sweetie," Mr. Granger said pulling Hermione into a tight hug. "Have fun at school and don't accidentally get hecked or anything, okay?"

Hermione rolled her eyes and grinned at him "Hexed daddy- and don't worry, I won't."

Mr. Granger had the grace to look embarrassed for a moment before turning to Harry. He hesitated for about a minute before -to both Harry and Hermione's surprise- he pulled the boy into a tight hug.

"It really was nice to meet you, Harry. We constantly get to hear about you and Ron when she gets back from school, but it's great to be able to really place your face with your name." He gave a grin "I do have to say, after having met you, I realize that I don't have to worry about my daughter as much. I know you wouldn't let anything happen to her."

Harry blushed and dipped his head before looking her dad in the eye. "No sir, I wouldn't. I'd protect her with my life."

"You have before," she said softly so that only Harry could hear, causing his blush to deepen.

"Well-" her mum started, giving them both one more quick hug. "I guess that we'll see you two at Christmas," she looked at the dark haired boy. "Not saying that you have to come, just that we'd love to have you back for the holidays if you don't have any plans."

Without giving Harry a chance to answer Ella Granger gave one last smile and turned getting back into the car.

"That offer is from both of us Harry," Dan Granger said with a smile "you kids have a great time and be sure to write."

At that he gave them a nod of the head and hopped into the car with his wife, both gave one last wave before pulling away from the curb and driving down the street. Harry and Hermione watched them until the car turned the corner.

"They really like you, you know," she stated giving Harry a grin.

He blushed a deep crimson color before giving a small grunt in response. Hermione rolled her eyes, and gave him a nudge.

"Come on let's go, as Head Girl, I cannot be late," she offered him a small smile.

Harry nodded in response and began to push the cart while she walked next to him, sneaking glances every few seconds. He had been really quiet all morning and for some reason kept giving her sidelong glances.

"Harry?"

He jumped before looking at her, his expression... guilty?

"Uh...yeah?" He asked, looking at her for a split second and then looked forward as they neared the pillar between platforms nine and ten.

"Are you okay?" she touched his arm, frowning when he jumped.

"Ye- yeah, sure- I just...well..." he trailed off, then without breaking his pace walked into the pillar.

Hermione followed quietly, still peering closely at him. Why on earth was he blushing so much?

"Harry."

"Yeah?"

"Look at me," he turned his head "what's going on?"

"Uh... nothing, I'm just excited, to be headed back to Hogwarts," he looked around again.

She frowned "That's not it and you know it- what's wrong?"

Harry looked at her nervously; licking his lips his eyes darted around for a moment before setting back on her face.

"Well, it's just that-"

"Harry!! Hermione!! Over here!"

They turned just in time to see Ron rushing towards them, his face alight with happiness and his red hair glinting lightly in the sun. He brushed past several first year girls who giggled as he squeezed through their group. Several of them stared longingly at the older boy before their eyes settled on Harry. It was actually quite comical to see the tiny ten year old girls preening for the oblivious older Quidditch captain.

"Ron!" Harry called out smiling and giving his mate a half hug.

"Hey, Ron," Hermione said softly as he reached them, stifling a gasp of surprise when he enveloped her in a strong hug.

Her eyes, for some reason immediately went to Harry who frowned for a moment until he noticed her gaze. Seeing her watching him, he gave her a teasing grin, one that she had become very accustomed to over the last two weeks of the summer.

"So, how you guys been?" Ron asked pulling away from her and blushing deeply.

Harry's grin widened.

"We've been fine," Hermione answered ignoring Harry as he quirked a brow and made a face and little motions with his hand, simulating her and Ron kissing.

Ron catching his friend in the act reached over and playfully hit Harry in the arm. When they both began to laugh Hermione rolled her eyes and suppressed a smile.

"Well, I'll let you guys get caught up I have to go check and make sure that everyone knows where to sit." She gave a sigh when they both made faces at her "Look, it's part of my duties as Head Girl, besides as captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team and a Gryffindor Prefect," she gave Ron a pointed look. "You should be glad that I'm doing it so that you don't have to. Now go find us a compartment in the front with all of the other student staff members please."

With that, she walked past them, fighting a smile at the impudent salutes that they gave her. Looking around through the crowd, she did her best to locate Zach Smith who had been fortunate enough to receive the title of Head Boy. After looking around without success for a few minutes, she finally spotted him through the crowd. Hermione made her way over to him and together they devised a game plan to get everyone seated in a timely manner and ease some of the worries of the first years.

Thirty minutes later, the train was moving and everyone was settled with the exception of her, Zach, and a few house Perfects. Walking down the corridor at the front of the train, she peeked through the windows on the doors, looking for her friends. In the third window, she noticed Harry and Ron sitting alone in the room opposite one another talking.

"Hey," she said with a small smile, slipping into the compartment and taking a seat next to Harry.

She noticed Ron give her a strange look and she paused for a moment before blushing. Getting up from her previous seat, she took the one opposite her dark-haired friend and next to her red-haired boyfriend.

"So, what's going on?" she asked Ron.

"Oh, Harry was just telling me about his dream about you-know-who." Ron answered looking back at her.

"Voldemort, Ron." Harry supplied, grinning when his mate cringed.

"Harry, you had another dream, when?" she gave him a concerned look.

"Last night," he replied softly, flushing.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"He tried," Ron interrupted "but when he went to your room you were asleep, right Harry?"

Her eyes shot to the other boy and Hermione felt her whole body flush as Harry looked guiltily at the floor.

"Right," he muttered quietly turning his gaze to the passing scenery.

Hermione, who suddenly felt very warm and uncomfortable, looked down at her lap.

"Are you okay?" Ron asked, giving her a concerned look and taking her hand.

"Yeah..." she answered softly, knowing that it was a lie.

A.N. Well, that's it for this chapter. I know that the earlier part had a somewhat sensitive subject matter and I handled it as tastefully as possible. Hey, stuff happens. I hope you won't run away from the fic screaming but I guess I'll see. Until then, PLEASE REVIEW and Ja ne!!

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8. Train Ride...

Forbidden Love
Chapter 7

"Harry."

"Yeah?"

"Look at me." Harry turned to look at Hermione, still finding it difficult to maintain eye contact "What's going on?"

"Uh... nothing, I'm just excited to be headed back to Hogwarts." he lied, lamely looking around the crowded platform for something, anything to stop this conversation.

Hermione frowned at him, "That's not it and you know it... what's wrong?"

When Harry looked at her again he began feeling warm and uncomfortable and when he suddenly had a mental flash of her once again lying in bed, with her hair fanned out on the pillow Harry quickly shifted his gaze. He had to say something. He knew Hermione, there was no way she would let the subject drop, but he could not form a coherent thought to save his life.

"Well, it's just that..."

"Harry!! Hermione!! Over here!"

They turned just in time to see Ron rushing towards them Harry's shoulders slumped in relief at the much needed distraction. He looked at the sky, silently thanking Merlin for small favors before greeting his mate.

"Ron!" he called out, happily giving him a half-hug.

"Hey, Ron," Hermione added softly.

Harry was surprised to see Ron immediately grab her into a strong hug lifting her off of the ground slightly. He frowned as something that felt suspiciously close to jealousy flowed thorough him, quickly changing his expression when he noticed Hermione watching him from over Ron's shoulder with a curious look.

"So, how you guys been?" Ron asked pulling away from her, his face turning as red as his hair.

Harry's grin widened, watching them both fidget and look so adorably nervous around one another, was pretty funny. Deciding to have fun with how uncomfortable the two still seemed with their new found relationship, he began to make kissy faces and smush his hands together, teasing Hermione, who was facing him.

"We've been fine," she said pointedly ignoring him and causing his amusement to become even more defined.

Ron, who had turned slightly, caught him in the act of messing with Hermione and reaching over playfully hit Harry on the arm, a moment later they both laughed.

"Well, I'll let you guys get caught up I have to go check and make sure that everyone knows where to sit," Hermione said; he and Ron both pulled a face. "Look, its part of my duties as Head Girl, besides as captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team and a Gryffindor Prefect," she gave Ron a pointed look. "You should be glad that I'm doing it so that you don't have to. Now, go find us a compartment in the front with all of the other student staff members, please."

Looking at one another as she walked towards them to pass them, he and Ron gave small nods. Then, clicking their heels together, they each gave her a salute. Hermione ignored them as she passed, though Harry saw a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth.

"So," said Ron, looking around "you ready to hop on?"

"Yeah, sure," Harry replied, pushing his and Hermione's trunks over to the train. Grabbing both, he hefted them up, straining a bit under the added weight of Hermione's stuff.

'Probably a crap load of books,' he thought to himself getting onto the train.

Luckily, they found an empty compartment at the front of the train fairly quickly. Harry dropped the trunks onto the floor in a way quite similar to how Mr. Granger had dropped his things the day he had arrived at their house. Ron walked in behind him, caring one trunk and balancing both Hedwig and Pig's cages on top.

"Wow, mate, that looked heavy," he said grinning.

"Yeah, well that's because it was," Harry responded rubbing his sore arms "you know you should have been the one to carry that extra trunk. Hermione is your girlfriend." His answer was laugher from his red-haired mate; laugher that quickly died at Harry's dark scowl.

"Well, I was going to help but you looked like you had it," Ron said with a shrug. "By the by, when did you get so bloody big?” At that question, Ron looked his friend up and down." And is it me, or are you taller?"

"He's definitely taller," a voice commented from behind Ron. Ginny Weasley came into the compartment, her shoulder-length hair hanging loosely and swaying slightly as she walked. She gave her brother a small nudge as she passed him and walked up to Harry. Reaching him, she put her arms around his neck and pulled him into a hug.

"I missed you," she whispered in his ear, before pulling back and giving him a soft deep kiss.

They pulled apart upon hearing gagging noises from behind Ginny, the red-haired girl turned and glared at her brother as he held up one hand with the other still clutching his stomach.

"Please...please, no more," he sunk to the floor, his tongue hanging halfway out of his mouth. "Cannot. Take. It. Will. Die. Of. Revulsion." he rolled his eyes to the back of his head and faked fainting.

Harry laughed at his friends theatrics as Ginny scowled. "Idiot," she murmured before turning back to Harry. "Well, the train's going to start up soon, so, I guess I should go." she gave him a small smile and another kiss on the lips; at which time Ron's "body" convulsed.

Stepping over her brother's prone figure, she turned and gave Harry one last smile, before giving Ron a swift kick in the leg and walking out of the compartment, sliding the door shut behind herself.

"You can get up now," Harry commented, nudging Ron with his foot.

The other boy sat up and glared at him. "Do you mind not snogging my baby sister in front of me?" he asked, standing.

Harry grinned, "Hey! She snogged me, not the other way around." his grin widened at the responding glare "Heck, if anything your baby sister has taught me a thing or two, she does the most amazing thing with her tongu-"

He was cut off as Ron pulled out his wand.

"Don't make me hex you, Harry." he said stiffly.

Harry held up his hands in surrender, barley suppressing a grin.

"Okay, just thought you might like to know."

"I wouldn't."

Harry laughed and began storing the trunks; after grumbling under his breath for a moment, Ron helped. "So, what's up?" Ron asked when they were done.

His eyes shot to his friend. "Er...what do you mean?"

Ron gave him an odd look, "I mean 'what's up?' Has anything exciting happened?"

"Oh..." Harry breathed a sigh of relief before he remembered "Voldemort."

"What?!" Ron exclaimed, looking around nervously.

"I had a dream. In it, I was Voldemort."

"What...when, recently?"

"Yeah, last night. I've been dying to tell someone about it."

Ron looked confused "Why didn't you tell Hermione?"

"Oh...well," his mind flashed to long fingers gripping dark picture frames. Harry felt himself flush, "I...uh, tried but, she was asleep."

"Why didn't you wake her, you know anything that has to do with...him," he shuddered, even though he hadn't said the name, "that she would want to know immediately."

Harry grimaced, "Well, she just looked so... peaceful. I didn't want to disturb her."

Ron looked at him skeptically for a moment longer before shrugging and taking a chocolate frog out of his robes as they both took a seat.

"So, what happened?"

"Well, I was in this old rotting wood house," Harry scratched the back of his head, trying to remember all of the details "The windows were boarded up and you could smell wet wood. Then, as I was looking around Wormtail came in-"

"Prat," Ron mumbled.

Harry grinned and gave him a look.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly "continue."

"Like I was saying, Wormtail came in and he told me that they had found-"

"Hey," Hermione said, entering the small compartment, interrupting Harry's story.

As soon as she came in she took a seat next to him and Harry felt warmth flow through him as their legs brushed up against one another. Looking at her, he saw a blush creep up her neck and following her gaze, he noticed Ron, with a slightly offended look on his face. A second later, Hermione got up and went to sit next to him instead.

"So, what's up?" she asked looking at Ron.

"Oh, Harry was just telling me about his dream about You-Know-Who." Ron said.

"Voldemort, Ron." Harry responded, giving a wide grin when his friend cringed.

"Harry, you had another dream, when?" she turned towards him, a concerned look on her face.

"Last night," he said softly, flushing as he remembered what else happened last night.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked, looking at him curiously.

"He tried," Ron interrupted before he could think up a suitable response. "but when he went to your room you were asleep, right, Harry?"

Her eyes shot to him and Harry looked guiltily at the floor, feeling a blush spread over his neck and face.

"Right," he said quietly turning his gaze to the window. "Are you okay?" Harry heard Ron ask, he turned to look back at his friend, noticing that he was talking to Hermione and not him.

"Yeah..." she said softly, looking at her hands.

Ron stared at her for a moment longer before taking her hand in his own. She looked at him in surprise and he responded with a small smile and a kiss on the cheek.

"That's okay, Hermione, you can't be there all the time," he grinned, "besides, Harry would've just had to tell it twice anyway." He looked back at Harry "So finish up, what happened?... No wait, start from the beginning so that Hermione doesn't miss anything."

Harry rolled his eyes, "I was at the beginning anyway Ron."

The other boy mad a face, "The very beginning Harry, sheesh," he rolled his eyes.

Harry suppressed a sigh and then relayed his entire dream to them, everything from the smell of the place and how it had lingered in his nostrils even after he had awakened. To the names of the people involved and the feeling of pleasure he had gotten from their fear of him.

"I don't like this, Harry," Hermione said, giving him a worried look, before going silent.

Harry could almost see her brain working, he watched her as she nibbled on the corner of her bottom lip for a moment, thinking about something. He looked away from her when he felt someone watching him; looking at Ron he noticed his friend frowning and giving him a curious look. Harry's brows furrowed and he shrugged at Ron, unsure of what he looked upset about, looking confused for a moment the red-haired boy looked between him and Hermione before allowing his gaze to rest on her.

'That was weird,' Harry thought to himself 'I wonder what Ron's problem was I was only looking at Hermione while she tried to come up with a plan. It's never bothered him before,' he looked out the window. 'What made this time different from the rest?'

Harry thought on it for a moment before his eyes widened in surprise. Had he...had he been staring at her lips? That would explain why Ron would be peeved.

"You need to make sure to talk to Dumbledore right after the feast, Harry," Hermione said, breaking into his thoughts. "It's very important that he knows what's going on, this means that they may have to double your Occlumency lessons this year."

Harry groaned at the thought, "As long as they're not with Snape again."

She rolled her eyes, "It doesn't matter who they're with as long as you need them, you'll take them."

*****************************************

Hermione watched, suppressing an amused smile as he gave a dramatic sigh and let his head fall hitting the back of the seat.

"Whatever you say, mum," he muttered sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

She got up and went and sat next to him, placing her hand softly on his, she caught his eyes when he looked at her.

"Harry, this is important, if you can see him again, then it means that he's probably regaining his strength. Besides, whoever they're looking for, The Order needs to know. That way, they can help out the Aurors in keeping a watch over whomever this guy is." Harry looked down at her hand for a moment, intertwining their fingers and lightly stroking the back of her hand.

"I know," he said softly "it's just that the summer was so quiet I was hopping for a near death-free school year for once." He chuckled and then sighed; looking out the window, "I guess that was too much to ask for, huh?" He looked back at her with a small smile.

She reached out and pushed his hair out of his face smiling back.

"Not at all, I understand, and hopefully talking to Dumbledore will help him ensure that it happens." she placed her free hand on top of their intertwined ones.

"Thanks, Hermione," Harry said softly.

"No problem," she replied, her voice just as soft as his as they stared at one another.

"Gee, did you two want me to leave so that you can be alone?"

She quickly pulled away from Harry's grasp and flung herself to the opposite side of the seat, looking at her boyfriend. Ron's face was red and he looked as though he were fighting to control his temper.

"No, of course not, don't be silly Ronald." she said in (almost) a normal tone.

"Yeah, it's nothing like that and you know it," she heard Harry say from beside her.

She nodded her head in agreement, ignoring the small voice in the back of her head that called her a liar.

"Whatever," Ron mumbled, looking at the door.

A second later, it opened and Zach stuck his head in.

"Hey, Hermione, Ron it's time for us to do our patrol," he said with a grin oblivious to the tension in the small room.

Ron got up quickly and without another word, walked out of the room not even bothering to give backwards glance to see if his girlfriend was following. Hermione turned to Harry and sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Here we go again," she muttered, following him out. "Ron!" she called out, exiting the compartment, "Ron! Ronald!" she said more forcefully when he still didn't stop.

At the use of his whole name, the red head halted and turned, giving her an annoyed look.

"What?" He asked shortly.

She frowned at him "Would you stop being such a git?" she demanded, her eyes flashing.

"Tell you what, I'll stop being a git if you hand in your membership card to the Harry Potter fan club." he retorted angrily.

"I am not one of those airhead girls in that club and you know it," she said between gritted teeth. "If you're going to act like this every time I talk to Harry or any other guy then perhaps this isn't going to work."

He looked at her in shock, the anger dissipating from his face.

"Hermione, I-" he said softly, then sighed "okay, I get your point and I'm sorry. It's just... I care about you... and, well, I have for so long I...I just worry about loosing you. I'm sorry I was being a git. Forgive me?"

Hermione knew that she was going to forgive him but instead of answering straight away she looked at him for a moment like she was thinking about it. Ron fidgeted nervously with his cuffs and gave her an anxious look. Finally feeling as though he had squirmed enough, she gave a small smile.

"Okay," she said; he grinned, "but don't let it happen again."

He gave a smile and an enthusiastic nod before sweeping her into his arms and into another tight hug.

"Oh, spare me," a voice drawled from behind them. Hermione felt Ron stiffen and she pulled away. Turning, she glared at the owner of the voice.

"What do you want?" Ron asked badly.

"I want a world where you can walk down the corridor and not be assaulted by the disgusting sight of poor pathetic wizards and their Mudblood girlfriends." Draco sneered.

Hermione glared at him "Watch it, Malfoy."

"Or what, Granger?"

"Or you'll be demoted," a strong voice said from behind Malfoy.

The three of them looked to see Harry standing there with his wand raised.

"Or did you forget that Head Girl trumps Prefect," he asked with a smirk his gaze mocking.

Draco glared at him.

"So, I suggest you run along. I don't' think that your daddy can save your rank from prison."

"This isn't over, Potter," the blond responded fairly spitting out the name.

"I wouldn't expect it to be, Malfoy," Harry replied in the same tone, his expression still mocking.

Giving them all one last glower, Draco turned and stormed down the corridor with a dramatic flip of his robes.

"Someone's trying to give Snape some competition," Ron mumbled, watching the blonde's robes flutter.

Harry and Hermione looked at him for a moment before the three of them burst into laughter. After Hermione and Ron completed their rounds, the rest of the trip to school proceeded without incident, Ron had apologized to Harry when they returned for being a git, to which Harry responded "that's okay, I'm used to it." That cheeky remark got him a hard punch in the arm, and they relaxed into a steady and comfortable conversation.

A.N. That's it for Ch7. I know that the first part was slightly redundant but I wanted to cover some of those things from Harry's POV, just bare with me. Also I decided to make a student staff member section of the train, just for the initial trip to Hogwarts so that all the Prefects and student in leadership positions would be together and easier to find -oh, and also because it helped for the plot to not have Ginny in the compartment (something I'm sure that none of you minded). *wink* Next we make it to Hogwarts… Please stay tuned and Please Review!!

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9. Carriage Rides, Sorting Hats and Mice... oh my!

Forbidden Love
Chapter 8

Once they reached the platform by Hogwarts, all of the students quickly and loudly hurried out of the compartments. There was a barrage of laughing, talking, and playful screaming as the second through seventh years made their way over to the carriages. Harry gave an amused glance to the first years, whose mouths were hanging wide open, their heads tilted back and their faces covered with a looks of complete awe as they gazed up at the humongous grounds keeper.

"Hey, Hagrid!" Harry called out, giving his friend a cheery wave.

"Hiya, 'Arry!" the big, burly man called back "jus' gotta git these first years cross tha' lake in time for th' ceremony. Are you guys gonna stop by tomorrow?"

"Yeah, definitely," Harry responded, ignoring the fact that now he was being looked at with the same awestruck expression that Hagrid had received earlier. "We have a free day before classes, so we'll probably be down shortly after breakfast."

He then gave a quick glance to Ron and Hermione who both nodded in agreement.

"Okay, well I'll see yer, then!" Hagrid called back, then with one last happy wave to the trio, he turned and began the trek towards the lake.

Ron and Harry laughed as the little first years scurried behind Hagrid, stumbling a bit and having difficulty keeping up with his large steps and quick pace.

"You know, you two probably looked similar your first year," Hermione said, frowning at them.

"Yeah, and someone probably laughed at us, too," Ron responded with a cheeky grin.

Hermione glared at him, her lips pursed in a deep frown.

"Hey, guys! There you are!"

The trio turned to see Ginny, Luna, and Neville approaching. Ginny gave a small wave, a broad smile on her face as she neared.

"Hey, Harry," she commented, giving him a shy smile.

"Hey," he replied softly.

Ginny flushed and looked down, giving a few quick glances at his hand and then hers, she looked back into his eyes. Harry gave her an amused look.

"Did you want me to hold your hand?" He asked, teasing. He saw the beginnings of a frown and she looked as though she were attempting not to roll her eyes.

"Only if you want to, Harry. I wouldn't try to make you, after all I'm not pushy or anything," at this statement Ron snorted. "Shut up," Ginny mumbled giving her brother a glare.

"Come on, Gin. What are you playing at?... You just walked up and snogged him a over and hour ago, now you're acting like you're too shy to hold his hand," he said, voicing Harry's thoughts and rolling his eyes. "Oh, and if you're not pushy... then I'm a natural blond."

Harry, who had begun to laugh, quickly covered it up with coughing when Ginny turned to glare at him. Sneaking a glance at Hermione, he saw that she appeared to be ignoring them, choosing to look around the platform instead. However, upon closer inspection he could see that she seemed to be trying to suppress a smile, and his suspicions were confirmed when he caught her eyes and they danced with amusement.

"I'm not trying to act shy you git," Ginny said between gritted teeth "I'm just trying to be more considerate of Harry's feelings."

Ron made a face "Since when do you care about people's feelings?"

"Look you tosser, I have alw-"

"You guys, as interesting as this is, it's time to go. There's only one carriage left and I believe it's for us. It's my first day back, and as Head Girl and I will not be late because you two can't put your childish arguing behind you." Hermione interrupted with a glare before turning and walking brusquely to the awaiting carriage.

Harry grinned and gave Ginny and Ron a shrug before following his brown-haired mate. He reached the carriage right behind her and put a hand on her back as she lifted herself in, to steady her. Hermione turned and gave him a startled look, her eyes flashing with something momentarily before she turned and preceded the rest of the way into the carriage. Climbing in after her, he hesitated for a moment before fighting his instincts and sitting across from her instead of beside her.

A moment later they were joined by Ginny, who took a seat next to him, Ron, who took one next to Hermione and Luna and Neville, who took seats opposite one another. The Weasley siblings continued to bicker for the ride up to the castle. Every once in a while, Harry would catch Hermione's eyes and they would share an amused smile. Feeling content he looked around the small space happy to be around his friends again and finally going home.

While she was arguing with her brother, Ginny finally ended up taking his hand and she slowly caressed the back of it with her thumb while engaging Ron in oral fisticuffs. Harry glanced at his girlfriend before looking down at their intertwined fingers and frowning; for some reason, it just didn't feel as right as it used to. Brushing it off as fatigue, he turned and looking over at the passing scenery. As the minutes passed, he relaxed and slouched a bit in his seat. A moment later, when the carriage hit a bump, Harry was jolted slightly and his leg brushed against Hermione's, his eyes immediately went to hers as he felt a tingle flow through him from the contact. She seemed to have felt it too, because she was giving him a strange look, her head tilted slightly to the right and a few strands of hair falling into her face. Biting her lip she moved her leg and once again brushed him. Harry was surprised to once again feel the connection. Hermione continued to look at him, curiosity evident in her gaze; getting a bit uncomfortable being stared at like a new transfiguration spell he adjusted his position some, unwittingly touching her again. They continued to stare at one another unnoticed by their companions, two of whom were still fighting, one who was watching them fight and the last who was flipping through a magazine.

Hermione slowly reached out her hand and without breaking eye contact with him, brushed her fingertips over Harry's knee. This time he bit his lip as something dangerously close to desire flowed through him, giving Hermione a smoldering look he silently dared her to do it again. She continued to stare into is eyes unmoving, but after a moment she once again tilted her head and her small hand inched forward once more. Harry watched its progress as it traveled from her lap past her thigh, she leant forward a bit as her hand hovered over his knee. Making eye contact with him she quirked a brow and slowly began to lower her hand, he felt the heat from her palm... she was just about to touch him again, Harry felt his body tense. Then... they stopped. He looked to his left and realized that they had finally reached the school.

"Hey, Hermione, you ready to go?" Ron asked, turning to look at her for the first time since they had gotten in.

Hermione had already snatched her hand back when she felt the carriage stop; she gave Harry an almost imperceptible look before smiling at Ron and nodding yes.

When everyone clamored out of the vehicle, they quickly joined the large crowd being herded into the Great Hall. Harry took a seat at the Gryffindor tables across from Ginny, Hermione sat him beside and Ron sat beside her. They began to talk amongst themselves as they waited for the first years to make it up from the lake.

"So, what did everyone do this summer?" Neville asked from his seat next to Ginny "Gran and I went to Euro Disney. It's a Muggle theme park. They had all of these great rides and games and these weird Muggles dressed up as animals walking around everywhere trying to take pictures with you. Gran had heard from a friend that it was supposed to be this great place to go, and while it was fun it was also a bit weird, I mean, for some reason that had this strange fascination with mice. Even the ice cream and pancakes were shaped like a mouse head."

"Really?" Ron and Ginny asked in unison making disgusted faces, while Harry and Hermione shared a look and rolled their eyes.

"Really," Neville scratched the side of his head "it was the weirdest thing, the kids were even clamoring to take pictures with it."

"With what?" Ginny asked, reaching out a hand to smooth Neville's disheveled hair.

"W-w-w...well," he stuttered a bit, suddenly flustered "well, they were trying to take pictures with the mouse."

"They were clamoring, to take pictures with a mouse?" Ron asked with a disbelieving look.

"It's not a mouse Ronald it's a man dressed as a mouse, and to be more specific it's a man dressed as Mickey Mouse," Hermione rolled her eyes at their blank looks. "He's a beloved Muggle cartoon character. He's been around since the nineteen-thirties, and the whole park Disney Land is mainly based off of him along with several other characters."

At their continued blank stares, she gave a sigh and turned to Harry with a look that said `I give up', he chuckled. Just then, the doors flew open to the hall and everyone redirected their attention to the large group of first years who were currently, timidly, making their way to the front. Harry watched as Professor McGonagall retrieved the stool and the old floppy brimmed hat from by the teachers table, placing it on the stool at the front of the hall as it began to sing. They sat entranced for the next ten minutes as the hat relayed the tale of the founders of Hogwarts in a new and exciting way. Everyone clapped as it hit the last note, and quieted down when McGonagall held up a hand for silence. Reaching into her robe, she pulled out a rolled parchment, scanning it quickly with her eyes she called out her first name.

"Henrietta Ashford."

A small, scared-looking girl inched her way through the crowed of first years and sat nervously upon the stool. The hat had barely touched her head when it shouted out.

"Hufflepuff!!"

The Hufflepuff table erupted in cheers, and the sorting began. After about the fourth person was sorted Harry found that he was growing more than a little bored... and hungry.

"So, let me get this straight, Muggles have their kids worshiping a mouse," he heard Ron whisper loudly.

He turned just in time to see Hermione roll her eyes "No, Ronald they do not worship the mouse, the mouse is just a symbol for the company and the cartoons... you know, for family."

Ron made a face, "And they get all of that from a mouse..."

"Just watch the sorting, Ron," Hermione hissed, glaring at him.

Harry was surprised when she quickly turned; one minute he had been looking at her profile and the next her startled brown eyes connected with his. Her mouth formed a small 'o' as she looked at him and Harry felt his eyes dip down to her lips. Looking back into her eyes, he noticed that she was no longer looking into his, but, instead, seemed to looking at his lips; he licked them and her eyes shot back to his. She had opened her mouth to speak when the table erupted in applause. Harry jumped a bit and turned quickly to see a small dark haired boy make his way to the Gryffindor table. He joined in the clapping and casting a quick glance at Hermione, he noticed that she had also turned her attention to the newcomer.

Harry's attention remained on the front of the hall for the remainder of the sorting, by the time they were done there were eight new Hufflepuffs, nine new Ravenclaws, eight new Gryffindors, and six new Slytherins. The hall immediately quieted down as Dumbledore stood from his seat, his long withered hands held up to silence the hall.

"Welcome to Hogwarts; for some it is yet another year in our hallowed halls, for others it is your first time," he said in a soft, but powerful voice "as many of you are aware a lot happened at the end of last year. There was a bit of an..." his eyes scanned the tables, resting on Harry for a moment before he continued "disturbance, however that was duly taken care of and it will please you as well as your parents to know that the proper provisions have been taken to heighten the defensive spells in, and around Hogwarts. To allow you to get used to the new restrictions, I have already alerted the teachers and your house staff that I have decided to give you all one extra day to adjust and learn your way around, so there will be no class tomorrow," applause rippled through the hall and the headmaster smiled for a moment, before it faded into a more serious expression. " I realize that some of you may believe that just because all is quiet, that there is no longer a threat... I would advise you to not embark upon such a dangerous path of thought..." Harry was pulled away from Dumbledore's speech as warm breath tickled his ear.

"Don't forget to go to him after the feast Harry, he needs to know about your dream," Hermione whispered.

He turned his head, noticing her surprised expression when he abruptly made eye contact with her. "I know Hermione, give me a chance to eat first, will ya?"

She rolled her eyes "I am. I was just reminding you."

"As if I could forget..."

"I'm not saying that you would," she gave a small sigh "look, I'm just trying to help, this is very important Harry."

"I know that it's important- you think that I would forget that it's important?..."

"I'm not saying that I... I'm just..." she sighed again "sorry, I wasn't trying to make you go all defensive on me."

"I'm not being defensive, you're being presumptuous."

"I- what- how...excuse me, Mr. Potter. I wasn't aware that you had everything under control and were without need of my aid." she replied in a huffy tone.

Harry rolled his eyes, "Now you're being dramatic."

"I'm not being dramatic, you're being rude, pig-headed and... and stop rolling your eyes at me."

He rolled his eyes again, "Ow, don't hit me, if you don't like me rolling my eyes at you then don't look at me."

"Well, I can't help but look at you, can I? You're sitting right in front of me."

"For now... you know, if you like looking at me so much you could always take a picture, then you could stare at me whenever you wanted." he smirked, scanning the hall. After a moment with no response he looked at her again, Hermione's face was flushed and her gaze was no longer on his face but she was once again staring at Dumbledore.

"Hermione wh-" he abruptly closed his mouth and looked back at the headmaster, his face flushing also as his mind processed just what was bothering his friend. 'Crap... why did I have to say the word picture?'

Harry did his best to push the thoughts of pictures, and Hermione holding pictures out of his mind, instead refocusing on what Dumbledore was saying at the front of the hall.

"... so remember, if you wish not to run the risk of a debilitating injury or an extremely painful and disfiguring death, I do suggest that you stay away from that area." he looked at Harry, his eyes were twinkling and Harry knew that the Headmaster was aware that he had just missed everything that he had said.

"Now, on to more pleasant things, first I would like everyone to give a hand to our new Head Boy and Head girl. Our Head Boy this year is Zacharias Smith from Hufflepuff," almost everyone clapped, but the Hufflepuff table erupted in cheers as Zach stood up. Slowly giving a nervous smile, he waved weakly to everyone before sitting back down amongst his friends.

"Next, I will introduce the Head Girl, although to be honest I believe that there needs to be no introduction for this young lady," he gave Hermione a kind smile "Ms. Hermione Granger from Gryffindor!" Harry gave a huge grin as he noticed that Dumbledore seemed to put a bit more emphasis in Hermione's introduction then Zach's.

Once again, everyone with the exception of the Slytherin table clapped, though Gryffindor burst into loud and boisterous cheers. Hermione stood up, looking slightly less flushed than Zach had a moment earlier, she gave a small uncomfortable looking smile and grimaced when Ron and Ginny let out ear piercing whistles. Harry laughed heartily as she reached over and smacked her boyfriend on the arm, giving him a glare as she resumed her seat.

"I would also like to let everyone know that Quidditch tryouts will be held in two weeks in the Quidditch pitch. Tryout schedules for each house will be given to the team captains and posted on the bulletin boards in the common rooms. If you are unaware of who they are, though I highly doubt that is the case for anyone past their first year," everyone laughed "our Quidditch captains are; for Hufflepuff, Alexander Summerby; for Ravenclaw, Michael Davis; for Slytherin, Eliza Razor and, for Gryffindor, Harry Potter. Could our captains please stand so that me may have a good look at you?"

As the room once again erupted into boisterous applause, Harry reluctantly stood from the table along with the other captains. Blushing a bit when most of the eyes in the room fixated on him. Pulling at his tie, he decided looking at the ceiling was the best course of action.

"You may be seated," Dumbledore said after a really long and uncomfortable minute, and Harry could swear that he heard a tinge of amusement in the Headmasters' voice. "Now on to another important matter, the D.A. will be organizing again this year; enrollment into this organization will be handled by Head Girl Hermione Granger and Gryffindor Quidditch Captain Harry Potter; who will also be your instructor. Hermione, Harry, could you please stand again?" Harry and Hermione shared a look and then reluctantly stood from their seats, the Gryffindor table once again burst into applause followed by Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw.

"For those of you who are interested in joining the D.A., you will have to be at least in your third year," a chorus of groans rippled through the hall from the younger students "you will also have to receive approval from Mr. Potter and Ms. Granger before you will be admitted into the organization. Once you are approved the location of meetings and times will be disclosed... for those of you who do not wish to join, or are unable to meet the requirements. Do not fret, there are plenty of activities available to you at the school. Why, as we speak I believe that our esteemed Mr. Filch is currently in the process of organizing a group of students to assist with portrait clean up -a very essential and honored duty." Dumbledore said with a smile, his eyes twinkling in the candle light as the students groaned even louder.

"And, of course last, but, not least, I would like to present to all of you, your new Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor, Professor Prophyria Cypher," A tall, raven-haired beauty stood gracefully from the table. Her long black hair trailed down her back and curved at her waist, her full red lips stood out against her slightly golden skin. While strange red eyes peaked from beneath long dark lashes and scanned the crowded hall. She did not speak, nor did she smile, instead she gave a slight dip of the head in acknowledgment of the introduction before resuming her seat.

"Now that that is taken care of," Dumbledore said with a smile "let's eat."

With a clap of his hands, the tables were covered with delicious food as far as the eye could see, faces lighting with delight the students immediately tucked in.

"So, let me get this straight...” Ron asked halfway through the meal his mouth full of potatoes. “-to Muggles, a mouse means family?"

Harry snorted into his casserole at the arrested look that appeared on Hermione's face. As she once again launched into a lecture about, not only Mickey Mouse, but also the importance of not speaking with your mouth full, Harry felt contentment flow through him... he was home.

A.N. Well, that's it for chapter 8, I realize that I didn't do Hermione's POV, but I have decided to go more with a flow instead of a pattern. Please stay tuned for the next chapter... after all, Harry and Hermione still have to have a bit of a chat... Oh and PLEASE REVIEW! *pouts* It really is my only form of payment…

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10. Discussions

Forbidden Love
Chapter 9

Hermione sat in the Gryffindor common room in front of a blazing fire, awaiting Harry's return. He had gone to talk to Dumbledore about his dream shortly after dinner, which had been, she looked at her watch, almost two hours ago. Standing up off of the couch, she began to pace like she had been doing sporadically throughout the night, casting a glance at the couch she noticed Ginny snoring lightly. Ron had gone to bed almost thirty minutes ago and even though she had appeared to be dead on her feet, the smallest Weasley had stoutly refused to follow his lead. Heaving a small sigh, Hermione approached the younger girl, giving her arm a light shake.

"Ginny," she said softly.

Dark red lashes fluttered before light brown eyes fixed unfocusedly on her face. After a moment, Ginny focused fully and sat up on the couch. Looking around, she rubbed her eyes and blinked a few times.

"Is he here yet?" she asked sleepily.

"No, not yet," Hermione said with a sigh, sitting on the edge of the couch in front of the other girl. "Perhaps you should go and get some sleep."

"No, I'm going to wait for him... I'm his girlfriend; I should be here if he needs to talk."

Hermione suppressed the strange feeling of hurt at the red-haired girls' declaration of her relationship with Harry. Giving Ginny a small smile and a pat on back, she shook her head.

"You're exhausted. I'm sure that Harry would understand if you went to bed," At the younger girls stubborn look, she continued, "besides, you know how he is. If he knows that he kept you up, he won't feel better. He'll feel guilty."

Ginny sighed, knowing in her heart that Hermione was right. "Well, what about you?"

"I'm about to go to bed myself, that's why I woke you up," she said quickly, ignoring the little voice in the back of her head that was, once again, calling her a liar. "I need to pick up a bit and finish one last chapter in 'An Anthology of Eighteenth Century Charms' to prepare for class, then I'm turning in myself."

When Ginny gave her a somewhat skeptical look, Hermione shrugged and got up from the couch. Then, picking the heavy volume up off of the table, she took a seat in one of the plush chairs.

"Fine. Stay here if you want, even though we have a whole free day tomorrow..." she looked at her watch, "I mean, later today, in which Harry can tell us what happened."

Ginny gave a longing glance to the staircase leading to the girls' dorm before giving a small sigh.

"If he comes before you leave, will you tell him I waited up for him?" she asked slowly standing from the couch and stretching.

"Sure," Hermione said, opening her book and flipping to chapter five.

Giving one last look at the portrait door, Ginny grabbed the light cover that she had been using and made her way up the stairs of the girls' dorm. Hermione continued to stare at the text, not reading a word, until she was sure that the other girl was gone. Then, closing her book with a sigh, she allowed her head to fall against the back of the plush chair.

'Where in the world is he?' she thought, as her eyes closed, of their own accord, moments later.

"Mmm," she moaned, biting her lip.

"Hey, sleeping beauty," a deep voice whispered as a gentle hand caressed her face and warm breath tickled her neck and ear, sending shudders through her body.

Hermione's eyes slowly fluttered open and Harry's grinning face came in to focus... a face, she immediately noticed, that was mere inches from her own. It seemed that she wasn't the only one to notice their location as Harry expelled a quick breath; his eyes clouding... his breath caressed her lips, smelling faintly like lemon drops. As she licked her lips, Harry flew back from her, practically throwing himself onto the table in front of her, knocking down several books in the process.

"Sorry," he mumbled, bending to retrieve the texts.

"So, how did it go?" She asked, sitting up all the way in the chair.

Closing her eyes for a moment, she gave a long stretch, her arms rising over her head and her shirt lifting slightly to expose her midriff. Rolling her neck to relive the stiffness, Hermione opened her eyes, noticing Harry's were transfixed on her stomach, his gaze slowly lifted to hers but it took the scenic route. Hermione felt herself flush as his darkened emerald eyes, scanned her body.

"Harry?"

He visibly jumped; scratching the back of his head, he gave her a sheepish smile.

"Sorry... what was that?"

She gave a small smile in response, her heart beating madly in her chest. She could not believe that he was just checking her out... wow... Harry... checking her out! Shaking her head, she repeated her question.

"How did it go?"

"Where?"

"What do you mean 'where'?" She gave an incredulous look, "With Dumbledore, how did it go?"

Harry blushed, running his hand through his hair. "Right... sorry..." she gave him a smile. "Well, I told him about the dream. He had me go though the details and the names. He said that there was a Surpsus Malderdom who worked for the Ministry that had failed to report in today. He then told me that he would update Moody on my vision so that the Order could check into it. We talked a bit about the Horcruxes and what their locations may be," he rubbed his brow, "let's see... you were right, he wants to up my Occlumency lessons this year, but, luckily they will continue to be with him instead of Snape, though he did say that if he had to leave, I would have to work with that other guy."

Hermione gave an amused smile, "You mean Professor Snape?"

"Yeah, him," Harry said, rolling his eyes. "After that, for some reason, he then completely switched track and, while offering me lemon drops, asked how my summer was."

"Really? That's it?"

"Yeah, that's it."

"And it took over two hours to talk about that?" she asked with an incredulous look.

"Well... I may have run off at the mouth a bit when I started talking about my time at your place... It's just... I got to do so many new and interesting things and Dumbledore seemed so interested, he kept asking questions and for more details so..." Harry trailed off, blushing.

Hermione placed a hand on his knee and his bright green eyes swung to her dark brown ones.

"I understand, Harry," she said with a small smile, he didn't respond but instead gave her a grateful smile in return.

"I can't believe that you waited up for me," he said with a teasing grin.

"I wanted to know how things went with Dumbledore... and... well, there was something... we..." she cleared her throat "well, there's something we need to discuss."

Harry's grin slowly fell from his face, being replaced by the same guilty expression he had worn earlier that day on the train. Hermione felt her cheeks grow warm as he once again avoided eye contact with her. Taking a deep breath, she moved to sit on the edge of the chair, purposefully invading his personal space. When she adjusted to her new position, Harry's eyes swung to hers, they wavered for a moment, but in the end held steady.

"I'm sorry," he said softy "I... didn't mean to..."

"Didn't mean to what, wha..." she nervously licked her lips "what did you see, Harry?"

He hesitated, once again breaking eye contact. "Well... I saw..." he tugged at his tie. "There… well... I saw you... in bed... uh..." he flushed a deep red, "holding a picture frame..." he trailed off, grimacing and looking at the fire.

Hermione took a deep breath. Biting her lip, she looked down, then back at Harry.

"Did- did you see who..." she found herself unable to finish the question, so she trailed off.

They remained in an awkward silence for several tense seconds before Harry once again spoke.

"Yeah..." he looked at her again, just as her head popped up, "don't worry I won't tell him, though."

Hermione's brows furrowed in confusion... what did he mean, he wouldn't tell him? Noticing her look, Harry hastily continued.

"Look -that first night I was there I saw the picture on your nightstand... I promise I won't say anything. Please, just don't be mad at me, Hermione."

'On my nightstand…he thinks it was Ron,' she thought to herself, snapping out of her stupor when she heard his last statement.

"Why would I be mad at you, Harry..." she tilted her head, a confused expression on her face "if anything, it was my fault. I should have closed the door if I was... well, not that I knew that I was... not that I do that all the time... or ever really, I just..." she flushed and sighed; he laughed.

When Hermione looked at him and glared. Harry pressed his lips together in an attempt to wipe the smile off of his face. This method only provided him with an expression that was somewhat serious, and his eyes still danced with a fair amount of amusement, Hermione rolled her eyes.

"So... are we okay?" He asked hesitantly after a moment, raising a single brow in question.

"We are... on one condition" he went from looking relived to worried again "you cannot tell anyone what you saw... it's going to be hard enough having you know about... my...er... moment of hormonal instability."

Harry once again suppressed a smile; Hermione once again glared at him.

"This isn't easy for me, Harry. Do you know how mortifying it is to have to talk to you about this? I mean, really." she sighed and ran and agitated hand though her hair, before setting it back into her lap to fidget with her other one.

She froze as Harry's warm hands encircled her own.

"I would never tell anyone, Hermione. You should know that I would never do that to you." he gave her a soft smile, all signs of teasing gone from his face.

"I know, it's just that..." she trailed off, once again looking down.

"That what? That you're human," he tugged at her hands and she looked up at him. "Hermione, everyone does it, and there are worse things to be, than normal."

She nodded, looking down at their hands. She wasn't sure how long that sat there holding hands with one another, but after an undetermined amount of time, Harry spoke.

"Well... it's pretty late, we should head to bed," he said, standing and pulling her up with him.

Hermione flushed as their bodies brushed against one another. Looking up, she noticed that Harry was looking down at her. Unwittingly, she rose to her tippy toes and placed a kiss on the corner of his mouth like he had done to her at the skating rink.

"Thank you, Harry." she said softly, suddenly feeling very shy... and warm.

"No problem," he responded after a moment, sounding slightly winded.

She looked up at him, her eyes lingering on his lips for a moment before stepping back. Bumping into the chair, she was surprised when Harry's hands came out to steady her. Avoiding eye contact, she mumbled 'thanks' and slid from between him and the chair. Making her way to the small staircase in-between the girls and boys dorms that lead to her private room, Hermione gave Harry a look over her shoulder. He was standing in the spot she had left him in, silently watching her leave. She shivered a bit at the emotion that she saw in his eyes, but before she could really examine it he dipped his head and ran a hand through his hair. When he looked up again, his teasing grin was back in place and he began to make his way to the boys' dorm.

"Goodnight, Hermione," he said softly.

"Goodnight, Harry-" she paused, "Harry?"

He turned and looked at her, his foot frozen on the first step leading to the boys' dorm.

"Yeah?"

"That thing you said earlier about my... well -about what I -about how everyone does it, is that true?"

He gave a look of mock horror, "What is this? Hermione Granger asking me a question," he put his hand to his chest and fluttered his eye lashes, "why, I do believe I'm about to faint! I didn't realize that there was something that you didn't know."

She glared at him. "For your information, the types of books I read don't really cover those sorts of things."

He grinned. "Yes, Hermione, it was true."

"So, does that mean you do it?"

His grin faded to be replaced by a deep flush, once again fidgeting with his tie he looked around the room.

"Gettin' pretty late, huh?” he paused nervously, “I think I'm going to head up to bed." With that he turned and bounded up the stairs, her laugher echoed behind him.

It wasn't until later when she was laying in bed, that she realized that she forgot to tell Harry that Ginny had waited up for him too... and it wasn't until she was almost asleep that she admitted to herself that she didn't care.

********************

About an hour, later Harry was just about to drift into dreamland when he felt a slight shift in weight on his bed. Opening his eyes, he was startled to see her sitting on the edge of his bed by his knees, a small frown on her face and her hair falling around her shoulders.

"Hermione?" he asked in a sleepy tone, "wha-"

He was cut off as she placed a finger upon his lips to silence him; she then motioned with her head towards Ron's bed. Removing her finger, after she was sure he had gotten the point, Hermione then climbed the rest of the way onto the bed, getting onto her knees, she proceeded to move around the bed pulling the curtains shut so that they had a type of semi-privacy. A moment later, the curtains were closed, the faint moonlight that peeked in from the window by the head of his bed, their only source of light, was dim, yet, still allowed him to still be able to see her. When she was once again stationary, he gave her a curious look and spoke once more, this time in hushed tones.

"What's going on... is everything okay?" he asked sitting up, his voice laced with worry.

"Yes, everything's fine," she responded quietly, "well, at least I think everything's fine, that's what I came to check with you about."

He gave her a confused look, "What are you talking about?"

"Well, it just that, I was teasing you about..." she flushed, "well, I was teasing you a bit before you left and I wanted to make sure you weren't upset with me."

"Wait," he gave her an incredulous look, "you snuck into the boys' dorm and climbed into my bed in the middle of the night... to make sure I wasn't upset with you?"

Her flush deepened and she fidgeted a bit, before looking at him though her lashes and answering.

"Well... yeah, I mean it can be a pretty sensitive subject and I was a bit worried I had overstepped my bounds."

He expelled a breath and plopped back. Looking at the ceiling, he shook his head in wonder.

"I am not having this conversation..." he mumbled to himself, "this is just a dream and I'm going to wake up at any moment." at that, he closed his eyes.

Opening them again a moment later, he was surprised to find Hermione's face directly in front of his own, a frown marring her features as she gave him an annoyed look.

"It is not a dream; it's a perfectly reasonable conclusion. Besides, after everyone wakes, it's not like we're going to have much time alone for me to ask you. So, I came up tonight, is that so wrong?"

'Yes!' his mind screamed as it registered that she was close enough to him that her breath tickled his lips and her long hair that had fallen forward, was brushing either side of his face. His eyes flicked to her lips, which he found that they had been doing much too often of their own accord. A second later his hands, also of their own accord, reached out, pushing her hair back out of her face. He then rested them on the base of her neck, her soft locks still intertwined within his fingers.

"No," he whispered aloud in response to her question.

Her eyes flew to his, looking startled as if she had just realized how close they were, her small tongue darted out and lightly licked her lips. Finding himself unable to resist, he tilted his head back, bringing his mouth close enough for his lips to lightly brush hers. He felt her softly sigh against his mouth before she lowered her head and applied more pressure to his lips.

'I'm kissing Hermione!' his mind screamed, but it didn't sound as weird or as wrong as he thought it would.

Harry felt her hands lightly caress his chest as his tongue slipped into her mouth, tasting her like he had wanted to from the moment she licked her lips earlier… if not sooner. Delving into her warm mouth, he found that she tasted like chocolate and mint and quickly realized that the flavor was swiftly becoming a new favorite for him.

She pulled away from him, panting, her eyes hazy.

"Harry?" she said in a breathy tone.

"Hum?" he asked in a similar one.

"You know what you said earlier... about how everyone does it?"

Unable to form words, he just nodded.

"Well..." he felt a warm hand sliding down his chest to his stomach, her cool fingers brushed his abs just under his shirt and just above his waistband. "Can I watch you?... I mean, it's only fair..."

A wicked gleam entered her eyes, as her fingers brushed back and forth over his abs making them -and other things, jump in response to the teasing gesture.

"I...I...I..."

She grinned, placing a light kiss on the base of his chin, her hand slowly made its way back up his chest, finally resting on his shoulder.

"It's only fair..." she said again.

"W-well..." he stuttered.

"It's only fair, Harry." she said again, this time appearing to get angry. "It's only fair. It's only fair! It's only fair!!" she then began to shake him violently.

"What the hell are you doing?!" he yelled.

"Trying to wake you up you git!" a male voice responded.

Harry's eyes snapped open to find Ron standing over him, an annoyed expression on his face.

"I was wondering if you were still in there," he said, standing away from the bed. "I know you had a late night, but that's no reason to miss breakfast." Ron finished before giving a loud yawn and a large stretch.

Harry blinked a few times before closing his eyes. "A bloody dream," he mumbled, "I knew it was a bloody dream."

"Yeah, it was a dream," Ron said, overhearing him, "and from the looks of it, a bloody good one at that." he then gave a pointed look, grinning like a loon.

Harry flushed. Sitting up, he readjusted the covers. "Just go to breakfast. I'll be down in a few minutes."

Ron grinned, "Fine, I'm hungry anyway." He turned and made his way towards the door "By the way, you may want to take a shower first," Harry glared at him, "a cold one."

He laughed and slipped out of the room just as the plastic cup Harry had grabbed off his nightstand, hit the wall where his head had been. Groaning, the black-haired boy plopped back down onto his bed, taking a moment to get his body under control before he got out of bed.

---------------------------

Harry walked into the Great Hall about twenty minutes later and, making his way over to the Gryffindor table, he saw that everyone else had already arrived. Noticing him first, Ginny gave a happy wave and motioned him over. Reaching the table, he took his usual seat with his back facing the other tables and next to either Ron or Hermione, who ever happened to be sitting with the free seat to their left. Today, it was Hermione. She turned and gave him a small smile as he took a seat. Fighting the urge to run to sit next to Ginny he gave her a slightly strangled smile back, before leaning over the table to give Ginny a light peck on the lips and taking his seat.

"So, how'd it go last night with Dumbledore?" Ron asked, while reaching for more kippers.

"Hush, Ronald. Not now. This is neither the time nor the place." Hermione hissed to him, before turning back to her plate and buttering her toast.

"Sorry, sheesh," Ron mumbled, before resuming eating.

Harry suppressed a grin as Hermione and Ginny shared a look and simultaneously rolled their eyes.

"So, what time did you get in last night?" Ginny asked, while cutting her pancake.

"I'm not sure, pretty late," he said reaching for some jam for his toast.

"Ah, well, I figured that... did Hermione tell you I waited up for you?"

He looked up at Ginny, taking note of the expectant look on her face, giving Hermione a sidelong glance he noticed a light flush creeping up her neck.

"Uh... yeah, yeah she told me as soon as I got in." He said. She smiled, "I really appreciate your concern Ginny, it means a lot to me." He reached out and took her hand, lightly caressing it for a moment before pulling back.

"No problem; if you need to talk, you know who to come to." She responded with a soft smile, lightly blushing.

Harry smiled back and nodded before once again starting on his breakfast. He paused mid-bite of his eggs when he felt a leg brush his own. Giving a quick glance to his girlfriend and noticing that she was discussing something with Neville, he gave the brunette next to him a discreet look.

When his eyes first fixed upon Hermione, he noticed that she, too, was looking at Neville and Ginny before turning her head slightly towards him. She gave him a small smile and mouthed the words 'thank you' before picking up her orange juice and taking a drink. Using his leg, Harry nudged her back, when she looked at him he grinned and mouth the words 'you're welcome' she smiled in response, but just as she turned her attention back to her food, he nudged her again. Hermione once again looked at him, this time with a confused expression, when he knew he had her attention he spoke again, this time mouthing the words 'you owe me' before giving a grin and a wink, then going back to his food.

"And what exactly do I owe you," he heard in his ear a few minutes later.

Warm breath tickled his neck causing the hairs to stand on end. Turning slightly, Harry saw Hermione giving him an expectant look.

"Well?" She asked raising a brow, "I'm waiting."

Harry opened his mouth but no words came out. Turning his head, he looked towards Ginny only to find her chair vacant.

"She went to talk to Luna at the Ravenclaw table," Hermione said, reading his mind, "I swear Harry; you don't pay attention to half the things she says."

Harry glared at her before looking past her at Ron, following his gaze she spoke again.

"He's talking wizard's chess with Seamus," she said smirking. "So, now that you've checked all the possible escape routes, answer me. What do I owe you?"

"Well -I -you see..." he stuttered, a bit unsure of how to respond, before noticing the teasing glint in her eyes. Catching on that she was just joking, he relaxed a bit and played along. "Well... let's see, I could make you do all my homework for the first six months of school."

She scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"No? Well, how about I make you address me as Harry Potter, my Lord and Master."

She smirked and rolled her eyes.

"Still no? Well, how about I make you my slave for a week."

"Your slave?" she gave him a disbelieving look.

He nodded, "Yep, my slave, you'll be at my beck and call." She opened her mouth to respond but he cut her off, by placing a finger over her lips. "You'll bring me what I want, when I want it, and you'll give me whatever I want... whenever I want it."

He watched as her eyes widened, the brown color in them deepening to a darker hue. Harry slowly pulled his finger down and away from her mouth, brushing her lips as he did so. Her eyes fluttered for a moment before she looked back at him.

"And what type of things would you want?" she asked, her voice coming out in a low husky tone that he wasn't even sure she recognized.

"I, well… I would want-"

"So, are you guys done?" Ron asked from the other side of Hermione.

Harry felt his heart jump in his chest from the interruption. He then gave Ron a quick nod yes before looking guiltily around the crowded hall and wondering if anyone had noticed.

'Noticed what?' his mind asked 'That you were flirting with one of your best friends, and your best mate's girl?'

He frowned. Is that what they had been doing? Standing up on auto pilot, he followed Ron and Hermione out of the Great Hall, while simultaneously replaying the discussion in his head. Wow... that is what they had been doing... they had been flirting... he didn't even know he knew how to flirt, he had been so horrible at it before that he had just stopped trying. But that was definitely what they had been doing.

"Harry?" He looked up to find Ron and Hermione both giving him curious looks, the latter looking more than a bit worried. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah... just..." he trailed off, letting it hang like that and settling for a shrug.

Understanding how he could get at times, both his friends dropped the subject and resumed their walk towards Hagrid's hut, casting him small glances every now and again. As they neared the small home, Harry noticed Hermione pop something into her mouth.

"Whatcha got there?" he asked in an attempt to break the silence that had descended after his response earlier.

"Oh, this?” she held up the small baggie and he nodded. “Just this new candy that I found. They're great, do you want one?" she asked, holding them out for him.

"Uh, sure -what are they?"

"They're a type of Muggle candy called 'Andes'. It's a layer of mint sandwiched between two layers of chocolate, they're delicious," she said with a grin as he took one.

"So, basically they taste like chocolate and mint?" he asked, feeling his heart speed up.

She gave him an amused look "Of course."

He felt like he was going to pass out.

A.N. Well that's it for this chapter; please stick around for the next one. For those of you who don't get the reference at the end. Just check out the dream sequence and you will, I hope you liked it and PLEASE REVIEW! Thanks and Ja ne!

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11. Muggle Memories & Private Jokes

Forbidden Love
Chapter 10

`Wow, today practically flew by,' Hermione thought to herself as she collapsed onto the couch in the Gryffindor Common Room and grabbed her book off the table.

She, Harry, and Ron had visited with Hagrid for a little over an hour, which was an -interesting experience, as always. Then, they meet up with Ginny, Neville, and Luna, who were hanging out by the lake with a variety of their classmates catching up on the summer holidays and what everyone had done. After lunch, the group had gone to the Room of Requirement so that Harry could explain to Ginny, Luna, and Neville about his dream and go over his chat with Dumbledore.

When done with that, the group discussed ideas for the D.A., giving their opinions on lesson plans and possible members, then took a leisurely stroll to the Great Hall where everyone enjoyed a huge dinner. Hermione's studious side, however, came back with vengeance after desert, referring to their day as a day of “goofing off”. She had then insisted that they all return to the common rooms to get a head start on studying. After a lot of grumbling and whining -mainly from Ron- everyone, with the exception of Luna, now sat in various locations around the warm, burgundy-colored common room.

Hermione had insisted that they go over their potions chapters since, for reasons that none of them had the courage to ask about, Professor Snape had been removed from the Defense Against Dark Arts position and placed back in the Potions one that had been vacated by Slughorn. She knew and took annoyingly great pains to remind everyone else that the Professor was probably upset about his removal and would, more likely than not, be particularly difficult this year on the Gryffindor students in general… and Harry in particular.

Hermione looked over at the dark-haired boy while she distractedly flipped through her Potions book to chapter thirteen, where she had left off on the train. He was sitting on the floor in front of one of the burgundy-colored armchairs with Ginny sitting Indian style behind him. Harry was staring at his book with a glazed look in his eyes, eyes that were locked on the complicated text, but remained unmoving with the exception of the occasional blink.

She frowned; she didn't know what was happening between them, but lately things just seemed weird and complicated… simple things they use to be able to do, like tease one another, now held a different vibe for some reason, a certain type of… undertone. She sighed and looked down at her book, attempting to push thoughts of Harry out of her mind and do some much-needed studying.

'The Glumbumble is a magical furry insect. It produces a fluid that causes melancholy. This fluid is used as an antidote for the hysteria that results from eating Alihotsy leaves.'

Hermione sighed; she had read this passage five times in the last five minutes and yet the information just wasn't sticking.

Giving a frustrated groan, she looked up from her book at the roaring fire. As the flames continued to dance merrily, her gaze unconsciously drifted to the couple on the chair. She bit her lip against the annoyance that appeared upon seeing Ginny idly running her long fingers through Harry's dark, soft locks. Harry, meanwhile, was no longer pretending to study; his gaze had drifted from his book to the fire that she had been looking at moments before. The orange and red flames reflected in his glasses and seemed to dance in his bright green eyes. Once again doing her best to pull her gaze away, Hermione looked back down at her book, only to find her eyes back where they had been moments before, moments later. She continued trying to study to no avail; the third time that her gaze drifted to her dark-haired friend, mahogany eyes connected with emerald ones. Harry's expression remained blank as they stared at each other, but his eyes reflected a play of emotions. They continued to gaze upon one another, each wondering what the other was thinking, each wondering if the other was feeling what they were, and each wondering if they were as confused about it as them.

Hermione's eyes swung to Ginny as the girl leant down in her chair, her hair falling lightly over her shoulders and landing upon Harry's as she placed a light kiss on his neck just under his ear lobe. A frown pulled at Hermione's lips, but she quickly schooled her features to a more passive expression when she noticed that Harry was still looking at her. His green eyes had become hooded and had taken on a darker hue as Ginny continued to kiss his neck, her hand trailing down his chest. Try as she might, Hermione could not look away from the couple, or from Harry who had pinned her with his heated gaze. She felt like a prisoner to her emotions, her body temperature rising as though he were the one kissing her neck. A few moments later, his eyes drifted closed as Ginny began to nibble his ear, and Hermione felt a surge of jealousy flow through her at the fact that the other girl could do so easily what she wanted to do so desperately.

"Oi! Come on now!" Ron's voice called out from behind her, causing her to jump.

Her gaze snapped to the red-haired boy only to find him glaring at his sister and best friend.

"Look, I know you two are dating and I can handle that, I really can, but if I catch you two snogging in front of me one more time I promise you, Harry, that I will be forced to perform my brotherly duties and punch your lights out." Ron said, frowning.

"Well, if you would spend less time playing Wizard's Chess and more time snogging your girlfriend, you wouldn't notice what Harry does with his." Ginny retorted with a smirk.

"Yeah, well, if you would spend less time trying to pork my best mate and more-"

"I am not trying to pork anyone! How dare you! You prat! I can't belie-"

"Okay, look!" Hermione interrupted loudly. "Let's quit all this nonsense about snogging and...well, other stuff and get to work." She looked at Ron with an annoyed expression. "You really should be studying; after all, you know Snape's second favorite person to pick on is you."

"Who's his fir..." Ron trailed off, "oh, er... right..." he gave Harry a half smile. "Sorry, there old chap. What's the big deal, anyway? I probably won't even qualify for potions this term." he grumbled.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Then you can continue to study your Defense Against Dark Arts. We have no idea what teaching style the new professor has and it's best to be prepared. Look, why don't we all just sit down and study, no more games, no more snogging, no more arguing, just hitting the books. We all need it."

"You don't need..." Ron started, but trailed off at the death glare he received from his girlfriend.

"We all need it." She said once again, lifting a brow and silently daring him to argue.

Taking the hint, Ron made his way over from the chess table to the couch where Hermione was, picking up his Defense book along the way. Giving her a small smile, he sat on the couch next to her and flipped open the heavy text to where he had left off.

"Chapter one?!" Hermione exclaimed, giving him an incredulous expression. "Really, Ron, you're only on chapter one?"

He flushed while Harry and Ginny sniggered.

"What?" He said, shrugging before throwing a glare to his friend. "And what are you laughing at, what chapter are you on, Harry?"

"I'm on chapter six," the dark-haired boy responded with a cheeky grin.

Ron's glare got more pronounced and he rolled his eyes. "Of course you are, you had Madam Pince standing over you for the last two weeks of sum...mer..." he caught himself, wincing he looked at his brown-haired girlfriend.

"What did you call me?" Hermione asked, glaring at him.

"Er..." Ron flushed a deeper red. "Well... I didn't mean- just to say….” he sighed, “I'm sorry, it- it was an accident...I, you see...it's just that... I have to get used to this whole boyfriend thing, that's all..." he finished lamely, wincing again at her severe expression.

She glowered at him. "You keep going at this rate and you won't have to get used to anything Ronald."

Hearing a noise to her left, Hermione turned and glared at the laughing Ginny who quickly began to cough instead. For his part, Harry was suppressing a smile of his own while staring down at his book and pretending to study, but she knew better, especially since the book in question was upside down.

"Hermione... sweetie, I'm sorry." Ron said, reaching out for her hand. She pulled away from his grasp, glaring at him again.

"Well, that's interesting, you're sorry and I'm tired. I'm going to bed; obviously no one here is interested in seriously studying. Goodnight." At that, she grabbed her books from the table and walked briskly to her room without looking back, suppressing the hurt that flowed through her from Ron's comment.

****************

Harry sat at the table in the Great Hall, staring down at his schedule for the term with a bleak expression.

"So, what do you have?" Ron asked, eagerly leaning over to have a look at the small piece of parchment in his friend's hand. "Oh, wow... that's bad news there..." he mumbled.

"What?" Ginny asked, setting her schedule on the table and leaning across to try to see Harry's.

"Double potions," the dark-haired boy mumbled with a dejected look.

"First thing, too... bad spot of luck there, mate," Ron said, shaking his head and giving a sympathetic pat on the back.

"What's bad luck?" Hermione asked, walking up and taking a seat on the bench between Ron and Harry.

“Nothing,” Harry mumbled, wanting to change the subject in a futile attempt block out the fact that he had Snape all morning. "So, how'd it go?"

Hermione gave him a curious look for avoiding her question, but didn't probe further, instead settling for a shrug.

"It went pretty well. Zach and I were able to get there early and get a proper briefing from the professors, so we were more informed and confident when we talked to the first years." She responded, grabbing a piece of toast.

Hermione and Zach were selected as Head Girl and Head Boy to give a short speech to the first years about the rules of the school grounds, and the most efficient way to find your classes in the winding Hogwarts corridors. As soon as Professor Dumbledore had told Hermione about that aspect of her duties this summer, she had immediately gotten to work, creating small maps for all the first years to find their classes. Though technically Hermione was now old enough to use magic outside of school, Dumbledore had asked that the student's refrain from doing so, especially those from Muggle homes. So creating the miniature maps was no easy feat, but he and Hermione had lots of fun doing it during his second night at her place. Her mom had made them some homemade caramel popcorn and they had put on some Muggle music and made a night of it. It was one of his fonder memories of his visit, after the skating rink, the water park…. and well, the last night, of course.

"So, what did they think of the maps?" Harry asked before taking a bite of sausage.

Her face lit up. "Oh, Harry, it was wonderful! You should have seen their faces; they looked so relieved. I didn't have enough copies of course, but now that I could use magic I just did a simple replication spell and was able to have enough for everyone." She leant forward whispering, "Thanks for letting me use the Marauders Map, it came in very handy," she pulled back, giving a small smile, and he responded with a lopsided smile of his own.

"I wish we would have had maps our first year," Ron said, cutting into his pancakes and Harry's thoughts, "they would have come in bloody handy. That was a great idea, Hermione." He gave her a small smile and a kiss on the cheek.

Harry rolled his eyes and watched as Hermione flushed, her eyes then momentarily connected with his before looking back at Ron.

"Thanks, but it wasn't just me, Harry helped a lot.” She graced Harry with another subtle smile.

“Well, I'm sure it went great, probably the best speech a first year has ever received.” Ron responded.

Harry didn't fail to notice his friends' lack of comment on his assistance with the maps. Smiling to himself at Ron's obviously transparent oversight, he turned back to his breakfast, taking a small sip of his juice.

“You're right, it did seem to go exceptionally well,” Hermione responded, beaming “however, it would have been better had all of the Prefects shown up to the meeting." she gave Ron a pointed look and Harry a distracted pat on the back when he began to choke on his orange juice from laughter.

"What?" Ron asked, giving Harry a quick glare. "I wasn't the only one not there, you know…"

“No, you weren't. However, both of the Hufflepuff Prefects showed up to stand at Zach's side and there I was, with only Natalie MacDonald at mine. I felt decidedly lop-sided with only one person next to me while Zach had two." She responded, frowning.

Harry once again began to laugh, this time at the expression on Ron's face. Not wanting Hermione to get mad at him, he quickly covered it up with coughing.

“Are you okay?” Hermione asked, glancing at him. Upon receiving a nod from him, she turned back to Ron with an expectant look.

"Well, why didn't you ask one of the Ravenclaw Prefects to stand with you?" Ron asked, frowning and glaring at Ginny who had joined Harry in his amusement and was sitting with a huge grin on her face.

Hermione didn't respond. Instead, she looked at him with her lips pursed and a disappointed look on her face.

"Oh, come on...” he looked back at his girlfriend “I mean, you guys were having it during breakfast. I couldn't miss breakfast, could I?"

"Does it look like I missed breakfast, Ronald? The meeting was pretty much all held before breakfast."

"Well, before breakfast, I'm sleeping."

She scowled.

"Aw, come on, Hermione. You wouldn't begrudge me my beauty rest, would you?" Ron asked, batting his lashes and pouting.

A smile pulled at the brunette's lips. "Well... I suppose you do need it."

Harry, Ginny, and Neville sniggered, while Ron smiled.

"See, it's because you allowed me that extra rest that you can have a boyfriend that looks as strapping as I do." He said with a wide grin.

Hermione rolled her eyes and gave a sweet smile. Reaching out, she gave Ron a small pat on the arm.

"Perhaps you should take a nap, then, hmm?"

This time they laughed outright and it only intensified when Ron scowled.

"Now that was a low blow there, Hermione Granger."

She smiled and shrugged before turning to make a plate of food and throwing Harry an amused glance. He winked in response before going back to his kippers; they continued to eat in silence, ignoring Ron's occasional grumbling. A few minutes later as they were just about finished with their meal, the mail arrived.

Hermione looked up, hoping to see her copy of the Daily Prophet; instead, she received something quite a bit bigger as a large brown parcel was dropped into her waiting hands by a dark tan barn owl.

"Cool, what did you get?" Ron asked, leaning over to have a look.

"I don't know yet, I haven't opened it.” Hermione said, rolling her eyes.

“Well, open it,” the redheaded boy responded as though it were the most natural answer in the world.

She glared at him but when she opened her mouth to retort, she was interrupted as another brown parcel hit the table in front of Harry, right next to his plate.

Harry looked up just in time to see Hedwig flying back out of the Great Hall, presumably back to the Owlery.

"Harry, you got something, too?" Ron asked, now clearly puzzled.

And he wasn't the only one, they all knew that Harry never got anything, let alone packages, and if he did receive something it was never this early in the school year, so everyone stared at the parcel with acute interest.

"Oh," Hermione said, looking at the writing on her package, then at Harry's. "They're from my mum and dad... odd, they don't normally send stuff."

More than a bit curious, Harry and Hermione each tore into their packages, with an inquisitive Ron, Ginny, and Neville looking on. Finally getting the paper off, Harry discovered a medium-sized white box; inside he found what looked to be a small book.

"What is it?" Ginny asked from next to him, where she had moved to better see what he had received.

"It's a Muggle photo album," Hermione said, answering her question, as she took an identical one out of her package. "Look, Harry, it has pictures from your belated birthday."

Harry opened the book and smiled. There were a few pictures of him and Hermione in their swimsuits at the water park along with some shots of them at the restaurant and the mall they had gone to after leaving. Happy memories of the past summer flooded his brain and he grinned as he came across the picture of them dressed up in their finest standing outside of the theater before going to see Cats. He rolled his eyes, giving Hermione an amused glance when he noticed the smirk on her face in the photo. She grinned and winked in response, having seen the shot he was looking at. They both then laughed at the memory of how annoyed Harry was after the supposed “play”. He was just about to turn the page when a hand came past his arm and a finger poked his picture. Harry gave an amused look at his girlfriend, answering her question before she could even ask.

"They're Muggle photos, Gin, they don't move," he said, smiling as her frown deepened.

"I know, but why don't they move? I mean, what's the point of having a picture that doesn't move?" She asked, looking at him.

"It's the sentiment," Hermione answered, giving Ginny a small smile. "It's the moment captured, it's the beauty of the shot, it's-"

"Bloody boring, if you ask me," Ron said, flipping quickly through Hermione's album before handing it back to her and returning to his breakfast.

"Well, no one asked you," she responded, giving him a small kick; ignoring his yelp of pain, she sat the book down softly on the table and returned to the box. "Oh, look, there's more."

Upon hearing that, Harry sat his album on the table and returned his attention to his box, inside he found a tin of cookies, a package of those mint chocolate candies that Hermione had had yesterday, a couple of Muggle pens, paper, stamps and envelopes with "just in case" scrawled across the top in Mrs. Granger's neat handwriting. There were also some socks and undershirts in his box (knee highs and spaghetti strap tees in Hermione's) and rounding off his goodies were the magical glue and cloth that he had forgotten in Mr. Granger's fanny pack. Hermione gave an adorable, unladylike snort upon seeing them and then remarked that perhaps it was easy to loose stuff in a fanny pack, causing them both to erupt into laughter and Ron and Ginny share a confused look, having been left out of their private joke.

"It's almost time for class," Ginny mumbled a second later, laying her head on his shoulder as he began putting his things back into the box.

"Oh! Class..." Hermione's eyes widened in shock, "how could I forget!?"

She began hurriedly stuffing everything back into her white box, ignoring the fact that everyone else looked as surprised as she did that she had forgotten about class.

"Well... it's been a long exciting morning, that's all,” she commented, more to herself than anyone else while standing. “We had better head back to the rooms to get our things and put these up."

"What do you have first?" Ron asked, still chewing on a piece of toast as they made their way out of the Great Hall.

"Who, me?" Hermione asked; he and Harry nodded. "Well, that's easy, I have double potions."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief and grinned, maybe his luck wasn't as bad as he thought.

A.N. Well, that's it for this chapter, I know there wasn't as much “fluff” as some may have liked (wink) however don't worry the fluff is coming back. Stay tuned for the next chapter and please review and for those of you who are reviewing Thanks!! Ja ne!

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12. It needs to Stop...

Forbidden Love

Chapter 11

Hermione was sitting in the Room of Requirement reading a book when the door suddenly opened and Harry rushed inside. She gave him a curious look as he quickly closed the door and leaned heavily against it, looking winded. She smiled in amusement as he shut his eyes and let his head fall back, releasing a long sigh.

“Harry?” she inquired softly.

Harry tensed and his bright green eyes snapped open, locking onto hers in surprise for a moment before he visibly relaxed. Taking a deep breath and pushing away from the door, he walked over to the couch where she was seated and plopped down beside her, saying one word that explained it all.

“Snape.”

A wide grin graced her features as she nudged him with her arm, raising a brow and giving an expectant look. Harry turned his head and looked at her, then turned back and resumed staring at the ceiling. Rolling her eyes in frustration at his unwillingness to take the hint and expound, she nudged him again, this time harder.

“So, what about Snape, Harry?” she asked when he still didn't respond.

The dark haired boy gave a dramatic sigh before allowing his head to lull to the side so that he was once again looking at her.

“Do I really need to explain?” he asked with a pained expression.

“I guess not,” Hermione replied, her voice laced with humor.

She then laughed outright when Harry glared at her for her lack of sympathy. She had been correct. Snape was furious at his removal from the post of Defense Against Dark Arts Professor and was currently taking it out on every house that wasn't Slytherin. And though everyone noticed that he had a certain affinity for taking it out on the Gryffindors, Snape only seemed truly happy when he could take it out on Harry.

“What happened?” Hermione asked, closing her book and facing him fully.

Harry expelled a long breath then looked back at the ceiling.

“I was walking along minding my own business - I had just left the Quidditch pitch where we finished our tryouts - which, by the way, were smashing!” he sat up and faced her, once again looking animated. “There was this one guy, a second year who tried out, you should see how bloody brilliant he was on his broom. I tell you Hermione, he would have given Krum a run for his galleons.” Harry gave a huge grin, staring off into space with a dreamy look in his eyes.

“You know, you already have a girlfriend,” she said shaking her head. He gave her confused look. “Well it just seems like you really fancy this guy. I was reminding you, you know, in case you wanted to break things off with Ginny and give the relationship a fair go,” Hermione finished with a cheeky grin.

Giving her a glare, Harry grabbed a pillow and swung it at her. Laughing, she blocked the blow and poked him in the stomach.

“Hey!” he exclaimed, just before a wicked gleam entered his eyes.

Before she could run, Hermione found herself pinned between Harry and the soft cushions of the couch, wiggling helplessly as she was mercilessly tickled by his long fingers.

“S-sto….p-p….Stoooo…p-p!” she squealed, futilely pushing at his hands.

“Say you're sorry,” Harry said with a grin, now chuckling himself.

“I-I didn't… d-d-do an-anything!” she yelled back still laughing; a tear slipped from her eye.

“Say it!”

“No!”

“Say it, or I'll keep going, I can do this all night Hermione,” he said, redoubling his efforts.

“Ahhh! Okay, okay, okay… I'm…sor-sorry!”

“Say 'I'm sorry for calling you gay'.”

“I…I'm sorry for calling ….y-you gay!” she was laughing so hard that her chest was beginning to hurt.

“Now say, 'Harry James Potter is my lord and master and I only wish I were as smart as he is',” he said with a huge grin.

Hermione gave him a glare though her laughter and tears before dutifully repeating the phrase.

“See,” Harry asked, halting his torture as he leaned on one elbow, “that wasn't too bad, was it?”

He gave her a small, playful tap on the nose. She responded with a swat at his hand and a fierce glower.

“Oh, I will get you back, Harry James Potter,” she said in a menacing tone.

“Oh, and I look forward to it, Hermione Jean Granger,” was the cheeky response, followed promptly by a wink.

Hermione flushed a bit at the small flirtation, and then down to her roots as she realized the position they were in. In her efforts to escape Harry's tickling, Hermione had ended up laying on her back against the couch and, in his battle to thwart her efforts to escape, Harry had ended up hovering over her. Though the struggle was now over, she still lay on the couch and he was still over her, although it may have been more accurate to say on top of her. His strong body was doing things to her that she reveled in, yet somehow feared at the same time, and his warm breath tickled her cheek when he breathed. Harry's head was leaning on one hand, but the other was at her waist with his fingers gently stroking her side.

Reaching up, Hermione lightly and nervously placed her hand on his stomach, her fingertips lightly curving against his waist. Harry observed her with a fascinated look in his dark eyes. A few seconds later, he frowned a bit and his gaze dipped to her lips. After a momentary hesitation, his hand left her waist and came up to her mouth. Hermione held her breath as his finger lightly touched her bottom lip, then applied a bit more pressure, gently tugging it free from between the teeth she'd been using to nibble it with.

“You're going to bruise your lip if you keep that up,” Harry said softly, rubbing his finger lightly over her bottom lip, in a motion that was so hypnotic it made it almost impossible for her to breathe. “It already looks a bit red,” he said in a hushed tone, seemingly more to himself than to her.

His green eyes shot upward to her brown ones, as if just realizing that she was there. He hesitated for a minute just staring at her and lightly stroking her lip before speaking again.

“Do you want me to make it better?” he said quietly, his gaze not leaving hers.

“A spell?” Hermione asked in what amounted to no more than a breathy whisper.

He shook his head.

“Then how?” she asked, her voice coming out a bit stronger… but not much. She could feel her heart racing.

“Well…” he hesitated, his eyes dipped back down before going back up and connecting with hers again. “I would k - ”

“Oh!” a voice yelled from behind them.

Harry quickly jumped up, securing a somewhat wobbly landing on his feet steadying himself using the table just behind him. For her part, Hermione shot up, trying in vain to not look as guilty as she felt. Her gaze snapped to the entrance of the Room of Requirement where a surprised and wide eyed Luna stood, holding a stack of Quibbler magazines. The three stayed frozen to their respective spots and stared at one another, all unsure of what to say.

“It's not what it looks like… well, to say, that,” Hermione hesitated, searching desperately for the right words that wouldn't make them look guiltier than they already did. “You see, I - ”

“Hermione called me gay!” Harry exclaimed suddenly, causing the blonde to give him a surprised look and the brunette to give him an annoyed one.

“What he means is that he was telling me about some guy who tried out for Quidditch and then he started to get this dreamy look - ”

“I did not get a dreamy - ”

“As I was saying,” Hermione interrupted, shooting him a glower. “After talking about this guy's broom skills he got this dreamy look on his face,” she ignored the dark-haired boys low grumbling. “So, when I made a small joking reference to him possibly being gay,” Harry snorted, “he decided to get even by tickling me… and what you saw when you came in was the end of that fiasco, where he made me repeat some things about him not being a gay lord master.”

“Hey! I never said that either!” Harry responded, letting out a small yelp when she kicked him in the shin.

“Hmm, okay,” Luna said after a minute, then walked the rest of the way into the room, plopping herself down on one of the big arm chairs, she rummaged through the magazines for a moment before locating the one she wanted. She looked up giving them a small, carefree smile then leant back in the cushy chair and began to read the magazine.

Harry and Hermione looked at her, then at one another, sharing a 'is that it?' look. After the blonde-haired girl turned the page in The Quibbler, Harry shrugged and, placing one hand in his pocket, ran the other through his tousled hair before heading toward the door.

"Where are you going?" Hermione asked quickly, her voice containing a note of desperation that made her cringe. "I mean - you never finished telling me what happened with Snape."

Harry cast a quick glance at Luna before looking back at Hermione. "We'll talk later."

With that, he turned opened the door a crack, and, after taking a quick look around to make sure the coast was clear, slipped out of the Room of Requirement and into the hall.

"We'll talk later," Hermione mumbled to herself. She glanced at Luna before picking her book up off the floor, opening it to the chapter she had been reading. Staring blankly at the pages as her mind tried to process just what she and Harry would be talking about later.

**********************

Harry walked brusquely down the hallway with his head down in an attempt to discourage any conversation that might come his way. He had way too much on his mind to talk to anyone right now. What the hell had he just done?

'Almost done,' his mind corrected kindly.

Done, almost done - it didn't matter. She had to know what he was about to do, she had to have known that he was about to kiss her.

'Yet she seemed to be waiting for it,' his mind interjected fairly, 'she seemed to have wanted it as much as you did.'

He came to a halt in the middle of the hallway, ignoring when someone bumped him from behind, complaining of his abrupt stop. Harry looked around for a second and realized that he was nearly to the stairs that led to the Gryffindor common rooms. He also realized, grimly, that the common room was the place that Ron and Ginny were most likely to be.

'I can't go there now, I have to think. I just... need a moment to think.'

He made a quick turn and doubled back in the direction that he just came. He headed down the stairs, past the Great Hall and out of the courtyard. Walking along a familiar path, he looked up to find himself in the welcome atmosphere of the Quidditch pitch. Harry stood still for a moment, allowing the light breeze to ruffle his hair before lifting his wand.

"Accio broom!" He called out, a moment later his Firebolt came racing from the direction of his room and into his waiting hand.

Hopping onto his broom Harry kicked off; flying rapidly towards the stars and through the cool night air. He took several deep breaths, letting the refreshing breeze hit his face and fill his lungs. After several minutes of flying around the pitch he flew higher, soaring over the stands and into the surrounding forest. He finally stopped over a set of hills and his eyes fixated on the massive, yet beautiful school in the distance that he called home. It shone like a beacon in the night.

He was right when he told Hermione that they needed to talk, but what about he wasn't sure. No, that was wrong. He knew what he needed to talk to her about he just didn't know how to start. 'Gee, Hermione. I'm sorry that I tried to snog you, but you seemed to want it' just didn't seem to have a very elegant ring to it.

Harry sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He didn't know what was going on between him and Hermione. He was confused around her now; things just seemed so complicated. He didn't know what happened between them during the summer… what changed. Harry sighed and looked at the moon in the distance. Well, whatever it was that started during the summer, it needed to end now. With that thought and a resolute nod, he flew back to the pitch and still griping his broom headed swiftly back to the school.

As he entered, he suddenly realized that he had been outside for far longer than he thought. The halls were pretty much deserted and he could hear the echoing of enthusiastic chatter coming from the Great Hall where students had gathered for dinner. Quickly deciding that he wasn't ready to see Ron or Ginny without a chance to talk to Hermione in private first, he ignored his stomach's grumbled protest and quickly made his way toward the Gryffindor common room.

As he rounded the corner, he was surprised to see Ron and Luna involved in a conversation. His heart speed up as he began to worry that perhaps she was telling his friend what she had seen between him and Hermione earlier. However when Ron smiled and nodded his head Harry relaxed, he knew there could have been no way that she had told him what happened earlier if he were smiling. His mood quickly went from worried to curious as the two continued to talk for a few minutes. Harry watched as Ron reached up and pulled something out of Luna's hair. The blonde blushed prettily, looking down at the ground and responding to the question that she had been asked. After another minute, Ron gave Luna a curt nod and a pat on the back before leaving her and heading toward the Great Hall. Holding his Firebolt close, Harry slipped behind a suit of armor so that Ron wouldn't see him as he passed and quietly took note of the soft smile lingering on his friends features. A minute after Ron, Luna passed wearing a dreamy smile of her own. Feeling more confused than ever, Harry briskly slid from behind the suit of armor and made his way up to Gryffindor tower.

"Scallywag," he mumbled distractedly to the Fat Lady, swiftly entering when the painting swung aside.

As soon as he entered the large room, he froze in his spot. His gaze was fixated on Hermione who stared back at him with wide eyes. Harry almost groaned aloud. He had been so preoccupied with the strange sight in the hall he had completely forgotten that he was supposed to be thinking of what to say to her.

"I thought you were at dinner," they said in unison after a moment of tense silence.

Harry gave a small smile; Hermione blushed. "We sound like we practiced that," he said with a chuckle, leaning his broom against the wall he walked forward and took a seat on the couch adjacent to her chair.

"I know," she replied with a small smile of her own.

"We need to talk," he said, scooting forward a little in his seat.

"I know that, too," she responded simply, closing her book and readjusting herself in her seat.

"Hermione," he hesitated, not sure where to begin. He mentally kicked himself for not figuring out what to say before coming back into Hogwarts. "Hermione - "

"Harry..."

He looked at her and noticeably relaxed upon seeing the amused expression on her face. This was Hermione; he could talk to her about anything. With that in mind, he tried again.

"Look, I don't know what's going on between us, but, somehow, things have been different lately, you know?"

She looked at him for a moment before looking down at the cover of her book. Harry could feel his palms getting sweaty. She did know didn't she? He had been sure that she had felt it too, but now, he was getting nervous. What if what he thought was her interest in him was all in his head? What if he was completely mental and just imagined it all? What if he-

"I know," she responded before he could work himself into a frenzied state.

Harry released the breath he had been holding, “Whatever this... this thing between us is, it can't happen. So, from this moment on we have to stop it, make sure that - " he paused unsure of just where he was going, "it... that it stops," he finished lamely.

"I know."

He gave her an exasperated look. "Is that all you can say?"

"What do you want me to say, Harry?" she retorted, frowning at him. "I happen to agree. Whatever it is that we seem to - what we - feel for one another. We can't feel and it has to stop,” her voice was shaky and disappointed. “I'm with Ron, you're with Ginny and we're both happy and in love." Her eyes widened and she blushed. "With Ron and Ginny that is, each, respectively - I'm Ron and you're Ginny. Not to say that you're Ron, I mean Ginny but to say that you..."

He put his hands on top of hers effectively stopping her stumbled response. "I know," he said with a subtle grin.

"Don't make fun of me, Harry Potter," she responded with a mock glare.

He gave an affronted look. "I would never."

"Sure you wouldn't."

"I wouldn't!"

"Right," she said incredulously.

He grinned in reply, his gaze unwittingly shifting. It was then that he realized he was still holding her hands. Quickly looking back up, their eyes connected. Her gaze captivated him as she stared back at him unguarded. He could see confusion in her eyes along with something else he didn't understand but made his heart speed up just the same. A log popped on the fire causing them both to jump and quickly pull their hands away.

"So, now that that's decided, what do you say we head down to dinner?" Hermione asked with a nervous laugh.

Before he could respond, Harry's stomach did for him by letting out a loud, long grumble. Harry and Hermione shared a look before bursting into laughter.

"Well, I guess that answers that, " he responded with a grin.

"I guess so," she said with a smile, standing and making her way toward the exit.

"Hermione," Harry called out just as she pushed open the painting.

"Yeah," Hermione looked over her shoulder back at him, only to find that he was busy rummaging through the pillows on the couch for something.

Harry pulled a pillow aside on the couch. He knew that he was acting like a coward, but he couldn't look her in the eyes. He chose to act like as if he were looking for his wand while he gave his apology.

"Yeah, Harry," she repeated when he didn't respond.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry - you know, for what happened,” Harry said, blushing; his back still to her. “Well, what almost happened in the Room of Requirement."

"Oh... that's okay," she responded; Harry relaxed, "but I'm not."

Harry's gaze snapped to Hermione, but all he saw was the portrait door closing.

Author's Note: That's it for this chapter! The next one should be up in about a week or less. Until then, please review to let me know what you think and that you're still reading the story!

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13. Discoveries and Owls

Forbidden Love

Chapter 12

It had been a couple of weeks since she and Harry had their talk in the common room that night. At first Hermione had been nervous and afraid that things wouldn't be able to return to normal. Not to mention her worry that Harry had heard the comment that she had spontaneously made on her way out the door. She still couldn't believe that she'd said what she had, especially after she had convinced herself that it wasn't true. Luckily for her, however, Harry hadn't seemed to have heard. He had ran and caught up with her a few moments after she had departed, immediately chatting about what he was going to eat at dinner and how completely ravenous he was.

From there everything had returned to normal. Ron, Harry, Ginny and herself had become as close as ever and had even developed a nightly habit of studying together in the common room in front of the fire. Ginny would curl up in the chair with Harry sitting at her feet and she and Ron would sit closely together on the couch.

"Aren't you guys ready yet?!" a voice said loudly, effectively bringing Hermione back to the present.

She abruptly looked to her left where Ginny stood, a small frown marring her features. Harry and Ron came down the stairs a moment later having heard the other girls' bellowed question.

"I've been ready," Harry said with a smile as he joined them.

"Well I would have been ready too, had someone woken me up," Ron replied, turning and shooting a glare at the dark haired boy next to him.

"No way! Last time I tried to wake you up you almost gave me a black eye!" Harry responded, holding his hands up defensively.

"It's not my fault I had that stupid spider dream again," Ron grumbled, averting his gaze and jamming his hands into his pockets.

"Of course not Ron," Hermione said, giving him a small pat on the back while Harry and Ginny laughed.

"Yeah, it's not your fault you're a scaredy cat," Ginny added mocking her brother with a look of sympathy, to which Ron responded with a vicious glare.

"Ginny leave him alone," Hermione said to the younger girl with a somewhat straight face.

"What?" she responded wide-eyed “I was being helpful".

"You were being a git," Ron retorted.

"Yeah, well you were being a wuss," Ginny replied.

"Yeah well -"

"-we're going to be late," Hermione interrupted.

"I'm ready, she's the one holding us up," Ron said jabbing a thumb in his sisters' direction.

"Oh really," Ginny responded.

"Really," he replied.

"Look, can we not start this again?" Hermione cut in, rolling her eyes at the siblings and giving Harry a small glare for laughing. "Ginny, leave Ron alone. Ron, go put on your tie so that we can go."

Ron gave her a startled look before giving a quick glance down and seeing his tie was in fact missing. Heaving a dramatic sigh he ran back up the stairs to the boys' dorm, giving the sniggering Ginny a small shove along the way.

As he disappeared up the stairs Hermione put her head down and rubbed her temples. Somehow when she pictured her first real boyfriend she had thought of someone a bit more.... mature. Giving a small sigh she allowed her eyes to drift closed and she willed the headache that she could feel fast approaching away. Why couldn't Ron be more mature, more scholarly, more compassionate, more perceptive, more like Harr- her eyes snapped open. 'No, no more of that type of thinking.' she silently reprimanded herself. However, lifting her head she couldn't resist giving a quick look to the boy in question, and then promptly wishing she hadn't.

Harry was standing just in front of her with Ginny wrapped in his arms. The red-headed girl's head was tilted back causing her silky hair to ripple over her shoulders. She was smiling up at Harry with a dreamy look while he spoke softly to her, barley containing a smile of his own. All in all they looked extremely cozy together, a realization that caused Hermione to suddenly become quite nauseous. The brown-haired girl placed a shaky hand on her stomach and took a deep breath to help squelch the feeling. However, when Ginny got on her toes and placed a small kiss on Harry's lips the urge to spew dissipated as quickly as it had emerged, leaving only the urge to grab the other girl by her hair and pull her the hell away from her Har-

"Ok, I'm ready to go!" Ron called out, bounding down the last few stairs.

Hermione jump and emitted a small, surprised squeak as her gaze snapped to her boyfriend, who gave a teasing smile at her expression. Looking back at Harry and Ginny, she saw that they had finally disentangled themselves from one another and were now headed towards the door holding hands.

"Hermione, are you alright?" Ron asked walking up to her and placed a hand on her back, a worried expression on his face.

"Yeah I'm fine," she responded giving a small smile.

"Are you sure? You look a bit pale," Ginny inquired, giving her a worried look.

"I said I'm fine!" she snapped.

The others cringed slightly, surprised at the sharpness of her tone, "Ok, sheesh, I was just worried, won't make that mistake again," Ginny mumbled, giving a small frown and turning to walk out the door.

Ron and Harry both gave Hermione curious looks before Harry followed his girlfriend into the hall. Though she could feel him staring at her, Hermione chose not to acknowledge her boyfriend, instead opting to look straight ahead as they left the common room and walked in silence towards the Great Hall a few paces behind Harry and Ginny.

She knew that she should say something to Ron. She also knew that she was wrong to snap at Ginny and would have to apologize later. She was aware she had no right to be upset at Ginny for kissing Harry, after all she and Harry were just friends, they had even discussed it. She was also aware that Harry had put the weird feelings that they had been feeling aside and she should too. She was aware of this because her brain told her, and her brain was usually right, she knew that... so why didn't her heart seem to care?

*****************

"Today we're going to be going to be discussing the identification of vile poisons," Professor Prophyria Cypher said in a strong, husky voice. "Who can tell me what some of the attributes that you would commonly find are?" she asked, her ruby colored orbs scanning the classroom.

Hermione's hand immediately shot up and, with the exception of Harry's, was the only one in the air.

Professor Cypher's eyes darted between them for an instant before she finally called on Harry.

"Well vile poisons are not easy to recognize,” he responded immediately. “They are often mixed in with other ingredients and look just like a typical potion that you would take for anything. However there are a few things that can stick out. For one, there's the texture and consistency- sometimes more dangerous poisons, like Aconite, are oily and don't mix well with other ingredients. There's also a sweet smelling aroma that's similar to honey which is common due to a chemical reaction between ingredients. Lastly, there is a very distinct aftertaste that has been described as similar to Quidditch socks and sandpaper." Harry gave a wry smile "Though to be honest if you've reached the last one, it's probably too late for you anyway."

Professor Cyphers' blood red lips curved at one end as she graced him with a half smile and several students sniggered. "Very good, Mr. Potter," she said in the same low tone. "You've just earned twenty points for Gryffindor."

Hermione rolled her eyes as Harry blushed and looked down at his desk and scoffed when Ron cast him an envious look. Boys! Did they have to spend every class ogling the Professor? They hung on her every word like a bunch of poor enslaved house elves.

"Now who can give me examples of some of these poisons and their effects?" the Professor asked as she gracefully walked back and forth in front of the desks, with the eyes of every male in the class following her movements.

Hermione's hand once again shot up, but to her surprise it was joined by the hands of Ron, Neville, Harry, Seamus and pretty much the remainder of the male populace of the class. The Professor looked around the mass of eager students for a moment, deciding who to pick. After a few seconds of deliberation her gaze stopped on Hermione.

"Ms. Granger, since this is your second time with your hand up I'll let you answer. What are some of these poisons and what are their effects?"

"Well Professor," Hermione respond in a matter-of-fact tone "there's Aconite which Harry mentioned earlier; Aconite is an extremely poisonous plant with the ability to kill you with even a small dose. Myphur is another, it has the ability to cause one to be put in to a sleep which is so deep that none can wake from it, so it is considered by most to be fatal. There is Nepthertal which if swallowed causes the unlucky person's throat to swell shut in a record breaking zero point three-eight seconds. Lastly there is Enthoral which causes breakage or ruptures in the skin and if swallowed can create a reaction that's similar to being eaten from inside to out," she answered, counting the list off on her fingers.

"Very good, Ms. Granger," the professor said with a nod "fifteen more points to Gryffindor."

"Geez Hermione, leave something for the rest of the class," she heard Ron grumble beside her; she shot him a glare.

"Yes Mr. Potter?" Professor Cypher asked.

Hermione's gaze went to him; she hadn't even realized that he'd had his hand up.

"I was just wondering Professor, isn't Hyroclytrate also considered a vile poison? You know, since it has the ability to cause the person to fell as though thousands of tiny bugs have been released into their body. Causing it's victims to go so insane, that most times they try to kill themselves just to make it stop." Harry questioned, tilting his head and lightly brushing his lower lip with bottom of his quill.

A few strands of messy black locks fell into his eye and Hermione found herself with an overwhelming urge to push them away.

"Why yes Mr. Potter, you are correct," the Professor responded looking at him briefly, before addressing the class. "Even though Hyroclytrate does have a cure, since it can be as dangerous to the person making it as the actual poison is to its victim, it is not often sought. So therefore victims of this particular poison, though not instantly killed, do often commit suicide. As for the few who do not, they're no longer able to function in society and are usually left to live out their grim futures in the mental health ward at St. Mungos. And Hyroclytrate earns a well deserved but little known spot on the list of vile poisons, how very astute of you," she said, turning and gracing Harry with a rare full smile.

Though the smile only lasted for a mere second or two Harry still blushed crimson in response and not unlike earlier with Ginny, Hermione suddenly had the strangest urge to hurt Professor Cypher.

As if she could sense the girls' thoughts the woman looked over at her. Their eyes locked for a moment and the Professor raised a brow before once again looking at Harry. "That's another five points to Gryffindor Mr. Potter, nice job." She then turned and walked back up to the front of the class, taking a seat on the edge of her desk. "Now who can tell me," she held up a finger "without looking in your texts, some of the known cases in which vile poisons were used? ...Okay, only one case per person," she said when yet again a sea of hands went up.

**

"Alright, for homework," Professor Cypher said an hour or so later "I would like you to research vile poisons, tell me in great detail how you would most likely come across them and to list one fact about each not stated in class. Also state what antidotes-" she smirked "if any, there are and how they would be created. Don't forget, if there is a time frame in which to take said antidote you better say what it is. I am not going to give you a word limit on this essay, but I will say that I don't expect anything less than your best work. Do I make myself clear?" the Professor asked looking over the class until she felt she had received suitable conformation that everyone understood. "That is all, class dismissed."

With that she turned and began gathering her papers to prepare for the next batch of students. Hermione quickly grabbed her books and parchment and made her way to the door. She was almost there when she noticed that Harry and Ron seemed to be lingering at their desks.

"Are you guys coming? It's time for lunch you know," she stated in a matronly tone before frowning and walking over to them when they didn't respond. "Hello? Are you in there, let's go."

Instead of acknowledging her comment, Ron continued to stare at the professor, who was bending over slightly at her desk organizing odd looking figures for the next class. After a minute or so of Hermione just glaring at their backs Harry finally pulled his eyes away from Professer Cyphers' bum long enough to throw her a look over his shoulder. Seeing her expression he gave a sheepish smile and a red flush crept up his neck.

"Er...in a minute Hermione, I wanted to ask the professor if she had any ideas on things we could teach in the D.A. meetings," he said, while giving Ron a not so discreet punch in the arm.

Hermione frowned "Why do you need to ask her? We just came up with ideas for the next two lessons last week. Besides we can normally work that out between us without any problem."

"Yeah but she might have some fresh new ideas, after all she has more experience in these matters than us," he responded standing.

"That's rubbish, we've had plenty experience and you know it. Look, I have several ideas for the meetings; I was going to tell them to you after lunch."

"That's great Hermione and I want to hear them...later," noticing her frown deepen he quickly continued. "Hey, we can't have too many ideas. I mean the D.A.'s going to be meeting for the rest of the year so we'll need plenty of material to..." Harry trailed off as he looked over his shoulder.

When he didn't resume his sentence Hermione looked over at Ron to see if he noticed Harry's strange behavior and quickly saw that his attention was directed in the same location as the other boys. Following their gazes she saw that they were once again watching the professor. The raven haired woman pulled her long tresses so that they draped over one shoulder and turned to make her way up the stairs. Hermione could practically feel the steam rising from her ears as Harry and Ron stared open mouthed at the sway of the professor's hips as she made her way up the stairs and to her office.

"Fine!" she exclaimed; Harry's gaze flew back to her, his eyes wide with surprise. "If you don't want my ideas then I'll keep them! Who knows if you ask nicely enough maybe she'll help you run it too then won't need me for anything!" she finished in a loud angry whisper.

Looking over, she noticed Ron giving her a strange look, but before he could say anything she turned and ran out of the classroom.

------------------------------------------

Harry and Ron watched Hermione disappear out of the door with wide eyes, only coming out of their surprised stupor when it slammed shut behind her.

"What the bloody hell was that about?" Ron asked standing from his desk.

Instead of responding Harry quickly grabbed his stuff and rushed out the door. Walking half-way into the sea of students, he looked frantically around the crowded hallway for any sign of the brown-haired girl.

"I thought you were going to ask Professor Cypher about ideas for the D.A.?" Ron asked catching up with him a second later, while trying to balance his books and put his wand in his pocket at the same time.

"I was, but…" Harry hesitated and looked at his mates expectant face "-but it's time for lunch and I'm starving," he finished with a shrug.

Ron's brows rose in response, but before he could voice any questions his Transfiguration book slid off the top of his pile and onto the floor, almost getting trampled by an overexcited first-year. Harry waited patiently while his friend glared at the younger student and picked up the item that he had dropped, using the distraction as an opportunity to do another quick sweep for Hermione.

"Anyway," he started again, once Ron was situated "who knows how long it would take to talk to the Professor? After all, we do have Quidditch practice this afternoon, so do we really want to run the risk of missing lunch?" Harry questioned as the two of them began to make their way though the crowd and towards the Great Hall. "I mean, if we did then there's no way we'd have the energy to make it through practice playing our best. Which, is exactly what we need to do now that our first match against Slytherin is just around the corner. You know how dirty those tossers play,” Ron nodded “which is exactly why we need be at our top during practices, so that we can see how good our team really is," he threw a smirk over his shoulder. "This is something we can't do with your stomach growling like an angry mountain troll all through practice."

Ron blushed faintly but instead of commenting, he gave a small shrug and nodded in agreement. The red-haired boy then quickened his pace, passing Harry and practically running to the Great Hall. Having made his point Harry followed quietly behind him, when they entered Harry's eyes swiftly scanned the loud crowded room but he didn't see Hermione anywhere. Giving a small frown he followed Ron to their usual spot at the Gryffindor table and took a seat next to Ginny.

"-it's not poisonous or anything is it?" she was asking Neville as he and Ron sat down. Seeing Harry take the spot next to her Ginny gave him a smile before leaning over and placing a small peck on his lips.

"N-no not at all," Neville responded blushing a bit and redirecting his attention to his sandwich when they kissed.

"Well then it sounds wicked cool," Ginny responded, reaching out and giving him a pat on the hand and an impish smile.

The other boy's faced turned a deeper shade of red and he cast Harry a somewhat nervous look. However, there was no need since the dark-haired boy hadn't noticed the interaction as his gaze was once again on the entrance to the Great Hall.

"Are you looking for someone?" Ginny inquired from next to him, as she leaned back a bit in her seat to look at the door also.

"What?...No, not at all just ..." Harry trailed off and shrugged.

"Just..." Ginny prompted raising a brow.

"Just- observing my surroundings, I like to be aware of what's going on," he answered shrugging again.

"Oh..." she responded chewing on her lip for a moment. "Well, you just missed Neville here telling me that there is a plant that can make your skin glow. It's called the lumo...lumiere...uhh..." she grimaced and looked at Neville "what was it called again?"

"The Luminestria, it- it mainly grows in southern Poland," Neville responded while fiddling with his sandwich. "It's not a strong glow- just a dim one, however it really stands out in the dark."

"That's nice," Harry responded in a distracted tone, looking toward the door again.

"Harry, are you okay?" Ginny asked, lightly touching his arm.

"Oh- who- me? Yeah, I'm fine," he replied, giving a small smile.

"You just seem distracted," she continued in a whisper, her gaze probing. "It's kind of like how you were when we first got back to Hogw-"

"Hey, have you guys seen Hermione?" Ron asked, interrupting his sister and Harry's softly spoken conversation.

Ginny huffed and looked around Harry at her brother. "No, the last time I saw her she was headed off to class with the two of you."

"Yeah, well then she got in some tizzy about the D.A. and left in a huff," Ron responded.

"She's been in a huff all morning," Ginny replied making a face.

"So you haven't seen her at all?" Ron asked, popping another chip into his mouth.

Ginny glared "That's what I said."

"Geez don't get your knickers in a knot, too," Ron retorted before turning back to his plate and finishing loudly "women, always so bloody moody."

"Hey!" Ginny yelled.

Harry sat leaned back on the bench, so that he was out of the line of fire. Quietly chewing on his sandwich he let the siblings bicker with one another while he pondered where Hermione could be and just why she had gotten so upset. Well, he knew why she was upset and it had nothing to do with the D.A. but the...er, attention he and Ron paid to the Professor. The thing that bothered him was he wasn't sure- was she upset about Ron... or him?

----------

"There you are," Ginny said as soon as they walked into the common room after lunch.

Harry looked past her to see Hermione sitting on the couch, her warm chocolate colored hair unbound with the mass of bushy curls resting around her shoulders. She had removed her robe and thrown it over the back of the couch, leaving her clad in only her school uniform which she had rolled up the sleeves on, and her long legs were bent and tucked under her as she worked from the many books that were scattered about. At Ginny's comment Hermione turned her head and gave them a curious look, but when her eyes connected with Harry's she immediately looked back down at the text she had been reading.

"You missed lunch," Harry stated when she looked away, he felt like an idiot for saying it but he didn't have anything better to offer.

Hermione held up an apple in response to his comment "This'll hold me over until dinner," her eyes flicked between the three of them. "I thought you guys had Quidditch practice."

"We do," Ginny answered sitting down on the couch and making a face "but Slytherin still has the pitch for another twenty minutes, so we decided to head up here."

"So..." Ron started, looking at her as though she had gone mental "are you....you know, okay?"

Hermione rolled her eyes at him before turning back to her book. "Of course I'm ok Ronald, I'm just a bit stressed, all of these advanced classes come with advanced assignments you know." She responded, not even bothering to look at him.

"So is that why you blew up at Harry and Ginny?" Ron pressed, taking a seat on the back of the couch.

"I did not blow up at Harry or Ginny," was the indignant response.

"Sure sounded like you did to me," was the mumbled reply.

Hermione glowered at Ron for a minute before looking past him at Harry. The dark haired boy was looking at her as though she were a puzzle that needed solving. She did not like that look.

"I did not, or- at least I didn't mean to," she sighed and looked at Ginny. "I'm sorry if I was rude earlier, I hadn't been able to get much sleep last night and was feeling a bit... grumpy this morning."

The other girl gave a small smile "That's ok, I forgive you- this time, just give us some warning next time that happens so we know to steer clear, ok?"

Hermione smiled in response and nodded before looking once more at Harry. "I also apologize if I... snapped at you earlier. It's just that I had put a lot of time that I could have used studying into those lesson plans and it annoyed me- just a bit- that you wanted to use Professor Cypher's ideas instead," she finished once again looking down at her book.

"Eck, Professor Cypher… doesn't she think she's high and mighty," Ginny chimed before Harry could respond, while picking up the other girls apple.

"She does not," Ron retorted "she's just... cool and aloof. Snape, now he's the one who thinks they're high and mighty."

"Please, she's just as bad, strutting around with her nose in the air like a snob with that bright red lipstick on. Who wears lipstick that matches their eye color anyway? You don't see girls walking around with blue or black or green lipstick on. If you ask me it makes her look as strange as she acts," Ginny responded making a face and tossing the apple back and forth between her hands.

"Hey! She's not a snob and it's not her fault she has red eyes," Ron said snatching the fruit mid-air. "Girls wear red lipstick all the time, besides if you ask me she looks wicked hot."

"Well who asked you?" Hermione responded snatching the apple back from Ron and setting it on the table.

"You guys have the strangest conversations," Harry said laughing. "Come on lets head to practice, Slytherin should be done by now and we need to get in as much as possible with the game so close. After all we're heading to Hogsmeade tomorrow we won't have time then."

"Sure," Ginny replied bounding off the couch and out of the portrait hole. Ron gave Hermione a quick kiss on the forehead and then followed behind his sister attempting to rekindle their argument.

"Oh and Hermione," Harry said pausing at the exit and looking at her "I didn't talk to Professor Cypher," she rose a brow but didn't comment. "What I mean is- if it's a choice between working with you or her on the D.A. well…" he left it at that. Then giving her a small smile he turned and headed out the door just missing the grin that descended upon Hermione's lips.

Author's Note: That's if for this chapter. Next chapter will have a trip to Hogsmeade and an interesting piece of plot development. Stay tuned and PLEASE REVIEW. Ja ne!!

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14. Discoveries and Owls

Forbidden Love

Chapter 13

"Quidditch," Harry said to the portrait guarding the entrance to Hermione's dorm room.

Due to her position and the amount of responsibility she now had as Head Girl, Hermione had been given her own area, including a private dorm with a sitting room, its own bath and, of course her bedroom. As an added bonus and also because of her trusted position, she was also allowed to have the unsupervised company of girls and boys into her area.

Personally, Harry was grateful for the sitting area, since it was perfect for the times when they needed privacy, such as having the gang come over to discuss D.A. members, ideas and times. It also provided him the opportunity to privately talk to his friends about his sessions with Dumbledore, concerns about Voldemort and the possible locations of the Horcruxes. Even though it was her own private area, Hermione had immediately given her dorm's password to her three best friends to use whenever they wanted to.

"Hermione, you in here?" Harry called out as he jogged up the few steps into her sitting area.

"Yeah, be out in a minute!" she yelled from her room.

Harry nodded to himself, and after walking the rest of the way into the area he headed to the window to see if it was still snowing. He hoped not, since he and Hermione had to walk to Hogsmeade to meet up with Ron, Luna, Ginny and Neville. The six of them were supposed to have walked there as a group with the rest of the students, but Harry and Hermione were going over lesson plans for the D.A. and had been so into it they hadn't wanted to stop. Eventually the others got tired of waiting and headed out, deciding that they would just meet up in Hogsmeade. Ginny had given Harry a list of the places that they would be in the order they would go and a peck on the lips, and then the group left.

Twenty or thirty minutes later, Harry and Hermione finally finished creating enough lesson plans to last until a month or so after Christmas holiday. Deciding that they were finally ready, Harry had headed back to the boys dorm to change. As soon as he was done he waited in the Gryffindor common room for Hermione, but after a several minutes had passed without her making an appearance he decided to head back up to her dorm to see what was taking so long.

"Aren't you done yet?" He called, turning away from the window and heading a little further into the room.

"Just about! Do you have the list?" Hermione answered from her room.

"Of course I do," he responded, then hastily checked his pockets to make sure.

"Of course you do," Hermione mimicked with a smirk after entering the small sitting area and seeing him going through his pocket.

Harry gave a shrug and grin "What? A bloke can't make sure?"

She rolled her eyes "I'll be ready in a moment I just have to find my money. I know I put it somewhere for safe keeping, but I can't remember where."

"Can't get any safer than that," Harry replied with a cheeky grin, then laughed when a pillow hit him in the head.

As Hermione rummaged though drawers and looked under various seat cushions, Harry continued to walk around the room and fiddle with assorted knick-knacks. He grinned and blushed a bit when he came across a picture of Ron sitting on Hermione's mantle.

"Just how many pictures of Ron do you have?" he asked, picking up the silver frame. Photo-Ron grinned and winked at Harry and he responded in kind.

"Only that one, why?" Hermione responded while digging under the sofa.

"Why did you change the frame? I like the other one better," he replied as he cleaned his prints off of the sides of the metallic surface and carefully placed the photo back in its original spot.

"What other frame?" she asked, now digging under the cushions on the chair.

"The black one," Harry answered giving her a quizzical look.

"It never had a black frame; it's always had the same silv- what? Why are you looking at me like that?" Hermione asked, standing fully and putting the galleons she had finally found into her pocket.

"This picture never had a black frame?"

"No."

"And this is your only picture of Ron?"

"Not the only one, but the only one where it's just Ron. I have plenty of group pictu- would you stop looking at me like that! What is your problem?"

"That night, you had a picture in a black frame..."

"What night- oh... I...." Hermione flushed and looked away. "We, we should go, it's getting late and everyone will wonder what took us so long." She responded, hastily grabbing her coat and making her way to the stairs.

Harry rushed across the room and intercepted her just as she reached the staircase. He quickly snaked one arm around her waist, grabbing her from behind and hauling her up against him.

"We're not finished talking about this Hermione," he said softly, his warm breath tickling her ear.

Hermione was powerless to stop the ripple of pleasure that went through her body and caused her to shiver a bit.

"Yes we are," she said after a moment sounding winded. "We finished talking about this the first day we got here, remember?"

"I remember that you said that it was a picture of Ron."

"No, you said it was a picture of Ron. I never said that."

"So... it wasn't a picture of Ron?"

"I'm not saying that either, look Harry let's just drop this ok," she turned her head and looked back at him with pleading eyes. "Please?"

When she whispered the last part her warm breath tickled his lips and this time he was the one to get a ripple of pleasure. As his body shuddered, a look of awareness entered Hermione's eyes; they quickly took on a smoky appearance as the hue darkened to a rich chocolate color. Her lips parted as a small breath escaped, causing the scent of chocolate and mint to tickle his nostrils. Harry unconsciously licked his lips as he tried his hardest to concentrate on anything other than the fact that he wanted to kiss her.

"We should go," he said after a moment.

"We should," she replied, giving a small nod of affirmation.

"We agreed to put aside-"

"I know and we have - we are-"

"These feelings will stop, we can make them-"

"-or ignore them."

"Then it's decided."

"Yes."

Even though it was now decided, they continued to remain where they were. He didn't attempt to move his arm from circling her small waist and she didn't endeavor to make him. The longer Harry's arm stayed wrapped around Hermione the more he could feel her relaxing. Her back was pressed against his chest and the hair from her ponytail rested against his shoulder. Harry took a deep breath and inhaled the sweet lilac scent that surrounded her as she began to softly stroke his arm. His body reacted to the feather light touch in more ways than one and as his fingers began to gently stroke her waist, he realized how much he missed having her in his arms. Hermione's gaze went from Harry's eyes to his lips and back again.

"Why won't they stop?" she asked in a soft breathy whisper.

"I don't know."

"Hermione are you in there!" A voice yelled, and a scant second later they heard a loud knock on the wall.

Harry and Hermione abruptly moved away from one another at the sound. As she ran down the stairs to the answer the door Harry pulled the list from his pocket, just for something to do and gave a startled frown when he realized that his hands were shaking. Feeling embarrassed at his reaction to what had just happened, he quickly shoved his hands into his pockets as she opened the door.

When she swung open the portrait Hermione was surprised to see Zach Smith standing on the other side looking flustered.

"Hey Hermione," he said quietly, walking past her and into the sitting room. "Oh, hey Harry," he added after taking note of the dark-haired boy. "Uhhh, is everything ok?"

"Oh yeah, wonderful!" "Everything's brilliant!" they replied in unison.

Hermione cringed at how contrived their responses sounded and quickly sought to change the subject.

"So, what's going on?" She asked Zach, taking note of his flushed face.

"I'm not feeling well," the boy responded rubbing his neck "in fact I was on my way to see Madam Pomfrey. I might be coming down with something… or I ate something rancid in Hogsmeade, I'm not sure," Zach grimaced. "Either way, I couldn't stay and I know the Headmaster would want at least one of us there, so I asked your friends where you were." He looked at Harry "Your girlfriend said you two were working on some homework and I could probably find you still here so I headed over. Do you think you can head to Hogsmeade to supervise?" he asked Hermione, just before turning a troubling shade of green. Zach put his hand on the back of the couch to steady himself and took a deep breath, shooing away Harry and Hermione who had both taken a step forward to help.

"Sure no problem, we were just heading there anyway." Hermione replied with a worried expression. "What exactly did you eat Zach?"

The boy started to respond but quickly covered his mouth instead.

"What do you say I help you down to Madam Pomfrey's office?" Harry offered stepping forward and placing a hand on the boys shoulder.

"That's not necc-" before he could finish he lurched forward, Hermione used her wand to summon a waste bin just in time.

"Oh, but I think it is," Harry said when Zach was done. Taking his arm, Harry allowed the other boy to lean on him.

The three of them slowly made their way down the stairs and through the school to Madam Pomfrey's office. After stopping a few more times so that Zach to empty the remainder of his Hogsmeade lunch in the bin Hermione had brought along, they finally arrived at their destination and released the other boy to the school nurses capable hands.

Once they had dropped Zach off, Harry and Hermione quietly made their way out of the school and towards Hogsmeade to catch up with their friends. As they walked down the road, the strong winds pushed Hermione over a bit so that her hand and arm were grazing Harry's. He looked over at her momentarily out of the corner of his eye, but continued to walk without comment and still looking forward she did the same. Neither of them mentioned what had happened in the room and though their hands continued to brush against each other, neither of them moved.

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Harry had just had a particularly grueling Occlumency session with Dumbledore and was feeling quite tired. Having decided to forego dinner for some much needed rest, he was sitting alone in the common room when his girlfriend walked in. His first indication that something was up was the fact that Ginny didn't say anything when she entered. His second was the determined look on her face. Harry looked at his girlfriend from behind heavy lashes as she slowly made her way to him, only opening his eyes fully when she stopped directly in front of him and placed her hands on her hips.

"Are you upset with me?" she asked in a sharp tone, a frown on her face.

"No, why?" he responded sleepily; sitting up in the chair.

"You've been acting weird since we came back from Hogsmeade last week and I wanted to know if you're mad at me or something."

"No, I'm not. I'm sorry, I didn't realize that you thought I had been acting different or that you felt that way," he replied frowning.

The angry expression left her face as she took a seat on his lap. "Harry what's going on?" the redheaded girl asked in a gentler voice.

"Nothing, well not really," he responded, looking down and rubbing his brow.

Ginny placed her finger under his chin and brought his head back up so that he was looking at her. "Something is going on and I need you to talk to me... don't you trust me?" She finished with a wounded look.

Harry sighed, of course he trusted her but he couldn't talk to her... not about this. Running a hand through his hair he scraped his mind for something to say to appease her.

"Dumbledore thinks that Voldemort has been quiet for too long," he replied after a moment, giving a worried look "he also feels that the time of peace that we had was only so that Voldemort could regain his strength. He says the dream that I had may have been a sign that his full power is almost back."

"Well you haven't had any dreams since then have you?" she asked looking concerned.

"No, but that doesn't mean he's not doing anything, it only means that I don't know what he's doing." He gave a frustrated sigh and once again ran an agitated hand through his hair. "On top of that the Occlumency lessons are getting more and more difficult and Malfoy and his cronies are trying to start crap as usual. The workloads for our classes are getting bloody insane and with the additions of Quidditch, Occlumency and D.A. I don't know if I can handle it all. Not to mention the fact that if Snape rides my arse any harder I'm going to have to get him hand rails!"

Ginny giggled and ran her fingers through Harry's hair "Don't stress so much Harry, you're doing great. The D.A is running better than it has ever been and everyone is in awe of the awesome lesson plans that you and Hermione come up with," she gave a wry smile. "Heck, I even have first years asking me if I can get them on a waiting list. We're doing brilliant in Quidditch and even though practice can be a bit demanding everyone loves you as the captain and we just know that we're going to wipe the floor with Slytherin next week. I'm sure Dumbledore is not at all disappointed with your progress in Occlumency and Malfoy and his minions are about as dangerous as ever...which means they're not dangerous at all. As for the thing with Snape... unfortunately there's not really anything you can do about that. However, I do know something that I can do to make you feel better."

He rose a brow "Really and what it that?"

A wicked gleam entered her eyes and she leant forward brushing her lips lightly against his for a minute or two, before applying more pressure and deepening the kiss. As Harry relaxed a bit more into the kiss, she slipped her tongue into his mouth and her warm body melted against his. One of her hands tangled in his hair and the other one lightly massaged his shoulder. Breaking contact momentarily Ginny stood and readjusted herself so that she was straddling him, and as she came back down onto his lap Harry circled his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. After a few minutes of heavy kissing, Ginny pulled back leaving them both panting for air. Still a bit dazed Harry licked his lips where the taste of butterbeer lingered. 'I like the chocolate and mint better.'

"What does that mean?" Harry's eyes shot to Ginny who was giving him a perplexed look. He hadn't realized that he had spoken aloud. "Harry, what does that mean?"

"I...uh…"

He was saved from answering when a voiced wined from behind Ginny. "Oh geez, you two aren't going to start snogging again are you? This is getting ridiculous."

Ginny turned and glared at her brother "Bugger off, Ron."

"And in the middle of the common room where anyone could just come right in and see," he made a face. "Then everyone would say that my sister's a harlot and I would have to spend the rest of the year fighting to protect your honor."

Harry chuckled then chimed in "With my help of course."

"Of course," Ron stated in a serious tone.

"Oh please, stop being such a drama queen you git," Ginny retorted, and then glowered at Harry "and stop encouraging him."

"How am I being dramatic? You're in an open common room, sitting in a chair, straddling my best mate with your skirt almost up to your knickers; you tell me what they would think?" Ron returned with a smirk.

Ginny looked down and flushed, before hurriedly hopping up and adjusting her skirt. "Shut up Ron."

"That's what I thought," her brother said with a grin.

When Ginny got off of him, Harry looked past her to see Hermione standing not far from Ron. He was surprised; he hadn't realized that she was there since she hadn't said anything. The brown-haired witch, who had been looking into the flames of the fire, abruptly turned and looked at him. Harry was shocked and a bit disturbed to see that her eyes were devoid of emotion. He was also troubled by how guilty he felt about it; after all Ginny was his girlfriend it was perfectly natural for them to snog... right?

Ron walked the rest of the way into the room and plopped down onto the couch, "So what are you guys up to- well, what else are you guys up to?" He corrected giving them both pointed looks, before turning to his girlfriend. "Are you going to stand there all night Hermione? You're beginning to look like one of the suits of armor in the hallway."

Hermione threw him a glare before coming forward and sitting in the chair opposite Harry on the other side of the table. Ron sighed and got up, squeezing on the chair next to his girlfriend, he placed a hand lightly upon her shoulder. Hermione gave him another glare as he leant forward and whispered something into her ear. Harry frowned when a blush crept up her face and she gave a small smile at whatever the other boy had said. And his frown intensified when Ron turned her face towards him and began to gently kiss her lips.

"Geez, now who needs to get a room," Ginny said sarcastically taking a seat on the arm of Harry's chair.

Ron glared at her "mind your business Ginny."

"Why, you never mind yours Ron," she retorted with a smirk.

"Shouldn't you be trying to maul your boyfriend right now?" he responded glaring.

"Shouldn't you be trying to stop me?" she replied with a smug look.

"Ugh, that's it! Hermione, why don't we head up to your dorm to be alone?" Ron asked while glaring at his sister.

Harry quickly looked at Hermione to see how she would respond to Ron's question, only to find she was staring at him... or at least it looked like she was. Following her gaze, Harry glanced down and noticed that he was gripping the arm of the chair so hard that his knuckles were white. Eyes wide he quickly released it and looked back up at Hermione, they made eye contact for a moment before she turned to Ron.

"No, Ronald, we have pre-holiday exams coming up and we need to study. After all that is what we came up here for, you know since you got us kicked out of the library, remember?"

Ron looked heavenward for a moment then frowned. "We wouldn't have gotten kicked out if she hadn't been so bloody sensitive about people just asking each other questions."

Harry felt tension that he hadn't even known was there ebb from his body as he slowly relaxed and gave a smile, he knew who 'she' was; Madam Prince was notoriously strict about students talking in her library.

"What I want to know," Ron continued, unaware of the calming effect the change of subject had on his best mate "is how she can not realize that that annoying 'Shhhhhh!' thing she does is louder and much more obnoxious that the talking."

Harry grinned and nodded his head in response, Ginny laughed and Hermione seemed to be trying her best not to smile.

"Well as true as that might be Ron, that doesn't change the fact that we need to study," Hermione said giving him a stern look.

The red-haired boy let out a long dramatic sigh and plopped back in the chair. Before he could come up with another way to put off his schoolwork they heard loud tapping.

"What in Merlin's beard..." Ginny mumbled getting up off the chair.

Harry followed her and they traced the noise to the far side of the common room. Ron and Hermione stayed in their seats, but remained as quiet as possible so they wouldn't disturb Harry and Ginny as they searched for the source. As they neared the third window in from the wall the tapping got louder, pulling back the curtains Harry finally saw the cause.

"Hedwig," Harry said aloud as he quickly opened the window to allow her access.

The snow white owl flew into the room and made a graceful landing on the table in front of the fire, immediately shaking the snow from her feathers and giving a soft 'hoot'. Harry went to the chair, grabbed an extra owl treat that he kept on him out of his robes pocket and gave it to her as a reward. Once Hedwig was somewhat appeased he picked up the letter she had let fall onto the table upon entering.

"Who's it for?" Ron asked, taking a seat on the couch next to his chair, as Hermione took one on the table.

"It's for me-" Harry responded flipping it over a few times.

"Of course it's for you," Ginny said making a face at Ron "it's your owl. The real question is who is it from?"

Harry shrugged "I haven't opened it yet."

"Well open it," Ron said impatiently.

"Well shut up," Harry replied annoyed.

Ron opened his mouth to speak again but was silenced when Hermione placed her hand over it. "Go ahead and open your letter Harry," she said after giving Ron a reproachful look and removing her hand.

"Thanks," he responded with a smile.

Harry tore open the letter, immediately reading the signature to see who signed it. His surprise must have shown on his face, for all of his friends immediately came closer to have a look at the note.

"Who sent it?" Ron asked again, unable to get a clear view.

Harry looked up at him, then at Hermione. "Your mum."

"My mum?" Ginny responded from behind him "Why would my mum sen-"

"Not your mum, Hermione's mum."

Hermione looked at him in surprise for a moment, while Ginny and Ron looked at her with the same expression before turning their attention back to Harry.

"But why would my mum send you a letter?" Hermione asked with a bewildered expression.

Harry shrugged and then quickly read the letter.

"Well what does it say?" Ginny asked impatiently.

He gave her a quick look before answering "It says... that she and Mr. Granger would love it..." he hesitated before looking at Hermione "they would love it if I would come to their house for Christmas Holiday. It says that they've fixed the room up for me and look forward to my visit."

"But you're coming to the Burrow for Christmas," Ron said, "we decided last year, remember?"

"Well- yeah, but..."

"But what?" Ginny asked, frowning "It's going to be our first real Christmas together, you know, as a couple... you have to come."

Hermione just watched mutely, her expression giving him no indication as to what she was thinking. After a few minutes of silence and scrutiny from the Weasley siblings Harry responded.

"I'm sorry you guys but I have to," he continued before they could interrupt. "This summer, when I had no where to go the Grangers took me into their home. They treated me like family - I know what you're thinking - you guys treat me like family too. It's just that I don't want it-” he paused searching for the right words “I don't want it to seem that it was ok to be with them this summer when I didn't have any place to go, but when I have a choice I don't want to be there. You know?" He turned to Ginny with a pleading look. "Please understand Gin, they were so kind to me this summer and if they really want me to come for Christmas I feel like it's my duty- no that's not the right word... it's my honor to return that kindness. Please understand," he finished giving his girlfriend a beseeching look.

Ginny frowned and looked down. "I guess I understand, it's just that… after not getting to see you this summer I was hoping-"

"Don't worry Ginny," Hermione said speaking for the first time since asking about the letter. "Remember, my parents agreed to come up to the Burrow on Christmas Eve, so that means that Harry'll be coming with us."

"I'm not so sure about this..." Ron commented from next to Hermione. "Didn't you guys spend enough time together this summer?"

"What does that mean?" Hermione asked frowning.

"It's nothing like that Ron," Harry said.

"I know, I know. It's just-" Ron responded backing from his girlfriends glare and sighing, "you know how I can get sometimes, sorry." He then looked at his dark haired friend. "Harry, my mum's bound to be disappointed."

"I know, but either way it goes someone's mum's going to be disappointed. I'm sure Mrs. Weasley will understand if I explain it to her," Harry said.

"Fine... but you explain it to her," Ron replied.

Harry grinned, then laughed "Sure no problem... wow, I never thought I would have to decide between two places to spend my holiday, this is definitely a first."

As his friends nodded in agreement, Harry got up and went to the window to open it again for Hedwig. The owl had taken the time that they were talking as an opportunity to rest and was now giving impatient hoots from her spot next to Hermione. Noticing that she could now leave she hopped from the table and flew out of the window, Harry closed it tight behind her and watched as she get lost in a sea of white flurries.

So it was decided... he was spending Christmas with the Grangers.

A.N. Well that's it' for this chapter, what happens next? I don't know... no seriously I don't I haven't written it yet. However, don't fret I do have an idea so stay tuned and see, same bat time, same bat channel. I should be updating next week. Don't forget to Please Review and Ja ne!

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15. Perfectly Natural

Forbidden Love
Chapter 14

Harry sat on the train with his arms crossed over his chest and a frown on his face. He was in an extremely foul mood. Before he left for holiday Professor Dumbledore had called him into his office where he advised Harry that during and after the break he had some very important matters that he needed to handle with The Order. Next, he told him that Professor McGonagall would be acting as Headmistress for a couple of weeks, which was no big deal. However, then he told him that due to what “The Order perceives as an ongoing threat”, he would have to continue his Occlumency lessons in Dumbledore's absence... with Snape. Harry's scowl darkened.

"What are you looking so upset about Harry?" Luna asked from her seat across from him. "Did a Nargle steal your favorite outfit?"

When Ron burst into laughter, Harry glowered at him. "Nope," the redhead said, still grinning and ignoring the other boy's dark look. "He's upset that he has to take some private lessons with Snape next term."

Luna gave Harry a sympathetic look. "He's not a very pleasant man, is he?"

Harry snorted. "That's an understatement."

"You know that it's important Harry, otherwise Dumbledore would never ask," Hermione chimed in looking up from her book.

"I know that already Hermione, I don't need you to hassle me," Harry grumbled.

Hermione scoffed and slammed her book shut "Hassle you?! Why-"

"Lay off Hermione, you know he's just under a lot of stress," Ginny said, rubbing Harry's arm and glowering at the older girl.

"That doesn't give him the right to act like a jerk," Hermione responded returning the other girl's fierce look.

"Maybe not, but it doesn't give you the right to act like an old nag."

"I was not acting like a nag, old or otherwise and I object to being constantly referred to as one!" Hermione replied, her voice rising.

"Please, what do you call constantly telling him what he does and doesn't need to do? Especially today, when you already know that he's already upset," Ginny retorted, her voice rising also as she glared at the brown-haired girl, "-because I call it nagging!"

"Well I call it being a friend! I was just trying to look out for him and give him a friendly reminder that Dumbledore would never have him placed in such a position for no reason!"

"Well perhaps you should keep your friendly reminders to yourse-"

"Ok, that's enough!" Harry interjected, "Ginny, thanks for sticking up for me and Hermione, thanks for looking out for me, but all I want to do is sit here and mull over my options in silence, ok? Can we do that please, without all the arguing?" He asked, looking between the girls.

Ginny shrugged and gave one more glower to Hermione before turning to look out the window, while Hermione returned the girls glare before looking at him again. When she opened her mouth to comment he cut her off.

"Can we not, please Hermione? How would you like it if you had Snape probing your thoughts or seeing your most private memories, huh?"

"I wouldn't like it at all, which is why I would try my best to-" she abruptly stopped, as her eyes widened. "Wait, any of your memories?"

Harry gave her a grim look and nodded.

Hermione stared at him for a moment longer, then sat back in her seat and began chewing her lip, her brows furrowing in concentration. "Ok then, we'll just have to practice over holiday," she said after a minute. "We need to go to Flourish & Blotts to get some materials. I actually recall seeing some Occlumency books there before the start of term, and if I remember correctly they were pretty advanced. I would have gotten them myself, but I didn't have the galleons, however that's not an issue for you. I'm sure that we'll be able to get mum and dad to swing by Diagon Alley on the way home and I'll show you were they are so that you can get them." Harry and Ron shared a look. "Boy how I wish there was a wizard's library near my house," she mumbled to herself before rummaging through her bag for a quill and parchment to make a list with.

Ron looked at Harry and grinned, "Sounds like you're in for great fun this holiday mate."

Harry gave a dejected sigh and let his head fall back onto the seat. There was nothing he could do about it now, once Hermione got going all you could do was stand back and watch in amazement until she pointed you in the right direction and sent you on your way. He supposed that he should be glad though, with her in the lead he was almost certain to find some type of solution to his problem with Snape. A few minutes later, Ginny grasped his hand and laid her head on his shoulder.

"I'm going to miss you Harry," she said it in a whisper, but he was somehow able to hear her over Luna's humming, Hermione's furious writing and Ron and Neville's talking.

"I'm going to miss you too Ginny," he replied, kissing the top of her head... and wishing that he meant it.

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They had all just gotten off of the train when they were met by a jovial voice.

"Welcome back!" Mr. Weasley called, smiling as he approached. "Are you kids ready for holiday break?" He paused long enough for them to nod 'yes' before continuing. "Good, good, I remember how much I use to look forward to them when I was a lad. My mates and I lived rather close to one another and use to get together to roast cherry-nuts over the fire," he finished with a wistful smile.

Mrs. Weasley gave her husband a look and rolled her eyes heavenward before coming forward and giving Harry a soft smile and a hug. "We're going to miss you at the Burrow this holiday Harry. I was looking forward to having you there with the rest of the kids, now that Fred and George have their place in Diagon Alley, you and Ron would have even been able to have your own rooms this year."

"Really? That sounds like it would have been great Mrs. Weasley,” Harry responded with a smile. “I'm so sorry I couldn't make it, it's just that-"

"Now never you mind," she interrupted "I understand perfectly, not only did I get your owl post, Arthur and I also a nice chat with Ella and Dan when we got here."

"My mum and dad are here?" Hermione interjected from her spot next to Ron.

"Of course dear," Mrs. Weasley said, giving Hermione a quick hug and a smile before turning and making her way towards the entrance to platform nine and three-quarters. She politely pushed passed the eager students and through the small throngs of families with the rest of the group following her ready-made path. "They're just outside," she continued as the crowd cleared a bit more "we suggested that they come through to the train with us, but they couldn't seem to get the gumption to walk through the wall," she answered throwing a grin over her shoulder.

"Can't blame them there Molly," Mr. Weasley added from just behind Harry, "must be an awfully awkward thing for a muggle to walk right into something that they were taught they couldn't walk through."

Harry nodded his head in agreement remembering his first year at Hogwarts and how nervous he had been walking into the pillar between platforms nine and ten. After they made it off the platform and made their way out of the station, they finally spotted Ella and Dan Granger standing by their car. The couple gave a smile and a wave to the loud boisterous group and grinned as their daughter separated from the crowd and rushed forward to hug them both. By the time Harry made it over, Hermione was just finishing her embrace with her dad.

"Harry," Mr. Granger said extending a hand, "good to have you back."

"Thank you sir," Harry responded giving it a firm shake.

"Oh and of course it's good to see you again Ronald," he added looking to Harry's left.

"Go-good to see you too sir," Ron responded turning a dull red.

"Hello Ron," Mrs. Granger said with a friendly smile at the redhead before looking to his right. "Hello again, Harry." She paused for a brief moment before stepping forward and embracing him in a motherly hug. "I am so glad that you were able to come back for the holiday. I'm afraid Hermione gets dreadfully bored with just her dad and I to hang out with at this time of year," she said once she pulled back.

Now it was Harry's turn to blush. "Thanks Mrs. Granger, I'm glad to be coming back," he responded giving a small smile.

"I told you to call me Ella," she commented with a grin and a playful nudge, and Harry grinned back.

"Well let's get these bags in then," he heard Mr. Weasley say as he popped the trunk on what Harry assumed was another vehicle the Ministry had let him borrow.

"Harry?" he turned to see Ginny standing just behind him, facing her fully he gave a lopsided smile.

"Hey Gin."

"I'm going to miss you," she said with a shy smile.

"I'll miss you too," he responded "but I'll be up on Christmas Eve and we can owl one another."

Ginny frowned, "You better, if I remember correctly you only owled me once during the last two weeks of summer."

Harry blushed "Er, yeah, I'm sorry, it's just that- I was kind of... adjusting to my new surroundings."

She gave him a look that said she didn't believe him, before coming forward and pulling him into a hug.

"Well you should be well adjusted by now, so I plan to hear from you often" she said drawing back and looking him in the eyes. Then, after a momentary hesitation, she got on her tiptoes and gave him a long kiss on the lips.

"Ginevra Molly Weasley!" her mum said from behind her. "Just what in Merlin's name do you think you're doing?!"

Harry blushed and quickly pulled away giving Mrs. Weasley an apologetic look, but she wasn't focused on him, her gaze was on her daughter. She came forward swiftly and grabbed Ginny by the ear, pulling her over for a mother daughter chat. Harry cast a glance back at Mr. Weasley to see how upset he was, but the older gentleman seemed to have missed the whole scene and was still busy trying to fit trunks and pets into the back of the car. Hearing a noise to his left he turned to find both Mr. and Mrs. Granger giving him amused looks; his blush deepened.

"So, are we ready to go?" he asked with a weak smile.

Mr. Granger laughed outright, while his wife just continued to smile and patted Harry's arm. "In a minute dear, we're waiting on Hermione."

"Where is she?" Harry asked looking around in another attempt to shift focus.

"Not far I'm sure, she just said she had to say goodbye to Ron," her mum said joining Harry in his search.

A minute later he located Ron and Hermione over by a pillar talking. "There they are," he said, indicating the direction with his head.

Hermione was in plain view but Ron was partially obstructed, Harry was just about to call out that they were ready when suddenly Ron came forward. Wrapping his arms around Hermione's waist, he pulled her against him and captured her mouth in a searing kiss.

Harry hadn't even realized that he had taken a step in his mates' direction until he felt a hand grab his forearm. Looking down and then over he noticed that Mrs. Granger was holding him back; she gave him a diminutive smile before turning and looking at her husband, who she was holding with her other hand.

"Now Dan it's just a kiss; all you'll do if you go over there is make her upset. After all" she turned and looked at Harry, a tickled expression on her face "-he is her boyfriend. It's perfectly natural for them to kiss."

Harry and Dan's frowns deepened and Mrs. Granger seemed to become even more amused. "You didn't seem to mind when Harry kissed Ginny."

"Ginny's not my little girl," Mr. Granger retorted, giving an annoyed look to his wife.

"She's someone's little girl," was the response. She then let both of their arms go and turned to the car with a contented smile.

Harry and Dan Granger shared a look before giving resigned sighs. Dan walked around to the driver's seat while Harry turned and walked to the back of car. On the way he used the extra strength from the adrenalin coursing though his body to lift his and Hermione's trunks and carry them to the trunk. Deciding it was better to do that than to use the force for what he really wanted to use it for, which was to punch Ron in the face. Just as he closed the trunk and grabbed Hedwig and Crookshanks' cages, Hermione ran up with her face flushed.

"What?" she asked looking between the two frowning men. Neither said anything, but instead got into the car, slamming their doors shut harder than necessary. Hermione's confused gaze swung to her mum "What?!"

Ella Granger just laughed.

A.N. That's it for this chapter I know it seemed a bit short but this seemed like a good place to stop. The chapters doo's what they doo's… er is that English?… Well, anyway stay tuned for the next one, same bat time, same bat channel. Ja ne!! Don't forget to review!!!

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16. You Know What I Mean....

Forbidden Love

Chapter 15

Hermione stood in the kitchen next to her mum, cutting carrots and trying to hide her annoyance. Every few minutes Ella Granger would look at her daughter, give a small smile and then look away without saying anything. Hermione was reaching her wits end and after the thirteenth time it happened she had finally had enough.

"What, mum?" she asked in an exasperated tone.

"What do you mean?" her mum inquired with an overly innocent look.

"You know what I mean, why do you keep smiling at me like that?" Hermione responded frowning.

"What? A mother can't be happy to see her daughter again?" Mrs. Granger responded while handing her a bowl for the carrots.

Hermione gave her an incredulous look.

"You've been gone for several months and I'm just happy to have you home, ok?" Mrs. Granger said raising a brow and then huffed. "Don't make me regret being so excited about your return."

Hermione gave a resigned sigh and though she still felt there was more to it then that, she decided to give her mum the benefit of the doubt. "Sorry," she mumbled turning back to her ministrations.

"So," Mrs. Granger said after several minutes of silence. "How did Harry do in Quidditch this year? I know how excited he was about being captain."

"So far so good," Hermione commented, "he led us in a huge victory against Slytherin." She turned to her mum and grinned, "You should have seen it mum, was incredible. It had been raining all day, but hadn't gotten particularly nasty until just after the game started. Everyone was busy watching the chasers score points, they were doing pretty well too, especially considering how dirty the Slytherins play," she frowned at that comment. "I was watching Harry when suddenly he shot into the air," Mrs. Granger raised a brow. "He must have seen the snitch,” Hermione stated in a tone that implied it was the most obvious thing.

“Anyway, then of course Malfoy, the other seeker on the Slytherin team, saw Harry and went after him. The little ferret actually tried to grab Harry's broom in an attempt to throw him off.” She gave an offended look, “Can you believe that?" Ella shook her head. "Don't worry though, Harry got away with no problem. He's a great flyer, he can do circles around Malfoy any day," she smiled. "Anyway, then he -er, Harry- abruptly changed directions and flew down towards the ground at an insane speed. I mean even I was starting to get worried, but then suddenly he came to a halt and Malfoy, not being as good as Harry on a broom,” Hermione added with a pointed look, “wasn't able to stop and hit the ground pretty hard just as Harry flew back up to the level of the stands. He gave me a smile and a wink before holding up his hand," she was now grinning, "and he had the snitch! Gryffindor won the game two hundred and fifty points to thirty. It was wonderful, not to mention the second shortest game in Hogwarts history. Slytherin was so embarrassed that no one had to put up with their crass remarks for over a week!" she finished looking at her mum with an elated expression.

Mrs. Granger gave her another one of those smiles before turning to rinse out a cup.

"Well honey, though I don't know half of the things you were talking about, I must say it does sound quite exhilarating. Harry sounds like he's magnificent to watch."

"He is," Hermione replied turning and starting on the tomatoes "he's the youngest person to ever make Seeker and only person to ever make the Quidditch team their first year."

"Wow, that's quite an accomplishment." Ella said throwing a look over her shoulder at her daughter "So... how long have he and Ginny been dating?"

Hermione was so surprised by her mother's abrupt change in topic she almost cut her finger "Wha- mum, what does that have to do with anything?"

Ella shrugged and leaned against the counter, looking at her daughter. "Oh nothing, I just saw them kiss at the station earlier and the question came to mind. I figured it might be a bit rude to ask Harry so..." she shrugged and left it hanging.

"Well not that it matters, but they've been together for about eight or so months... just two more than Ron and I," Hermione responded giving her mum another suspicious look.

"Ahhh." Mrs. Granger replied, while wiping her hand on a dishtowel.

"And what does that mean?"

"Nothing."

"No, mum it means something, what does it mean?"

"Nothing, it's just..."

"It's just what?"

"Oh nothing, never mind."

"Mum," Hermione said in an uncharacteristic whine.

Ella gave her daughter an amused look "Well, when I saw them at the station earlier and they kissed, it just seemed..."

"It seemed..." Hermione hedged.

"It seemed that Harry wasn't very interested, that's all. So, I assumed that perhaps the relationship was new and he wasn't comfortable with it yet." Mrs. Granger finished giving a nonchalant shrug.

Hermione frowned "Well mum, Harry's had a...." she hesitated "hard life. He's not easily comfortable with people h-"

"He's comfortable with you," her mum interrupted.

"What?"

"I said he's comfortable with you," Ella repeated giving her daughter a serious look.

"Well, that's just because we're friends."

"And he and Ginny aren't?"

"No- I mean yes, of course they are."

"So shouldn't he be comfortable with her then?" her mum responded with a smirk.

"Perhaps he was uncomfortable because you were watching him," Hermione retorted with a smirk of her own.

Her mum's grin became more pronounced, "You weren't."

Hermione opened her mouth and then closed it unsure of what to say to that. After a few moments she finally regained her voice. "You saw us?" she asked in what amounted to no more than a strangled squeak. Her mum grinned and nodded. "Just you?" her mum shook her head no, her grin getting wider. "All of you?" Her mum once again nodded in response.

Hermione felt her face flame; she was mortified. Her mum, her dad and Harry had all seen her kissing Ron!

Mrs. Granger took pity on her daughter and gave her a light pat on her shoulder "Don't worry honey I already calmed them down so it should be ok."

"Thanks mum I appre- wait, calmed them down? Them who?"

"Your dad and Harry of course."

"Ok, daddy I get but... why would you need to calm down Harry?”

Her mum didn't respond but instead gave a small shake of the head.

"What?"

"Sweetheart if I have to answer that for you, then you're not as bright as I thought you were," Ella said rinsing the lettuce.

Hermione frowned "I don't know what you mean, there's nothing between Harry and I."

Her mum gave her a skeptical look.

"What? There isn't, we're just friends!" she persisted; her mum rolled her eyes. "We are. Harry's with Ginny and I'm with Ron."

"I know dear," Mrs. Granger replied in a monotone voice, Hermione scowled.

"I happen to be crazy about Ron, we're great together, we have a real connection... he- he completes me," she finished, wincing at her lame ending. "Ok, so maybe that wasn't a good way to put it," she mumbled.

"Maybe not," Ella responded laughing, taking a seat at the table her grin faded and she gave a small sigh. "Don't get me wrong dear; I like Ron, I really do. He seems like a nice chap and his parents are really good people... I just... I don't see between you and Ron what I see between you and Harry."

"I... but... what is it that you think you see between me and Harry?" Hermione asked taking a seat at the table also.

"What I see is a real connection, you two seem to be able to talk about anything. Not to mention the fact that you're always talking about him."

"I am not-" she started but relented at her mum's dubious look. "What I mean is, I'm always taking about them both."

"Really? I hadn't noticed," she continued before Hermione could comment. "When you were younger you would talk about them both. Though I must say you usually didn't have very pleasant things to say about Ron," she added with a thoughtful expression.

"Well he was a git then, but now he's great, he's a great friend, a great boyfriend and a great Quidditch player too."

Her mum looked at her in surprise "Ron plays Quidditch?"

"Well yeah," she responded "he's Keeper and a really good one at that."

"Oh... I hadn't realized, you never mentioned that Ron played too."

Hermione winced a bit "Really? I thought I had."

Mrs. Granger shook her head "No, you only ever mention Harry when talking about Quidditch."

Hermione blushed "Oh… well he is great- er, Ron that is - Ron's great… at Quidditch... and stuff..."

Her mum laughed, "Well Ron may have great Quidditch skills, but Harry has great eyes. You don't often see that shade of green."

Hermione groaned "Mum stop it, Harry has a girlfriend and I have a boyfriend so please don't start or I'll tell dad."

Her mum shrugged and gave her a bored look "Do you really think I'm afraid of your father?" Hermione tried to frown but ended up laughing instead, her mum joined her a moment later. "Though I must admit, he is cute when he's mad," Ella finished with a thoughtful look.

"Well Ron's cute all the time," Hermione added with a smile.

Mrs. Granger smiled too and then leaned forward with an impish twinkle in her eye, and in a conspiratal tone whispered to her daughter. "Well Ron may be cute, but Harry's bloody sexy."

Hermione's mouth dropped "Mum!"

"What," Ella said leaning back in her seat "I may be farther up than you in years, but I still know a hot bloke when I see one."

"Mum!" she exclaimed again her face turning red.

"What?"

Hermione gave her a look.

"Oh come on Hermione admit it," Mrs. Granger said with a grin "Harry's hot."

"Is not!"

"So he isn't hot?"

"Of course he is-not to say- what I meant," her mum laughed again and Hermione found she was really beginning to hate that sound. "What I mean is that Harry and Ron could both be considered hot."

"I thought you said Ron was cute."

"He is-"

"So that settles it then, Ron's cute, Harry's hot."

"Mum!"

"What's the matter pumpkin?" Mr. Granger asked walking into the room, followed closely behind by the boy in question.

"Nothing," she said quickly, trying to hide her flush and worrying that if her mum kept it up she would turn that color permanently.

Harry and Mr. Granger both gave her looks that said they didn't believe her, but were wise enough not to comment.

"So Harry, you ready to get started on that studying?" she asked in an effort to escape the room... and her mum.

"Studying? On break?" Mrs. Granger said frowning. "Now that's no fun."

"Yeah, but it's something that I really need," Harry interrupted before Hermione could answer. "Kind of an extra credit thing your daughter was kind enough to give up part of her break to help me out with."

Hermione flushed even more from his declaration “Yep, so let's get started," she added, hopping up from the table and pushing him towards the door, making sure to avoid eye contact with her mum.

"Oh Hermione," Mrs. Granger called out just as her daughter made it to the exit.

She turned and gave her a wary look. "Yes mum?"

"In this Quidditch match... you know, the one with Slytherin," Hermione nodded, "I was just wondering dear... how did Ron do?"

Hermione opened her mouth to answer then closed it. Giving her mum a glare she turned and stomped passed a confused Harry to her room, ignoring the taunting female laughter from the kitchen.

-------------------------------

Harry groaned falling back on the bed "Come on Hermione, I need a break."

"No, what you need is to get this down and I'm going to make sure that you do," Hermione responded looking up from the heavy text.

"It's been almost a week and all we've done is study, I need a break." Harry whined, heaving a dramatic sigh and pretending to faint.

Hermione chuckled; if he hadn't already been famous enough as "The Boy Who Lived" she just might suggest that he go into acting. His flair for dramatics had really come out over the last couple of days. She gave a small smile. He looked so adorably pathetic.

Harry was laying down with one foot on the floor and the other on the bed. His hair, which was normally quite unruly, was surprisingly even more disheveled than usual, since he had a habit of running his fingers through it when he was upset or annoyed. Hermione quickly discovered that attempting to learn techniques for something that they could neither do, let alone practice to see it was working, left Harry in the state of annoyance more often than not.

With this being the case, the dark strands of hair that had never really lain down to begin with were now sticking up at even odder angles than usual. His black t-shirt was extremely rumpled with a few stray cookie crumbs from the pack she had given him - due to him insisting that he needed to replenish his strength in order to go on - decorating various parts of his person. Harry's dark blue jeans were slightly wrinkled and covered in random ink splotches from earlier, when she had insisted that he take notes.

With his eyes closed, Hermione had a rare opportunity to observe him without his notice. 'He really is an attractive guy,' she thought to herself. Suddenly her mind flashed back to her and her mum's conversation last week. 'She's right, he is hot,' as soon as the thought popped into her mind Hermione blushed and pushed it away.

"Are you ok?" Harry asked; her gaze snapped back from his chest to his eyes, to find that he was looking at her though heavy lids.

"Yeah," she responded looking back down at the text. "I just want to make sure that we get this right. There's no way I want Snape to be privy to your memories and I know you don't either."

"I know," Harry said sitting up with a groan "but a small break can't hurt." he added while attempting to rub the stiffness out of his shoulder. "We still have days to study. Besides, we need to go Christmas shopping."

Hermione looked at him "You haven't gotten your presents yet?"

"Well...no, I haven't had a chance."

"Oh. I've already gotten mine," she stated in a mater-of-fact tone, turning her attention back to the text. "Brilliant! This book has some really intricate exercises that I think are going to help," Hermione said flipping to the next page.

"I haven't."

She looked up with a confused expression "You haven't what?"

"Gotten my presents," he responded in an exasperated tone.

Hermione gave a resigned sigh. "Fine, I'll see if mum or dad can give us a ride to Diagon Alley. Besides, there are a couple of books I really want to get that I had seen in Flourish & Blotts earlier anyway. One had some really detailed information on deciphering Ancient Runes and the other had some great mental exercises that I think will help immensely with your Occlumency lessons." She closed the book with a snap and looked at him with the excited expression that she often got when talking about new or interesting books. "Even though I had only had a chance to glance at the contents last time we were at the store, I'm quite certain that what I did see, coupled with the techniques that we've been practicing could definitely be useful in your sessions with Snape."

Harry let out another loud groan then grumbled, "Just what I need, more books to study from."

She frowned at him "It is just what you need. The more prepared the better, that's my motto and these books have great exercises to get you ready."

"We don't even know if they're working," Harry commented standing from the bed and giving a long stretch, as his long arms went over his head, his back arched causing his shirt to rise and exposing a set of well toned abs.

"Well," Hermione replied giving a sigh at his negativity, looking up from the book she almost choked on her tongue. "Wee, we-we…" She cleared her throat when Harry gave her a confused look and focused back on her book. "We can't be sure that it's working, but Harry if you just believe in yourself even half as much as I do and believe that it's going to work, then I know it will."

He rolled his eyes in response, "As sweet as that is Hermione, just believing that something will work doesn't mean it will."

"Yes it does," she responded, looking back at him.

"Really? - Well tell you what, I believe I'm a Crumple-Horned Snorkack," he looked down at himself, examining his hands, arms and legs before giving Hermione a look of mock surprise, "wha -- what happened, I thought surely if I believed..."

She glared at him. "Not with that attitude," she grumbled turning back to the book.

"So let me get this straight; you believe in Crumple-Horned Snorkacks?"

"No, of course not," she commented once again glowering at him.

"But Luna believes and you said that all someone has to do is believe," he countered with a smug look.

"Not about something as ridicu- look, why are we on the subject of Snorkacks anyway?! It has absolutely nothing to do with your Occlumency and you know it!"

Harry shrugged before turning and walking towards the door. "Just trying to make a point."

"Well you didn't."

"Come on Hermione, we both know I did," he replied throwing a smirk over his shoulder and sauntering out of the bedroom.

She glared at the empty doorway for a moment contemplating murder before grudgingly getting up to get dressed.

"He knew that I was just trying to make a point," she grumbled "stupid prat. I don't know how I could have ever even thought for a second that he was cute, because he's not. The only thing Harry Potter is, is bloody annoying!" she finished, making sure to say the last part in a louder voice as she walked into the hallway. Casting one more glower towards Harry's room, Hermione stomped off to go for a quick shower and a much-needed moment of solitude.

A.N. Well that's it for this chapter... what happens next? Stay tuned and see! Please Review!! Ja ne!

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17. Happy Holidays - Pt. 1

Forbidden Love

Chapter 16

Harry cast a glance at Hermione as she sat next to him in the car. She had dozed off about twenty minutes ago during the long drive to The Burrow. Her soft lashes brushed her cheeks and her chest rose and fell steadily as she slumbered. When Hermione mumbled something incoherently and readjusted herself in the seat, the band that had been holding her hair back finally gave up the long fought battle and a mass of brown curls were released gently onto her shoulders. When a few stray strands fell into her face, Harry gingerly reached out and brushed them back, his hand jerked away in surprise when Hermione turned her face in towards his touch and emitted a soft moan. His eyes shot to the front of the car to see if her parents had heard the noise, but Dan and Ella Granger were occupied with a soft spoken discussion about whether there were or were not, in fact lost.

He gave a small smile and shook his head. Mr. Weasley had offered to have the Grangers' fireplace temporarily hooked up to the floo network so that they could get to the Burrow more easily. However, Mr. Granger had politely explained in his return owl to Mr. Weasley that both he and his wife felt no more inclined to walk into a burning fireplace than they did to walk into a brick wall. As soon as she was told of her husbands' response, Ella Granger became concerned that he had offended the Weasleys, though Harry and Hermione knew if anything they were probably amused, and insisted that Mr. Granger apologize. She was just in the process of demanding that he make amends for his rudeness, and that her husband should owl back and tell them that they would indeed floo over when Errol flew with a 'thump' into the kitchen wall carrying a response from Mr. Weasley. After scooping the dazed owl up off of the floor, Harry untied the envelope from his leg and handed it to the Grangers. Enclosed was a small note that said 'not a problem' and square of parchment containing a confusing, but still somewhat legible, map probably drawn my Mr. Weasley himself.

So here they were a few days later, attempting to drive to The Burrow with Mr. Granger at the wheel and Mrs. Granger doing her best to decipher Arthur Weasley's instructions. So far they had been driving for almost two hours and didn't seem any closer to The Burrow than when they started.

Harry gave a half smile. 'We should have flooed,' he thought to himself as Mr. Granger made what felt like his fiftieth right.

Harry looked over in surprised as Hermione's warm form landed against him after her father turned. Her head rested on his shoulder as she looked up at him though long lashes, her eyes still clouded with sleep.

"Are we there yet?" she asked in a lethargic, husky tone.

"Not yet," he responded softly.

"Mmmmm," she replied snuggling closer to his warmth "seems like we've been driving for a while."

"I'm not surprised; did you have a look at those directions?"

She gave a tiny nod. "I'm sure Mr. Weasley has never had to write directions for muggles before."

Harry smiled. "And I'm sure he loved every minute of it."

Hermione gave a small chuckle and looked back up at him. "So, how much longer do you suppose we have?"

When he looked down at her to respond, his smile slowly faded as he became aware of just how close those clouded amber eyes and soft rose-colored lips were to him.

"Harry?" she inquired after a moment, lightly touching his arm "Do you suppose we have much longer?"

He shook his head and whispered, "Not long enough."

Her eyes widened in response and all traces of sleep evaporated only to be replaced by something even more alluring and dangerous. Harry brought his hand up and hesitantly pushed a few stray strands of hair out of Hermione's eyes and just like when she had been asleep, she turned her face in towards his touch and rubbed her chin lightly against his palm. Harry's gaze dipped to her lips in a silent question, to which she responded with a small tilt of her head back so that her lips came a fraction of an inch closer to his own.

"Eureka!" Dan Granger yelled.

Harry and Hermione flew apart and flushing guilty, they looked towards the front of the car.

"I told you that I hadn't taken a wrong turn two miles back," he continued in an excited tone, "this has to be the way! Look, I even see a crooked little house in the distance, just like in the picture. Do you see it?"

"Of course dear," Ella Granger responded in an amused tone. "I see it... then again; I see a lot of things."

Harry's eyes flew forward and Mrs. Granger's reflection looked back at him with an arched brow for a second before she closed her sun visor with a snap. He quickly looked over and saw Hermione was looking at her mum with a mortified expression. Her gaze turned to him for an instant and her face turned an even more vivid shade of red before she opted to look out the window at the passing scenery.

"Yep, here we are," Dan said a minute later as they pulled up the long drive to The Burrow.

"It doesn't look very safe," Ella replied in a tone much more serious than she typically used.

"It is," Harry responded reassuringly, "it's held together by magic, and though it looks a little..." he looked for the right word.

"Precarious?" Mrs. Granger supplied.

"Er- yeah, though it looks that way it's probably more stable than most of the muggle homes in England. I've come here most summers since starting Hogwarts and have hardly ever felt more comfortable in a house."

"I'm sure," Mrs. Granger replied, her tone once again laced with its customary laughter.

Harry decided not to comment, instead looking out the window and doing his best to stomp down the urge to blush. 'I bet she and the twins will get along famously,' he thought as Mr. Granger came to a stop in front of the large house.

As soon as they stepped out of the car they were met by a smiling Mrs. Weasley. "There you are," she said, coming forward and engulfing Harry in a large hug. "I was beginning to worry that you had gotten lost." She then moved away from Harry and proceeded to give each of the Grangers a small embrace. "I was just about to send the twins out on their brooms to see if they could spot you."

"I told you that wouldn't be necessary Molly," Mr. Weasley said, coming up behind his wife and giving them each a very enthusiastic handshake. "The directions that I made were rather clear. I've gotten quite the knack for directions using muggle roads since I started using the ministry car to take the kids to and from the train station," he added, puffing his chest out proudly. Harry was instantly reminded of how Percy Weasley looked whenever he was talking about "ministry business".

"Oh, you sure have," Ella Granger said with a kind smile. "We had no problem at all finding the place."

Dan Granger made a small scoffing noise, which was quickly cut off when his wife discreetly elbowed him in the ribs.

"So what do you say we head inside?" Mrs. Weasley asked smiling and ushering them towards the door. "Practically everyone's here already, you lot are almost the last ones to arrive. The twins got in from their shop yesterday so did Charlie from Romania, while Bill and Fleur made it early this morning," she turned and gave them a glowing look. "Oh you should see her, just about ready to pop she is. I'll have a healthy, robust grandchild in no time we're thinking that it'll be a girl, but we'll know for sure soon enough."

"There are ways of finding out you know," Hermione stated primly "you can easily ju-" she cut off with a small yelp as a gnome ran across the gravel and into the yard, chased closely by a stray cat.

"Don't worry it's just a garden gnome, I'll have the boys take care of them as soon as we get inside," Mr. Weasley said reassuringly to the startled looking Mr. and Mrs. Granger, who had never seen such a thing before.

"They should have taken care of it long ago," Mrs. Weasley responded, turning to frown at her husband as they finally reached the door. "I distinctly remember telling them to see to it this morning. Well anyway, as I was saying Bill and Fleur made it early this morning while Remus and Tonks got here about an hour or so ago. The only person we're still missing is Percy," she said opening the door "but I suspect that he'll be here soon enough, perhaps tomorrow at the latest. He would never miss a holiday with the family."

Harry and Hermione gave Mr. Weasley a probing look, which he returned with a grim expression and a short shake of the head. Knowing that it meant not to question the subject they just shared a sad look for the disappointment that they knew that Mrs. Weasley would experience tomorrow and headed into the warmth of The Burrow.

"It's about time you guys got here," Fred said walking up to them.

"Yeah we were about to send out the hounds," added George with a grin.

"Or in mum's case-"

"-send out the twins."

Mrs. Weasley rolled her eyes heavenward and shook her head. “Well they're here now so instead of sending you out to look for them, I'm sending you to the yard to continue de-gnoming. We saw one on the way in, I thought you boys said you had handled that already,” she finished with a disapproving frown.

“Hey, we weren't the ones supposed to do it,” George said holding his hands up defensively.

“Yeah, we traded Charlie the de-gnoming for setting up the tables-“

“-scrubbing the downstairs bathroom,”

“and untangling and arranging all the Christmas decorations.”

“So if anything you should be letting him know,”

“-because we've done more than our share this morning,” Fred ended crossing his arms with his twin behind him nodding in agreement.

"Fine," relented Mrs. Weasley "but next time I give you boys chores, you stick to your own. Now where is Charlie?"

"He's in the kitchen dear," Mr. Weasley said "I saw him go in there a moment ago. I can go in and get him if you like."

"That's ok Arthur, I have to check on the stew anyway," said Mrs. Weasley giving her husband a small pat on the arm. "Ella would you like to join me? I can show you what I have prepared for dinner tonight and tell you what's in the works for tomorrow over a nice warm cup of tea."

"Sure Molly, that sounds lovely," Mrs. Granger responded, following Mrs. Weasley to the kitchen.

"Uh, just out of curiosity," Mr. Granger said to Mr. Weasley once their wives had departed "just how does one... er, de-gnome a garden?"

"Eh, never seen it done before huh?" Mr. Weasley responded with a grin.

"I can honestly say I've never even seen a gnome, well short of the one that almost ran down my daughter that is."

"Ahhh, I thought as much. Well there goes Charlie there, what do you say we head out into the gardens and watch?" Mr. Weasley asked.

Dan nodded in agreement and he and Arthur headed back out into the cold night air to watch Charlie get rid of the garden pests.

"Do you think I might try?" Mr. Granger asked as they neared the door.

"Sure... if you still want to," Mr. Weasley answered jovially as the door closed behind them.

Harry, Hermione, Fred and George waited until they were gone before they began laughing.

"I can't believe your dad actually wants to de-gnome," Fred said shaking his head in wonder.

"Trust me, once he sees one of those things up close he'll change his mind rather quickly," Harry said with a shudder before turning to George. "So where are Ron and Ginny?"

"Well I'm not sure where Ginny is, but she knew you were coming-" he replied.

"-so our guess is in her room primping," Fred finished wagging his eyebrows. "As for Ron..." he trailed off, instead motioning to the other side of the room with his head.

Following the direction Fred had indicated, Harry and Hermione noticed Ron sitting in the corner of the living room talking with Luna. The blond girl had her hair in some type of strange style that looked to be a mix of pony tails and antlers and was wearing a red sweater with moving lights that spelled out the words "Free The Reindeers". Her red and white striped pants were skintight and made her legs look like they were wrapped in giant candy canes. In fact the only "decent" article of clothing that the girl was wearing were her white trainers, and even those had shoelaces that seemed to be dancing in time to the Christmas music playing in the background. Ron was sitting across from her wearing his 'R' sweater that Mrs. Weasley made every year and a pair of regular dark blue jeans with maroon trainers, looking quite bland in contrast to the brightly colored nymph sitting opposite him. The two seemed to be having an amusing conversation if Ron's constant laughter and Luna's smile were any indication.

"Perhaps we should head over," Harry commented.

However, before Hermione could respond Luna reached down and took Ron's hand, the blond witch turned it over in her own and began to slowly trace the lines. Ron's face and ears turned to about the same dark burgundy shade as his sweater and from his spot, Harry could have sworn that his friend's eyes took on a glassy look. The blond girl gave a soft smile and leant forward and whispered something to his friend that made his face somehow turn and even darker hue and as he gave her a look of wonder, Harry turned to Hermione.

The brown haired girl frowned for a moment, then as if sensing his gaze turned and looked at him.

"I believe I'll go and see if Mrs. Weasley has any more of that warm tea," she said softly before sidestepping Harry and heading into the kitchen.

"What is she doing here?" Harry asked the twins as soon as Hermione left.

"She's been around most of the summer," George said with a shrug.

"Yeah, her and Ron seem to be becoming pretty good...er, friends," Fred added.

"What does that mean?" Harry asked looking between the two taller Weasleys'.

This time they both gave a shrug "Nothing really," Fred said "I mean she's been hanging around a lot but-"

"-from what we've seen they haven't really been doing anything but talking," George finished looking over at the couple once more. "To tell the truth from what I heard it's not so bad, she and Ginny even seem to be getting along."

"Yeah, it's actually the weirdest thing once you think about it. I always thought those three would drive one another nutters if anything."

Harry nodded his head in agreement, looking back at the couple in the corner.

"Harry!!!" He swung his head around just in time to see Ginny hop down the last few steps and catch her as she flew into his arms. "There you are! I've been waiting! Mum thought that you guys would be here sooner, but once we heard that dad had personally drawn your map we knew that it might be a while." She stated with a grin. "How long have you guys been here?"

"I was just about to ask the same thing," Ron commented walking up. "When did you guys get here, I didn't see you come in."

Harry smirked at him. "Well you did seem to be a bit- preoccupied."

"I don't know what you mean," Ron replied, but the bright pink color of his ears indicated that he knew exactly what his mate was referring to. "Where's Hermione?"

Harry arched a brow in response, "She decided that she wanted some tea and went into the kitchen with her mum."

Ron's mouth formed an 'O', but he didn't comment. Instead he gave Harry a nod and threw a glare to the sniggering twins before heading into the kitchen.

"What was that about?" Ginny asked, watching her brother exit the room.

"Maybe you should ask Ron," Harry responded, looking at her.

"Or Luna," said the twins in unison just before bursting into laughter.

************************

"Hermione, can we have a moment alone?" Ron asked an hour or so later, as everyone dispersed from the dinner table.

The brunette slowly sat down the plate that she had picked up to take into the kitchen and gave her boyfriend a curious look.

"Sure," she responded, wiping her hands on a napkin.

Ron gave a half-smile and held his hand out to her. She took the offered hand and allowed herself to be lead out of the dining room, past the stairs and the broom closet, though the hall and to the room just left of the loo. Looking around as they entered Hermione noticed that they were in what looked to be the laundry room. There were several stacks of newly washed clothing on a long table and a rack holding four newly pressed robes. A bottle of Madam Sorella's Laundry Soap sat on the shelf just above the clothing and a large cauldron with a wooden spoon sat in the corner slowly mixing and scrubbing several shirts and socks that were inside. Hermione turned when she heard the door close behind her and gave a curious look to Ron. The redhead was busy looking at his shoes instead of at her so she walked over to him and lightly touched his arm, at which time he finally looked her in the eyes.

"Ron, wha-" she was cut off as her boyfriend's warm mouth covered her own.

Caught totally unawares by his sudden action, Hermione emitted a small squeak that unwittingly allowed Ron access to her. His ardent tongue delved between her soft lips and into her warm mouth. Ron moaned and tangled his hands in her thick hair, pulling her closely against him. Hermione wrapped her arms around his neck and taking that as an indication that everything was ok, Ron lifted her up and sat her on one of the rooms many tables, firmly wedging himself between her legs. When her head fell back, Ron's mouth left hers and traveled down her neck. However, when his hand cupped and began to knead her breast, Hermione stiffened.

"Ron, stop." she said, grabbing at his hand. Ron moaned in response, moving his mouth up to her ear at which time she shifted her neck so that he couldn't reach it. "I mean it Ronald, stop!" Hermione said again in a sterner tone, he pulled back and looked her in the eyes.

Seeing the glint of determination in them, Ron pulled away from her fully and released a groan. "I knew I shouldn't have stopped kissing your mouth," he mumbled, running a hand through is disheveled hair.

"And just what does that mean?!" she demanded her eyes flashing dangerously.

"Nothing," he grumbled rolling his eyes and turning his head to watch the cauldron work.

"No, it doesn't mean `nothing'. What exactly did you mean by that Ronald?" When he still didn't respond she gave his shoulder a tiny shove. "Answer me!"

He gave her an irritated look "It meant that I knew the minute that I pulled away from your mouth you would start nagging. That seems to be all you're capable of doing. Honestly I was surprised that you didn't push me back straight away to get a head start."

Hermione hopped off the table and gave Ron a hard shove. "You take that back! I do not immediately start nagging, and for your information maybe I wouldn't have stopped you if you would have lead into it like a regular person instead of just pushing me up against a table and shoving your tongue down my throat!"

"I did not just shove my tongue down your throat, it's called kissing, more often referred to as snogging and most girls like it!"

"Ha! Most girls my arse! I don't give a flying cauldron about most girls, besides just because Lavender Brown had no problem constantly sharing her tongue with you, as well as most of the male populace of Hogwarts," she added in a grumble "doesn't mean that most girls like it."

"What's wrong with wanting to occasionally snog my girlfriend? Huh, I mean is that too much to ask?"

"Well what's wrong with wanting to have a civilized conversation with my boyfriend, is that too much to ask?!" Hermione retorted. "It seems like the only person that you want to have civilized conversations with is Luna, I certainly can't seem to get one out of you."

"Well perhaps that's because you're a bloody nag," Ron replied angrily.

"No, I think it's more likely you're a bloody git!" she retorted.

"I'm not a git!"

"Well I'm not a nag!"

"Well I don-"

"Look can we just stop this?" Hermione asked suddenly feeling very tired. "Why can't we just talk like normal people... well normal people and Luna that is."

Ron frowned "What's that supposed to mean? There's nothing wrong with Luna."

Hermione gave him and incredulous look "Nothing wrong with Luna, nothing wro- Ron the girl is completely barmy!"

"She is not! She's just a bit... just a bit..."

"-mental," Hermione supplied with a smirk.

"No, I was going to say eccentric, you know, different."

"Oh trust me, I know she's different, but what I don't know, is why it matters so much?"

"Blimey Hermione don't be daft, it doesn't matter really. It's just that she's a really good friend- you know, to, to all of us. She's a member of the D.A., she helped out at the ministry, she's just one of the gang and I don't think that you've ever really given her a fair shake, that's all."

"That's all huh?" Hermione asked, a sardonic expression crossing her features.

"Yes, that's all." Ron answered with an unflinching look.

Instead of responding, Hermione gave Ron a stiff nod before turning and walking out of the room without looking back.

A.N.- That's it for this chapter, onward ho!! -er, ok… sorry, that's the type of stuff you get when I'm still writing after twelve am… ^.^; Please Review!!! I appreciate it and read each review that I'm given. On that note please trust me on this, I know a lot of you are ready for stuff to happen, and trust me it will, I just prefer to have the way I do seeing as it's the style of story I prefer where everything isn't rushed or jumped into. Harry and Hermione are both in relationships (for now) and unsure about their feelings they, I believe, wouldn't rush things and since unfortunately for some of you *lol* I'm the one writing the story then that's how it's working out. I can promise you three things, one: in the next six or so chapters things will progress and change not only between H/Hr but between at least one of them and their significant other. Two: Harry and Hermione WILL get together in this story and have a good relationship when they do (not all that make-up break-up crap) and three: There will be H/Hr couple chappy's so I'm not just going to get them together and then go `The End'. -If you can be patient I think you will really enjoy the story. If not then feel free to read something else, you can always come back when it's complete- I won't hold it against you *wink* Okay, my long winded rambling is over, thanks for continuing to read and please review. Ja! OH ALSO SINCE THIS IS TWO PARTS I WILL TRY TO POST HE SECOND PART EARILER THAN USUAL, AND THEN DO THE USUSAL UPDATE. SO YOU SHOULD SEE ONE CHAPTER TODAY, ANOTHER AROUND WENDS AND THEN THE USUAL UPDATE ON FRIDAY! THANKS!

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18. Happy Hoidays - Pt. 2

Forbidden Love

Chapter 17

Harry gave a chuckle as Ella Granger and Fred and George Weasley bantered back and forth. It really was quite amusing to watch and just as he had predicted, Hermione's mum and the Weasley twins got along famously. She enjoyed all of their jokes and even loved the different products that they shown her from Weasley Wizard Wheezes. Mrs. Weasley groaned when Ella Granger not only encouraged the twins to pull the items from their store out of their bags and bring them into the living room where she could have a look, but also had given them a great idea: a new type of ink that, once dry, would rearrange the words that were written into something totally funny and most likely inappropriate.

Harry was watching Mrs. Granger try to reassure Mrs. Weasley that the boys would make certain that the original message did indeed come back, after a small amount of time that is, when he caught a bit of movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head just in time to see Ron and Luna walking in from the garden. Harry frowned and quickly scanned the room for Hermione. The last time he had seen her, she, Fleur and Ginny had been gaggling over different items for the new baby that they saw in `Expectant Witch'. Not seeing the familiar bushy brown hair anywhere he turned back to the couple, who were still talking, but now headed towards the dining room.

Harry was confused; shouldn't Ron be spending time with Hermione instead of Luna? And shouldn't Hermione be downstairs with Ron instead of off somewhere with Ginny and Fleur?

`Perhaps you should talk to them to see what's going on,' his mind commented, `because something just doesn't seem right.'

Harry frowned as he realized something even more confusing: he didn't want to talk to them about it; he didn't want to help them work it out. He wasn't sure exactly why that was, he just knew that it was.

`I just don't want to get stuck in the middle like I have so many times before and end up with one of the two mad at me,' he thought, trying to reassure himself.

That had never been a concern before. If he could help his best mates be happy, he would usually do just about anything, even if that meant telling Ron how much of a git he was being and having the other boy stop talking to him, or telling Hermione that she was being too bossy and having her refuse to help him with his school work for, usually, at least a week. Whatever it was, it normally didn't matter as long as the two of them worked it out in the end. So why was this time different? Why didn't he want to help them fix the problem?

`I just don't want to get involved because I… because I...' he frowned as his mind whispered the answer. `Because you don't want them toge-'

"Uh-oh!!! Look who got caught!" George yelled, pulling Harry abruptly away from his disturbing thoughts.

"Come on you guys you know what it means!" Fred added wagging his eyebrows.

Harry followed their gazes to a flushed looking Ron and an oddly nervous looking Luna. When the blond girl slowly looked up, he finally saw what they were talking about. Just above Luna's head sat a small sprig of mistletoe. Ron and Luna looked at one another again and then back at the waiting audience.

"Come along now you two," Mr. Weasley said with a grin, "its tradition."

Giving a sigh, Ron turned and faced Luna, who had done the same with him. Putting his hands on her shoulders he leaned forward, but then hesitated. Giving one more look to the waiting crowd, and a glare to George and Fred who had given a loud cat-call and a sharp whistle, he once again looked at the petite blond in his hands. He leaned forward once more before stopping yet again about an inch or so from her lips.

"Crikey mate!" George called out.

"Sometime this year Ron," commented Fred.

"You know this is starting to get painful," added George.

"Maybe we should just shoot him and take him out of his misery," offered Fred.

"Leave him alone boys," said Mr. Weasley suppressing a smile. "Go on son, don't be shy." He then made small brushing motions with his hands.

"Yeah, we know you're up for it," threw in Fred. George opened his mouth to comment also but was cut off by a glower from his dad.

Ron, now a red as a tomato, turned back to Luna who oddly enough, now looked to be completely at ease with the situation. He bent down to kiss her again, but just as he was almost there he stopped just like the previous times. However, unlike the previous times and amid a chorus of groans Luna took it upon herself to close the distance between her and Ron, capturing his lips in a soft kiss. Harry watched in wonder as they continued to kiss for about twenty or thirty seconds before pulling apart both wearing extremely bemused expressions. They were snapped out of their stupor by a set of shrill whistles from the twins and a loud round of applause. Luna turned as red as Ron and her head dipped as she shuffled one toe into the carpet. For his part, Ron blushed for a second before taking off after Fred and George who had started making kissing faces.

Harry laughed as his best mate attempted to catch his two, very wiry older brothers. Giving a look around the room he noticed that everyone seemed to be enjoying the scene, including, to his surprise, both Mr. and Mrs. Granger. He wasn't sure what he had been expecting, but somehow he figured that they would be a bit bothered by their daughters' boyfriend kissing another girl.

'I guess I was wrong,' Harry thought to himself as Mr. Granger and Mr. Weasley shared a hearty laugh.

"What's going on?" He heard a voice asking just to his left. Turning his head he saw Ginny, Fleur and Hermione standing in the doorway with curious expressions.

Most activity and laughter came to a screeching halt at the appearance of the three young witches, though Harry knew that it had more to do with one of them in particular.

"Harry," Ginny said looking at him "what's going on?"

Harry stifled a groan; of course he would be the one to get asked. He gave a quick glace at Ron, whose eyebrows were almost up to his hairline. Giving a small sigh and a prayer that it wouldn't come back to bite him in the arse later he responded. "Nothing."

----

A couple of hours later Harry was standing in the kitchen putting all of the food that Mrs. Weasley had packed up for them into a bag. He had just placed the very large helpings of Christmas cake and homemade fudge in with everything else when he heard someone approaching. Harry turned just in time to see Ginny walk in, he smiled and was about to ask how it was going when the words died on his lips.

'Uh-oh,' he thought. 'What did I do now? She's frowning again," Harry gave an inaudible sigh as his girlfriend approached.

"Is it true?" she immediately asked as she came to a stop in front of him.

"Is what true?"

"Mum says that you're leaving, is it true?"

"Well, yeah," he gave her a confused look "the Grangers have to get back to work. They re-open their dentistry tomorrow."

"So," Ginny responded frowning even more. "That doesn't mean that you have to go, I thought that you would stay here for the rest of the holiday."

"Ginny I would love to, but you know I can't."

"Why not?"

"You know why," Harry answered, when she rose and expectant brow he continued "because I have to keep studying my Occlumency."

"You've been studying all break, according to your owls that's all that Hermione has been having you guys do." she responded crossing her arms over her chest.

"Yeah, but since we can't really practice what we're doing then it's best that we get in as much studying as possible." When she gave a forlorn sigh he took a step forward and pulled her into a loose hug. "Look sweetie, you know that I would love nothing more than to spend more time with you, but I have to go back to Hermione's house to study for my sessions with Snape. I promise that I'll continue to owl you regularly." When she still didn't look appeased he tried again. "Ginny, I'm going to miss you to, but there's nothing to do about it. I have to go to the Grangers and you have to stay here. As much as I wish there was a way for us to be together for the rest of the break, there isn't."

Ginny looked at him for a moment, before a determined glint entered her eyes. "Then I have the perfect solution."

"Really?" he gave her a wary look. "And what would that be?"

"It's perfect, I can go back to the Grangers with you!" she answered with an enthusiastic grin.

"We-wh-w-I, I don't know about that Ginny," Harry answered nervously.

"Why not?" she demanded once again glowering "You said you missed me and wanted to spend more time together, this is the perfect solution."

"I know-and it, it is. It's just that it's not my house it's Hermione's and I can't just invite guests over to someone else's house."

Ginny gave him a serious look as she processed what he said. "You're right," she stated.

Harry had just begun to relax when she pulled herself out of his arms and turned to walk out of the kitchen.

"Ginny, where are you going?" He called, racing after her.

"To talk to Hermione of course," she responded throwing a smile over her shoulder and heading out of the kitchen door.

Harry froze in his spot for an instant before taking off after his girlfriend. "Bloody hell."

***************************************

Hermione flipped thought her book on ancient spells and enchantments, completely unaware of the storm that was headed her way until it was too late.

"Hermione?" Ginny questioned, the brunette looked up from her book and smiled at the younger girl. "Can we talk for a minute?"

"Sure no problem," Hermione responded closing the text and standing. She gave a questioning look to a frazzled looking Harry who had just joined Ginny's side, a look he returned with a small wince.

'Uh-oh,' she thought.

"Hermione, Harry and I were just talking and he was telling me that you guys still needed to study Occlumency, so he's heading back with you to your house."

"Yes, that's true," she replied, tilting her head slightly and waiting for the other girl to finish.

"Well, I was thinking… maybe you guys could stay here! I mean if you stay than you and Harry can use the twins' room to study so you can still get ready for his sessions with Snape. Then you'll have more time to spend with Ron and Harry and I'll have more time together," she finished with a triumphant smile.

Hermione grimaced "Ginny I'd love to, but sorry I can't."

"Why not?!"

"Because, I only really get to spend time with my mum and dad twice a year- during summer break and during Christmas holiday. Soon I'll be graduating Hogwarts and heading off into adult life and this may be one of my last Christmas holidays to spend at home with them, just, you know being at home and not having to rush back to a busy life," she gave the other girl a small smile and touched her arm lightly. "You understand, don't you?"

Ginny gave a dejected sigh and nodded her head to which Hermione responded with a light pat on the arm. The older girl was about to go back to her book when Ginny looked at her once more with an excited expression.

"How about if I come to your house then?" she asked anxiously. "I'll be as quiet as a cat when you guys are studying. Heck, I'll even help. This way you can spend a lot more alone time with your mum and dad, and while you're doing that Harry and I can spend some alone time together."

"I...well-er, I don't know Ginny, that's really not up to me I'll have to ask my mum and dad," Hermione responded hesitantly giving a small shrug.

"Ask us what dear?" Ella Granger asked, walking over and joining the conversation.

Hermione flushed "Well, uhhh..."

"I was just asking Hermione if it was ok if I came over to your house for the rest of break." Seeing the older woman frown Ginny quickly amended her statement "Or at least until New Years Eve."

"Well," Ella said taking note of the young Weasley's hopeful expression, Harry's panicky one, and her daughters pained one. "I'm not sure if that's such a good idea."

"But I-" Ginny started, but was cut off as Mrs. Granger interrupted.

"It's not that I wouldn't like to have you over dear, I just don't think your parents would approve. I know I would never approve of Hermione and Ron being left alone in an un-chaperoned environment."

"But my mum trusts me, besides Harry and I promise nothings going to happen," Ginny said giving the woman her best puppy dog eyes.

"I don't know, we'll have to ask your mum and dad befor-"

"Mum!" Ginny called out, cutting off Mrs. Granger.

"What is it Ginevra?" Mrs. Weasley answered, walking in from the hallway; Hermione assumed she had been doing laundry.

"Mum, is it ok if I go back to the house with Hermione and Harry?" she hurried on when her mum opened her mouth to respond. "Please mum, Mrs. Granger said it was ok with her if it was ok with you."

Hermione's eyes widened as Mrs. Weasley seemed to actually consider what Ginny was saying. The older woman gave a small smile and opened her mouth to responded and Hermione just knew that she was about to give the ok. However, before she could say either 'yay' or 'nay' Ella Granger spoke once again.

"She's right Molly, I don't really have much of a problem with it. I just didn't want to assume that you wouldn't either, especially considering that Dan and I will be working most mornings and afternoons so it'll just be the kids in the house. I mean- I know how teenage hormones get, especially without adult supervision…eh, who am I telling right?" She gave a smile and a nonchalant shrug. "You have several teenagers so you know all about it. After all just because I would be uncomfortable with Ron and Hermione being alone in the house for hours, especially after the kiss that they had at the train station,” she muttered just loud enough for the other woman to hear. “Doesn't mean you have anything to worry about with Harry and Ginny..." she trailed off settling for a wave of the hand and a serene smile.

Ginny looked at Mrs. Granger in shock for a moment before once again looking at her mum. "Mum can I-"

"No, most defiantly not," Mrs. Weasley interrupted giving a firm shake of the head.

"But mum I-"

"I said no. I am not going to give you free reign to spend your mornings and afternoons snogging with Harry."

When Harry opened his mouth to protest Hermione placed a hand on his wrist and gave him a warning look. Understanding her meaning, he closed his mouth and watched the uncomfortable conversation with his girlfriend and her mum progress.

"Mum! Harry and I would never do anything, you should know that!" Ginny replied drawing herself up indignantly.

"All I know is that I've heard more than one whisper about you and your previous boyfriend's young lady that I have chosen to disregard because you're my daughter. But I cannot ignore that just at the beginning of break, you hauled off and planted one on Harry right in the middle of a crowded train station that included, not only countless strangers but both me and your father." Ginny opened her mouth to respond, but Mrs. Weasley cut her off. "I will say this once and only once- I already have one grandchild on the way and that's enough for me, so my answer stands."

With that she turned and stormed back down the hall, leaving a gaping Ginny, Harry, Hermione and Ella Granger behind. After a moment Ginny snapped out of her stupor and raced out of the room and down the hall behind her mum, Hermione assumed in another attempt to change her mind.

"Well," Ella Granger said after a minute "I don't think that she'll be joining us this break." She then turned back to them and gave a smile and a slow wink before sauntering off to find her husband.

Harry and Hermione shared a look but decided the best course of action was just to not comment.

A.N. That's it for this chapter, sorry if it was a bit short also sorry if those little boxes showed up again, I did what I could to get rid of them but if that didn't work then I am at a loss of what to do next. As for the length of the chappy I just felt that this was just the place that I needed to stop. Honestly there weren't originally going to be two Burrow chapters, but that's just how it worked out. Please stay tuned I will update Friday as usual with the next chappy! Oh and there is my favorite thing in the next chapter… what is that? Why its a very interesting development of course *lol*… do you think you know what it is? Well, I do. So make sure to check it out and see also PLEASE REVIIEW!! Ja ne!!

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19. Interesting Development

Forbidden Love

Chapter 18

Harry grinned as he instantly disappeared from the busy streets of London, only to appear on the quiet streets of Paris just a moment later. Taking a deep breath he inhaled the crisp morning air and his grin got impossibly wider as his gaze fixed on the enormous architectural revolution that was the Eiffel Tower. Putting his hand on the strap of his knapsack he started forward, making his way through the crowd. He was almost to the large structure when he was heard someone calling him.

"Harry! Harry!"

He groaned. He knew that voice. That voice was the voice of torture... torture and homework.

"Harry James Potter I know you can hear me!" Hermione yelled.

Harry's eyes snapped open and the annoyed face of his beautiful best mate instantly came into focus.

"What?" he asked innocently.

"What? What? You were supposed to be clearing your mind that's what," she responded in an agitated tone.

"It-I was, my mind was totally clear. I wasn't thinking about anything but darkness, space and mazes," he countered, giving her his best offended look.

"Ha! What bollocks! You were thinking about apparating," she retorted in a superior tone.

"How-wh-"

"Honestly Harry, I don't have to be a trained Legilimens to know what you're thinking about," Hermione continued with a smug look. "You've thought of nothing else since Mr. Weasley took you to get your license."

Harry flushed and looked down guilty "Sorry," he mumbled.

This year for Christmas Harry was pleasantly surprised to find that Mr. Weasley had made an appointment for him go and get his Apparition license. The elder Weasley had even come by Hermione's house a couple of days later and had personally taken him down to the ministry to take his test. Harry had been so excited that he had passed on his first go, that he immediately apparated back to Hermione's house, with his new license mind you, to let her know the great news.

When he suddenly appeared in the room and startled her with his sudden manifestation, a frowning had Hermione lectured him sternly on the importance of not apparating unannounced. Then assured him that him that he was lucky her mum hadn't seen him. Otherwise she would have had a fit and forbade Harry from ever doing it again, especially in her house. After she felt he was duly chastised Hermione then gave him one of her world-class hugs and congratulated him on a job well done.

Harry smiled to himself. Mr. Weasley's had been the best Christmas gift he had gotten that year, well next to Hermione's. He still remembered how odd he had thought it was when she told everyone that she forgotten his present back at her house like, in her words, "a silly goose".

He had thought it odder still when Charlie suggested that she apparate and she and politely declined saying that Harry could wait till later and that he had enough presents already anyway. However, when she called him into her room after they made it home and he opened his gift he knew exactly why she had waited to give him the present. As he held up the Puddlemere United jersey and stared in wonder and the signatures of the various team members. Hermione studiously explained that she had corresponded with Oliver Wood and after a bit of persuasion he had agreed to help her out with the autographs. Then blushing, she quietly added that she hoped that he liked it and understood why she couldn't give it to him at The Burrow. He had hugged her and replied that he understood completely, and then thanked her profusely for the gift.

"Harry," Hermione's annoyed tone interrupted once again. "Could you stop thinking about apparition for one minute please?"

"I wasn't thinking about apparating," he said. When she gave him a skeptical look he continued. "Actually I'm thinking of a much better present that I received this year," he finished with a roguish smile.

Hermione opened her mouth, and then closed it as she turned an attractive shade of red. "We-well, what you should be thinking about is your Occlumency. So let's get back to studying ok?"

He gave a small sigh but nodded his head in agreement. Hermione reached past him to the radio on her nightstand, flipping the switch on the side, a muggle pop song came on. She then turned the volume up a bit and sat back giving Harry an expectant look.

"What?"

"Go on, clear your mind," Hermione responded with a small shooing motion.

"With that on?" Harry asked giving a look to the tiny but loud radio which was playing an annoying song from some muggle girl group. Harry couldn't really remember their name because he usually turned the station as soon as they came on, though he thought it was `The Kitty Kat Bears' or, `Putty Tats'- or something. Eh, it didn't matter, whatever it was it was obnoxious.

"Yes with that on," she responded in a tone that implied she was talking to a child. "You need to learn how to clear you mind when it's being disturbed in some type of way. Since I'm not able to invade your thoughts like Snape, I figure I'll just let the Pussycat Dolls do it for me."

"Is that what they're called?" he asked giving the radio a disgruntled look as the lead singer continued to screech away.

"Yes, that's what they're called, but it's a moot point. Harry close your eyes and focus," Hermione replied frowning and turning his head to face her.

Giving a sigh Harry closed his eyes and tried to concentrate, but he could still hear the women warbling on the radio in the background.

"Take a deep breath, in and out, in and out," he did as he was told. "Okay," Hermione continued "now close your mind to all sounds except for my voice. Picture a black room, completely empty just like the new book said. Devoid of all objects and just black as night," Harry took a deep breath and focused as hard as he could. Gradually the light from the window, he could still see through his lids, began to fade away.

"Tune out all noise Harry, you should hear nothing, nothing but my voice," she continued in a calming tone. As the room darkened it began to quiet too, the "singing" of the girl group slowly faded away until all Harry could hear were Hermione's voice and the chirping of the birds just outside the window. "Close your mind Harry, close it to everything, and make a path- the path that you want to be followed. A path that leads to whatever memories that you've created," the room suddenly had a door, though there was no light beyond it. As he made his way towards the opening the sound of the birds faded away leaving Hermione's soft and soothing voice to float around him as the only indication he was not alone.

"That's it Harry, steady breathing, lead the way, you're in charge of your mind and therefore you control all who enter it." She said in a voice that sounded somewhat far away. "I will leave you here. Lead the way, take your time and make your path. You can do it, I believe in you." With that her voice disappeared completely from his mind.

Harry continued through the dark empty hallways completely alone, except for the feeling that Hermione was still somehow with him. As he took a door that had suddenly appeared to his left, a bright light burst though. When it faded Harry was in a room full of memories... but, they weren't. There were many there, countless to choose from, but three stood out from the rest. One was of him winning the Quidditch world cup, next to that was a memory of Draco Malfoy groveling at Hermione's feet and begging her forgiveness for being such a prat. However the best one was just beyond that this one was of Professor Snape, full on snogging… Mr. Filch. Harry cringed, then chuckled.

"Harry? Harry, are you in there?" Hermione's voice called from a distance. "Come back Harry, open your eyes," she continued, her voice getting progressively louder.

Harry opened his eyes and instantly began to blink rapidly from the sunlight coming though the room. Shielding his eyes a bit he allowed them to adjust to the brightness as the sound of yet another muggle pop group played loudly from the radio. When he was once again able to see properly, Harry removed his hand and looked up, immediately coming face to face with a beaming Hermione.

"You did it Harry!" she exclaimed, coming forward and pulling him into a brief but tight hug, before quickly shutting off the radio. "I knew you could do it, I just knew it! What was it like? What did you see? Did you get to actually see the false memories like in the book? How about the maze or did you just do the bottomless pit? Come, don't leave me hanging here, give me details!"

Hermione finished staring at him expectantly with her hands clasped together in front of her chest and a radiant smile on her face.

"Well I must admit, at first I thought all of those exercises were a bit iffy, but then," he shrugged "I don't know, somehow they worked."

Harry then went on to explain about how he first got rid of the light and then the sound. Next, they both had a great laugh over the fake memories that Harry had implanted into his mind especially the Malfoy and Snape ones.

"That's wonderful Harry," she said once he was done, giving him a bright grin.

He returned the grin with an appreciative smile "I couldn't have done it without you Hermione."

She blushed slightly "Well, thanks… so, let's get back to work huh? Now, I want to you do it again, but this time try to do it quicker," she said, switching to business mode. Leaning forward she turned the radio back on.

"But-"

"But nothing Harry, I'm proud of your accomplishment, however, do you really think Snape is going to wait while you slowly tune him out?" She arched a brow, and gave a perfunctory nod when he shook his head. "Me either, you need to learn to do it instantly, and now that we can that you can do it, I don't think that taking that next step should be to hard."

Harry gave a pained expression that grew even more pronounced as she leant forward and turned the radio up even louder. Harry gave the small contraption an aggravated look; how could something so tiny be so ruddy loud?

"I put a small spell on it!" Hermione yelled over the music answering his silent question and leaving Harry to wonder if she was in fact a trained Legilimens. "Oh please Harry it's written all over you face!" she yelled again a moment later, once again guessing his thoughts.

"Won't you parent's mind the noise?!" he asked giving a worried look to the door.

"They're sill at work! Besides, I put a temporary silencing charm on the room anyway! Now come on, get on with it!"

Harry gave another groan, then closing his eyes he did his best to once more shut out the sound.

-----

Harry's hand slammed down on the radio. "That's enough Hermione it`s New Years Eve, eve and I`ll we`ve done is cram! Look I just need a break, just one small break! We've been at this for hours!"

“New Years Eve, eve?” she released an unlady-like snort. “There`s no such thing. As for the break thing what are you talking about?" she continued, reaching forward and plucking her radio off the night stand to check that he didn't break it. "You've had at least five breaks today."

He gave her a peeved look "Those were not breaks! They were called breakfast, lunch and dinner, not to mention a couple of bathroom breaks."

"Ha! Breaks- see I told you they were breaks," she replied with a smug look.

Harry leaned forward and gave her a menacing one of his own. "Hermione if I don't get at least fifteen minutes to recuperate, I swear to you I will make sure that the first memory that Snape sees- is the one of you."

Hermione's eyes widened in surprise as she started to respond then stopped; giving him a death glare she stood up and stormed out of the bed room without saying another word and leaving the door wide open behind herself. Harry figured that was her not so subtle way of hinting that he should leave her room.

"Not bloody likely," he mumbled to himself lying back on the bed.

Giving a huff when he landed on a set of books that were resting on the pillow, Harry took a minute to gather all of the texts off of the bed and set them on the floor just next to it. Once the soft surface was completely devoid of all of the hard tomes he laid back and stretched out, releasing a small sigh of contentment.

However, after lying quietly for a few minutes Harry once again opened his eyes. As tired as he was, his mind was too amped up from all of the exercises they had been doing and he found himself unable to relax. Giving an agitated sigh he remained where he was on the bed, but took this time as an opportunity to look around Hermione's room. He smiled to himself as he remembered his first day at her house. He really hadn't had much of a chance to really look at her room since then, but that was no big deal considering the fact that everything seemed to be exactly the same... well, almost everything. Harry's eyes were drawn back to the night stand where Hermione's small radio sat occupying a place that, at one point, was previously taken up by Ron's picture.

As soon as they had come back for break and he had entered her room, Harry had noticed that he picture was gone, but he had figured she'd just left it at school. Either way he had thought it was best not to comment on it. His expression turned thoughtful. He didn't know what was going on with his two best mates, Hermione and Ron seemed to be fighting more lately and Ron and Luna - for some odd reason - seemed to be fighting less... not that Luna ever really fought with anyone. Then again, he considered as his brain switched back to the original topic, what did it matter? Hermione had already basically said that it wasn't the picture of Ron that she had been holding that night. But if it wasn't him then, who? Could it have been-

'Whoa, dangerous thought's there Potter,' his mind cautioned 'best not to even go that route.'

Realizing that his brain was right Harry decided to direct his attention elsewhere. He looked up at the scrolls on either side of her bed before allowing his gaze to wander to the other pictures on her wall. He smiled as he saw one of the gang at Hogsmeade. Neville was fanning his mouth profusely because Ron had given him one of the twins' fire sweets. He laughed when photo Neville belched and nearly caught photo Ron's hair on fire. Looking down to the one below it, he smiled as Hermione, Ginny and Luna waived back at him happily. Picture Ginny gave Harry a wink and blew a small kiss, much to the annoyance of picture Hermione. Harry chuckled as the two girls glowered at one another; however his smile froze on his face as his eyes came into contact with the next photo. There, in the frame just under the three girls, stood a photo version of him. Photo Harry gave him a wave and a large grin before looking around. As he looked around the frame Harry noticed something very important about the picture… he was alone. Photo Harry was alone... alone in the frame.... alone in the black frame.

Scrambling off of the bed Harry stood and slowly approached the picture, his photo image seemed to give him an amused look as he continued to wave. Taking the picture cautiously off of the wall he examined it closely, turning it back and forth and front and back. He then looked back up at the wall of photos and did a quick sweep of the room for any other black frames with one lone figure in them. After finding none he looked back down at photo Harry who continued to wave but also seemed to give him a small wink.

“No way,” Harry whispered to himself, photo Harry looked suspiciously like he was now laughing.

Harry continued to stare at the picture in a mild form of shock until he was broken out of his reverie by Hermione's voice calling out to him.

“What are you doing Harry?” she questioned sternly, walking back into the room and closing the door behind her. “Are you finally ready to study again?” she continued when he didn't respond. “Harry? Harry?” Hermione walked the rest of the way into the room until she came to a halt on the other side of the bed. “Harry?” she questioned once more her tone now going from one of annoyance to worry.

Harry turned slowly and looked at his best friend with an expression that indicated that he had never seen her before. Looking around and then back at him, Hermione raised a brow.

“What?!” she demanded after a minute, once again looking annoyed.

Instead of responding Harry turned and faced Hermione fully, closely scrutinizing her reaction. At first he saw none, until her gaze flicked to his right hand where he held the picture frame. Her face took on a sickly shade of white and her eyes became panicked. It was then that he knew….

*****************************

`He knew!' her mind screamed as Harry continued to stare at her as though she had grown another head. `Oh. My. God. He knew!” Hermione's eyes went wide and darted around the room for her quickest escape route. She couldn't think, she could not think, she could feel herself starting to freak out. `No, no, no, no, no this cannot be happening!' her brain yelled. `Stupid, stupid, stupid, why didn't you take it down, why?! I need to think. I have to get out of here!'

Turning abruptly she dashed towards the door, however, before she could reach it she was intercepted by Harry. She wasn't sure how it happened, all she knew is one minute she had been about to touch the knob and the next she was pinned between his warm muscular body and the hard bedroom wall.

“Hermione,” he said softy.

She didn't look at him, she couldn't. Feeling her face aflame Hermione decided that the best course of action was to focus on the small scratch in the paint, on the wall across the room.

“Hermione,” Harry tried again, this time a bit louder.

She continued to ignore him.

“Hermione, look at me!” he said a bit more forcefully then, to her surprise, he took his hand off of the wall and used it to turn her face so that had no choice but to look at him.

“Let me go,” she told him softly, glaring.

Harry gave her an amused look and slowly shook his head. “Not until we talk about this.”

“There's nothing to talk about,” she put her hand on his wrist and attempted to pull his hand from her face. He arched a brow but said nothing. “Harry, you're hurting me,” she stated with a frown.

The look of amusement instantly disappeared and was replaced with a look of genuine concern. “I'm sorry Hermione,” he said softly, letting go of her face but not removing his fingers. Instead using them to caress her chin where he had been holding her. “I didn't hurt you too bad did I?”

“N-ye-yes,” she cleared her throat “yes, you did. Look lets just call it a night ok? Like you said its New Years Eve, eve we should get some rest. We have a big day tomorrow.” She finished giving a nervous laugh and a longing look to the door.

Harry shook his head, effectively regaining her attention. “No, not until we talk.”

“There's nothing to talk about Harry.”

“Yes there is.”

“No there isn't,” she replied giving him a pleading look. “Can we please just drop this?”

“Fine,” he said, she relaxed “if you answer one question for me.”

Hermione gave him an anxious look and threw another longing glance to the door.

“What?” she asked hesitantly after a few minutes.

“Was it me?” Harry pinned her with a heated gaze. “That night Hermione, was it me in the picture that you were holding? Was it me that you were thinking about?”

He was watching her so closely that she felt like he could read her thoughts, her breath quickened and a dizzying feeling took over as she once again began to panic. Hermione just knew she was about to faint and Harry must have sensed it to, because his other hand went from the wall to her waist in an effort to steady her.

“I just-” he licked his lips “I need to you tell me, Hermione… was it me?”

She stared at him for a minute longer, feeling herself falling into emerald green eyes. As she became overwhelmed with intense feelings of desire and longing that she was no longer sure were hers, her mouth whispered the words that her brain never meant to release.

“Yes,” the affirmation came out as no more than a breathy whisper, but to Harry it seemed to have the effect of a yell.

His eyes widened and his mouth opened a bit, as a breath escaped that smelled like the chocolate and mint they had shared earlier. His eyes became clouded and his body moved so close that there was no more room between him and her than there was between her and the wall.

“Hermione,” he whispered a scant second before his head dipped down. Without thinking, her mouth came up to meet his half way.

“Hermione!!! Hermione are you in there?!!!” Harry jumped back from her as the voice bellowed through the wall.

Both teens looked frantically at the door and Hermione quickly reached out her hand, pressing the lock down just a second before the handle rattled.

“Hermione, it's your father!! Are you in there?!” Dan Granger yelled beating on the door and once again trying the knob. “Is Harry in there with you?!! Why is this door locked young lady?! Is he in here?! Did he touch anything?! He better not have touched anything -I'll kill him, wizard or no, I'll have his neck!”

Harry grimaced and gave an anxious look at the shaking door.

“Daddy!” Hermione called out. “Daddy, stop it!”

“Let me in Pumpkin, I promise I won't hurt him… much!”

Hermione gave a panicked look to Harry who shrugged in response before grinning. Furrowing her brows she gave him a `What?' look and placed her hand on the shaking door.

“Daddy, give me a moment ok?!”

“What do you need a moment for? I looked in his room he's not in there, open the door and I mean now young lady?!”

“Dan,” Hermione heard her mum say, she released the breath she had been holding.

“What are you doing?”

“It's almost two o'clock in the morning and Hermione and Harry are locked in her bedroom, what do you think I'm doing?! I'm trying to break the door down- now stand back dear!”

“Dan that rid- wait, Harry's in there?” A moment later Harry and Hermione heard more

pounding on the door. “Hermione is Harry in there with you?!” her mum yelled. “He better not be, open this door right now young lady.”

“Move dear,” Mr. Granger said, “stand back; just give me some room and I'll have that door down in a jiffy.”

Hermione threw Harry a distressed look, but instead of being as horrified as her he just smiled. Giving her a wink he mouthed the words `open the door' and then, before she could question him, he was gone with a light `pop'.

Hermione groaned and rolled her eyes, why didn't she think of that?!

“Wait daddy, I'm opening the door!” she called out. Then, after giving one last look around the room she unlocked and twisted the knob.

As soon as she opened the door, her mum and dad swept past her. Dan Granger did a quick survey of the room before bending and looking under his daughters' bed. Finding nothing there he quickly made his way to her wardrobe.

“Ah-ha!!” he yelled as he flung the doors open dramatically, frowning lightly when the only things that greeted him were clothes and books.

Hermione rolled her eyes “Daddy, I told you no one was in here. I was just finishing up a chapter and didn't want to stop half-way thorough.”

Both of her parents gave her suspicious looks, but neither commented.

“Then where's Harry?” her mum asked after a moment, still closely watching her daughter.

“I don't know, I supp-”

“What's going on?” Harry asked entering the room with a glass of juice and surveying the scene. “Is everything ok?”

“Where were you?” Mr. Granger demanded, coming forward and standing directly in Harry`s face.

Mrs. Granger sighed at her husband's antics before grabbing his shirt and yanking him back a few steps so that he was next to her. “My husband didn't see you in your room and became a bit…er,” she looked at Hermione then back at Harry “worried.”

Harry raised his brows and then frowned, looking thoroughly confused. Hermione found that she was impressed, had she not known that Harry was in her room just a few minutes ago she would have believed that he truly had no idea what was going on.

“Well,” Harry started looking thoughtful. “I couldn't sleep so I went out to get some air, just took a small walk around the neighborhood. Then, after that I came back inside and went to get a glass of juice. I was just on my way back to my room when I saw everyone in here and decided to investigate,” he supplied effortlessly.

Mrs. Granger nodded her head easily excepting the explanation, but Mr. Granger continued to look at Harry suspiciously.

“Your bed didn't look like it had been slept in at all,” he pressed, still watching Harry closely.

The boy didn't comment but instead settled for a shrug and a sip of his juice.

“Dan, give it a rest, Harry wasn't in here. Look we have a lot of things to do tomorrow so lets all get some sleep, ok?” Ella said.

Turning she gave her daughter a quick hug and a soft spoken apology for not trusting her before grabbing her husband and pushing him out the door. In the hall she said goodnight to Harry and pulled Dan towards their bedroom. Hermione suppressed a laugh as her dad insisted that he stand at the door and watch Harry enter his room before going into theirs. Once both Harry and Hermione were in their respective rooms with both of their respective doors closed, Dan Granger finally entered his own room and went to bed… making sure to leave his respective door wide open.

A.N. That's it for this chapter, so close yet so far!! I know. Next chapter New Year's Eve, I can't wait and I hope you can't either!!! Oh and I know that the Pussycat Dolls weren't around in the exact timeframe of this story but I didn't feel like researching annoying nineties pop bands so… (pulls out creative license and flashes it) here you go! Yay, author privileges! Till the next chappy, please review and Ja ne!

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20. Happy New Years!!!

Forbidden Love

Chapter 19

Hermione blinked a few times as sunlight streamed though the window and into her bedroom.

“Hermione, dear, time for breakfast!” Her mum called from the hallway.

Sitting up she gave a languid stretch and leaned back against the pillows, giving her body time to adjust to the idea of getting up for another day. As she released another yawn she slowly looked around her room, it was then that her oncoming good mood came to a crashing halt. There, sitting on the dresser where her photo of Ron use to reside, was a photo of Harry; a photo of Harry, in a stupid black frame.

Hermione groaned as memories from the previous night came rushing back in one jumbled flaming pile of crap. How in the world was she going to face him? How was she going to sit across from him a breakfast or worse still, spend the whole day with him, with that hanging over her head?

“Hermione Jean Granger, get in here for breakfast this instant!” her mum yelled from the hall.

Oddly enough hearing her mum bellow like a fishwife helped her to relax. Sure, she would have to spend a lot of time with Harry today, but her parents would be there too. And knowing her father, that meant that they wouldn't get a second alone to talk, let alone to…

She flushed as she recalled what had almost happened between them the previous night before her dad had started beating on the door like a barmy copper. Shaking off the memories she got out of her warm bed and threw on her house shoes, gave a scratch behind the ears to Crookshanks, grabbed her robe and headed out the door.

Walking in the kitchen she was met by the surprising picture of her dad and Harry involved in a very animated talk about Harry's long time favorite and her dad's newly favorite subject, Quidditch. When they had been at the Weasley's on Christmas morning Hermione's dad had finally gotten to see his first game of Quidditch and though it had only been an armature match - Fred, Harry and Charlie against George, Ron and Ginny - He had still been quite excited about what he had seen, and talking about it almost non-stop every since.

“-it's called the Wronski Feint,” Harry was saying as she walked in.

“Wow, it looks dangerous,” Mr. Granger responded, leaning closely over the moving picture of the acclaimed Polish Seeker.

“It's brilliant is what it is,” Harry replied grinning, “I'm learning it. Almost have it down pat too I think.”

Mr. Granger gave an appreciative look and a nod. “I'm sure if anyone can get it, you can Harry,” he said, giving the boy a clap on the back.

Hermione smiled to herself as her friend blushed and then glowed under the compliment.

“It's about time you joined us, it's after eleven o`clock,” her mum commented, placing a bowl of hot porridge on the table. “Eat up we want to be at the fair by six, which doesn't give us much time to do that and the other things that you guys wanted to do today. We're going to need to leave in about an hour to get to the cinema on time and you still haven't showered yet sleepy head.”

“Sorry mum, I was completely knackered,” she mumbled, avoiding Harry's gaze.

“Perhaps next time you shouldn't stay up too late studying,” Mrs. Granger pressed, setting a cup of juice down in front of her as she sat. “I really don't think it's healthy. You and Harry spend all day studying together, and now it turns out that you spend all night studying by yourself. Well, I tell you, I absolutely forbid you to do any studying today. Am I coming in clear?”

“Yes mum,” Hermione grumbled, throwing a glare to the sniggering Harry.

After getting her daughter's agreement, Ella sat down at the table and joined the ongoing conversation while Hermione finished the rest of her breakfast in silence, choosing to actually listen to the Quidditch talk at the table rather than be left alone with her thoughts.

**********

“Now that looks fun,” Ella Granger declared, pointing to the large roller coaster.

Hermione and her dad shared a look. “Actually,” replied Dan Granger “I like the look of that,” everyone followed the direction he was pointing. There, less than ten feet away stood huge sprawling carousel, “I heard those things were quite the crack,” he added with a jovial grin.

Harry and Ella gave him a set of dubious looks, while Hermione smiled. “I like the way you think dad, what do you say Harry?”

Harry winced, but was saved from commenting when Hermione's mum cut him off.

“I think that Harry and I'll do the roller coaster and you two can hop on the kiddie-- I mean carousel.”

Hermione frowned; she did not like the idea of Harry being left alone with her calculating mum. “Well mum, I'm sure Harry would prefer the carousel. Wouldn't you Harry?” she asked, raising her brows in a silent hint that he should go along with it, a hint that in typical Harry fashion, went right over his head. The git.

“Actually,” he answered looking at the ride “it looks quite boring.” He then looked at her mum, “I really would love to go on that coaster though.”

Ella Granger gave a wide smile, while her daughter glowered. “I'm sure we'll have great fun. Let's leave these two pansies to hit up all the kiddy rides.” She laughed and gave Harry a wink, “I can't tell you how relieved I am to actually be able to come with someone that's not afraid to hop on a coaster. What do you think about trying out that ride that takes you up high and drop you, want to give that one a go too?” She asked, looking as excited as her daughter did when talking about books.

Harry returned her infectious grin “Sure that sounds great! After falling off my broom during Quidditch, a falling a few stories should be nothing.”

With that said the two took off like a couple of excited teenagers towards the more dangerous looking rides. Hermione threw an annoyed glance to her dad only to find him smiling at the retreating duo.

“You don't mind?” She asked somewhat surprised, usually her dad was grumbling about things like this.

“Nah,” he answered giving her a smile and a wink. “Your mum always comes to these things with us and sticks to the rides that we want to ride. I've tried a couple of her choices, but I must say I just don't have the stomach for them. Personally I'm glad she has Harry to go with, he can keep her company,” his eyes took on an impish twinkle, “and keep other blokes from hitting on her.”

“Dad! Where would you get-”

“Now Pumpkin, just because you see your mum as an old woman doesn't mean that a grown bloke would see her in the same light.” At his daughters thoughtful expression he continued, “But don't worry I have no doubt Harry will make sure that they keep their distance for me, just like I'll do for him.”

“What does that-”

“So what do you say we hop on that carousel?” Dan Granger interrupted, grabbing his daughter's hand and leading her towards the ride. “Then after that, I think we should head for the teacups.”

*****************

“This was a lot of fun, we'll have to do it again,” Ella said a couple of hours later.

“I look forward to it,” Harry responded giving a flourishing bow.

Mrs. Granger giggled like a schoolgirl while her husband rolled his eyes and chuckled.

“Watch it there Harry,” He said reaching out and giving the tall boy a pat on the back and a look of mock-reproach. “Well, as much fun as this has been, we have to take out leave. We need to get to that New Years Eve party thrown by the Dental Association- bunch of stiffs,” he finished with a mumble.

Though he said it in a low voice, they all still heard him and Hermione and Harry's laughter let him know that.

“Dan, you know that we promised to go.” Mrs. Granger said, giving him a small frown before looking at Harry and Hermione. “So, you kids can go ahead and stay here, it's already ten and they're going to do the fireworks at midnight. Do you guys have money for a taxi home?” when they both nodded she continued. “Good, be careful there's quite an unscrupulous lot hanging out just beyond these gates. In truth, if I didn't know what you two were capable of I wouldn't even think to leave you here after we've gone. Maybe-”

“Ella, leave the kids be, dear,” Mr. Granger interjected, “we're over an hour late and we still have to run home and change. Come on let's go.”

“Okay, okay,” Mrs. Granger muttered before giving them both brief hugs. “Phone me on my mobile if there's any problem. We'll see you kids at the house later. Goodnight and happy New Year!” She called out as her husband dragged her towards the car.

“Well,” Harry said with a grin as Hermione's mum disappeared into the crowd “I don't think I've had this much fun on New Years in ages,” Hermione smirked. “Ok, so I haven't had this much fun ever,” he conceded with a shrug. “What do you want to do now?”

Hermione looked around the park before looking back at Harry, but when their gazes connected she flushed and looked away. “How about we grab something to eat?”

“Sounds like a plan,” he answered, “so pick your poison, did you want burgers, pizza or hotdogs?”

Hermione grinned, “This conversation sounds strangely familiar,” when he gave a confused look she elaborated. “Ok, ask that question again, but this time picture us in skates.”

Harry began to laugh and she joined in, after a moment the merriment subsided and he just stared at her tilting his head a bit.

“What?” Hermione quizzed suddenly feeling a bit self-conscious and fixing her hair.

“Nothing,” he said as his mouth formed a slow grin. “I was just realizing why I hadn't put the two together.”

“Why?”

“That's easy- you're standing,” she gave him a confused look and his grin widened. “Well at the skating rink you spent most of the time on your bum.”

Hermione released and indignant growl and took off after Harry who had broken into a jog right after making the offending statement.

**********

Harry gave a look to the petite witch next to him. She, along with several other people in the crowd, were watching the sky for the fireworks that were set to began at midnight. He didn't understand why she kept looking up; after all there would be a countdown before midnight so the start of the fireworks would be no surprise. With that being the case it didn't make any sense that she kept her gaze directed at the stars.

`Or maybe it does,' his mind interjected fairly.

He may be a bit of a cabbage at times, but he wasn't completely daft; he knew exactly why she kept looking at the twinkling night sky. He also knew that she had been avoiding him in her own little way ever since her parents had left. Most importantly though, he knew why she was doing it. He shouldn't have cornered her in the room like that, but in the end she seemed to have wanted him as much as he wanted her.

`Just like that day in the Room of Requirement,' he thought. `Not to mention the photo…'

Harry gave a sigh and pushing the thoughts away, he let his gaze wander around the crowded park. As he looked to his left he made momentary eye contact with the ice cream vendor whose booth they were standing next to, returning the muggle man's small smile Harry then turned his attention, once more, to the young witch next to him.

Sensing his gaze and after a small hesitation, Hermione finally looked away from the stars and at him. Harry's eyes widened slightly and his breath quickened at the sight of the confusion and hunger that were emanating from her luminous eyes. When she tried to turn away once more he quickly brought his hand out and caught her cheek, holding her heated gaze and forcing her to continue to look at him.

“Ten!”

Harry licked his lips, when she bit her bottom one. Oh how he loved when she did that.

“Nine!”

She opened her mouth just a bit, her lush pink lips forming a small `o'.

“Eight!”

Harry turned so that he was fully facing her and brought his other hand up so the he was cupping both of her flushed cheeks.

“Seven!”

Hermione wrapped her fingers around his wrists, but did not push them away.

“Six!”

She continued to hold his wrists, then tightening her grip and using a small amount of pressure she pulled him a fraction of an inch closer.

“Five!”

Realizing what she wanted, and how much he wanted it too, Harry took a single step forward so that they were almost touching.

“Four!”

Hermione removed her hands from his wrists and placed them on the sides of his face.

“Three!”

Licking her lips and giving a hesitant look, she moved closer still so that their bodies were now touching fully.

“Two!”

Harry bent his head down a fraction; he knew that he wanted to kiss her. He knew that he had wanted to kiss her for a while. But he refused to take the decision away from her.

“One!”

Hermione hesitated once more before going on her tiptoes and closing the distance between them.

“Happy New Year!!!!”

The young couple remained blissfully unaware of the commotion that erupted around them as Hermione's hands left Harry's face and became buried in his dark hair. Releasing her chin, he wrapped both arms around her waist molding her soft pliant form against his broader, more muscular one. However, before he could do it himself, Harry was surprised to feel Hermione's warm tongue probing the entrance to his mouth. Without thinking twice about it he opened and allowed her entry, reveling in the small moan she released as he pulled her body impossibly closer to his own.

Through his passion filled haze, Harry could vaguely here people laughing and talking in the background followed by several whistles and cat calls. Hoping that Hermione hadn't heard, he held her close and slowly walked them backwards until his waist came into contact with the counter for the ice cream stand. Maneuvering his body around, Harry continued to inch towards the side, which was no easy feat considering most of his brainpower had deserted him, until he found his back resting against the solid structure.

Now content with their relative amount of privacy, he began to relax and just enjoy the feel of her once more. His arms loosened their death grip on her waist, and as they did her body slowly and enticingly slid down the length of his. One of his hands made its way down her back, unhurriedly caressing and kneading her buttocks, while the other went up and tangled it's self in her bushy, but soft locks. When Harry gave her hair a gentle tug Hermione's head involuntarily fell back, revealing a long pale neck. He kissed the corner of her chin and languidly made his way down the front of her neck as she held tightly onto his shoulders. Her nails were digging into his shoulders and her breath was coming out in a series of heavy pants, a sound that Harry found he was having a hard time getting enough of.

As his mouth moved lower he unzipped the top of her jacket a bit to allow him access to her collarbone. He ran his tongue along the milky area and he smiled against her skin when she shivered. Making his way back up her neck, he captured her ear between his teeth and gave a small nibble. When Hermione let out a small `mewl' in pleasure and arched her body against his, Harry couldn't take anymore. Opening his eyes he did a quick sweep of their surroundings then, wrapping his arms possessively around her once more, he hauled her against him and disappeared from sight with a loud `crack'.

***********************

Hermione's passion induced stupor cleared a bit when the familiar pull of apparation took over. However, before the haze could leave her head completely, it was over and she was standing in her own bedroom. A moment after they arrived Harry let her go and with her own legs in no condition to support her weight Hermione fell backwards onto the soft bed.

The dark haired boy ran an agitated hand though his hair and watched her though hooded eyes. The dim light from the moon peeking through her windows was the only source of brightness in the room and Harry's tall form was adeptly accentuated by it. He towered over her own, looking like an enticing dark prince, a devastatingly handsome vampire or a mysterious hero... His chest rose and fell rapidly as he attempted to get his emotions under control and his disheveled hair fell lightly into his blazing eyes. Eyes that were asking her a very important question…

She knew the answer to that question; yes, they should stop. They both had significant others, and those significant others were important to both of them not only in terms of relationships, but in terms of friendships. She should say no, call a halt to this destructive behavior immediately and send him back to his own room.

In fact, she opened her mouth to tell Harry this, but when his gaze flicked to her lips she found she was robbed of her words as well as her breath. When his eyes once again returned to hers, Hermione wasn't sure what he saw in the dim moonlight, but whatever it was caused him to come forward. Surprised at his sudden movement she unintentionally lay backwards on the bed as his large form bent over hers, his strong arms resting on either side of her small form. She looked up at Harry still not saying a word, still not knowing how to form one. Oh, her mind was screaming all kinds of words, like they should stop or that she should tell him so… but her mouth wouldn't work and traitorous body wasn't listening.

Point in case the mutinous hand, that of its own accord, left her side and went to Harry's face, pushing his hair back and tangling in his soft locks. Her eyes flicked to the scar now visible on his forehead, before her other hand came up puling him down as she lifted her head, she placed a feather light kiss on the abrasion that had brought him so much pain. Then after Hermione pulled back their heated gazes clashed once more, but only for an instant before she pulled his mouth down to her own.

In no time at all their tongues were once again dueling and their hands were freely caressing one another, just like at the park. However, unlike at the park, Harry's hard Quidditch toned body was pressed a lot more intimately against her own. He suddenly pulled back and with little to no effort, readjusted them so that they were lying in the middle of her bed. After they were comfortable in their new position, and he had kissed her soundly, he looked down at her once more.

“Is it?” he questioned speaking for the first time since dinner, his rumbling baritone carrying a rough sexy quality and his fingers lightly holding the zipper of her jacket.

She blushed and gave a small nod of the head and he slowly unzipped the heavy coat revealing the light pink jumper she had on just beneath it. Hermione sat up a bit and shrugged her arms out of the garment and Harry tossed it lightly onto the floor. He placed his hands on her shoulders and was about to lay her back on the bed when her own husky voice came though.

“Is it?” she questioned, her fingers now lightly holding onto the zipper of his jacket.

Harry's eyes blazed momentarily at the sound of her throaty tone, before he gave a small smile and waited patiently as she unzipped the garment and pushed it down his shoulders. He shrugged it the rest of the way off, leaving himself clad only in a green jumper and blue jeans, having kicked off his trainers sometime before he moved Hermione to the middle of the bed.

Her hands came to a rest on his upper chest for an instant before they grazed the remainder of his torso, Hermione gave him an appreciative look as they ran over his abs. Giving her a roguish grin, Harry nimbly divested himself of the jumper, chuckling at the startled gasp that she gave and the way her eyes widened as they fixated on his muscular chest. Hermione licked her lips as he allowed her to look her fill at his broad form, reaching a hand up she caressed his peck, her stroke getting lighter as her hand went lower and grazed his abs. At the butterfly touch his abs gave a jump and Harry groaned as his head fell forward. Hermione chuckled, then sitting up she put her arms around his shoulder and pulled him on top of her.

Her laughter turned into moans as Harry skillfully kissed her, his pace leisurely and gentle.

`Not at all like Ron,' she reflected fleetingly… her last coherent thought for a while.

As he continued to kiss her, Harry's hands caressed her waist just under her shirt but refrained from going any higher. Hermione, deciding that she liked the feel of his hands, took it upon herself to fix that glitch. Grasping his wrist she led one of Harry's hands along her waist, past her ribs and to her right breast, under her shirt. He smiled against her lips before gently caressing her. They continued to kiss and explore one another's bodies for several long and satisfying minutes before Harry pulled back. Hermione was about to ask him what was wrong, but before she could get the question out the cool air from the room hit her chest.

“Harry wha-” the words died on her lips, to be replaced by a low moan as his warm tongue caressed her breasts.

Her fingers became tangled in his hair as he kissed and stroked her, making sure to devote generous attention to each soft mound. Her moans got louder as the movement of his tongue began to increase. She had just heard the beginnings of a faint hissing noise when the most incredible sensation took over. She had no idea what he was doing to her, but she had never felt anything like it and Merlin did it feel brilliant!

Hermione hissed and arched against Harry, gripping his head and pulling him closer. As she fought to regain at least a smidgen of her senses, she felt a distinct hardness between her legs where his lower body rested. Hermione moved one hand from his head to his warm muscular back and pulled him even tighter against her body. Shifting her hips she rubbed herself against the hardness and both the sensation on her chest and the hissing noise were interrupted when Harry moaned against her and his body throbbed in response.

Taking this as an indication that he had liked the way that it had felt as much as she had, Hermione arched her back and began to heavily grind against him while holding on to his shoulders for support. Harry's head came up from her chest and she was able to see the pleasure that radiated in his eyes, just a moment before he captured her mouth in another searing kiss. Hermione ran her hands down his back until they rested on his bum and pulled him closer still as she arched upward. They both moaned in response kissing again, then froze.

Stilling against one another and doing their best to quiet their labored breathing Harry and Hermione strained to hear.

“I told you it wouldn't be so bad,” Hermione heard her mum say distantly.

Their eyes snapped to one another as the passion instantly dissipated only to be placed by a keen sense of survival.

“Oh my gosh, Harry you have to get out of here,” she said in a strangled whisper.

He gave her a quick nod before hopping off of the bed. Grabbing his jacket, his wand and his trainers he looked at her, hesitating for a moment before connecting his mouth with hers in one last sweltering kiss. An instant later with a light `pop' he was gone and not a moment to soon- Hermione had just enough time to get under the covers before her mum peaked her head into the bedroom.

“Like a baby,” she heard her mum whisper before the door shut softly behind her.

Hermione released the breath she had been holding as soon as the door closed, then swiftly hopped out of bed and kicked off her socks and jeans. Throwing on her nightgown she got back under the covers, but as her hand slipped under the pillow it bumped something. Grabbing the item, she gave a pull only to come face to shirt with Harry's green jumper.

“Now what?” she mumbled to herself looking at the item, and knowing that the small question she had posed had multiple answers, each just a complicated as the last.

Giving a sigh she started to place the peace of clothing on the floor when she thought better of it. After adjusting herself one last time and staring at the ceiling for over an hour, Hermione finally fell into a troubled sleep lying on her side, with her head on the fluffy pillow and Harry's jumper wrapped in her arms.

A.N. So… I guess Hermione's right, now what?! Stay tuned and see and please review. Ja ne!!!

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21. Back to school...

Forbidden Love

Chapter 20

Harry silently gazed at the girl in his arms as she burrowed against his chest. When she offered a small sigh of satisfaction, he smiled and placed a light kiss on the top of her head. She was absolutely beautiful, smart, charming, really she was everything a bloke could want and more in a girl… so what was wrong with him?

Ginny snuggled into deeper into Harry's embrace, and releasing another contented sigh she looked up at her boyfriend and gave him a small smile. He returned it with one of his own and placed one more kiss on her head as she moved back to her original position.

As he looked up from the top of his girlfriend's head, his eyes scanned the small compartment. Ron sat across from him, staring thoughtfully out of the window and looking to be a million miles away. To the right of him sat Hermione, her head was bent over a large text about Ancient Runes that, upon boarding the train, she had brusquely stated that needed to catch up on because she was only seven chapters ahead.

He gazed reflectively at her smiling a bit at the memory, he didn't know how a girl could be so undoubtedly anal retentive and yet adorable at the same time. As his smile turned to a grin Hermione chose that moment to look up from her book, her eyes connecting with his though long lashes. They both blushed and looked away, instantly recalling what had occurred between them.

It had been a little over a week ago that he and Hermione had snogged… he lightly shook his head. No, snog wasn't the right word. What had happened with her was so much more than just another snog...

He looked towards the window and sighed. For the first couple of days after New Years they had had trouble even looking at one another without blushing, mumbling and at least one of them fleeing the room. He knew that Mr. and Mrs. Granger had even taken note of their strange behavior and though neither had asked about what happened straight out, Mrs. Granger had hinted on various occasions that she had sussed out that something had happened.

After two days of avoiding one another, Harry had finally cautiously approached Hermione and quietly asked if they could continue their Occlumency lessons. Giving him a startled look she had agreed and they resumed their usual study routine, with one distinct difference. It no longer took place in Hermione's room. Instead they would study either in the living room, with Hermione in the chair and Harry on the couch, or in the kitchen, sitting on opposite ends of the table from one another. Harry had been relieved that even though he'd acted like a sodding git, she had still been willing to help him. Though he thought it may have had a lot to do with the more recent memories he now had of her than anything else.

Harry ran a hand through his hair for the umpteenth time that day and stared unseeingly at the passing scenery. Even though it had been over a week, he could still see Hermione's passion-clouded eyes staring up at him every time he closed his own. He had also found that since that night happened he was capable of dreaming of nothing else. A problem he was going to somehow have to figure out how to rectify before tonight, when he was once again bunking with Ron.

Turning his head slightly he silently studied his best mate, who was sitting across from him. Ron was lying with his head back, slouched in his seat and his eyes only partially open; his face, completely devoid of emotion, was facing the window. In truth Harry would have thought the other boy was sleeping if it weren't for the fluttering of his lashes every now and again when he blinked. A minute later the red-haired boy cleared his throat and readjusted in his set, as he did so, his hand slipped out a bit and brushed Hermione's thigh.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, giving her a quick glance before turning back to the window.

“That's ok,” she responded, not even bothering to look up from her book.

Harry frowned, what was that about? As he continued to observe the couple he noticed that they were barely acknowledging one another. Had they had a ruck?

`No,' his mind answered, `they couldn't have, I would have seen it.'

What was going on then? Harry knew it had to be something, he had never seen Ron sit so quietly in one place before when he wasn't brooding. His eyes widened, could it be that Ron had sensed what had happened between him and Hermione?

He gave a slight shake of the head, `No, that can't be it either; he doesn't seem angry or miffed in the least.'

In fact if anything he seemed perfectly content- wait, could it be that Ron didn't want to be with Hermione anymore? After all, he and Luna had looked pretty cozy at Christmas.

`But how can anyone not want to be with Hermione?' Harry thought, his eyes going back to the brunette. He couldn't seem to think of anything else.

As if she sensed his observance of her, Hermione once again looked up at him. Their gazes connected and Harry felt a jolt of awareness rush threw him from the desire reflected in her eyes. They stared at one another for a few minutes, until Ginny shifted in his arms. Hermione gave a quick look to the other girl, and then went back to her book. Harry continued to watch her for a long time but she didn't look back up. As he turned his gaze back to the window in an attempt to get his thoughts in order, he did his best to focus on the red haired girl he was holding in his arms, as opposed to brunette one that he longed to hold.

-----------

Harry took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. `Ok, I'm ready for this. I can handle this. I am ready.'

Giving a short nod of the head, he placed his hand on the knob of the door and twisted it. Pulling it open he entered the dim, stuffy office.

“How nice of you to join me, Mr. Potter,” Professor Snape stated in a dry tone, not even bothering to looking up from the parchment on his desk. “For a moment I was beside myself with worry you wouldn't be able to make it.”

“And miss your happy-go-lucky attitude Professor?... Never,” he responded cheekily.

Snape's head snapped up and he glowered at Harry for a moment, before a cold smile formed on his lips.

“Let us hope, Mr. Potter,” he said softly, slowly standing and making his way around the desk. “That this new found of confidence you're displaying is not as woefully misplaced as your last potions assignment.”

“Don't worry Professor, my confidence and my potions assignment are both exactly were they should be,” Harry responded, forming a frosty smile of his own, “right here in your office.”

Snape gave a slight incline of the head, “We shall see.”

It was the only warning Harry had as to what was about to happen. He was instantly bombarded with his own memories: him, flying towards the building on his broom his eyes locked on Neville's remembrall. Him and Ron sitting on the bed with Seamus and Neville eating various candies that they had purchased from Hogsmeade. Him racing towards the Snitch in his first Quidditch match. Then the memories speed up to short flashes before once again playing normally. He could see people milling around, looking to his right, the muggle man at the ice-cream stand gave him a small smile...

`No!' his mind screamed.

Focusing all of his energy the image suddenly disappeared to be replaced with one of Malfoy begging Hermione for forgive him, which was quickly bypassed to show Professor Snape, headed into the nearest broom closest with Mr. Filch. As the door clicked softly behind them Mrs. Norris sauntered over, her tail swishing and her red eyes flashing as she took a seat in front of the door, silently standing guard. Suddenly, he was free.

“Very funny Potter,” Snape spat angrily, with his eyes flashing and a noticeable tick forming in his right cheek.

“I don't know what you mean sir,” Harry replied in his most innocent tone, his voice coming out winded from the effort he had exerted.

For a moment Snape didn't say anything, but instead regarded him silently.

“Well, Mr. Potter,” he commented after a few minutes in a cold hard voice. “It seems as though you were finally able to do what the Headmaster has been asking you to do from the beginning,” he folded his arms over his chest. “Actually take something besides Quidditch seriously - though I must say it took you long enough, for such a gifted wizard,” the words dripped with sarcasm. “I suppose it is a start,” he smirked then turned and walked back to his desk. Taking a seat he resumed his previous reading. “That will be all,” he looked up from the parchment, pinning Harry with a steely gaze “for now.”

Not needing to be told twice, Harry rushed out of the cold office and back down the hall smiling to himself. Even Snape's small jabs at his character couldn't dampen his mood. He had done it! Sure it took a little longer than he would have liked, but it worked, all that studying he did this break actually paid off.

He was in such a good mood, Harry even waved merrily at Peeves, who was trying to draw a mustache on one of the paintings of a young lady. The woman in the painting was slapping at his hand and doing her best to dodge his quill, while Sir Cadogan was quickly making his way thought the other portraits to help the fair damsel in distress.

Harry chuckled a bit at the scene and then quickened his pace. He couldn't wait to get back to Gryffindor Tower and tell Hermione what had happened. His steps faltered, wait, would that be possible? They hadn't really been speaking much since that night.

`No,' his mind said reasonably, `this is Hermione, of course she would want to know. No matter what has happened between you guys she's still one of your best friends. Besides, without her help you never would have been able to do it.'

That was right, without her he would have had no chance of besting Snape, a fact he was well aware of. After all, besides that one time the he gotten so upset, that he had shoved the Professor out of his mind and accidentally entered his, there had been no other times he had been able to avoid or stop the attacks. Coming to what he thought was the reasonable conclusion that Hermione would indeed want to know what had happened, Harry once again quickened his pace towards Gryffindor Tower.

He was just rounding the corner when he saw a familiar face in the distance.

“Ron!” Harry called out, waving to his best mate when he looked over.

Ron gave him a strained smile and waited for Harry to catch up with him.

“Is everything alright?” Harry quizzed peering closely at his mate.

“Yeah, everything's brilliant.” Ron answered, looking around the hallway. Harry continued to stare at the other boy silently until he looked back. “Oh, uh sorry,” Ron mumbled rubbing the back of his neck lightly. “So what's going on?”

“I just finished my first Occlumency session with Snape,” Harry replied giving a half smile.

Ron gave him a surprised look. “Really? Well from your smile I would hazard to say that it turned out ok?”

Harry shook his head, “Ok? No way, it was brilliant mate you should have seen it. There he was prying though my memories like they were his personal home movies when `Bam!'” He clapped his hands together making Ron jump a bit. “I hit him with a fake one.”

Ron tilted his head slightly regarding Harry skeptically, “You didn't.” Harry grinned. “The one with him and Filch?!” the dark haired boy nodded slowly. “Bloody smashing! What did he say?”

Harry laughed “I think it was something along the lines of,” he straightened his posture and made a bland expression. “Very funny Potter,” he said in a dry tone giving his best Snape impression, Ron sniggered.

“Blimey mate, I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall for that.” He replied shaking his head. “So it looks like all that holiday studying paid off, huh?” Harry nodded, “Hermione's going to be excited.”

“Yeah,” Harry responded, “I was just on my way to tell her… and Ginny of course.”

Ron shook his head in wonder, “Wow, you bested Snape.” Then he sighed, “Hermione's going to be insufferable now.”

“What do you mean?”

“Come on Harry, like you don't know,” Ron said before rolling his eyes and shaking his head at Harry's blank look. “Can you imagine what she's going to be like now? `See what happens when you study Ronald? Perhaps you should take a cue from Harry and focus more? Ha! And you thought it would be a waste of time!'” He mimicked in a very poor Hermione interpretation.

“Oh, come on Ron she's not that bad,” Harry replied smiling.

Ron shrugged, “I guess we'll see.”

“I guess we will,” Harry retorted, spinning and walking towards the stairs. Realizing Ron wasn't following him he turned back and gave the other boy a questioning look. “You coming?”

“Uh…” Ron trailed off, looking around once more.

Harry regarded him curiously; when the red head looked at back him again he arched a single brow in question.

“Well, I'm kind of in the middle of something.”

Harry still didn't comment, but crossed his arms over his chest and waited patiently for Ron to continue.

The other boy gave him an annoyed look. “What?”

“What are you in the middle of?”

“None of your business,” Ron replied crossly, folding his arms also.

Harry tilted his head and frowned, “What does that mean?”

“It means what I said- look I could have sworn I left my mum at the Burrow,” Ron commented sounding even more aggravated.

Harry smirked, “You know you could either tell me, or I could follow you around until I see for myself.”

“Harry, I swear to Merlin if you follow me aro-” Ron was cut off as a tinkling voice called out.

“Ronald, look what I've found!” Luna Lovegood called approaching the two boys. In her left hand she held up a blue trainer. “That's one down, which only leaves one to go!” she finished happily. “Oh, hullo there Harry,” she commented taking note of the other boy. “Ronald was just helping me look for my shoes; they seem to have been misplaced.”

Harry gave Ron an inquiring glance. “He was, was he?”

“Yes, it's most kind of him,” Luna answered with her typical dreamy smile, Ron blushed slightly and his ears turned a deep red.

“Yes it is, so where did you find that one?” Harry inquired motioning towards the sneaker in the girls' hand.

“Oh, it was on top of one of the suits of armor,” she answered easily, “but it was no big deal. When I asked nicely it gave it back,” she leaned forward and said in a conspiratorial tone. “I don't know what a suit of armor would need with my shoe, though I suppose those metal boots it wears are probably quite uncomfortable,” she stated with a thoughtful expression.

Harry nodded his head in agreement before giving Ron an amused look, the other boy scowled at him.

“Perhaps we should try to find your other shoe,” Ron said to Luna, ignoring Harry's speculative glances.

“That would be very nice, thank you.” She responded giving a bright smile. “I was talking with the portraits and they said that they had heard that the other may be around the dungeon.”

“Well, I was just down there and I didn't see it, but then again I wasn't looking.” Harry commented giving a kind smile and a small shrug. “Perhaps you'll have better luck.”

“Perhaps,” Luna answered.

“Well, I'm going to head back to Gryffindor Tower. I'll talk to you guys later,” he stated, giving Ron a pointed look. “Good luck Luna,” he finished, giving the blond a bright smile and then heading to the stairs.

******************************************

Hermione sat on a couch in the crowded Gryffindor common room leaning over the table and trying to focus on the complicated Arithmancy essay she was working on. So far she had only about twenty thousand words written and she need to do a lot better than that if she wanted to get a perfect score. She was just about to pull a new scroll of parchment to continue writing on when she felt someone's gaze on her.

Looking up she gave a glance to Ginny who was sitting to her left, but the other girl was busy working on her Transfiguration assignment. Quickly scanning the room she was confounded as to where the feeling of being watched was coming from until she finally noticed Harry standing by the door. He continued to watch her for a moment with an unreadable expression before his face broke into a grin and he waved her over. Giving him a perplexed look she looked at Ginny to see if that was who he was motioning to; noticing the other girl still bent diligently over her homework she looked back at Harry.

He gave her an exasperated look before shaking his head and making his way across the crowded room. After sidestepping a couple of first years who had frozen in place and stared at awe at 'the famous Harry Potter' he finally made it over to the cluster of seats that she and Ginny were at.

"Hey," he said, taking the chair opposite her.

"Hey," Hermione replied, still a bit unsure as to what was going on.

For the first time since that night Harry was acting "normal" and she found herself at a loss as to why. Over the last two weeks since they got back they hadn't exactly been avoiding one another, but they hadn't been going out of their way to speak either. So when the dark haired boy sat across from her grinning and staring expectantly, Hermione wasn't sure what to make of it.

"Uh... is everything ok, Harry?" she asked hesitantly.

"Yep," he responded, still smiling.

Reaching forward he picked up her first roll of parchment and looked over her essay, after staring at if like it was some ancient code that needed deciphering for several seconds he sat it back down on the table and looked at her once more.

"Does that actually mean anything?" He asked looking at the composition as though it were a creature from Hagrid's class.

"Yes, it's my Arithmancy essay and I can personally guarantee you that it means many things," she responded still looking at him suspiciously. "What's going on?" Harry shrugged. Reaching forward, he began to fiddle with her quill. "Harry?" she asked, slamming her hand down on top of his to stop his annoying movements. "What is it?"

A smile pulled at the corners of his lips. "Well, I just finished my first session wi- "

"Harry!" Ginny exclaimed, looking up from her book. Quickly putting it down, she came around the table and gave him a loose hug before sitting on the arm of the chair. Bending over she gave him a small peck on the cheek and ran her fingers though his hair. "When did you get here?"

"Just now," Harry replied, sitting back and smiling at his girlfriend.

Hermione, realizing that she did not like the feeling she got when Harry looked at Ginny like that, frowned slightly and picked up her quill to go back to her paper. This time it was Harry's hand that was placed atop hers.

"I'm not done telling you what happened," he said when she looked up at him.

"Well," she prompted when he didn't continue; Ginny also leaned forward from her spot on Harry's chair.

"What happened?" she asked in a voice that was barely heard above the hum of conversation in the room.

"I just finished my first sess-" Harry was interrupted again, this time by a loud group of fourth years who were trying out the latest flavors offered in the Skiving Snackbox. "Uh, perhaps we should take this somewhere a bit more quiet?!" Harry yelled over the chorus of screams and 'eww's' that erupted when one of the boys began to spew.

"Right!" called Hermione, "Follow me!"

Standing she quickly gathered her things and led Harry and Ginny though the crowd and to the portrait leading up to her private dorm.

"Storm," she whispered to the woman in the painting who nodded, in response.

A faint click was heard just above the hum of activity, as the door was opened. She hurried inside balancing her parchment, books and supplies, with her two friends closely behind. Just as the door was about to shut Hermione heard someone call out to Harry and looked over her shoulder to see him talking to Neville. Shaking her head she continued into the room, dropping her supplies on the coffee table, a moment later Ginny did the same.

"Geez, you think they'd give us lighter books," the red haired girl commented, rubbing her forearms.

"I can do a spell for you to help out with that if you like," Hermione stated primly, pulling out her wand. "I learned several first year. They're very simple spells really, and they come in quite useful."

The other girl gave her a look, "That's ok, I'll manage. Besides, with that match against Hufflepuff coming up a little extra muscle doesn't hurt a bit."

“Ok, if that's what you want." Hermione commented with a shrug and placed her wand back into her robes.

"What's what who wants?" Harry asked, coming up the stairs. "Sorry about that," he gave a sheepish grin "Neville just had a quick question about our next D.A. meeting. So where were we?"

"You were about to tell us what was going on," Hermione replied, giving an impatient look.

Ginny pulled a face at her but didn't comment.

"Oh, yeah," Harry gave a happy smile, "like I was saying I just finished my first session with Snape."

"Really, what happened?" "Oh, Harry, how'd it go?" Ginny and Hermione asked in unison.

“Well it was a little touch and go at first," he said, walking a bit further from the stairs, "but in the end it worked out."

"What do you mean?" Ginny asked, before Hermione could.

"I mean, that it worked," he gave Hermione a brilliant smile. "All that studying paid off Hermione! It worked, I was able to lead Snape right to the fake memories that I had implanted."

"Really?"

When he nodded she flew at him full force, pulling him into a bone-crushing hug. Harry grunted when Hermione made contact, then laughed, glad that he had had enough sense to step away from the stairs. His arms encircled her and he returned her tight hug with one of his own.

"Oh Harry, that's wonderful!" she exclaimed in his ear.

"I couldn't have done it without you," he replied still grinning like a loon.

She pulled back and smiled up at him, her arms still around his neck.

"Yes you could have, I know it."

"Yeah well I know I couldn't have, because I've been trying to for almost a year," he responded, removing one arm from around her waist and giving her a light tap on the nose.

"Did you two want to be alone?" Ginny asked badly, she was looking at them with a miffed expression, her arms were crossed and her right foot was tapping impatiently.

"What? No," Hermione said, quickly pulling away from Harry and putting a respectable distance between them.

"Not at all," Harry added, giving a strangled laugh. "I was just-well, saying thanks, so- uhh, thanks again Hermione," he finished lamely, giving her a quick salute.

Both girls gave him exasperated looks.

"Harry, just tell us what happened," Hermione said, taking a seat on the couch.

"Uh, yeah, sure," he replied nodding.

He then took a seat on the chair by Ginny and relayed what had happened in the potion master's office. As he told his story, Hermione did her best to focus on how proud she was of Harry, and what they could do to help him prepare for next time. Instead of how painful it was when he took Ginny's hand halfway though his tale.

*****************************

Harry was lying on his bed staring at the canopy and practicing his Occlumency exercises like Hermione had told him to, when he heard the door to the dorm open and then close softly. Sitting up abruptly, he looked curiously at his red haired best mate who had been trying to quietly make his way to his bed. Ron froze for a moment when Harry sat up, then, shaking his head he finished making his way to his area. Harry watched silently as Ron took off his robe and his slippers and pulled back the covers climbing into bed.

"Ron," he said quietly when the other boy had gotten settled.

"Yeah?" Ron asked in just as soft a tone.

"Did you find the other shoe?"

The other boy gave a small smile, "Yeah, someone had tied the laces and hung it on the corner of one of the pictures leading to the kitchens."

Harry chuckled, "I'm sure Luna was relived."

"Sure was," he responded chuckling also. "She said whatever had taken her shoe must have realized how hungry she would be after searching and that's why they left it by the kitchens."

Harry shook his head in response; licking his lips he hesitated for a moment before asking what he had really wanted to know.

"Ron," the red head looked at him, "is there something going on... you know, between you and Luna?"

Ron continued to stare at him for a moment, "No," he said before lying back on the bed.

"Ron?" Harry questioned again, sitting on the edge of his own bed and looking at the other boy.

Ron sighed "What?"

"Are you sure?"

He remained quiet and Harry was just about to give up hope on an answer when his best mate sat up in the bed once more. He regarded Harry silently for a moment before finally answering the question.

"I don't know," he said softly.

With that he reached forward and closed the curtains on his bed, discouraging Harry from any attempt to continue the conversation.

A.N. Ahhhh don't kill me!! *lol* That's it for this chapter, what will happen next? We shall see... Don't fret, this is a H/Hr story, Harry will get the girl there's just something I need to resolve first. However if you're really dying for some H/Hr action check out my other fic <\* shameless plug */> Snogging Chronicles <\* shameless plug */> for some H/Hr action to tide you over. Oh and don't forget to Please Review! I appreciate and read every one! Thanks and Ja ne!!!

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22. Comfort

Forbidden Love

Chapter 21

Hermione tilted her head back as he slowly made his way down her neck, leaving a trail of soft kisses. She ran her fingers through his hair and closing her eyes, relaxed into his strong embrace. As he made his way back up to her mouth they kissed softly their lips molding against one another, and when his tongue swept into her warm mouth as he deepened the kiss she removed a hand from his hair and ran it down his neck settling it onto a broad shoulder. After a moment of kissing deeply he readjusted so that he once again tasted her neck and his hand was lightly caressing her stomach just below her chest. Hermione's eyes slowly fluttered open and the ceiling of her sitting room came into focus, as she released a small gasp when he caressed her breast, a single thought popped into her mind.

'I wonder what mark I got on that Arithmancy essay.'

Noticing her lack of enthusiasm, Ron pulled back and looked down at his girlfriend. When her gaze snapped to his, he leaned forward and gave her a light peck on the lips before getting up from on top of her. As he readjusted himself, taking a seat on the edge of the couch, Hermione sat up and gave him a curious look.

"What's wrong?" she asked, her brows furrowing and her hand lightly touching his arm.

Ron looked away for a second, giving a light shake of the head before looking back at her once more, with sad eyes.

"This isn't working is it?" he asked softly.

Hermione gave him a probing look, "What is isn't working?"

Ron gave a sigh and stood from the couch, pacing back and forth in front of her he ran an agitated hand though his hair. After a minute or two of silence, he looked back down at his girlfriend.

"You know what I'm talking about… this, the kissing," he paused, "you just don't seem to be that in to it, that's all."

"I was into it," she responded frowning, he gave her a disbelieving look.

"Come on Hermione, you were barley paying attention."

"Well, neither were you! I was doing my part," she replied indignantly.

"Doing your part! So lying there like a corpse was doing your part?!" he exclaimed heatedly.

"I was not lying there like a corpse, I was trying to-"

"Look Hermione,” Ron interrupted “I don't want to argue and I wasn't trying to kick off. I was just telling the truth, what we were both thinking and you know it."

"Don't tell me what I-" she stopped when he frowned and released a small sigh. "It wasn't working, was it?" she asked gently, giving him a sad look.

Ron shook his head and stuffed a hand into his pocket. "Hermione, we need to talk."

"About what?" she asked quietly, looking down at her hands.

He gave a long sigh before taking a seat on the couch next to her. Turning so that they were facing one another, he took her hands into his own and lifted her chin so that she looked into his eyes.

"About us," he replied softly.

*****************

Harry sat under one of the large oak trees in the grounds, with his head buried in his six hundred and thirty seven paged potions book. Parchment and various other texts were scattered around the dark haired boy as he attempted to gather information for his extensive potions essay. Since his first Occlumency session with Snape, when Harry had gotten a bit cheeky, the potion master's attitude towards him had become almost unbearable. In fact, he had become so hard on him that Harry had even caught one or two Slytherins giving him sympathetic looks.

Lucky for him, also since his first Occlumency session with Snape, he and Hermione had mended their friendship. With everything now somewhat back to normal between them, she had - in typical Hermione fashion - declared it her duty to make sure he was prepared between classes and did what she could to help him out during. Since she always knew the answers to the questions, but no matter how often she raised her hand Snape never picked her to respond, Hermione had started taking upon herself to discreetly share those answers with Harry before the Professor could even finish the question.

However, given her current curriculum, even she couldn't help him with this massive potions essay that was due their next class. Though, she did agree to read over it once he was done and let him know what she thought. After over an hour of searching, he had finally come across something that might actually be relevant to his paper in chapter seventy-three, "Dangerous or Delicious: Palatable Potions," when he was interrupted.

"Harry!" Ron called out as he made his way across the grass and towards the tree.

Harry waited for his mate to get closer before commenting. "Ron, I was actually in the middle of researching my essay for Snape that's due next week, and you know how much of a git he's being. Do you think there's..." he trailed off at the look on the other boy's face. "What's wrong?"

Ron heaved a sigh and shoved his hands into his pockets. Biting his lower lip he looked towards the lake. "I-I ended it mate."

Harry sat up straighter; tilting his head a bit he gave the red head a sidelong glance. "What?"

"I said I ended it," he responded, looking at his dark haired friend.

"You ended what?" Harry asked slowly, moving to sit on his haunches he placed the book on the ground next to him and focused on his friend.

"It," Ron said, falling to a sitting position with a soft thump. "You know, IT. Our relationship."

Harry's brows furrowed, "Our relationship?"

Ron gave him an irritated look, "No, not your and my relationship, you git. Mine and Hermione's."

"What?" the other boy responded wide-eyed. "Why? What happened? Did you guys have a row?"

"No-well, yeah but-" he paused, thinking. "We had a fight, but not a big one. It just wasn't working."

Harry, still looking completely baffled, shook his head. "But, you guys are going to make up right? It's not permanent, is it?"

"Looks that way," he replied earnestly.

"But... why?"

Ron shrugged, "It just wasn't... there anymore, you know?"

The other boy stared at him quietly for a moment before softly responding, "Yeah."

Ron gave him a startled look. "Harry-"

"So does it have anything to do with Luna," Harry asked swiftly, cutting him off.

The other boy looked down at the ground and began to fiddle with a couple of blades of grass, "I... I guess, yeah." His friend gave a surprised look at the honest answer. "There's just something about her Harry," Ron continued, once again looking at his best mate. "I don't know what it is, we just... just, click. I mean, we're almost complete opposites yet we seem to have so much in common. When I talk she actually listens and when she talks I find that I do too," he finished giving a small chuckle.

Harry faintly shook his head "Yeah, but she's so..." he hesitated when the red head frowned, "…different. Don't get me wrong, I like Luna, I really do. She's very down to earth... well, in a sense."

To his surprise his mate grinned "Yeah, she does spend some time with her head in the clouds, but," Ron shrugged, "she's usually willing to come back down for me. Besides, even when she's not, I don't mind going up there- not for her."

Harry shook his head in wonder and amused smile formed on his face. "Wow, Ron that was almost poetic."

His friend blushed, "It's just that she makes me happy, that's all."

"And Hermione didn't?" Harry questioned gravely.

Ron gave a poignant smile, "Not anymore and not for a while, but then again I don't think I made her happy either."

They both fell quiet each lost in their own thoughts.

"Does she know?" Harry asked after a minute.

"Know what?"

"About Luna?"

Ron took a deep breath, giving a slow nod as he exhaled. "I told her. I know that I want to be with Luna and I didn't want her finding out another way. Besides, I don't know if you noticed but Hermione's a pretty bright witch so," he gave a half smile, "I'm quite sure it wouldn't have taken her long to figure it out."

Harry gave a minuscule nod, rubbing the back of his neck as countless thoughts rushed through his head. "What did she say?"

Ron shook his head, indicating nothing and the two boys resumed their mutual silence.

"Look, Harry," Ron started, licking his lips nervously when Harry gave him a questioning look. "I was wondering if you could talk to her, you know, make sure everything's ok. I'm pretty sure that she felt the same way I did, but she didn't really say anything. Just kind of sat there, watching me as I stuttered through why I thought we should break up. Then when it was said and done, all she did was nod and go into her bedroom."

Harry looked at him anxiously, "Maybe Ginny should talk to her, you know with them both being girls and all."

Ron shook his head, "We're her best mates Harry and with me being the cause of the situation that leaves you. Besides, you know just like I do that as much as they like one another, Hermione and my sister usually manage to drive each other daft if left alone for too long." At the other boy's wavering look he pushed a bit more. "Come on Harry, you know it would mean a lot more to her if you went. You're the only one who can make her feel better."

Knowing that Ron was right, the black haired boy gave a sigh and began to gather all his things. Once he was done, he stood and was about to head back to the school when his mate spoke again.

"Thanks Harry," Ron said, offering a small smile.

Harry regarded the other boy seriously for a moment before responding. "I'm not doing it for you."

------------------

Harry entered his room giving a frustrated growl.

'Where the hell is she?' he thought throwing himself backwards onto his bed.

He had checked her sitting room, her bedroom, the library, the Great Hall, heck he had even checked the Astronomy Tower. He was thinking over where else she could be and glaring at the canopy on the bed when the thought came to him.

"Idiot," Harry mumbled, giving a groan and a mental slap of the head. He then hopped off the bed and rushed to the foot where he flung open his trunk. Digging to the very bottom, he rummaged around a bit before finally locating what he was looking for under a pair of old socks. "Ah-ha," he said to himself pulling the Marauders Map out of the chest with great flourish. Opening it, he immediately began to scan the moving marks for the familiar name. When he still didn't see her after searching for his third time, his brows furrowed and he frowned.

"How could she not-" he paused, this time he scoffed and game himself a physical slap of the head. "Of course you git," he grumbled, before placing the map back into the trunk and making his way quickly out of the dorm and to the Room of Requirement.

-----------------

It took him a moment to get inside, but after realizing that what he needed was to just see and talk to Hermione the door to into the Room of Requirement finally appeared and he was able to enter. She was sitting on a small burgundy couch in front of a roaring fire, her hair was pulled into a messy ponytail and her robes were thrown over the back of the seat. There were several books spread out on the coffee table in front of her, but she had yet to pick any up. Instead she was staring blankly at the fire, her face devoid of emotion.

"Hermione?" he questioned hesitantly, making his way around the couch.

She gave him a startled look and then glanced quickly at the door, before turning her attention back to the dancing flames. He remained silent as he approached; taking a seat on the couch next to her he gave her a brooding look. She seemed ok- no, no she didn't, she seemed... vacant. He had expected her to be crying, cursing Ron for being such a prat, ranting, raving... or at least talking. He had been expecting everything, anything but the empty shell that was sitting next to him. His heart ached and he was completely confounded as to what to do.

'Wow, she must have really loved him,' he thought to himself, his heart beating painfully in his chest.

He sat next to her for a while, also staring into the fire and giving his mind time to work out what he wanted to say... and how he wanted to say it.

"Hermione," Harry ventured after several minutes, "Are you, you know, okay?"

She looked at him out of the corner of her eyes, but didn't answer.

"Please Hermione, talk to me," when she still didn't respond he gave a nervous chuckle, "I'm starting to get kinda worried here."

She looked down at her hands for a moment, before looking at him once again out of the corner of her eyes. "I'm fine, Harry."

He sighed and ran a hand though his hair, "No you're not. Please, talk to me Hermione."

"I should know if I'm fine or not, besides somehow I get the distinct impression that Ron already talked to you," she replied dryly.

"Yeah he did," he admitted giving a small nod "but now I want to talk to you. Will you do that; will you talk to me Hermione?”

"About what?" She asked once again studying the flames.

"Whatever you want," he responded touching her arm, he flushed a bit when she pulled away and put his hand back onto his lap.

She turned her head and studied him for a minute "Whatever I want?" Harry nodded "Did he tell you about Luna?"

He looked down for a moment before looking back at her and giving another nod. Hermione scoffed, shaking her head she looked back at the fire. Harry watched her for a moment, then looked down at his hands fidgeting with the sleeve of his robes. He had no idea what Ron had thought him talking to Hermione would accomplish. He also had no clue that she would be so upset over the break up and Luna, or how much it would hurt him that she was.

“He's gotten better at kissing,” she commented, he frowned concentrating even more on his hands and choosing not to comment. “She must have taught him…” when she trailed off he waited patiently for her to gather her thoughts and continue. "She's so pretty," Hermione said after another moment of silence, Harry's head snapped up and she gave him a derisive smile. "I don't blame him, if I had a choice between her and me I'd definitely pick her," she finished looking back into the flames.

"What the hell does that mean?" Harry demanded, when she didn't respond he got up and pushed the books off of the table taking a seat directly in front of her.

She frowned at him and gave a small shrug. "Nothing I suppose. Harry what are you doing here?"

"Ron thought I could make you feel better. And what do you mean nothing, you don't make a statement like that and say it means nothing," he replied crossly.

"He thought you could make me feel better?"

Harry made an annoyed sound, "Stop trying to change the bloody subject Hermione, what did you mean?"

She looked him in the eyes for an instant before focusing on some unseen point just over his right shoulder.

"It means I'm not daft, that's what it means." She gave him a disconcerting look, "I could see what was going on at Christmas Harry, everyone could. I knew it was only a matter of time before he dropped me and picked up her. And why wouldn't he? I mean Luna's nice, friendly, outgoing, cheerful and beautiful, while I'm mean, snotty, reclusive, irritating and mousy."

"That's bollocks Hermione! You're not any of those things," Harry responded immediately, taking offense to what she had said.

She gave a contemptuous laugh, "Please, Harry, sure Luna's a bit barmy but she's a hundred times better then I am. She has enough sense to know when to shut up and listen to people, she-"

"Blimey, Hermione," he interrupted, "the only sense that Luna has is nonsense. That's what she talks, how she acts and its most of the things she believes in."

"Well regardless of her beliefs she's beautiful, the quintessential looks and soft straight hair that has probably never broken a single comb."

"That's it, you're nutters! You've gone completely unhinged. Luna? A quintessential beauty?" Harry couldn't help it, he began to laugh.

Hermione glared daggers at him "I'm serious, she is!" she exclaimed, becoming more irritated when he laughed harder, she gave his shoulder a small shove, "You're a prat!"

Harry tried to stop his laughter, but he couldn't get it to subside completely "I-I'm so-sorry Herm-Hermione," he cleared his throat, instantly sobering when she began to look close to tears. "I really am sorry, I was being a tosser." He reached forward and took her hand. "Please forgive me?"

She shook her head and as she looked at him a single tear escaped her lashes. "You just don't understand Harry," she said passionately, her voice trembling, "no matter what you say or what I do. I'll never be as pretty as Ginn-" she froze her mouth slightly agape and her eyes widening.

He stared at her in shock for moment, as his brain slowly processed what she had just accidentally revealed.

“This isn't about Luna, is it?” He asked gently, when she tried to hastily pull her hand back he tightened his grip.

Then reaching forward he grabbed the other so that he was holding them both. Harry gave both hands a small squeeze and then lifted his right hand, wiping the tears from her face and then lightly stroking her cheek with his fingers.

"Listen to me, you are beautiful Hermione," he gave a half smile, his eyes full of adoration. "You're the most beautiful girl I know."

She dipped her head and looked at their hands before looking back up at him and giving a nervous smile. She opened her mouth to respond then hesitated, lightly licking her lips before trying again.

"Make me feel better Harry," she stated softly, her eyes searching his own.

He wet his lips. "How?"

She didn't reply but instead gave another anxious smile. He hesitated, but only for a moment before he came forward and captured her lips in a light kiss. As she released his hand and brought her hands up to his chest, he applied a bit more pressure. When Harry probed her lips with his warm tongue they easily parted and he was granted access. And as the kiss deepened, Hermione ran her hands up his chest and to his broad shoulders. Placing pressure on the blades she pulled him closer and he willingly obliged, sliding off of the coffee table and coming to a rest between her soft thighs. Hermione moaned as her legs widened to accommodate the width of his hips and he placed his hands on the small of her back pulling the warmest part of her closer to him.

After a few minutes her trembling hands went to the front of his robes and she slid the heavy garment off of his shoulders. Once free of the slightly cumbersome item, he put his hand at the base of Hermione's neck and knowing what he wanted; she allowed her head to fall back and granted him full access to her long neck. When his soft warm lips made contact with her heated skin, she shivered a bit. Liking her reaction and wanting to elicit more like it, Harry unbuttoned the first couple of buttons of her shirt and moved his tongue to the base of her throat. He languidly made his way back up her neck and to her earlobe, taking it between his teeth alternated between slowly sucking and nibbling on it, silently relishing in the way that her fingernails clawed at his back though his light cotton shirt.

When she shifted, he pulled away and looked at her noticing that her eyes were ablaze with desire. Giving his chest a small shove she pushed him back a bit more and gave him an impish smile. Reaching forward she place her fingers and the top of his tie and pulled it until it was loose around his neck, she then drew him forward and placed her soft cool lips against his flushed skin. Tilting her head a bit more she began to stroke his Adams apple with her tongue, he smiled enjoying the sensation. However, when she made her way to his ear and began to suckle and nibble the lobe, Harry his smile disappeared and he emitted a deep groan, not knowing how much more he could take.

His hands went to her cream colored thighs and he gave them a small squeeze, taking pleasure in the feel of her soft skin beneath his fingertips. When she pulled back once more, he stared at her with lust filled eyes and she smiled in response. Reaching for his tie once more, she unhurriedly finished untying it and when she was done she wrapped the two sides of it around her hands and pulled him forward capturing his lips in a bone melting kiss. Harry whimpered as she invaded his mouth, stealing his breath and taking his mind captive. He came forward intending to lay her gently against the pillows of the couch, but was instead surprised as her body went all the way down without being hindered by anything. Realizing that she was lying flat, Hermione broke the kiss and gave a startled look around, with Harry taking the time to do the same.

They were both surprised to see that what had initially been a couch was now changed to something a lot bigger and softer. Hermione sat up on her elbows to have a better look around and they sunk slightly into the soft plush bed that was now supporting her body. When she gave Harry an anxious look, he immediately pulled back standing at the foot of the bed, hoping to relive her worries. However once he stood the gallantry of the action was lost as his reaction to their earlier activities became quite evident to them both.

"Sorry," he mumbled blushing "look, maybe we should st-" he was cut off as Hermione shifted to her knees rising and crashing her mouth against his own once more.

Harry was stunned when she began to pull his body forward. Breaking the kiss he gave her a questioning look. She didn't say anything but instead put her hand to her hair and pulled at the tie holding it up so her ponytail came loose and a soft chocolate mass of curls to fell softly onto her shoulders. Getting on all fours she slowly crawled backwards until she was positioned in the middle of the massive bed, sitting on her hunches. She tilted her head to the right and her hair fell slightly into her eyes. The curls partially obscured her face, but both of her almond colored eyes were still visible and watching him closely. Her soft pink lips were parted slightly as she expelled a soft breath and her teeth nibbled sensually on her bottom lip.

As she continued to watch at him with hooded eyes, Harry strained against his clothing and then climbing onto the bed, he hesitantly approached her. His amorous gaze remained fixated on her soft pliant mouth as he made his way forward. When he was close enough to touch her, she beat him to it as her hands slowly grazed her stomach before coming to a halt at the bottom of her shirt. As he looked on, she began to pull at the shirt, gradually freeing it from the waist of her skirt.

Harry watched completely entranced as she began to unbutton the garment, observing his reaction as she did so. When she got to the first button that was level with her breasts she faltered and a light blush began to spread on her cheeks and up neck.

"I, I must look like an idiot to you," she commented stopping and running her hands though her hair giving him a cynical smile.

Harry frowned "I already told you what you look like to me Hermione, you look beautiful."

She looked down, then back at him giving an unsure smile.

This time he closed the distance between them and began kissing her. As they continued to kiss, he slowly laid her down on the plush bed and began to stroke her bare flat stomach lightly with his fingers. When he had made his way back to the last button she had stopped on, he gave her a questioning look. She smiled and nodded her head in response and he undid the four remaining buttons.

Slipping her shirt open he stared appreciatively at the soft flesh that peaked from behind her lacy black bra. As he did so, her hands went to the buttons on his shirt and she made quick work of them. He lightly caressed her flushed skin as she undid his clothing and slipped his shirt off of his shoulders once she was done. After he had removed the garment, he placed a hand on each of her firm globes and gave them a light squeeze.

"Harry?" Hermione questioned in a husky voice.

"Yeah," he answered in a coarse tone, his eyes still fixated on the soft rise and fall of her chest.

"Do you think you can do it again?" she asked, running her fingers though his hair.

"What?" he questioned, looking at her with confused, passion clouded eyes.

She gave a small grin and bit her bottom lip, "Why Parseltongue of course," she responded her eyes twinkling mischievously. "That's what you did last time, isn't it?"

He chucked and blushed, "Yeah… I should have known you'd figure it out." She stroked his neck as he continued. "So you liked it then?" She blushed and nodded enthusiastically. "Good, I wasn't sure. I've never done it before so-"

"Never?" She questioned cutting him off; he shook his head. "Not with... anyone?"

He licked his lips and gave her a lop-sided grin "Only with you."

A fire blazed in her eyes once more as she pulled him forward and began kissing him deeply. As they continued he slowly made his way back to her breast and did as she requested, savoring the feel of her squirming against him.

Even though her hands had been roaming his body since they had begun kissing again, Harry was completely caught off guard a while later when they began to fiddle with the button of his trousers. Pulling back once more he gave her a startled look, however before he could question her Hermione placed her mouth back over his and began kissing him once more. As he placed heated kisses on her neck she wrapped her legs around him and began to move against him like she had that night. Harry let his head fall forward, resting it in the crook of her neck and moaned against her as the most delicious sensation came over his body. Placing his hand at the base of her back he pulled her impossibly closer and returned the movement. As they grinded against one another, his panting and her soft moans echoing lightly off of the bare walls, Hermione's hand again made its way to the front of his trousers. Harry placed his hand on top of hers, stilling the movement and pulled back giving her another inquiring look, this time when she tried to kiss him again he avoided the action. When he maneuvered away from her kiss, hurt flashed in the brunette's eyes, feeling her withdrawing he placed a hand on the side of her face.

"Hermione," he said softly, waiting for her to look at him before continuing, “Does this mean that you…” he trailed off when a deep blush covered her face, effectively providing him with an answer. "Are you sure?" She bit her lip and slowly nodded her head. "Have you ever..." he left if hanging, his stomach flipping nervously.

She shook her head "Have you?" she asked quietly, he responded with a short shake of the head also. "Do you want to? You know, I mean, with me? Because you don't have to, I would under-"

He kissed her, proficiently halting her nervous rambling. "Yes," He stated. At that one simple word desire and adulation became evident in her gaze. He smiled, running his gaze over her face and memorizing every detail. "You are so beautiful," he whispered in an awestruck tone.

Hermione gave him a brilliant grin and he leaned forward to kiss her once more. This time when her hands went to the button of his pants Harry didn't stop her, nor did she stop him when he did the same. As they explored one another's bodies in ways more intimate than either had ever experienced, they discovered a new world together. A world more knowledgeable than books, more addictive than Quidditch and more powerful than magic…and as they reached this newfound location in one climatic rush, the only things heard in the room were the crackling of the fire, the sounds of ecstasy and a trio of small whispered words dancing on firelight.

"I love you."

A.N. Wow… move quick don't they? (lol) so I guess the question once more is… now what? I know, do you? Oh and please remember that Harry was not Luna bashing he was just trying to make Hermione feel better. Also if you feel Hermione was a bit out of character I disagree, this is just randy Hermione not regular Hermione so she acts a bit more bold, that's all! (grin) Please don't run away screaming, stay tuned and PLEASE REVIEW!! Ja ne!

**Also for the delay I apologized, as you know I like to update every Friday but my beta has not gotten back to me on my latest story Redemption (D/G) and I hate to only update part of my stories… For the few of you who have given my other story a shot, I thank you and I'll update before the week is out. With or without my beta'd chappy.

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23. Confusion

Forbidden Love

Chapter 22

Hermione sat at the edge of the plush bed, her fingers trembling slightly as they worked to fasten the last few buttons at the top of her shirt. Looking up through her lashes, her gaze rested on the boy a few feet from her. Harry stood a little ways from the bed, his head bent as he focused on retying his tie. He gave a small frustrated growl when it ended up in a knot and untangled it, starting over again. As she slipped on her last knee high, Hermione heaved a small sigh and got up from the bed. Making her way over to the foot of it, she picked up her robe from off of the floor and dusted it off. As she turned, she gave another glance to Harry, who was still devoting all of his attention to his tie. He hadn't looked at her since a few minutes after they finished. One minute she had been resting with her head on his hard chest and the next he had been making excuses and slipping out of the warm bed.

'Maybe I did something wrong,' she thought, frowning as she slipped her robes back on. 'Maybe he didn't like it,' she ran a finger through her hair, to remove some of the tangles. 'But he must have liked it,' her mind interjected, 'he...well, you know.'

She blushed a bit, then her brows knitted together as she recalled overhearing a conversation between the Patil twins and Lavender Brown about how guys always...er, enjoyed it that much, even if it wasn't that great. She gave a frustrated sigh before bending and picking up Harry's robe from the foot of the bed. Making her way over to him she held it out, he glanced at her briefly before mumbling 'thanks' and taking the item from her hands. As he slipped his robe back on, she stepped forward and once again unknotted his tie.

Harry's eyes snapped up when she took a hold of the garment, but this time it was she who avoided his gaze. Instead she decided to concentrate on the task at hand and hope that he didn't notice the slight tremble of her fingers as she worked to get his clothing righted.

Hermione gave a small satisfied smile as she finished, straightening the tie so that it was fastened perfectly around his neck.

'Good, at least I didn't botch that up.' She thought. Still smiling slightly she looked up at the dark haired boy and the grin slowly faded from her lips as their eyes clashed. He stared back at her, his eyes alight with worry and confusion, reaching out a hand he lightly cupped the side of her face and she turned her chin into his touch.

"Hermione," he said softly "I-"

He was cut off as the door to the Room of Requirement suddenly opened; Hermione instantaneously took several steps back, giving a startled gasp when she bumped into the back of the couch. She looked at the burgundy sofa in surprise before giving a look to her right. Where a bed had been mere moments earlier, there now stood a small table and a bookcase. Glancing forward once more, she and Harry shared a bewildered look.

"Hermione!" Ginny Weasley called a second later slipping the rest of the way into the room and making her way over. "There you are! I just talked to that git of a brother of mine." The younger girl said frowning "I'm so sorry, I don't know how he could do something like that to you," she came forward and pulled Hermione into a tight hug. Pulling back she looked at the older girl sadly, "Don't worry I'll help you get though this, you and I'll have a big pig out fest tonight, just us girls, whadda ya say?" Hermione gave a strained smile, which the other girl took as an acceptance of her proposal. "Great!"

Ginny gave her a broad grin before giving a startled look to her left. "Hey Harry, I didn't see you there," she said smiling, releasing Hermione she went to Harry's arms.

The dark haired boy gave her a half smile and shrugged. "I didn't want to interrupt."

"You can never interrupt me," she responded, wrapping her arms around his neck and getting onto her toes.

Harry seemed to hesitate for a moment before dipping his head and meeting her half way, catching his girlfriends' lips in a long kiss. Hermione froze suddenly feeling like she had just been hit with a Petrificus Totalus spell. It seemed no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't seem to tear her eyes away from the couple snogging in front of her, even though the sight of them was tearing her heart in two. After what felt like forever to the brunette girl, Ginny pulled back from Harry and smiled up at him.

"Mmm, you taste like chocolate," she murmured, his eyes flashed to Hermione for a moment before Ginny caught his lips in another kiss.

"Well, I'm going to go," the other girl said quickly, her voice shaking.

Before either Harry or Ginny could say a word, Hermione grabbed her wand off the table and headed swiftly out of the room. She was almost to the stairs when she heard someone behind her, quickening her pace she did her best to outrun the person, however it was to no avail as they caught up with her seconds later.

"Hermione," Ginny said in a winded voice, grabbing her arm and pulling her to a halt. "Just stop okay? Look, I'm sorry. I'm such a jerk, here you are, just broke up with your boyfriend, and I'm standing right in front of you snogging mine. I'm so sorry," the younger girl finished with an earnest expression.

"That's okay," Hermione responded looking down.

"No it's not," she replied.

"Yes it is, really," Hermione alleged, giving a hollow laugh and a fake smile. "See? I'm fine."

Ginny shook her head "What I see, is that you're crying" she commented using the sleeves of her robe to wipe her friends face dry. "Hermione, I'm so sorry, I can't believe my brother would do that to you, and with Loony no less."

"Ginny, it's no big deal really," she responded, sighing when the other girl gave her a skeptical look. "Really." she stressed, before looking around the semi-crowded hallway. "Look, I have an essay I need to finish for Charms, I'll talk to you later, alright?"

The redhead looked like she wanted to argue but to Hermione's relief she seemed to decide against it and instead just gave a nod before pulling the older girl into a hug.

"If you need to talk, I'm here for you," she whispered as they embraced.

"Thanks," Hermione replied pulling back and giving the other girl a diminutive smile.

Her eyes flicked past Ginny for a second and she was surprised to see Harry standing a few feet away, watching them with an anxious expression on his face and his hand buried in his right pocket.

'He's probably just worried I'll tell her what happened,' she thought dejectedly.

Feeling the urge to cry once more rapidly descend upon her, Hermione tore her gaze away from the dark haired boy and gave Ginny one last fleeting smile before hurrying off to her dorm. Upon reaching Gryffindor Tower she gave the password of 'gillyweed' to the Fat Lady before rushing inside and giving another password the to entrance to her own quarters.

"Cats," she mumbled to the portrait, rushing in as soon as the entrance opened and taking no heed to the soft smile and kind words the woman in the painting attempted to offer.

Hurrying though her sitting room and to her bedroom she had just enough time to close the door before she crumbled. Slamming the door shut behind her, Hermione leaned heavily against it, her head falling forward as she slid slowly down the length while painful sobs racked her body. She landed with a soft 'thump' on the floor and immediately curled her legs up against her chest, covering her face as anguished cries escaped from between her lips and echoed off the soft cream-colored walls of her bedroom.

What had she been thinking?! That if she gave herself to him, he would want her over Ginny? Choose her over Ginny? Hell, she couldn't even get Ron to choose her over Loony, so why would Harry want her instead of Ginny Weasley? She was everything Hermione wasn't, she was funny, outgoing, witty, she loved watching and playing Quidditch... she was beautiful. - 'You are so beautiful.' - Harry's words echoed in her mind. Was he even thinking of her? Did he have the right girl when he had made the heartfelt declaration?

'Of course not,' her mind interjected snidely, 'what about you is beautiful?'

Hermione lifted her head at this remark and glanced around her room with blurry eyes. A full-length mirror peeked from the other side of her bed and after a small hesitation she slowly got up and made her way over to it. The reflection that greeted her made her wish the she hadn't bothered. Frizzy brown hair fell in an uncontrollable jumble around her shoulders, her robes were open and slightly crooked while the white collared shirt peeking from under it was wrinkled and un-tucked from her black skirt. The skirt sat on hips that were, in her opinion, entirely too big and just under the hem line pale thighs and knobby knees lead to black knee-highs that were unevenly pulled up. Making her way back up along the reflection she wavered a bit before looking at her own pale face. She was greeted by flushed, tear stained cheeks, huge front teeth and a pointy nose that was so red she could have lead a sleigh for Santa. Looking into her own puffy dull brown eyes depression swarmed her as she recalled Ginny's bright eyes, perfect teeth, sparkling smile and smooth shining hair.

She dropped limply back onto the bed and stared at the face in the mirror, unsure of how anyone could ever make the mistake of calling it beautiful. Falling back, she put her hands over her face and began to softly weep. She could still smell his scent on her skin.

'You should take a shower,' her mind said, this time in a kinder tone.

She knew that it was right... she was right. She should take a shower. Every time she inhaled she could smell Harry, and when she licked her lips she could taste the light salt from his body. However, she found herself unable to move, unable to get up and go to the shower… unwilling to wash the smell or taste away. Her eyes fluttered open and she crossed her arms over her chest, lightly hugging herself. She knew why she didn't get up and shower, this would probably be the last time she ever smelled like this, the last time that she was ever so close to Harry that his scent still lingered on her skin.

She didn't even know how or if she would ever be able to face him again. She turned to her side and stared blankly out of the window at the top of her bed. She had been stupid for kissing him in the first place. She had known he was out of her league, but had convinced herself that she may have been mistaken after what had happened on New Years. However, once they reached the train station, Ginny was once again in his arms and she was once again delegated to the role of sidekick.

'That's what I get for acting like a light skirt,' Hermione thought angrily as tears continued to streamed unchecked from her eyes.

And to think, when Ron had ended things between them she had actually been quite relieved, though she didn't tell him that for fear of hurting his feelings. She had actually thought that now she might just have a chance with Harry… who was she kidding?

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

She had gone into her room to gather her thoughts and sort out her feelings. When she heard the door click behind Ron, Hermione became worried that she had given him the wrong idea and had immediately gone in search of him- just to tell him that it was okay. After checking the boys dorm and the Great Hall, she headed outside where she finally found him speaking with Harry. She paused for a moment; unsure if she should intrude before deciding it was best to let him know what she felt and slowly nearing the two. They still had not noticed her when she picked up part of the conversation…

Harry, looked at Ron completely baffled and gave a shake his head. "But, you guys are going to make up right? It's not permanent, is it?"

"Looks that way," Ron replied.

"But... why?" the other boy asked sounding genuinely distressed by the notion.

The blood rushed in her ears 'Harry wanted her and Ron together?! He wanted them to make up?!'

Any delusions that she had maintained from the looks that she would catch from the dark-haired boy suddenly came crashing down with that one heartbreaking question. Turning she quickly rushed back towards the building, just catching Ron's response.

"It just wasn't... there anymore…"

Fleeing into the building she started towards her dorm then changed her mind; Ron, Ginny and Harry all knew her password. Changing course once more, she headed to the Room of Requirement.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

She had been surprised when Harry had entered an hour or so later, but then again, he did always know how to find her. She gave a sniffle and grabbed a pillow, hugging it against her chest. She should have know when he told her that he had looked for her because Ron had asked him to that it was a lost cause, but when he had been so adamant about how pretty she was....

"And not only do I throw myself at him, I had to go do something even more stupid…” she said to herself, rubbing her aching eyes “-and say that I loved him." Hermione gave a contemptuous laugh that slowly turned into a heartfelt sob as she once again began to weep.

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"You know it really is too bad," Lavender Brown was saying as Hermione did her best to contain the urge to kick the other girl. "But I'll tell you this, his taste in girls does seem to be getting worse every year.” The blondes eyes widened “Not saying that you're part of that decline, of course," she quickly amended with a fake smile.

"Of course," Hermione replied through clenched teeth "well, as fun as this is I have to get to Charms. Excuse me," she commented frostily, sidestepping the other girl who gave her a sickeningly sweet smile.

As she rounded the corner she instantly wished she had stayed in the company of Lavender Brown and her backhanded remarks. As oppose to the person who was standing there waiting to greet her.

"Well, well, well," Draco Malfoy drawled a mocking smile forming on his lips. "What do we have here? A little mudblood cow away from her flock huh?"

She rolled her eyes "Cow's travel in herds you git, not flocks. Now move Malfoy, I have to get to class."

She tried to step around him but he and his underlings moved and blocked her path.

"What's the matter Granger, having a little... guy trouble?" His cronies chortled. "Everyone's already heard that Weasel dropped you for Loony," his brows rose "who, though not the best choice, is still better than a filthy mudblood," she glared at him. "However, the real talk of the school is what is going on with you and Potty."

Hermione's eyes widened for an instant before narrowing to slits "What in Merlin's beard are you talking about Malfoy?"

Draco took a few steps forward so that he was in her personal space; she glared in response but did not move.

"I'm talking about how the infamous trio is now a duo, with you being the odd..." he smirked, "man out."

"Do you know what's funny?" Hermione asked giving him a serious look. "I was totally unaware that you even knew words like infamous or man."

He glowered at her "Yeah I know what a man is, something you'll never get,” the minions laughed. “I mean, honestly look at you, you're a veritable hag. Your hair looks like someone could loose their homework in it and your front teeth look like they're just begging for a carrot. Let's face it Granger, it's a good thing you have that little smush faced bastard you call a pet following you around," he sneered and his cronies tittered "-after all, you might as well get a head start on your cat collection."

"Move Malfoy," she responded, hurt by how easily he had pinpointed her insecurities.

"Make me Granger," he replied, taking a step closer and forcing her to take one back.

"I mean it, move or-"

"Or what? You'll hex me? If I can survive your face then I can survive any spells you throw my way." Hurt flashed in her eyes and having seen it his smile widened. "Oh come on, don't tell me you don't know how positively dreadful you look."

She stuck out her chin in response "Just get out of my way."

"Ahhh, so you do."

Hermione attempted to sidestep him once more, but was blocked by Goyle as he moved forward.

"Just move, you're going to make me late to class," she said almost cringing at the desperation in her tone.

"Aww," Draco drawled sarcastically, "and won't you just die if that happens?'

"She won't, but you might," a voice said. Hermione turned to see Harry standing a little ways behind her, gripping his wand tightly and his eyes flashing dangerously. "Are you okay Hermione?" He asked, taking several steps forward and pulling her behind him.

Hermione mentally cursed herself as her pulse speed up from his touch, she hadn't been this close to him in over a week, but her body still reacted strongly to his presence. Not trusting her voice at that moment she gave Harry a small nod and seeing that she was alright, he turned his attention from her to the blond haired boy in front of him.

"You know Malfoy," Harry said frostily "just because you and these muppets that you call mates don't plan on graduating Hogwarts anytime soon doesn't mean that you have the right to stop others from getting to class."

"I wasn't stopping her from anything Potter, she was just enjoying the company of a real man," Draco responded, Hermione snorted.

“I'm sure she was until you showed up and ran him away," Harry retorted. "Now get lost Malfoy."

The blond smirked, "Perhaps I don't feel like getting lost, you know I think I'm comfortable just where I am."

"Yeah, well perhaps you should move."

"Perhaps you should make me."

"Perhaps I will."

"Well this should be interesting," Malfoy drawled with a sneer.

"Harry don't," Hermione whispered from beside him. "Let's just leave, we can go another way."

“What's the matter Potter?” Draco spat, smirking. “Not enough cameras around for you to prove you're a man?”

“Please, even cameras won't make you a man Malfoy. I don't think anything ever will.” Harry replied in just as mean a tone as the other boy, Hermione gave him an anxious look.

“Yeah, well bring it Potter… If you can,” the blond responded raising his wand as his cronies laughed at the remark.

When Hermione saw Harry lift his wand in response, her hand swiftly shot up and pulled it back down. Her pulse speed up and her fingers tingled as the warmth of his body seeped through his cuff and into her fingertips. She restrained a frustrated growl at her inappropriate reactions to his proximity; this was neither the time, nor the place for such feelings.

“Harry, don't,” she urged, staring desperately at her friend and hoping he would be able to control his infamous temper. “He's not worth it-"

“Listen to the mudblood Potter, you normally do anyway,” Malfoy chimed in, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Harry's arm twitched under her fingers as he moved to bring his wand back up, but she forestalled it by tightening her grip on his wrist. He turned his head and looked at Hermione, anger burning in his eyes. However, when their gazes clashed something else began to burn in them and he quickly looked away, a blush covering his cheeks and neck. He gave a huff of the breath and relaxed in her grip; pulling away completely he crossed his arms over his chest, his wand still gripped tightly in his right hand and a deep frown marring his handsome features.

Malfoy sniggered “Just like a trained poodle. Hey Mudblood! For his next trick why don't you get him to roll over and play dead?” He finished as the minions behind him tittered.

Harry opened his mouth to respond, but before he could say anything a voice spoke from behind him.

"I do hope Mr. Malfoy," Professor McGonagall said walking up behind Harry and Hermione. "That it was not from the mouth of one of our esteemed Slytherin Prefects that I just heard that despicable slur."

Malfoy glared, but didn't comment.

"I must say that I'm most disappointed you're not setting a proper example for your fellow peers, let alone the younger students. I'll be sure to talk to your Head of House about just what his students are going around bellowing in the hallways.” She continued with a stern look “That type of language doesn't belong in your vocabulary and it defiantly does not belong in this school. Thirty points from Slytherin and detention for you personally. Follow me Mr. Malfoy," she finished giving him a stern look and proceeding past the group of students down the hall.

Professor McGonagall paused when she noticed Draco wasn't behind her. "When I said come with me, Mr. Malfoy I meant now. However, if you have a problem with that I'm sure that another thirty points from Slytherin and two weeks as Mr. Filch's personal assistant will help to motivate you properly."

The blond boy's eyes widened and his mouth dropped a bit before he hurried after the Professor, throwing one last glower back to the laughing Harry and Hermione. With their leader now gone, the other Slytherin students glared at the two Gryffindors' before hastening around the corner and towards class when Harry gave a flick of his wand.

Hermione chuckled "Thanks Harry, Malfoy can be such a prat."

Harry gave her a small smile "No problem," he ran a hand through his hair. "Look Hermione I was wondering if we could ta-"

"Well I have to get to class, thanks to the ferret I'm late," she said quickly, cutting him off. "I'll see you around Harry and thanks again!"

As soon she finished her comment, she turned and rushed down the hall. Hermione could hear Harry calling out to her, but she ignored it, instead choosing to quicken her pace. As she rounded the corner to Professor Flitwick's class, she took a moment to look behind her and was relieved to see that Harry hadn't followed. She had an idea what he wanted and she dreaded it. She wouldn't be able to bear it if he tried to apologize for what had happened between them. It had meant so much to her and even if he didn't feel the same way....

She gave a sigh, pushing the thoughts away. Placing a hand on the door to the classroom, she pulled it open and quietly entered. Mumbling to the professor that Head Girl duties were the cause for her tardiness she quickly made her way to her seat. After Charms was over she headed to Transfiguration and made sure to take a seat away from both Harry and Ron as soon as she entered, choosing instead to ignore her two former best mates and focus on her work. For the duration of the day, like so many before it, she answered questions in class, tended to her Head Girl duties, talked here and there to a few of her peers and Professors, going about her schedule as though nothing were awry. Always holding her feelings at bay; until the day was done and she retreated to the solitude of her personal dorm where she could weep in private.

**********************

Harry lay in bed staring blankly at the burgundy canapé overhead as a flood of thoughts rushed through his head. Today, when he had rounded the corner and seen Hermione being accosted by Malfoy and his cronies he had been furious. The urge to yell out "Confringo!" and blast the blond to smithereens had been overwhelming and he had gripped his wand so hard in an effort not to do just that, he still had marks on his palm. In fact, he would have done it when the prat called Hermione a mudblood, but then she put her hand on him...

Harry sighed and looked at his wrist where she had touched him, he could almost swear that he could still feel her fingertips. For the past week and a half he had barely seen her; she didn't come down to dinner very often, she got up early for breakfast and she had started eating lunch in her room. In fact the only time that he really saw her was in class and even then she no longer sat by him, heck she hardly ever even looked in his direction anymore.

Frowning he ran a hand though his hair before reaching down into his right front pocket and pulling out a medium sized hair tie. Harry gazed at the burgundy scrunchie, twirling it on his fingers, before putting it to his nose and taking a small sniff. It still smelled like her hair...

Closing his eyes, he could see Hermione sitting in the middle of the plush bed, clad only in her white button up shirt, short black skirt and black knee highs, her eyes were on his own filled with passion as she pulled the colored band from her hair and a waterfall of curls fell onto her shoulders. His snapped his eyes open and he gave a sigh. He had to stop doing this to himself.

When she fled the room and Ginny rushed out after her, he hadn't been sure what to do. He had seriously considered going after her straight away, but he knew that with Ginny there he wouldn't really be able to do or say anything of the things that he wanted to. So he had just stood there like an idiot for couple of minutes, before realizing that he should at least try to say something to her. He had moved to grab his wand from by the corner of the couch, when he had seen it. Almost completely camouflaged in the rich burgundy of the sofa, the scrunchie sat nestled between two large pillows. After hesitating for an instant he had grabbed the small hair tie and stuffed it in his pocket, figuring that he could possibly use it for an excuse to talk to her. However, when he had made it down the hall and seen her speaking with Ginny she had looked so distressed, he froze and just stood there like a git.

He knew that he should have talked to her, but he had no idea what to say. After what had just happened between them, what could he say? 'Hey, Hermione here's your hair tie, by the way that was great! Do you think we can shag again?!' Yeah, girls loved that type of thing.

'Why didn't you just say, 'I love you too'?' his mind asked.

He shook his head, oh yeah, saying that in front of Ginny would have gone over real well. Besides, he didn't feel that way about Hermione. The girl he loved was Ginny, true his feelings for her had developed rather quickly, but they were still there. She was his girlfriend and he cared about her, he loved her; he could still remember the day when he realized what he felt and their first kiss after the big Quidditch match. He remembered it all, how it felt when he realized his feelings and how great it was when they kissed that day. That's how he knew… he loved Ginny not Hermione.

'So why have you been carrying Hermione's scrunchie in your pocket for the last week and a half?' his heart asked.

'Because I'm just waiting for the right moment to give it back to her that's all,' his head responded.

'Really?' inquired his heart.

'Yeah, really.' replied his brain.

'So why do you take it out to look at it during the day?' his heart retorted smugly. `Why do you smell it to see if still has her scent? Why do you stare at it every night and then go on to dream about her till morning? Why don't you just give it back?' his head remained quiet under the onslaught of questions. `Tell me Harry,' his heart continued going in for the kill, `is that why you watch her name on the Marauders Map? Or wait in the common room under your invisibility cloak so that you can see her, just for a moment, before she enters to her dorm after night rounds?'

Harry closed his eyes and sighed, fine, so he did know the answers to those questions, but what if she didn't feel that way anymore? What if she had been just using him as a substitute for Ron and she had really meant the she loved him, not Harry?

He could still see the way that she looked at him when she hugged Ginny in the hallway, disgust, disappointment and hurt shining in her eyes. Was it towards him? He covered his face with his arm. Of course it was towards him, but what for? Because he kissed Ginny? He could understand her being angry about that, but he hadn't known what else to do when she kissed him, so he just kissed her back. But what really worried him was that it wasn't because of that, but because of something else…

Did she regret what had happened between them? Was she disappointed with his...er, performance? Did she wish that she had never made love to him? Did she wish she had never said she loved him?

He moved his arm and stared back at the canapé, his hand tightly squeezing the scrunchie as he fought tears. Why did girls have to be so bloody complicated? He just wanted to know where he stood. He could think of nothing else but her, dream of nothing else but her, he wanted no one else but her and she wouldn't even look at him. When he tried to talk to her today she ran like a bloody Dementor was after her. He swatted roughly at his face when a tear escaped, unintentionally using Hermione's hair tie to wipe it with.

He didn't know what to do anymore... had he lost her? He wanted to talk to her but he was scared, he wouldn't be able to bear it if she regretted what had happened between them. It had meant so much to him and if she didn't feel the same way....

“Hey mate! There you are,” Ron said entering the room.

Harry jammed the scrunchie back into his front pocket and quickly wiped the tears that had escaped from his face.

“You okay there?” Ron asked, having heard the other boy sniffle as he sat up.

“Yeah,” Harry replied giving a half smile. “I'm fine… just, kinda coming down with a cold or something I think.”

“Oh,” the other boy responded looking concerned, “you should see Madam Pomfrey then, she has something that'll take care of that for you.” He pulled a face, “Right dreadful stuff, but works like a charm.”

Harry rose a brow, “Uh… I think I'm fine for now, but I'll be sure to keep that in mind.”

Ron shrugged, “Suit yourself mate,” he commented before taking a seat of the side of Harry's bed.

“Did you want something Ron?” Harry asked when the other boy just sat there looking at him expectantly.

“Oh, yeah. I wanted to talk to you.”

“I figured as much,” Harry responded dryly.

“Right,” the other boy blushed, “well I wanted to know what was going on with you and Hermione?”

Harry's heart stopped for an instant, as he looked at his mate wide-eyed. Running a hand thorough his hair he licked his lips, “What do you mean?”

Ron gave him a puzzled look “I mean, what's going on? I can't help but notice, along with the rest of the student population, that Hermione doesn't seem to be speaking to either of us. Now I know why she's not speaking to me… but what confounds me is why she's not speaking to you.”

The dark-haired boy looked down at his hands for a second before looking back up at his friend, “I don't know.”

“Oh get off it Harry, you have to know. Did you say something to hack her off?”

“I don't think so.”

“That day, you know when she and I broke up and you went to talk to her. What did you say?”

Harry ran a hand roughly thorough his hair as memories assaulted him, “Nothing.”

“You didn't say anything?”

“Nothing that I think would have upset her.”

“Well did you do something?”

Harry groaned and stood from his bed, scoffing he paced from the bed to the door and back again before looking at Ron. The redhead was wearing a frown and watching him closely.

“What happened?”

“Nothing.”

“Harry?”

“What?! What do you want me to say Ron?!” he yelled; the other boy looked at wide-eyed. “Look, she was all upset about you and Luna and I-”

“Harry you didn't defend my relationship with Luna did you?” Ron asked incredulously.

“No wh-” Harry paused as a way out of the conversation presented itself. “Well… not really.”

Ron groaned “Blimey mate! Why would you go and do a daft thing like that?! No wonder Ginny said she felt so much tension in the room that day. Hermione must have wanted to kick your arse!”

Harry stared blankly at Ron, “Ginny said she felt tension? She never said anything to me...”

Ron gave a dismissive wave, “Eh, you know how girls are mate. She was just reading too much into it, which is why she came to me instead of you. Don't worry I'll set her straight for you,” the redhead said, going into Harry's drawer and pulling out a chocolate frog.

Harry took a deep breath, releasing it slowly, “What exactly did she say Ron?”

The other boy gave a shrug, “I don't really remember, something about something happening with you and Hermione, she sai- wicked! I don't have this one yet!” Ron exclaimed flipping a wizarding card over in his hand and reading the back. “Now I only have about five more to get before I have the whole collection.”

Harry glowered at his mate and punched him in the arm, “Ron, what did she say?”

“Who?” he responded; the dark-haired boy glared, “Right… I don't know, she just said it seemed weird like something had happened with you guys and,” he frowned, rubbing the back of his neck. “To be honest mate, I don't really remember. I got into this habit of tuning my sister out when she talked early on - haven't quite learned how to turn that off yet. Sorry…”

Harry sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets.

“What does it matter anyway? After all she was wrong,” Ron continued standing from the bed and facing Harry. “Now what does matter is talking to Hermione, who had buried herself so much in her Head Girl duties that it's all she really does anymore- well that and of course studying. It's just plain nutty, really, with how much cramming she's doing and all the time she spends in the library, you'd think the N.E.W.T.s were tomorrow instead of months away.” He gave a small sigh, “I know we broke up and all- but she's still one of my best mates and I just can't stand to see her so alone. I mean, I'm use to her not talking to me… but her not talking to you is just bloody weird,” he finished, giving a small shudder.

“Well what do you want me to do about it?” Harry asked frowning.

Ron shrugged, “Whatever you need to, talk to her, apologize, beg for forgiveness, something… you're a smart bloke, figure it out.” He looked at his watch, “well I have to go, Luna wants to read me the Quibblers latest article on the Blibbering Humdinger,” Harry rose a brow at the red-haired boy who shook his head in response. “Don't ask.” He said walking to the door; he was halfway down the stairs when he called back up. “Don't forget to talk to Hermione!”

“How could I forget,” Harry mumbled, realizing his hands were still in his pockets, he pulled them out and looked at the burgundy hair tie in his right one. Heaving another sigh, he put it back into his pocket and headed down the stairs in searched of the brown-haired witch.

A.N. A bit angsty but it had to be done, onward ho! These two really need to get together and compare notes, so lets go talk to Hermione! Please Review, let me know what you think, ja ne!!!

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24. Future Plans

Forbidden Love

Chapter 23

Hermione was sitting on the couch, reading a book on advanced silent spells when the portrait to her dorm suddenly opened. A moment later a flushed looking Ginny Weasley came bounding up the stairs and gave her a small wave.

“There you are,” she said, exhaling and then throwing herself onto the chair in front of her.

“Where else would I be?” Hermione asked, frowning at the other girl.

“Well I checked the library and the Room of Requirement first, since the last time I was looking for you that's where you were,” she gave a smirk, “figures you'd be in here.”

Hermione shook her head and looked back down at the text she was reading, choosing not to comment.

“So are you busy?” the younger girl asked, tilting her head slightly to peer at the title on the book.

“Well… kind of, I'm brushing up on some spells.”

Ginny gave a dismissive wave of the hand, “Good then you're not.” She commented, getting up from the chair and taking a seat next to Hermione on the couch. “Which is great because I really, really need to talk to you about something.”

“What?” Hermione asked when, after a moment of silence, the other girl didn't elaborate.

Ginny took a deep breath. “Well for the last week or so I've been acting like a bit of a prat with Harry,” Hermione rose a brow but remained silent. “You see…” the redhead hesitated fidgeting, “-I kind of thought that he may have done something, that he didn't do- but I thought he did, so I was mad at him.”

The brunette's brows furrowed, “What did you think he did?”

Ginny flushed and gave another wave of the hand “It's not important, Ron cleared it up for me and now I feel like a jerk. It's just that I love Harry and… well, so…” she stumbled over the words, looking down at her hands and not noticing the hurt that flashed in her brown haired friends eyes at what she had just said. “I just, I want to show him how much I love him and with Valentines Day coming up at the end of the week I would like to set up a special night.”

Hermione slowly closed her book and sat a bit straighter on the couch. “A special night?”

Ginny nodded “Yeah, a very special night.”

The older girls' eyes widened as her brain attempted to process what Ginny was implying, but in the end found it was unable to do so. “Just how special are we talking about here?”

Ginny blushed a deep red, “Very, very special.”

“Wha-“ Hermione started, but couldn't get herself to complete it and just ended up opening and closing her mouth wordlessly.

“Don't look so shocked,” Ginny said with a frown at the brown-haired girl. “I mean, Harry and I love each other and that's what people do when they're in love right?”

Hermione slowly shook her head, her brows furrowing “Ginny… have you ever… you know?”

The redhead blushed again “Not yet… I wanted to wait for someone special and Harry's that someone. I know it,” she finished with an unwavering look.

Hermione ran a hand through her hair and then rubbed her brow, “But Ginny… I don't know that you should- well, how do you know that he- you know, feels the same way.”

Ginny frowned at her “What do you mean? Why, do you think he doesn't?”

“I'm not saying that he doesn't, I-”

“Good, because I know how Harry and I feel about one another. Besides, I don't need a lecture Hermione, I didn't come up here for you to act like my mum.” The younger girl continued scowling, “I came up here for you to act like my friend. Do you think you can do that?”

“Of course,” Hermione replied, tilting her head and giving the other girl an annoyed look. “It's just that… aren't you a bit, you know, young for this kind of thing?”

“No,” she responded with a short shake of the head, “I know girls my age who have done it. Besides Hermione, it's not like I'm running out and shagging just anyone- this is Harry we're talking about. I mean, I love him and he loves me- so, it's ok. In fact it's perfect, which is exactly why I know I'm ready for this.”

Hermione suppressed a groan as she fought the urge to get up and beat her head against the wall until she passed out as opposed to having this particular conversation.

“I though you'd be excited for me, what's your problem?” Ginny stated, cutting into Hermione's perverse thoughts.

The older girl gave her a startled look “Wha- nothing, I don't have a problem Ginny. I just don't want you doing something just because you think Harry's mad at you, or you think you have to make something up to him. I-” she hesitated, “ I just don't want you doing something you're going to regret later.”

Ginny's brows furrowed, “You think I'd regret being with Harry later?”

“I don't.”

“What?”

Hermione's head snapped up, she hadn't realized that she had said that aloud. “Oh, uhh- what?”

“I asked what you said,” Ginny repeated, giving her a suspicious look.

“Oh, I said I don't- know, I don't know if you'd regret it. I just want you to be sure that you won't, that's all,” she responded quickly.

“Oh,” the red-haired girl replied with a thoughtful look, not noticing when her friend relaxed a bit. “Harry and I have been together for almost a year and we love one another, so don't worry so much. I'm sure I won't regret this at all,” Hermione gave a small nod. “Now that we've cleared that up, on to what I came up here for,” Ginny continued readjusting in her seat as the other girl waited anxiously. “You read a lot Hermione… so…”

Hermione raised her brows expectantly, “So…” she prompted when Ginny continued to just sit and stare at her.

“So… I was wondering, do you know any spells to help with… well you know- to make sure that I don't get- that I don't have-”

“You don't want to get pregnant,” Hermione supplied. Ginny nodded and turned a shade dangerously close to the color of her hair.

“So do you know any spells to help with that?”

Hermione instantly recalled the anti-reproduction spell that she had come across last year when she had been doing research on replication. But as her mouth opened to tell Ginny about it, her mind flashed to the one occasion that she herself had employed that same spell… and the person that that had been with.

“No,” she answered before realizing it.

Ginny gave a dejected sigh, “Are you sure?” Hermione nodded and the other girl sighed again, “Well I suppose I can ask Lavender, I just hadn't particularly wanted to tell her.”

“You're going to ask Lavender?” The older girl asked in a disbelieving tone. “Please tell me you're kidding.”

“No, I'm not,” the younger girl responded with a fierce look. “I love Harry and I'm ready for this. Valentines Day is the day to show your love and that's just what I'm going to do… even if I do have to ask Lavender for help to do it.”

Hermione gave a frustrated groan; burying her hands in her hair she closed her eyes as her head fought a war with her heart.

“Ok,” she said after a minute, looking back at the other girl. “I'll do it, I'll research the spell for you and get it to you before Valentines.”

Ginny gave a happy squeal and launched at Hermione, pulling her into a tight hug.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” she cried as she withdrew and beamed happily at the older girl. “I knew I could count on you! Valentines is only three days away,” Ginny continued, standing from the couch and hurrying towards the door. “I have a lot to do to get ready, I need to make sure everything's perfect and I don't have much time to do it. You'll get me that spell as soon as possible right?” she asked throwing a look back at the other girl, when Hermione nodded she gave another grin. “Thanks Hermione, you're the best,” she said before giving one last happy wave and rushing down the stairs.

As soon as the portrait door closed soundly behind the red-haired girl, Hermione grabbed a pillow, put it to her face, and screamed.

*****

Harry gave a look to his right and a frown pulled at his features as he took note of a tall thin wizard. The man's head was down and his greasy blond hair was pushed back out of his face and tied with a ribbon at the base of his neck. His dirty robes were a dark forest color and long fingers were laced together at his waist as he waited silently to be acknowledged.

“Have you done as I commanded, Jugson?” Harry asked in a low hissing voice.

“Yes my Lord,” a blond wizard answered, still not looking up. “Everything is going as planned and we hope to be ready-”

“Hope?” Harry quizzed in a soft, contemptuous tone, “I do not deal in hope Jugson.”

The blond wizard gave him an anxious fleeting look before once again addressing his feet. “Yes my Lord of course, that was a poor choice of words on my part.” He continued quickly, “We will be ready in the allotted time my Lord.”

Harry gave a nod, then noticing something out of the corner of his eyes he turned his head slightly, just in time to see a giant snake make its way towards him.

“Ahh, Nagini it is about time… Send her in,” he replied in response to the snake's hissed question.

Looking forward once more, he gave the wizard before him a disdainful look and dismissed him with a small flick of the hand. As the blond man hurriedly backed away he collided with the wall and flushed before tuning and quickly making his way out of the door mumbling an apology as he bumped into someone.

Harry shook his head at the simplicity of minions nowadays and looked reflectively out the window. Good underlings were so hard to find. As he watched a cloud pass over the night sky he heard someone approach, the lightness of the step letting him know that it was most likely a woman.

“I am here my Lord, as you requested, your humble and willing servant,” a husky voice said just to his right.

Turning once more to that direction, he saw a woman kneeling on the floor. Her head was bowed in a sign of respect causing her long hair to almost brush the dusty floorboards.

“Now, now, that is not necessary for my most devoted of servants,” he commented, tilting his head slightly.

“It is because I am your most devoted servant, that I always give you the utmost respect my Lord,” she replied, remaining as she was.

“If you wish to show me respect, then do as I command,” he responded in a steely tone before finishing in a softer voice. “Rise for your Lord.” Without preamble she did as commanded and slowly stood to her full height. “Now, that wasn't so hard…” he placed a cold finger on her chin, lifting her face. “-was it, Bella?”

Bellatrix Lestrange looked back at him with cold eyes and a twisted smile.

--

Harry bolted up his bed, his scar throbbing painfully. Rubbing his head, he groped around on his nightstand for a moment before locating his glasses. Fumbling a bit he finally managed to get them on, and quickly gave a look around the room before sighing in relief. He was still at Hogwarts. Lying back against his pillows Harry took a few deep breaths, then he shut his eyes and attempted to get back to sleep. However, as soon as they were closed the cold mocking gaze of Bellatrix Lestrange appeared, surrounded by the echoing of her cruel laughter on the night she murdered Sirius.

Harry's eyes snapped open and he looked blankly at he canapé overhead for a minute attempting to gather his thoughts. Sitting up, he briefly considered telling Ron about his dream, but when he gave a glance to the other boy, Harry saw that he was sleeping soundly and didn't want to wake him. Instead he lay back against his pillows and stared gloomily at a spot just above Seamus's bed. He hadn't had a dream for months, where the hell had that one come from? And what were these plans that they were talking about? When was the “allotted time”?

Harry groaned and rubbed his still throbbing scar, he needed to talk to Dumbledore, but he was still off doing Order business… Besides, he really didn't want to talk to the Headmaster, he wanted to talk to her. He frowned and ran an agitated hand though his hair. But would she talk to him? He had been trying to speak with her for the past week and she had been avoiding him at every turn, sometimes even going out of her way to do so.

`She's probably asleep anyway,' Harry thought dejectedly. But after hesitating for a minute, he reached a hand under his pillow and pulled out the Marauders Map anyway. “Lumos,” he whispered softly, lighting the tip of his wand.

Putting it to the parchment he scanned the map for her dorm, after locating the area he frowned realizing she wasn't in her room.

“Where in the world…?” he mumbled as he scanned the map for Hermione's name.

It was then he saw it, heading down a corridor on the fifth floor with Zach Smith.

`She must be doing Head Girl duties,' he told himself, stomping down the intense jealousy that flooded him upon seeing their names together.

Harry watched for a minute as the names continued to stroll the corridors before giving another forlorn sigh, maybe he should just wait and talk to her tomorrow. He frowned- no, he couldn't do that, he wouldn't have time. They had Quidditch practice for the upcoming game against Hufflepuff in the morning, Snape had insisted upon another Occlumency session for the afternoon and Ginny had some type of special Valentines thing planned for that night. If he were going to talk to her it would have to be tonight.

With that thought Harry quietly climbed out of bed and slid on his shoes, silently tiptoeing out of the dorm and down the stairs. A fire roared to life in the common room as soon as he entered and Harry made his way over to one of overstuffed burgundy chairs plopping down onto the seat. Rubbing his eyes sleepily he frowned, mentally scolding himself for not bringing the map as he watched the portrait.

He gave a surprised look as Crookshanks hopped on the arm of the chair and gave him a soft `meow'. The dark haired boy gave a gentle smile before giving the part-kneazle a scratch behind the ears. The cat purred appreciatively before hopping off the arm of the seat into Harry's lap, where he curled up and happily dozed off. The boy gave a chuckle and an envious look at the creature lounging in his lap, before once again focusing on the door.

******

“Toadstool,” Hermione mumbled to the portrait.

The Fat Lady gave her an annoyed sleepy look before sighing and swinging the door to the tower open.

“You know I'm tired too,” Hermione muttered to the woman as she slowly trudged though the opening. Rubbing her eyes sleepily she slowly made her way up the stairs into the common room.

“Hey,” a voice said, and Hermione's head snapped up.

There, sitting in an oversized chair by the fire and stroking her traitorous cat, sat Harry.

“Er…hey,” she commented softly, throwing a glare to Crookshanks.

The part kneazle lifted his head and regarded her silently for a moment before standing. He gave a long stretch and a soft `meow' to Harry before jumping off the boy's lap and softly padding to a corner by the window. Hermione rolled her eyes and shook her head at the cat before once again gazing at Harry.

“It's pretty late,” he observed, looking back at her through heavy lids.

“Yeah,” she replied fidgeting with the sleeve her of robe.

“So…” Harry hesitated a bit, sitting up in the chair. “I didn't realize that they made you guys do rounds this late…”

When he trailed off nervously, Hermione gave a small smile. “Yeah, well there was a small issue in the Ravenclaw quarters. One of the girls was convinced that she had seen a blood sucking Antromort and had worked the others into a frenzy.”

Harry arched a dark brow, “What in the world is an Antromort?” When she responded with a small shrug he chuckled.

“Of course - since there was no real danger - we were sent to handle it as opposed to the professors,” she continued giving a small yawn. “And naturally the girl who started the whole thing took the longest to convince. Finally, after I had checked under her bed and inside her wardrobe she calmed down and politely informed me that the Netherlouse must have shown and drove it off,” she finished rolling her eyes.

“Netherl- let me guess… Luna Lovegood?”

Hermione laughed “None other.”

Harry shook his head and leisurely stood from his seat, Hermione watched wide-eyed as the dark haired boy gave a stretch and ran his fingers through his hair. Merlin did he look delicious, his dark hair was rumpled from sleep and falling into his eyes, he was wearing a light gray t-shirt which was hugging his toned chest and arms. His plaid sleep pants had a small tie in the front and fit loosely on his legs, while dark blue slippers peaked from under the cuffs. Hermione's gaze worked its way back up to his face, where emerald green eyes stared back at her through thick lashes, heatedly observing her appraisal of him. Realizing that she had been caught, Hermione blushed profusely and looked past him at the roaring fire.

“So… now you know what I'm doing up, what's your story?”

“Dream,” Harry stated simply.

Hermione gave him a startled look. “What kind of dream?” He responded with a sardonic smile. “Harry, what happened? What was it about? Are you ok, how's your scar?”

She questioned in rapid fire, quickly approaching him and gingerly touching his forehead.

“It looks pretty red,” she commented, peering at the mark and pressing it lightly. “Does it hurt? Perhaps you should…” she trailed off as her gaze lowered and she realized just how close she was to him.

Hermione immediately tried to take a step back but was forestalled by Harry's hand on her back.

“Hermione please,” he implored softly, giving her a pleading look. “Don't run away from me. I really need to talk to you about this.”

She gave a small nod and he released her. “So what happened?” she asked, hoping that he hadn't heard the tremor in her voice.

Harry sighed, “Well I-” he looked around before looking at her once more. “Do you think we can have this discussion in your sitting area? This isn't really private enough to talk about… well, you know who,” he said, finishing in a whisper and looking towards the staircases.

Hermione gulped, Harry wanted to go up to her dorm. At this time of night? Alone…

“I don't know- uh, maybe we can just talk about this later, I'm really tired and I…” she trailed off.

Hurt flashed in the dark haired boys eyes for a moment before he ran a hand though his hair and gave her a hollow smile.

“Sure Hermione, later,” he repeated, his voice cracking slightly as he looked towards the flames once more.

Hermione released a breath and grabbed Harry's hand. Giving it a tug, she pulled him forward and led him towards her dorm.

“Frame,” she whispered to the painting hoping Harry wouldn't hear, however the quizzical look he was giving her let her know that he had.

Ignoring it, she led him through the door, up the stairs and into her sitting room. Upon entering Hermione made her way over to the couch and took a seat, pulling Harry down next to her.

“Ok, tell me what happened,” she said giving him a serious look.

Harry's lips quirked into a small grin. “You know you could have just told me you had changed your mind and I would have come willingly, you didn't have to drag me.”

“Oh shut up,” she replied fighting a blush and glaring at him.

Looking down she realized that she was still holding Harry's hand and blushed fully. Attempting to pull away, Hermione was surprised when Harry tightened his grip and held fast to her hand. She gave him a startled look, but he seemed to be looking at something across the room. However, the flush creeping up his neck and to his cheeks let her know he was aware of exactly what he was doing.

“I was in the house again,” he started after a minute. Then, looking back at her he launched into the tale of what had happened in his dream.

“So you saw her there?” She asked when he finished, touching his wrist lightly with her free hand when he gave a nod. “Did she say what she was there for?”

Harry shook his head “No, Voldemort had summoned her, but I didn't stick around long enough to see what it was about.” He looked at her with sad eyes. “I'm sorry, it's just that when I saw her I-”

Hermione placed a finger lightly on his lips, effectively cutting him off. “You don't have to apologize Harry, you did the right thing. Who knows, what would have happened or how much of what you were seeing was real. For all we know he could have known you were watching and tried to lead you into another trap. You did the right thing.”

Harry exhaled noisily and sat back on the couch, titling his head back he rubbed his face with his free hand.

“I just… I can't do it- I can't sleep anymore. Not if I have to see her every time I close my eyes,” he whispered brokenly.

Hermione felt her heart twist “Oh, Harry,” she said softly.

Pulling her hand out of his grasp she embraced him, resting her head lightly in the crook of his neck. His arms came around her almost instantly as he hugged her tightly against him.

“Thanks,” he whispered after a few minutes.

“No problem,” she whispered back sleepily from his chest.

“Hermione?”

“Hum?”

“I miss you.”

She pulled back a bit and looked at Harry, he gave her a small smile before coming forward and lightly brushing his lips against her own.

“Harry,” she whispered his name as her mouth melted against his.

They kissed candidly for a few minutes before Hermione pulled back and laid her head back on his chest.

“I missed you too,” she said softly after a moment, he responded by kissing the top of her head.

She had so much she wanted to say; so much she wanted to ask him. But one thing stood out above all else.

“Harry?” she questioned, lightly stroking his waist with her fingers.

“Huh.”

“What… what are you doing tomorrow?”

He heaved a sigh “Well, I have an Occlumency session with Snape in the afternoon and Quidditch practice most of the morning,” he answered in a quiet voice.

“So…you and Ginny don't have any plans for Valentines?” Hermione quizzed, pulling back and giving him a surprised look.

Harry winced, “Oh yeah… forgot about that.” He rubbed his brow, “I guess we do, I don't know what they are though Ginny's being all secretive about it.”

“Oh,” Hermione responded, pulling back more. “Well I'm sure you'll enjoy it,” she commented bitterly, before laughing to try to camouflage the tone.

“Hey,” Harry replied, turning her chin so that she was looking at him. “I'd much rather do something with you,” he hesitated licking his lips “that is if you- you know- if you want…” he trailed off blushing.

Hermione gave him a suspicious look, “Like what?”

He grinned at her, “Anything you want. We can go to Hogsmeade with the rest of the students, take a walk around the lake- heck, I'll even watch you study,” he gave a chuckle and lightly stroked her face. “As long as it's with you… I honestly don't care.”

She beamed at him, before her smile faltered, “But- what about Ginny? She made plans for you guys… very big plans.”

Harry titled his head and gave her a questioning look. “So you know what the big surprise is do you?” she gave a small nod and he responded with a boyish grin. “Is it a good surprise? Would I like it?”

Hermione glared at him.

“Ok, ok,” he responded with a quiet laugh, “I was just asking. Don't worry I'll handle it.” When she continued to frown Harry pulled her back into his arms. “Trust me Hermione, I'll handle whatever it is and I'll do my best not to hurt Ginny's feelings in the process,” she snorted and he rolled his eyes. “Just relax ok? You look dead on your feet.”

“I'm not on my feet and you should head back to your room,” she mumbled in an indignant tone.

Harry chuckled again, “Don't worry I will, I just need to hold you for a little while that's all.” When she didn't responded he looked down at the top of her head. “Hermione?” he questioned softly, then again in a louder voice. Realizing that she had fallen asleep while scolding him, Harry gave a small chuckle before taking a deep breath and inhaling the scent of her hair.

`This is a lot better than a stupid scrunchie,' his mind observed lightheartedly.

He gave a small smile in response as he eyes slowly drifted shut, giving a quick glance to his watch he calculated that he could stay here with her for another three hours at the least and still make it back to his room before anyone else awoke. Easing his wand and a handkerchief out of his pocket he said a small spell to charm the item to repeatedly hit him in the face to wake him up in three hours. Harry then readjusted on the couch so that he and Hermione were laying flat on the sofa as opposed to sitting up, giving a rueful smile when the witch in his arms slumbered peacefully through his ministrations.

After summoning a light blanket from her open bedroom, Harry adjusted one last time before starting to doze. As he drifted off and Hermione snuggled against him one last time he gave her another kiss on the head and the words that he longed to tell her in her waking hours tumbled from his lips as she slept.

“I love you too.”

A.N. Ok that's it for this chapter, how will Harry handle Ginny? Stay tuned and find out! Also if you haven't already Please check out my other fic The Snogging Chronicles! It should be posted on the site now. It's a Harry/Hermione Hogwarts era fic that is fun, funny and a bit sexy so make sure that you're allowed to read the more adult fics (which you should be if you're reading this) Or my stories Ace of Hearts which is H/Hr post Hogwarts or Redemption which is D/G also post Hogwarts with just a hint of H/Hr. Also PLEASE REVIEW and Ja ne!!!

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25. Valentines Day

Forbidden Love

Chapter 24

Hermione gave a languid stretch, giving a surprised look to her right when her arm hit against something. Looking in that direction, the cream-colored pillows of her sofa came into focus. She stared blankly at them for a minute before what happened last night came rushing back. Harry waiting in the common room - his dream about Voldemort - them talking in her sitting room - him saying that he missed her. She gave a soft smile and then blushed - them kissing on the couch… falling asleep in his arms.

She gave a sleepy smile and sat up on the couch, he had said that he had wanted to see her today… today… her brows furrowed as a thought tickled the back of her brain. Today… suddenly it came to her, toady was Valentines Day! Ginny was planning on sleeping with Harry tonight! She had to warn him, had to do something… Hermione hopped off of the couch and rushed into her room, quickly grabbing some clothes and hurrying to the shower.

Twenty minutes later she fussed nervously with her ponytail hoping that the de-frizzing spell that she used would hold and hurried to the Great Hall. Entering the enormous room she quickly headed towards the middle of the Gryffindor table, but was surprised to see only Neville and Seamus sitting there eating breakfast.

“Where is everyone?” she inquired of the dark-haired boy as she took a seat on the bench and looked around the room.

“At Quidditch practice,” Seamus chimed in after Neville gave her a blank look and a shrug.

“Oh…” she responded biting her lip slightly “okay, well thanks.” She gave him a smile before hurrying back out of the Great Hall and towards the Quidditch pitch.

As she reached the massive structure, Hermione quickly headed through the team entrance and to the field. Reaching the opening to the playing field she saw the Gryffindor team still on the ground, listening intently as Harry spoke to them. She couldn't hear what he was saying, but by the looks of approval on his teammates' faces, Hermione knew whatever it was they agreed. When he finished talking the team formed a huddle, placing their hands in the middle for a second before pulling away and shouting `Gryffindor!'

Once they were done everyone hopped on their brooms and flew swiftly into the air- well, almost everyone. Hermione watched mutely as Ginny and Harry stayed on the ground, he said something to her and the redhead girl responded by touching his arm lightly and whispering something in his ear. He gave her a small smile and a scant second later the other girl came forward capturing his lips in a kiss.

Hermione recoiled away from the image as her heart lurched painfully in her chest, taking a few deep breaths she closed her eyes and willed her herself to calm down. By the time she looked back at the field it was empty and both Ginny and Harry were in the air with the rest of the team. Placing a hand on her stomach she somberly made her way back to her dorm deep in thought.

`Maybe he just hasn't had a chance to tell her,' she thought anxiously as she made her way past a group of noisy students headed to Hogsmeade.

`Maybe he's not going to,' her brain commented badly a minute later.

`Of course he is,' her heart chimed in, `he said he would.'

`So, just because he says something doesn't make it true,' her mind responded sharply.

`Yes it does, if Harry says something he means it.'

`Really?'

`Yes, really.'

`He said he loved Ginny,' her mind remarked snidely.

Hermione stumbled a bit on the stairs, it was right…er, she was right. He had said he loved Ginny, he had told her that several times over the last year.

`He's never said anything about loving you,' it persisted, `in fact when you told him you loved him, he didn't say anything at all.'

Hermione gave a frustrated growl, startling a third year that was walking past. Ignoring the girls' strange look she rushed up the moving stairs to the tower, mentally berating herself. Why would she say something like that? Was she always such a bitch? - Wait, did she just call herself a bitch? She paused in front of the Fat Lady and rubbed the bridge of her nose. Okay- now she was officially going mental.

“I just need to sit and think clearly,” she mumbled to herself before saying “Toadstool,” in a voice loud enough for the portrait to hear.

The Fat Lady gave her a disapproving look for dallying and then swung the door open to allow her access. Heading straight through the common areas and giving the password to the portrait guarding her dorm she swiftly entered. Heading up the stairs and into her sitting room she paced for a minute before taking a seat on the couch.

“I just have to trust Harry,” she stated aloud, “he says he's going to talk to Ginny and he will. He won't let anything happen between them; heck he probably just woke up late this morning and didn't have time yet. I'm sure he'll talk to her right after practice.” Having worked the issue out logically, Hermione relaxed a bit. Picking a book up off the table she began to read it silently, doing her best to concentrate on the words in the text as opposed to the clock on her mantel.

-----

Several hours later she was back to pacing the room, it was now almost seven-thirty and she hadn't seen Harry all day. She had even gone to Hogsmeade looking for him, but hadn't been able to find him anywhere. Hermione gave a frustrated huff and rubbed her face, he should have been here by now. He had said all he had to do today was Quidditch in the morning and Occlumency with Snape in the afternoon, so she should have seen him at least once today. He had said that he had wanted to see her, right?

She threw herself down onto the chair and stared blankly at the wall, he was with Ginny, she just knew it. That's where he was. How long had he been with her? Had they made love? Did he plan on staying with her now? Had he changed his mind? Hermione gave another harsh sigh as heartbreaking questions she was powerless to answer assaulted her mind.

`I knew it,' she thought, pulling her legs up into the chair and hugging them. `He changed his mind. Why would he want me anyway?' she asked rhetorically before putting her hands over her face and beginning to cry softly. A minute later she felt warm hands encircle her wrists and pull at them. As her hands were pulled away from her face, Harry's troubled green eyes came into view.

“Hermione?” he questioned softly, “Are you alright? What's wrong?”

Instead of answering she launched forward, pulling him into a hug. Harry laughed quietly, hugging her back before pulling away and standing. Grabbing her hand he pulled her over to the couch and took a seat, gathering her back into his arms.

“Now what's wrong?” he inquired once more.

“I thought you had forgotten me,” she mumbled, giving a small chuckle.

“What?” Harry asked, pulling back so that he could see her face.

Hermione blushed and focused on his chin instead of his eyes. “I didn't think you were coming… I- well, I thought perhaps you had forgotten me.”

He frowned and tipped her head up with his finger, “I would never do that Hermione.” He gave a wry smile, “Heck I couldn't if I tried… trust me I know.”

They stared at one another for a moment before he came forward and placed a light kiss on her lips.

“I meant it when I said I wanted to spend the day with you,” Harry commented, lightly stroking her chin.

“Yeah, well the day's over, its night now,” she retorted with a smirk.

Harry blushed, “Yeah, sorry about that… it was kind of a long day…” Hermione gave him an expectant look. “Well first I woke up late- after I left here that is. You see I had gone back to my room to get an extra hour sleep, but I guess I kind of passed out. Then that git Ron decided to wait to wake me up until after he had eaten breakfast. So I only had time to run downstairs and grab a glass of juice and a piece of toast before practice. Then after practice I ran back here to take a quick shower and it was off to my fun-filled Occlumency session with Snape.” He sighed rubbing his brow, “During which the wanker got mad about one of my implanted memories… I think it had something to do with the fact that this one had him doing some things with Mrs. Norris, that would have you calling the Department for Control of Magical Creatures,” he finished giving her a smirk, Hermione shook her head and nestled closer to his warm body.

“So what happened?”

Harry gave a short grunt, “The prat gave me detention, three hours of picking apart spiders,” he grimaced, “and I do mean part by part.”

“Eww,” Hermione replied, making a face. After a moment of continued silence, she pressed on with was she had really wanted to know. “Harry?”

“Yeah.”

“What happened with Ginny?”

He sighed.

**********

Harry cursed quietly to himself as he made his way down the corridor of the dungeon and back up stairs. It was almost seven o'clock; he was supposed to have met Ginny for their Valentines Day thing at six thirty. Then, to make matters worse, he had not had a chance to talk to her about their relationship yet. He had tried at Quidditch practice, but she had just kissed him and flew away, so he tried again after, but she had yelled something about needing to go to Hogsmeade to get something and rushed off to the girl's dorm to change. He had even attempted to catch her after his shower, but she had already left for the village. So here it was, six forty two at night on Valentines and he was heading to the Room of Requirement to meet with Ginny… as opposed to heading to the dorms to see Hermione like he really wanted to.

Looking up he realized that he had reached the afore mentioned area and sighed. Taking a deep breath he thought of `a romantic getaway' like Ginny had requested and the door to the room appeared. Hesitating for an instant, Harry placed his hand on the knob and cautiously headed in.

“Bloody hell,” he murmured to himself upon entering and taking note of his surroundings.

The room smelled lightly of flowers and was glowing gently, lit by several candles strategically placed around the area and the warm fire from the fireplace. Romantic music played softly in the background and rose petals lightly littered the floor. There was a table decorated with two place settings, champagne glasses, an ice bucket with what looked to be sparkling cider sticking out of the top of it and a vase of red roses in the center. However as unexpected as all of that was, nothing stunned him as much as what was located just behind the table…

Harry slowly made his way further into the area, coming to a halt in front of a large four-poster bed. As his eyes scanned the area, he noticed a large cream-colored satin comforter, several downy satin covered pillows, a fluffy burgundy robe thrown across the foot of the bed and more rose petals littering the surface.

“You're late,” a female voice said softly from just behind him.

Quickly turning Harry came face to face with Ginny.

“Yeah… uh, sorry about that. Snape gave me detention.”

The redhead rolled her eyes, “the git,” she mumbled before coming forward.

Harry attempted to take a step back but only succeeded in falling backwards onto the bed; Ginny smiled.

“You look nervous Harry,” she commented with a mischievous grin.

Harry's brows rose, was she kidding? Of course he was freakin nervous, heck he was down right ready to panic! Here he was stuck in a room with Ginny, surrounded by a romantic atmosphere, sprawled across on a large bed while she stood before him looking very enticing in her Hogwarts robes. Her face held a hit of makeup around the eyes, her lips were a soft pink and her unbound hair pooled around her shoulders. As her smoky eyes stared back at him filled with attraction, Harry looked briefly at the door attempting to mentally calculate the distance he would have to run to get there.

“What's wrong?” Ginny asked coming forward; he shifted on the bed.

“Uh… don't you want to eat or something first?” he asked, nervously pulling at his collar.

“Not really,” she replied coming forward a bit more so that her robes were now grazing his knees. “However if you're hungry I'll feed you,” she finished with a suggestive wink.

Harry gulped.

“Ginny… uh, I don't know if- well, I just don't think- uhh… Ginny we shouldn't…” he finished with a strangled squeak as the words got caught in his throat when the younger girl dropped her robe.

`Oh shite.'

Ginny stood before him, now clad only in a set of lacy red knickers, a small gold chain and a pair of red heels. The chain fell between two round breasts that peeked from the top of the lacy bra, and her flat stomach rose and fell as she breathed. Small calves lead the way to long shapely legs that seemed to go for days, however when they did stop going they led to somewhere that he definitely shouldn't be looking. Harry flushed and quickly averted his gaze; Hermione was going to kill him!

“Harry?” she inquired when he looked away.

“Yeah,” he replied while doing his best to focus on the fire.

Ginny frowned and placed her hands on his knees; opening them she stepped between them and peered at Harry.

“Why are you looking at the fire?” she asked with a confounded expression.

“I-uh, thought that I saw a face… I think someone my be watching us, perhaps we should go,” he said hastily, however when he looked forward once more he realized the he was eye level with Ginny's….er, attributes.

Giving a groan Harry covered his face and fell backwards onto the bed… big mistake. The redhead climbed onto the mattress and straddled him, then leaning forward so that her chest lightly brushed his own Ginny placed a kiss gently on his neck, before slowly making her way up to his ear.

“Gin-” he cleared his throat, “Ginny, maybe we should stop.”

She pulled back and frowned at him, “What is wrong with you?”

“Nothing, just- maybe this isn't a good idea that's all. I mean who knows what can happen, someone could walk in, there could be a fire in the school… you could get,” he blushed, “well you know.”

Ginny sighed and sat back onto his lap. “Harry stop worrying, it's all taken care of.” She rolled her eyes at his dubious look. “No one can walk into the Room of Requirement without knowing what they're looking for unless it's an emergency, Hogwarts has been around for hundreds of years I doubt it's going to spontaneously burst into flame tonight. And as for the last part…” she hesitated, blushing a bit, “well- Hermione helped me with a spell so it's all taken care of.”

Harry gave a distressed look; Hermione had helped her? Hermione knew about this?! Why hadn't she told him- warned him? Did this mean that she didn't care if he shagged Ginny? He groaned and rubbed his eyes, bloody freakin women! Of course she cared, this was probably some stupid test or something.

He whimpered as Ginny began to kiss his neck once more, while her hands roamed his chest.

“You know what I want?” the girl asked softly pulling back and looking at Harry seductively. “Since I saw you on the train at the end of summer I've been absolutely dying to see you with your shirt off,” as she said this she gripped the hem of his shirt with her fingers and began to work the garment off of his torso.

“Ginny,” he replied putting his hands over hers to stop her from removing his clothes. “We really need to-” he was cut off as a surprised moan escaped from his lips when she grinded against him. “Bloody hell,” he said for the second time that night before putting his hands on Ginny's hips to forestall her distracting movements. “Ginny we really need to-”

“I know what you need,” she interrupted with a wicked smile, “I can feel it.”

She pressed down against his hardness and rotated her hips, Harry groaned. Stupid sodding male body! Didn't this thing have any control over itself?! Giving a deep sigh and strengthening his resolve Harry placed his hands on Ginny's hips and easily hefted her off of him, sitting her down on the bed to his right.

“Harry, what?” she asked looking completely baffled.

“Ginny,” he tried again sitting up, “we really need to talk.”

She frowned and gave a worried look, “About what?”

Harry sighed, “About us.”

--------------------

“So what did you say to her?” Hermione asked pulling away and shifting so that she could look at him.

Harry gave a small shrug, “I told her that it was over, that I just didn't feel the same way about her that she did about me and I didn't want to lead her on.”

Hermione chewed on her lower lip, “How did she take it?”

Harry exhaled slowly and leaned forward resting his elbows on his knees. “Well… she asked me not to end it and wanted to know what had changed…” he trailed off looking at her for a moment before looking down at his hands. “I told her tha- that I didn't love her anymore… that I wasn't sure that I ever had really- well at least in that way. I let her know that I did still care about her very much and I wanted her in my life- just- you know, not as my girlfriend.”

Hermione lightly touched his arm and gave him a probing look, “You don't love her anymore?”

He stared reflectively at his hands for a moment longer before looking back at her. “No…” he licked his lips, “I- I love you…”

Hermione opened and closed her mouth a few times before taking a shuddering breath. “Really?” she inquired softly, with a hopeful expression.

Harry nodded. “I think I always have…”

“But- I thought that you, you know, you had said that you loved Ginny,” she remarked with a frown.

Harry ran a hand though his hair, “I think- I think what I loved about Ginny was that she was a Weasley,” he frowned. “You see, if she and I were together and got married- then I would be a Weasley too. And Mr. and Mrs. Weasley would be my parents and Ron and the twins would be my brothers,” he sighed. “In all honestly I don't think I ever loved Ginny… I just, I loved her family,” he looked at Hermione and grimaced, “that makes me a horrible person huh?”

She gave him a soft smile and ran her fingers though his hair, “I don't think so, personally don't think that she really loved you either.” Harry gave her a startled look. “Think of it this way Harry- Ginny swears she's loved you since before she met you. How can you love someone you've never met?” he shook his head. “You can't,” Hermione answered, “you can't love someone you've never met because you don't know them. You don't know their habits, good or bad, their flaws, their quirks… you don't know them. Ginny fell in love with Harry Potter- not Harry.”

Harry gave her an admiring look, “I never thought of it that way.”

Hermione gave him a miniscule smile, “Just give her a couple of months, she'll be okay.”

Harry nodded before looking at her with a frown. “What's this Ginny tells me about you helping her out with the plans for tonight?”

“Oh…” Hermione winced and trailed off.

“Hermione,” he prompted, when she still didn't answer he proceeded cautiously. “You didn't want- you know…”

“No!” she exclaimed, and then sighed. “Look, I had to help her or she would have gone to Lavender Brown.”

“You're kidding me,” Harry responded with a dubious expression.

“No, she was hell bent on- well, having it off with you tonight- even if that meant asking the advice of one of the most notorious gossips in the school,” Hermione replied with a shrug. “So it was either have me help out discreetly or have everyone know what was supposed to have happened between you two tonight by breakfast tomorrow.”

Harry shook his head, “Well then I guess I owe you a thanks,” he commented grudgingly.

Hermione beamed at him, “Yes, I believe you do.”

He smirked and shook his head, “Fine. Thanks Hermione for heading off yet another rumor at my expense.”

She raised a brow, “Is that it?”

He gave her a guarded look, “What else do you want?”

She shrugged and smiled impishly, looking at him coyly through her dark lashes. Taking the hint Harry smiled and then came forward and pulling her into a searing kiss. She moaned as his tongue slipped into her mouth and relaxed against him. As they kissed Hermione buried her hand in Harry's dark locks and drew him closer to her, while he buried one hand in her auburn curls and put the other at the base of her back. Before she knew it, Hermione found herself straddling Harry's strong form. Decided to take advantage of the new position, she pressed down a bit, slowly grinding against him and chuckling a bit as he groaned against her lips.

Hermione let out a startled squeak when Harry suddenly rose, putting his hands on her thighs he held her steadily against him and slowly made his way to her bedroom. Upon entering he threw her onto the bed and kicked the door shut, Hermione laughed as he began to stalk her like a large cat.

“Harry stop,” she said giggling and quickly making her way to the other side of the bed as he crawled onto the mattress. He shook his head in response and gave a naughty grin. “Harry, I'm serious don-” she cut off with a startled yelp as he grabbed hold of her.

In the next moment she was pinned between the soft mattress and Harry's hard body. His eyes twinkled merrily and he gave her a roguish grin before capturing her lips in another kiss. Hermione moaned and arched slightly off the bed as he caressed her hip, then wrapping her legs around his waist she pulled him closer. Harry lightly squeezed her thigh and pressed harder against her softness giving another boyish smile when she moaned and closed her eyes.

“Hermione!” a voice called from her sitting room.

Harry and Hermione froze as their gazes snapped to the closed door of the bedroom for a minute before looking at one another with panicked expressions. They recognized that voice, and it belonged to Ginny.

A.N. Yay! Harry and Hermione are finally together! But what now? How are they going to handle Ginny?… I guess you'll have to read to find out. So until the next chapter. Ja ne!! Oh, and I would like to give a special kudos to jaklee733 who guessed quite closely how the thing with Harry and Ginny would work out. You had me cracking up when I read your review, great job and not quite it but close enough that I just HAD to comment on it you should write a fic, when you do link me and I'll be sure to check it out ^.~ . *lol* Please Review everyone, let me know what you think!!!!

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26. So Bleedin Long?

Forbidden Love

Chapter 25

“Hermione!” Ginny called again from the sitting room before knocking on the bedroom door.

“Just a minute!” Hermione responded while frantically pushing at Harry's shoulders.

After he hastily scrambled off of her, she gave the dark-haired boy a shove and he quickly ducked under her bed. As she made her way to the door Hermione did her best to fix her hair and adjust her clothing. Assuring herself that she was presentable by giving a quick glance into the mirror, she then opened the door partially to a flushed looking Ginny.

“Hey, Ginny. What's up?” Hermione asked with a weak smile while gently easing her way out of the room.

However she needn't have bothered since the other girl remained oblivious to her friends' odd behavior as she made her way back into the middle of the sitting room. Hermione watched worriedly as her friend paced back and forth in front of her, lightly hugging herself and utterly lost in thought.

“Ginny?” Hermione questioned, approaching the other girl and placing a hand lightly on her shoulder.

Before she knew what had happened, Hermione found herself engulfed in the other girl's arms as Ginny threw herself at her mate and cried heavily on her shoulder. Unsure of what to do, the dark-haired girl just lightly rubbed her friends back as she waited for the tears to subside. About five minutes later, Ginny pulled back and gave Hermione a watery smile.

“Thanks,” she mumbled, hiccupping softly and wiping her eyes. “I just needed to get that out.”

“No problem- so, what happened?” Hermione questioned, already knowing the answer, but realizing what was expected of her.

Ginny dropped her head as tears began anew, “He dumped me.”

Hermione bit her lip but didn't comment.

“There we were in the Room for Requirement for our big Valentines evening and instead of wanting to shag me, he wanted to dump me,” the other girl cried with a troubled look. “What did I do wrong?! I don't understand…” she finished softly, her voice breaking as she began to weep once more.

Hermione put her arm around the other girl, giving a brief, guilty look to her bedroom door.

“Ginny,” she ventured hesitantly, “I'm sure it'll be ok… who knows maybe now you'll meet a great chap who'll-“

“I don't want anyone else!” Ginny cried obstinately, “I want Harry! I love Harry! There is no one else for me, why don't you understand that?!”

Hermione flinched at the harsh response before quickly recovering and trying again. “Look, I know you feel that way now, but… just give it time. I'm sure in a month or two you'll be feeling as right as rain again,” she offered with a weak smile.

Ginny shook her head and gave the brunette a wounded look, “You're not supposed to be saying this!” Hermione's brows rose. “You're supposed to be telling me that he'll realize what he's lost. That he'll come back and beg for my forgiveness. That he does love me and he's just being Harry by ending things out of some twisted sense of duty or concern for my safety!”

“Oh…er,” Hermione frowned, then sighed, “I'd love to Ginny but- but I don't know that that's what's going on… I mean,” she hesitated under the redheads hurt glare. “I'm not saying that I don't hope it's true… I'm just saying- that- well, there's a chance that maybe it really is over. That he really did mean it when he said he didn't love you.”

Ginny's bottom lip quivered as she continued to gaze at her mate with hurt-filled eyes. “I don't think that that's it though Hermione. I think that he- wait… how did you know he said that he didn't love me?” she questioned frowning and closely scrutinizing the older girl.

Hermione fought a panicked look and settled for a shrug before responding in her haughtiest tone. “It was just a simple matter of deduction. You mentioned that Harry would realize that he loved you, so I deuced that he said that he didn't. That's all,” she finished with another shrug, holding her breath.

Ginny shoulders fell and she gave a small nod before looking down at her hands; Hermione released the breath with a soft 'whoosh'.

“Hermione,” she said after a moment of silence. The brunette responded with raised brows and a questioning look. “Do you think that- well…” Ginny fidgeted with her sleeve before looking back at her friend. “Do you think that maybe you can talk to Harry-” when the other girl opened her mouth to respond, she rushed on. “It's just that you're one of his best mates, I'm going to ask Ron to talk to him too. I figure if both of you talk to him and tell him how crazy this whole thing is then he'll listen… well maybe not so much to Ron, but he'll definitely listen to you. Please Hermione?” she finished with a beseeching look.

Hermione slowly shook her head as her brain tried to grasp what Ginny had just asked her. Ginny actually wanted her to talk Harry into getting back together with her? Not bloody likely!

“Ginny I can't.” She help up a hand when the other girl tried to speak. “Look if Harry made a decision I have to respect it. I'm not going to try to change his mind on something that I'm sure he already spent a fair amount of time thinking about. I'm going to respect his wishes and so will Ron. After all, Harry didn't meddle in his decision to break things off with me.”

Ginny frowned, “Yeah, but that's because Ron was seeing Luna already, Harry's not seeing anyone else.”

Hermione opened her mouth to tell Ginny 'he sure the hell was', before catching herself and hastily snapping it shut.

“Is he?” the other girl asked quickly, having seen Hermione's movement.

“Uh- no, not that I know of…” Ginny gave her a disbelieving look. “Come on don't you think if Harry fancied someone else it would be all over school by now?” Hermione asked arching a brow.

Ginny sighed and looked down at her hands, “I guess…”

“Ginny-“ Hermione started before wavering.

“What?” The redhead asked looking at her once more.

She bit her lip before cautiously continuing, “Ginny… are you sure that you even love Harry?”

“What! Of cou-“

“It's just that- I used to think that I loved Ron, but now that we've been apart I quickly realized that perhaps I just loved… well, the idea of him, you know?"

Ginny frowned and gave her a sideways look “What do you mean you quickly realized? The last I checked you weren't talking to either Ron or Harry over what had happened between you two.”

Hermione flushed a bit, “Well… it wasn't that I was upset over what happed per'se… it was- well- I just needed some time to gather my thoughts. Get my head together, you know? That's all… in fact the next time I see your brother I'm going to make sure he knows that there are no hard feelings.”

Ginny continued to stare at her blankly for a minute before scowling. “Well bully for you then. But what I feel for Harry is love, not just some passing fancy. I've loved him for as long as I can remember!”

“You haven't even known him for as long as you can remember!” Hermione retorted with an irritated look.

“That doesn't change anything!”

“Of course it does! How can you love someone you don't even know?!”

Ginny gave an affronted look, “I do too know Harry,” she glared at the older girl. “In fact I'm quite sure I know him better than you do.”

Hermione bit back the retort reminding herself that Ginny was just lasing out because she was hurting.

“In fact,” the younger girl pressed, “I know him in way's you could never know him, in way's you couldn't even imagine.”

The brunette simmered at what she was implying, “Please, I know you're upset right now Ginny but don't say stuff that isn't true.”

“How do you know it's not true?”

“Because you told me? Remember at the beginning of this conversation… you said you were thinking about shagging him and he was thinking about dumping you.” She responded rolling her eyes heavenward.

Ginny frowned, “We may not have gone all the way, but I still know him better than you.”

Hermione sighed, “No you don't Ginny.”

“How do you know?” was the petulant response.

“Because no one does,” she replied confidently, looking the other girl in the eyes.

Ginny just stared at her for a minute before standing and walking over to the window. After hesitating for a moment Hermione followed.

“If that's true then perhaps you can answer a question for me,” Ginny said softly, facing the scenery.

Hermione fidgeted for a moment before responding “I'll try…”

“What did I do wrong?” she turned and looked at Hermione her eyes awash with tears and filled with pain. “Why doesn't he love me?” she whispered in a broken voice.

Before her friend could respond the redhead turned and ran down the stairs, slamming the portrait shut noisily behind her.

--------------

Hermione took a deep breath and turned the knob to the bedroom door, slowly opening it. Upon entering her room she saw Harry sitting on the bed, his shoulders slumped and his head down. Giving a small sigh she softly closed the door behind her and made her way over to where the dark haired boy was sitting. When she reached him she stared at him sadly for a moment before running her fingers lightly through his soft hair.

"I didn't want to hurt her," he whispered, "I didn't mean to..."

Hermione bit her lip and gave a soft smile "I know. But trust me Harry, she'll be fine... just- just give her time, okay?"

He nodded and then looked up at her with haunted eyes. "I can't help the way I feel..."

"Trust me," she gave a cynical smile, "if anyone understands that, it's me."

They regarded at one another silently for a moment before Hermione moved Harry's arms and gingerly took a seat on his lap. His arms immediately came back up, and encircled her waist as he held her in a gentle hug. When he rested his head lightly on her shoulder she ran her fingers though his hair in a slow hypnotic motion and they each became lost in their own thoughts.

"What are we going to do?" he inquired softly after a few minutes.

"What we have to do," she replied, shrugging lightly.

Harry stiffened; pulling back he gave her an apprehensive look. "And what is that?"

Hermione frowned, "Keep our relationship a secret of course, at least for a while... why? What did you think I was going to say?" she asked when she felt his shoulders relax.

He ran a hand through his hair before giving her a sheepish look, "I dunno... I thought maybe you'd say- well, that we shouldn't be together."

"What?" she asked with a surprised look "Are completely you out of your tree? Why would I say something stupid like that?"

Harry shrugged and winced, "Well... I don't know I just figured- you know, since Ginny came to you and all, you would..." he trailed off unsure of how to finish.

Hermione shook her head, "Look I care about Ginny- I really do. But... well, what I feel for you- it's so much- it's so..." she stumbled over the words wondering where her N.E.W.T. level vocabulary had disappeared to. "Harry, I love you. I meant it when I said that- and though I do care about Ginny, she's one of my best mates and my very best girlfriend… I just can't hold back what I feel for you anymore. I mean I tried to at first, but that was mainly for Ron's sake." Harry nodded. "And as much as I care about Ginny... I-I couldn't give you up for her anymore than she could for me." She gave a frustrated groan. "Ugh! I sound like a bloody prat don't I?"

Harry frowned, "Kind of, yeah," he commented, before winking and chuckling. "I'm just kidding," he added when she glared at him. "I know exactly what you mean because I feel the same way."

She gave a small smile in response, leaning back against him, "What a pair we make."

"One hell of a pair if you ask me. I just wonder what took us so bleedin' long?" Harry responded in a light voice.

Hermione giggled in response before leaning down and giving him a light peck, “I don't know but whatever it was, I'm glad we didn't let it stop us from getting here...” she gave an impish smile, “even if it did take us a while.”

Harry laughed in response before placing his hand and the base of her neck and pulling her down for a much longer kiss.

**********************

Harry sniggered at the look on Ron's face when Hermione took a seat next to them in Transfiguration the next day. And his enjoyment became even more pronounced when Hermione offered him an easy grin and Ron turned to search the room for who the brunette was smiling at. After seeing no one behind him and only Lavender Brown on the other side of him, Ron gave Harry a questioning look. The dark-haired boy responded with a smile and a nod to the unasked question and Ron looked at Hermione once more, this time grinning.

Harry knew how Ron felt, since he had felt a similar way last night when he had returned to their dorm.

---------------

He had entered the dorm at around ten and was doing his best to sneak quietly to his bed when Ron called out to him.

“Hey mate,” the redhead said lightly.

Harry looked over to see the other boy sitting on his bed… reading?

“Yeah, Luna recommended it,” Ron commented noticing his friends' confused look. Lifting his hands slightly Harry saw that he was reading an issue of The Quibbler, he also noticed with great amusement, that his red-haired mate was reading it upside down.

“She says it's better that way,” Ron mumbled, flushing.

Harry chuckled, “Whatever you say mate.”

After he made his way over to his bed and had turned down his sheets Ron spoke again.

“I heard about you and my sister.”

Harry tensed, freezing in place he waited anxiously to see what else he would say. “Yeah?” he answered after a minute when Ron still didn't comment.

“Are you sure you don't love her?” He asked, looking up Harry stared him in the eyes and slowly nodded his head yes. Ron sighed, “You knew then didn't you?”

“When?” Harry questioned frowning.

“That day- you know… the day I broke up with Hermione.” Ron answered.

Harry hesitated and then nodded.

Ron shook his head lightly, “I thought so, when I asked you if you knew what I meant when I said things didn't feel the same between Hermione and I… well, something in the way you answered made me think that you knew a lot better than you let on.”

Harry flushed and rubbed the back of his neck “Yeah…”

“Well, as Hermione would say. No use crying over spilled socks,” he continued with a shrug.

Harry arched a brow, “Uh… I think you mean `no use crying over spilt potion', Ron.”

The redhead regarded him thoughtfully “Hmm… I suppose that does make a bit more sense.” He stated with a small nod, “Good show mate, I'll remember that.”

The dark-haired boy laughed, “See that you do,” he said as he climbed into bed.

“You know,” Ron started, continuing when Harry looked at him. “Ginny wants me to tell you that it's a mistake to break things off with her. I should be letting you know that my little sister is the best thing that's ever happened to you and that you should stop being a git and work things out already. I'm supposed to tell you that's how I feel about the whole breakup and I wish you'll at least listen to what I'm saying and try to work things out.”

Harry frowned, “And is that how you feel?”

His mate snorted, “Not bloody likely,” Harry released the breath he had been holding. “I'm just glad I don't have to watch my best mate snog my baby sister anymore.” Ron said, putting away the magazine and shutting off the lamp by his bed.

“Then why say it?” Harry asked adjusting in his bed and pulling the covers up.

Ron rolled his eyes, “Weren't you listening mate?” he asked in an annoyed tone. “I was supposed to. Now when Ginny asks if I talked to you about everything tomorrow, I can honestly say I did.”

Harry snorted, “Why didn't you just lie and say you did?”

Hearing no comment from his mate Harry shook his head and closed his eyes, burrowing deeper beneath his covers. However, just as he was about to fall asleep he heard Ron's response.

“Luna doesn't like it when I lie,” the other boy mumbled; Harry smiled.

----------------------

“Hello? Harry? You in there?” Hermione asked from her spot just next to him.

Coming abruptly back to the present Harry looked at his two best mates worried expressions and flushed, “Sorry, just doing a bit of wool gathering there.”

Ron and Hermione shared a look but chose not to comment. As they once again faced forward Professor McGonagall started class.

----------------------

“Wow,” Ron said a couple of hours later as he walked slowly around Hermione's sitting room fiddling with various knickknacks. “Been a while since I've been up here.”

“Well as you can see not much has changed,” Hermione commented, gingerly removing a small figurine that the other boy had been tossing back and forth in his hands.

“Sorry,” he offered with a sheepish smile.

She gave him a genuine one back, “That's ok… it's just good to- well, you know, to see you again.”

“It's good to see you again too,” Ron replied, before coming forward and pulling the brunette into a warm hug.

The jealousy was a complete surprise to Harry, all they were doing was hugging and it was a totally innocent one at that. What the hell was wrong with him? Frowning, Harry ran an agitated hand though his hair and looked away briefly, when he turned back Hermione was giving him a concerned look.

“So what changed your mind about everything?” Ron asked, as oblivious as always to the sudden tension in the room.

Hermione shrugged and smiled, “I just needed some time alone to think things over.” She responded, as she walked across the room. “Oh and Harry and I had a little talk too,” finished approaching the dark-haired boy and taking his hand. She gave it a squeeze and rubbed it lightly with her thumb.

Harry smiled `Of course she would notice,' he thought. When she arched a brow at him, he fought the urge, telling himself that he would not pull her into his arms. `Well, at least until Ron leaves that is,' he thought.

“Good I'm glad you and Harry were able to talk,” Ron commented giving Harry an overly obvious wink.

Hermione shook her head, “I saw that Ronald,” she stated dryly.

The red-haired boy grinned, “Blimey Hermione, do you realize how much I even missed that haughty, know-it-all tone of yours?”

She laughed, “No, but I'll take that as a complement.”

He looked back at her in surprise, “Wow, no snooty comeback? Whatever you did mate, you must have done the hell out of it,” Ron stated giving Harry and impressed look.

Hermione's mouth dropped, “How dare you, you, you… infantile, uncouth, odious-”

Harry placed a hand on Hermione's shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

“Don't let him get to you, he's just kidding,” he said softly, rubbing her arm.

The brunette visibly relaxed and even offered Harry a smile, “Thanks, I just forgot how he could get sometimes.”

Harry smiled back.

“Brilliant!” Ron exclaimed, reminding Harry and Hermione that he was still in the room. “I've never seen you calm down that quickly,” he shook his head and stared at Harry in wonder. “I was never able to do that myself, usually she stayed hacked off for hours. Perhaps you should be the one dating her, huh?” He finished with a chuckle as he picked up the photo of himself off of the mantel, failing to notice the color drain from the faces of his two best mates. “Hey can I have this? I can't take a decent bloody picture to save my arse. In fact, I'm pretty sure that this is the only one in existence and-” he paused as he looked up. “Are you two ok?”

“Of course,” the replied in unison, before looking at one another and blushing.

“Riiiiiight,” Ron commented, rolling his eyes. “So can I have the picture or not?”

Harry smirked, “Having a mirror just not enough, eh there mate?”

The other boy glowered, “It's not for me you prat, it's for Luna. The only photo I had that I was able to give her was from Christmas last year.”

Harry grinned, “The one of you in your `R' sweater, stuffing your face with popcorn?”

Ron gave a grim look and nodded, “The one and only… so can I have it?” he gave Hermione a pleading look.

The brunette tried to fight it, but her mouth quirked into a grin anyway. “Of course you can have it…”

“Gee thanks Hermione you're the be-”

“But,” she cut him off, holding up a hand, “You have to give me the one of you in your `R' sweater,” she finished with a smirk.

“You're pulling my broom right?” when she slowly shook her head `no' he groaned. “Awww, come on Hermione! I was planning on burning that thing as soon as I got a hold of it again,” he whined falling back onto the couch.

She gave a shrug and walked towards the other boy, “Suit yourself, but if I don't get that picture- then you don't get this one,” she plucked the silver frame out of his grasp and gave a sickeningly sweet smile.

“What's the big bleedin' deal anyway?” Ron complained glowing at her, “What makes it so important?” he added, voicing the question that was on Harry's mind.

She responded with another shrug before falling back onto the chair. “It's not, really.”

“Not what?”

“Important.”

“Then why do you want it?” Harry asked before Ron could.

Hermione gave him a mischievous smile. “Well that's easy,” they watched her expectantly. “Because he doesn't want me to have it.”

Harry let out a bark of laughter while Ron groaned.

“Evil, just bloody evil,” the redhead mumbled, falling backwards on the couch.

Hermione rolled her eyes, “Fine, take it you drama queen.” She tossed him the photo. “Now hurry up and give it to Luna before I change my mind and make you trade.”

Ron looked at her in shock.

“I said go, or I'll change my mind,” when he continued to look at her as though she were mental she lead forward and glowered at him. “I meant now Ronald.”

Recognizing that tone, Ron quickly hopped up off the couch and rushed towards the door.

“Thanks Hermione you're the best! Talk to you later Harry!” he bellowed as he ran down the stairs and out of the portrait door.

Harry shook his head and gave his girlfriend a confused look, “You weren't really going to demand that picture were you?”

“Nah,” she replied getting up from the chair.

Harry frowned, “Then what was with the big rush? You know, the whole `I meant now Ronald' thing?”

Hermione rolled her eyes, “I swear boys can be so dense at times.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means I, as you put it, “rushed him” because I wanted him to leave.”

Harry's look went back to confused, “But why? I thought you wanted a chance to talk to Ron after all this time.”

“I did,” she sighed and shook her head. “But I wanted the opportunity to kiss you more.”

Harry's eyes widened in understanding before a handsome grin settled on his face. “Well then, what are you waiting for?”

“Funny,” Hermione responded, tilting her head. “I was about to ask you the same thing.”

Not needing to be told…er, three times, Harry chuckled and then came forward capturing his girlfriends' mouth in a heated kiss.

A.N. That's it for this chapter, see you next time! Please review and Ja ne!!!

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27. Temper, Temper...

Forbidden Love

Chapter 26

Hermione gave a small smile to her boyfriend as he lightly grazed her hand with his own, for the fifth time. She and Harry were walking the corridors with Ron just after their latest D.A. meeting and he had decided that if he couldn't hold her hand as they walked then lightly touching her as often as possible is the next best thing. When he grazed her hand once more, she gave him a look of mock annoyance, to which he responded with a grin and a wink.

“That was a brilliant meeting you guys,” Ron commented happily from her left, completely oblivious to the flirtation going on between his two best mates. “Everything went perfectly, I mean did you see the way I blasted that sodding Death Eater across the room?! I swear everyone can tell that you're back,” he continued, giving Hermione a smile, “the lesson plans have already gotten way better, I mean it's been a while since we've had such an awesome spell to work with.”

“Oi!” exclaimed Harry, giving his mate a disgruntled expression.

“What?” Ron held his hands up defensively, “Come on mate, you know I'm right, without Hermione the lessons were sorely lacking.”

“Yeah, well… I wouldn't say sorely…” Harry grumbled, shoving his hands into his pockets and throwing his girlfriend a glare when she giggled.

“Whoa Hermione,” Ron said, giving her a surprised look “you almost sounded like a real girl.”

Harry laughed; Hermione hit him.

“Uhh, excuse me,” a voice said from the rear of them.

Halting the trio turned to find Zach Smith standing just behind them with a nervous expression.

“Hello Zach,” Hermione offered with a kind smile.

“Hey Hermione- uh, do you think I could talk to you for a second…” He threw a fleeting uneasy glace to the two well built Quidditch players flanking her “-alone.”

Hermione gave the blond a curious look while Harry and Ron shared a frown.

“About what?” The dark haired boy questioned harshly, before letting out a small grunt when Hermione elbowed him in the stomach.

“Sure,” she replied, throwing Harry a discreet warning look.

The dark-haired boy frowned but didn't comment, instead he settled for crossing his arms over his chest and bestowing the blond with an intimidating glare. After giving the glowering Harry and the frowning Ron another worried look, Zach lightly took Hermione's elbow and maneuvered her a bit away from the other boys.

“So, what's this about?” Hermione asked when the blond had ushered her what he felt was a far enough distance away from her mates.

“Well… I, er, notice that you look really pretty- not to say that you don't always look pretty,” he rushed, when she gave him a disgruntled look. “Just to say that lately you seem… I don't know different, that's all.”

Hermione frowned at Zach once more. Just what was he getting at anyway?

“Well… thanks,” she commented aloud, throwing an irritated look to Harry and Ron who were both sniggering from their location a foot or two behind Zack.

The blond threw a quick look back to the other two boys, “Perhaps we can go somewhere to talk… you know, a bit more private.”

“This is fine Zach, what do you have to say?” she replied briskly when she noticed Harry frown.

“Well,” he hesitated and looked back at the boys before leaning forward and continuing in a low tone. “You see, I noticed that… well, you've always been pretty Hermione- beautiful really, but lately since, well, you know- since you and Ron broke up you've seemed a bit down. And though I've kind of been wanting to ask you for a while now I didn't because, well at first you were in a relationship and then when you weren't, well when it was over- you seemed really upset and a bit distant at times… but the last couple of days you've been radiant, vibrant, glowing just like a brilliant bluebell flame in dark black room, just like a candle in a dungeon, just like a-”

“I hate to sound rude, but could you get to the point?” Hermione asked, giving a quick look at her watch. “It's getting really late and I have some additional studying to do before my rounds tonight.”

Zach flushed, “Oh, yes, of course, no problem- I guess what I'm getting at is… well for a while you seemed to be really upset about your break-up with…” he looked back at the two boys once more, noticing that they were both watching them closely. “-well, with you know who.”

She arched a dark brow but remained silent.

“Either way, you seem really happy as of late and… well I was hoping that that meant that you were,” he faltered a bit, “well, you know. Ready to get back out there.”

Her brows knitted together but she still didn't comment.

“I guess what I'm getting at, er, what I was wondering was… well… Hermione, wouldyouliketogototheQuidditchgamewithmetomorrow?” he rushed out.

“I- wait, what?”

He released a long breath and tried again, this time pacing himself, “I asked if you'd like to go with me to the Quidditch game tomorrow.”

Hermione gave him a surprised look, “You mean as in a date?”

“Well, yeah I guess…” he quickly continued when she opened her mouth to comment. “I mean, yes. Definitely, I- well, I've fancied you for bit now and now that you finally seem to be over- er, well seem to have moved on, I thought that it would be the perfect time to ask. I mean, a girl as smashing as you couldn't stay single for long.” He finished with a charming smile.

Hermione felt herself began to blush from the compliment, looking past him she gave a glance to Ron and Harry. The two Gryffindors had obviously overheard the conversation if their reactions were any indication. Ron was watching them with an somewhat staggered expression, his red brows practically touching his hairline, while Harry was watching them with an extremely hacked off one. The way the dark-haired boy was gripping his wand was reminiscent of his last run in with Malfoy and also was an immediate cause for worry.

“Oh, well actually I don't think that's a great idea,” Hermione commented hastily, “you see… well, though I am over the whole thing with Ron I…I- don't think that I'm quite ready for another relationship you see.”

“I'm not asking for a commitment Hermione, I'm just asking for a chance.” Zach continued with an easy smile, and completely unaware of the peril he was placing himself into. “Look no one even has to know it's a date, with you being Head Girl and me being Head Boy, all anyone would think if we showed up to the Hufflepuff, Gryffindor game is that we were trying to show some house unity.”

“Zach I don't-”

The blond placed a finger lightly against her lips to quiet her, Hermione looked to her mates again. Ron was now frowning but Harry… Harry was positively livid, his stance was rigid, his eyes were a deep greenish-black color and his wand hand seemed to be itching to be raised. She quickly slapped the blond boy's hand away from her face.

“Sorry,” he offered with a half-smile, “I just didn't want you to shoot me down without at least thinking about it.”

“I really don't think that thinking about it will change anything-”

“Please, just consider it overnight?” Zach asked with a pleading look.

“I… well,” she wavered, “I guess I can think about it. But I'm telling you nothing's going to change, so tomorrow morning when I tell you `No' that's the end of it, ok?”

The blond boy grinned; the dark-haired boy frowned, but relaxed a bit.

“Sure no problem,” Zach said with a wide smile, “till tomorrow then?”

“Till tomorrow,” she sighed.

“Great… well, I'll see you then,” he hesitated once more, then before Hermione knew what he was about, Zach leaned forward and placed a light kiss on the corner of her mouth, then… he was gone.

Hermione gave a startled jump as the boy suddenly flew away from her and landed with a sickening `thud' against the wall across the hall. Giving a distressed look back she immediately noticed Harry standing there, his features grim, his eyes hard and his wand raised.

“Bloody hell mate!” Ron bellowed, “What'd ya do that for?!”

“Harry! How could you?!” Hermione shouted a scant second after Ron.

The brunette then turned and ran to the aid of the fallen boy. “Zach - Zach are you alright?” she inquired anxiously, lifting the other boy's head. When he gave a pained groan she sighed in relief. “Zach, can you hear me?”

His eyes fluttered open and his unfocused gaze fixed on her, “Herm-” he winced and rubbed the back of his head. “Hermione? What happened?”

“I… well, you see I wasn't expecting you to kiss me like that…”

“You? You hit me?” he gave her a bewildered look.

She flushed and gave a quick look up to Ron who had rushed after her when she had run to the Head Boy's aid.

“Sorry, you just caught me off guard,” she answered with a wince.

“Yeah,” Ron added quickly “you know how they say she's the brightest witch of her age?” Zach gave an almost imperceptible nod. “Well they forgot to mention she's also the toughest. I wouldn't have snuck up on her if I were you mate, you should have seen the bloody nose that she gave Malfoy this one time he messed with her. Took Madam Pomfrey all day to get it straight again,” he finished with a grim look, and a slow shake of his head. Hermione rolled her eyes.

Zach's panicky gaze flew back to the brunette, “I'm-I'm sorry, I didn't know. I just wanted to give you something a little extra to think about, that's all.”

“Look's like you were the one that was left with a little something extra to think about, hey there Zach?” Harry drawled with a smirk as he joined them by the wall.

When Ron gave him a shocked look and Hermione glowered at him, Harry gave a light shrug.

“What Harry means,” Hermione added through clenched teeth, “is that maybe next time you should be more careful about who you kiss, or at least make sure she knows your intentions,” she gave a feeble smile.

Zach nodded, but when he opened his mouth to comment Harry spoke once more. “That's not what I meant. What I meant was perhaps you should just keep you ruddy lips to yourself before the next witch rips them off.”

Hermione scowled at him, “Harry James Potter-”

“No, Hermione he's right,” Zach said as he moved to stand. “Thanks,” he offered to Ron when the redhead helped him up. “I shouldn't have done that- I mean you had already pretty much told me `No' for a date, so that was really out of line and I'm sorry,” he gave a dry smile. “Hey, the way I look at it I'm lucky I didn't get hit by all three of you.” He looked at Ron “Sorry mate, I should have known better than to kiss a girl in front of the bloke that use to date her,” he chuckled, “honestly I'm surprised that you weren't the one to hit me with the spell. Not that I would have blamed you, heck that's what I would have done had she been my girl… or ex-girl.”

“Well there's always next time,” Ron responded giving a weak smile and throwing a sidelong glance to his dark-haired best mate who was now turning a dull red.

“Yeah well, I think I'm going to go see Madam Pomfrey, I feel a headache coming on,” the blond stated with a wince.

“Oh! Uh, maybe I can help you get there?” Hermione quickly offered.

Zach gave a light shake of the head, then groaned and grabbed the sides, “Ok, remind me not to do that again.” He said with a chuckle.

“Please, just let me-”

“No Hermione I have it, don't worry.”

She huffed and gave him a troubled look, “Well you should let me do something…”

He grinned, “You want to do something?” she nodded “Ok, I'll tell you what- you can do me a favor.”

Hermione frowned “What kind of favor.”

“A very simple one,” he took a step towards her before halting abruptly and giving her a wry grin. “I think I'll request it from here if you don't mind.” She suppressed a smile and answered that she didn't. “Good, all I want you to do for me is think about it.”

“About what?”

“About what I asked you earlier.”

“I-wha- you mean, you still want…”

He nodded, then grabbed his head and groaned.

“You weren't supposed to do that again,” Harry offered with a cheeky smile.

Hermione threw her boyfriend a look that promised bodily harm for the next lippy comment that he made. Harry's squirmed under her gaze and his smile faltered to be replaced by a nervous grimace.

“Thanks Harry,” Zach responded, missing the small interaction between the two. “So I better be off, you'll still think about it right?”

“Of course,” Hermione replied offering the boy a genuine smile, “who knows now that I've thrown you practically across the school with my spell, I may have to say yes.” Her smile turned to a grin as she saw Harry frown out of the corner of her eye.

“Well I hope so,” Zach said returning her smile, then with a quick wave to Harry and Ron he turned and ambled towards in infirmary.

----------------------------

“What the hell were you thinking Harry?! Were you thinking?!” Hermione exclaimed, rounding on the dark-haired boy as soon as they entered her sitting room.

“I was thinking that that sodding prat had his bloody hands all over you and he's lucky all I did was a simple Stupify spell as opposed to the one I really wanted to do,” he replied hotly. “Which - by the way - would have defiantly gotten me locked up in Azkaban!”

“Well perhaps you should be locked up, bleedin' mental you are! I can't believe that you would put everything in jeopardy like that… I mean even Ron was catching on!”

“I didn't put everything in jeopardy! Smith put everything in jeopardy along with is own sodding neck! Where the hell does he get off asking you out right in front of us like we're bloody freakin invisible or something! And when he leaned in and kissed you! My bloody girlfriend, right in front of my fucking face! Well, he's one jammy bastard I'll tell you that, because I hadn't intended for him to be able to stand let alone walk!” he finished heatedly.

Hermione stared at Harry in shock for a moment before coming forward and placing a soothing hand on his arm. His gaze flew to hers and his eyes still blazed with so much unchecked fury that when she took a deep breath she seemed to inhale the power that was radiating from him. Hermione instantly found herself in awe of the fact that, if this was how hacked off Harry really was, he had been able to hide it up to this point.

“Harry,” she ventured hesitantly, reaching out a hand and cupping his face; cold eyes stared back at her. “Sweetheart, I don't know why you're upset. It was just an innocent kiss.”

“He kissed you-”

“Yes, but on the corner of the mouth Harry not on the lips. It was completely innocent, there are few kisses more chastite-”

“Was our first kiss chastite?”

“What?”

“At the skating rink, when I kissed you on the corner of the mouth to shut up that smarmy blond bird. Are you telling me you didn't feel anything? Because I sure as hell did, even if I wasn't ready for it yet.”

She looked away as she recalled that day and they way that his warm lips had pressed gently against the corner of her mouth. She also recalled the way her eyes had closed because of how heavenly it had felt and how the area he had kissed continued to tingle long after his lips had pulled away.

“No it wasn't,” she answered blushing.

“Well there you have it.”

“No, there you don't.”

“What? You just said-”

“I just said that our first kiss wasn't completely chastite, but you're overlooking something very important in all of this.”

“What?”

“It was our first kiss.”

“So,” Harry commented with a confused frown.

“Honestly Harry, I swear you're a bit dim at times.” She responded removing her hands from his face and wrapping her arms around his neck. “No matter how many kisses Zach or any other boy bestows -or tries to bestow,” she corrected at his foreboding look “on me they will always lack one very important trait. The one thing that's absolutely and undoubtedly required to gain or maintain my interest… they're not you.” He smirked at her. “What you don't believe me?” Harry arched a brow, “No? Well I'll tell you what… why don't you ask Ron?”

As Harry laughed softly, the tension disappeared from his shoulders and his eyes once again danced with amusement. “I think I'll take your word for it.”

She grinned back “You had better… Ah-ah.” Hermione reprimanded when he moved in to kiss her. “So do we have an understanding?”

“About what?”

“About you realizing that there is no one that I have ever loved or wanted more than you Harry James Potter. So there is not need to act like a bleedin' headcase every time a bloke says he fancies me or tries to ask me out, ok?”

“Fine,” he answered; when she moved in to kiss him he pulled back, “but on one condition.”

She gave him a wary look “What condition is that?”

“If he puts his lips or any other appendage on you in a sexual way, I have the right to relieve him of that body part.”

“What! Harry, ther-”

He dipped his head and gave her a long heated kiss before pulling back and grinning at her bemused expression. Seeing his smug look, Hermione snapped out of her stupor.

“No removing body parts Harry,” she stated sternly.

“Ok well, how about I just rearrange them?”

“Harry, n-” she was cut off as he kissed her again.

“Shrink them?”

“No Har-” he kissed her again.

“Disfigurement?”

“Harry! Don-”

Harry continued to throw out suggestions and kiss Hermione before she could shoot them down completely for at least ten minutes, before the suggestions were happily left behind so that the kissing could take the forefront.

A.N. Well that's it for this chapter, will Harry be able to hold his jealousy in check? And should Hermione really be throwing stones…. PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!!

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28. Glass Houses...

Forbidden Love

Chapter 27

Harry winced as Ginny wobbled dangerously on her broomstick before once again regaining control of the item. Throwing a look to Ron, he noticed the red-haired boy giving his sister a sympathetic shake of the head, before turning and looking at Harry and offering a light shrug. The dark-haired boy sighed.

“Blimey mate,” Ron commented, flying over to Harry, “I reckon she won't last much longer on that thing. We're dead if she can't get a better broom for the game.”

“I'll take care of it,” Harry stated softly, watching as Ginny and the other two Chasers practiced passing the quaffle.

The redhead gave him a surprised look. “Why would you take care of it?”

“Because I said I would.”

“Yeah, but that was when you two were dating, now…”

----------

During the impromptu Quidditch game that they had had at the Burrow this holiday, Ginny's broom had been hit by one of the balls that the twins had enchanted to act as a bludger. The red-haired girl had fallen off of her broom, but luckily Harry had caught her before she hit the ground. His harrowing rescue had gained him a smart peck on the lips from Ginny, a frown from Hermione -due to the kiss -and the distinct honor of being called Mrs. Weasley's hero for the remainder of the day.

However his brilliant save was not extended to the broom as it hurled towards the ground, barley managing to be saved by a quick thinking Mr. Weasley, who had used a simple levitation spell. Though the item had not crashed into the grassy field, the hit from the bludger still caused quite a bit of damage. Resulting in the steering on the broom being completely thrown off so it was now in the habit of veering to the opposite direction of where you were trying to lead it, or wobbling dangerously at random moments. Knowing how strapped the elder Weasley's were for cash, Harry had immediately claimed it as his “boyfriendly duty” to get his, then girlfriend, a new broom. It had taken some serious insisting and persuasion but he had finally gotten Mr. and Mrs. Weasley to agree to let him purchase the item for Ginny.

-----------

Harry threw Ron and annoyed look before once again observing his team. “Look I said I would take care of it and I will. I just so happens that I had already ordered Ginny a new broom before we broke up- Hedwig just delivered it yesterday when Hermione and I were studying in her dorm.”

“So you're going to give it to my sister, then?”

“Who else would I give it to?”

“Well… I could always use a ne-” he stop when his mate glared at him. “Or not… are you sure giving her something like that won't give her mixed messages Harry? I mean, my sisters not exactly over you, you know.”

Harry sighed, “I know… that's why I was wondering if you would give it to her for me.”

“What?!”

“Well, I figure it'll be easier that way,” Harry replied with a small grimace.

“Really? And just where am I supposed to I tell her I got the bloomin' thing?” Ron replied looking slightly perturbed.

“I don't know… how about the twins, or your parents?”

He shook his head, “I don't know mate, I-” he was cut off when Harry suddenly flew away from him.

Ron gave his mate and appreciative look when the other boy nimbly caught his sister who had been unceremoniously thrown from her malfunctioning broom.

“Good show mate!” Dean called out from across the pitch.

“Bloody brilliant!” Ron yelled.

“Blimey, that was awesome!” Charlie Buckett, one of the Beaters exclaimed jovially.

The other players shouted out similar expressions to their captain as they one by one touched the ground. Harry blushed under the compliments and waved them away as he joined his teammates on the grass of the pitch.

“It was nothing,” he mumbled, looking uncomfortable by all the attention.

“It wasn't nothing Harry,” Ginny proclaimed looking up at him with an adoring expression. “It was smashing, I swear Harry you're absolutely tops!”

She leaned forward and gave him a light peck on the lips before hurriedly hopping off of the broom. His teammates guffawed at the uncomfortable look that had crossed their fearless leaders face as Harry did his best to keep from turning the infamous Weasley red from embarrassment.

“Thanks,” he said aloud to the younger girl before continuing in a serious tone. “Ginny, you can't use that broom for the game today.”

“What? Why not- ok, I know why but, I don't have another one to use.”

“I'm sorry Gin, but it looks like you'll just have to use a school broom,” Harry stated with a grimace.

She pulled a face, “But those things are bloody useless!”

“No, your broom is bloody useless, even though they're slow at least a school broom will let you stay seated.” He responded; the rest of the team nodded in agreement.

Ginny sighed and her head fell, to Harry's complete horror when she looked back the redhead looked dangerously close to tears. “Seems like everything's tossing me aside lately,” she said so softly that only he heard.

“Ginny-”

“Bugger!” Ron exclaimed interrupting not only the two people involved in the low spoken conversation- but also the people who were trying to listen to it.

“Merlin mate, you gave me a start,” Dean grunted giving Ron an annoyed look.

“Sorry,” the red haired boy responded with a sheepish expression, “It's just that I just remembered that… uh- my parents got Ginny a new broom. It just got here yesterday,” he gave a high-pitched nervous laugh, “I don't know how I could have blanked on that one, er, sorry.”

“Mum and dad got me a new broom?” Ginny asked, when her brother nodded she gave him an iffy look. “But if it's for me why would they send it to you?”

“I…er, well…”

“They wanted it to be a surprise,” Harry chimed, “-you know for your next game, but since they weren't sure when it would come in… they sent it to Ron instead.” The red-haired boy nodded, while the red-haired girl frowned.

“But why woul-”

“So now that that's solved,” Harry continued quickly, “what do you say that everyone go and get themselves something to eat… and of course hit the showers, because you lot defiantly smell a bit ripe.” He finished sniffing the air and pulling a face; several of the boys sniggered while the girls scoffed. “Make sure to rest up for the game we only have a couple of hours to go and I know you guys want another win as much as I do,” he looked at Ron, “when we break, head up to Gryffindor Tower and get Ginny's new broom from Hermione's dorm where you had hidden it, ok?” Ron gave another nod of agreement. “That way Ginny can get in a bit of practice on her new broom before the game.”

“Why is it in Herm-”

“So now that that's decided let's hit the shower and then hit the Great Hall,” Harry stated briskly once again interrupting Ginny, several of the boys grunted in agreement. Then coming forward he placed his hand in the middle of the circle and the hands of his teammates immediately joined it. “Today the Quidditch game, tomorrow the Quidditch Cup! One -two -three …”

“GO! GO! GRYFFINDOR! ROOOAR!!” the team shouted in unison, bringing up their hands and giving one another hearty claps on the back.

As the team dispersed, Harry noticed Ginny swiftly descending upon Ron, “Oh, uh sorry you guys I have to go. I'll talk to you before the game, go get something to eat.” He said to Charlie and Verruca Salt, the other Beater, who had been asking him several questions about strategy.

When they nodded in agreement Harry offered a smile and then turned and raced towards the Weasley siblings.

“-two are talking again, but you're leaving stuff in her room? Ron that's just plain weird,” Ginny was saying as he approached. The younger girl was still eyeing her brother critically.

“Why is it weird,” Harry commented joining Ron. “Hermione's our best mate and she has a private area so he can be sure that no one's messes with your stuff. I figured you'd be relived to know he had put it up for safe keeping.”

“Well I am but-”

“Good, so Ron what do you say we go and get that broom? I have a question for Hermione about our latest Transfiguration project anyway,” Harry said grabbing his best mates arm and quickly steering him away from his sister.

“You know, you're the only one she'd let constantly interrupt her like that,” Ron stated, throwing a look over his shoulder to his still frowning younger sibling.

“If that's true then you should be glad,” Harry responded, glancing back also and offering Ginny a cheerful wave.

“So what am I supposed to do when I come back with the broom? You know she's not just going to let this drop Harry.”

The dark-haired boy nodded, “I know, but don't worry just stick to my story. Your parents wanted it to be a surprise so they sent the broom to you instead of her and you stored it in Hermione's room so that no one else would find out about it. If she asks how you got it in there without anyone seeing it then just… I don't know, just tell her it was magic.”

“Magic, Harry?” Ron responded with a smirk.

“What? You act like there's no such thing.”

“Of course there is, but it would have to be pretty powerful for my little sister to settle for me just saying something as lame as `It was magic'.”

Harry sighed, “Ok, how about this, why don't Hermione, Luna and I come back with you? Then we can all help to buffer the questions.”

Ron grinned and nodded his head enthusiastically, “Now that could work.”

******************

Hermione chewed her lip as her boyfriend made another sharp dive. Harry was weaving through the pitch like a sewing needle in a jumper and it was driving her completely barmy. He had spotted the snitch over two minutes ago but the little bugger was leading him and the Hufflepuff seeker Violet Bouregaurd on a hell of a chase. In fact it was going in such odd, haphazard directions that the audience in the stands had to duck several times just to avoid both Seekers. When Harry shot into the sky and then suddenly dropped yet again, she almost had a bloody heart attack. Turning to look away briefly for the sake of her sanity she checked out the status of the other team members.

Hermione gave a hearty cheer when Ron managed to successfully guard Gryffindor goals from two more quaffles. She also clapped when Ginny, Dean and Angela did an intricate pass combo that resulted in another ten points for Gryffindor and giving them a lead of sixty to twenty over Hufflepuff. When Ginny quickly recovered the quaffle and scored another ten points, Hermione smiled. The younger girl really was playing a lot better since Harry had given her that new broom. She chuckled to herself as she recalled the look on Harry's face when she told him that she didn't care about the gift that he had gotten for Ginny.

----------------

They had been studying… well, snogging with their books open, when Hedwig had flown into the open window of Hermione's sitting room. The snow white owl had dropped the large broom shaped parcel on Harry's lap, given an indignant `hoot' and flown right back out of the window, presumably to the Owlery.

“What's that?” Hermione inquired, giving her boyfriend a curious look.

Harry's brows rose, “Er… a broom…”

She rolled her eyes “I know that Harry, what I mean is what is it for? -Is there a problem with your Firebolt?” He shook his head, “Ok, so why do you have another broom then?”

“Well…” Harry blushed and fingered the brown wrapping covering the item, “-it's kind of… well, you remember at Christmas when Ginny's broom got hit by that bludger and I promised to replace it…”

She frowned, “This is a broom for Ginny?”

“Uh, yeah, but… I had ordered it before we broke up. It's not like I went out and got it today Hermione. Or even last week, or two weeks ago- I purchased it right before we came back from break, they would have had it sooner but I sorta had her name engraved on it… not that I was thinking of her or anything, at least in that way… at that time, you know so soon after you and I -er, in fact I may not even give it to her, I-”

“Why wouldn't you give it to her?” Hermione quizzed, interrupting his rambling and giving him a confounded look.

“Well… I don't know, I thought that you might have a problem with it.”

“Why?”

“I guess I figured -with Ginny being my ex-girlfriend and all -that you might not be really…er, you know comfortable with me giving her gifts.” Harry responded grimacing lightly.

She rolled her eyes once more, “Honestly Harry, that's just silly. You ordered this gift for Ginny right after Christmas, besides even if you hadn't I was there when you promised Mr. and Mrs. Weasley that you would get her a new one, so you would have purchased it anyway, because you hate to break your word. Not to mention the fact that you shouldn't have to. Do you really think I'm so juvenile that I would get jealous over something like this?”

“I -er, well…” he stuttered flushing.

“Oh really Harry, as I explained after your marvelously wank-tastic display of childish jealousy, that type of behavior really isn't necessary. I'm secure enough in our relationship and a mature enough person to be beyond such infantile conduct.”

“Wank-tastic?” Harry asked, arching a brow as his lips curved into an amused smile.

She gave a dainty shrug, “What? I figured that the way you acted that day deserved its own word.”

He chuckled, “I guess…”

“So, like I said.” Hermione continued primly, removing the broom from her lap and picking up the discarded book. “Give Ginny the broom, I'm sure that she still needs it. I'm perfectly fine with you helping her out, after all I think it would be great if you guys could still be friends.”

Harry gave a shrug and grabbed the package, giving his girlfriend one last look and a light shake of the head he moved to place it against the wall.

----------------------

Hermione shook her head. `Boys,' they were so overdramatic. He had really been expecting her to have an eppy just because he got Ginny a silly broom.

She was brought back to the game at hand when the Gryffindor stands erupted in another set of cheers, looking over she noticed that Ginny had just made another score. Wow, looked like having a new broom really did make a difference. Ginny had been playing like a pro today -this was her fifth score. Turning her head once more, Hermione scanned the partially cloudy skies for Harry. Not seeing him above her, she leaned over the railing to see if he was below. As she did she was startled by a set of light and dark blurs as Harry and Violet shot back into the sky, still chasing the snitch. Hermione let out an excited yell when Harry surged a foot above Violet only to halt a moment later with his hand outstretched. He had done it -he had caught the snitch. The Gryffindor stands went wild.

Harry circled the pitch briefly still holding the small golden ball, as he passed in front of her he gave Hermione a roughish grin and a wink. After slapping hands and congratulating the Puffs on a good game the Gryffindor team touched down on the grassy knoll. Hermione smiled as the Gyffs high-fived one another and clapped each other on the backs. However her smile faltered when Ginny Weasley launched herself at Harry and placed a light kiss directly on the older boys lips, before pulling away and launching herself at Ron in much the same manner… suspiciously minus the kiss.

Hermione fumed, `How dare she?! Right in the middle of an open pitch, to run up and just kiss Harry without even a by-your-leave! That two-bit huss-'

Her mutinous thoughts were cut off as Harry's worried green eyes flew to her. Hermione gave a shrug, a wave and a -somewhat strained -smile to her boyfriend. There was no way she was going to let him know that little display had affected her in anyway, she would never live it down. No, she was just going to pretend that she didn't care and make sure to have a little talk with Ginny later about how unattractive desperate women were. With that decision made and a quick thumbs up to both Ron and Harry, who were now looking up at her, Hermione made her way out of the stands and to the Gryffindor common room to await the Quidditch team.

-----------------

The common room was abuzz with activity as everyone talked excitedly about the great game that had just happened. Even though Gryffindor had blown Hufflepuff soundly out of the water, beating them two-hundred and thirty to fifty, every person still agreed that it had been a very electrifying game. As everyone continued to chatter enthusiastically Hermione couldn't help but notice that although the other students spoke of how strong the team played as a whole, Harry's catch of the snitch and Ginny's multiple scores with the quaffle were the main subtopics of conversation.

Speaking of Harry… Hermione chuckled as the dark-haired boy attempted to field questions from his adoring public about just where the snitch had lead him and Violet on their ten minute chase while simultaneously trying to extricate himself for the conversation and make his way back to her with their drinks. When Dean stepped in to comment on some of the Chaser strategies, Harry gave the other boy an appreciative smile and quietly slipped away from the small crowd.

“Thanks for your help,” he muttered sarcastically as he joined her.

“Anytime,” Hermione replied with an impish smile. “Oh Harry, my ice is half melted… can you go and get me another drink?” He threw her a disgruntled look. “No?” she laughed, “that's ok.” She placed her wand to the top of her cup and quickly refroze her cubes before pointing at his cup and doing the same.

“Gee thanks,” he commented with a scoff before taking a drink.

“What? You don't appreciate it when I'm considerate?” she inquired with a frown.

“If you were considerate you would have rescued me ten minutes ago,” he answered dryly.

She chuckled, “Well maybe next time, I will,” she leaned forward and continued in a low sensual tone. “That is if you're nice to me.”

Harry smiled, “Really… how nice?”

Hermione arched a brow and stepped a bit closer to him, “Very nice.”

His grin turned down right wicked, “I think I can-”

“Harry!” Ron called, interrupting them as he quickly made his way over. “We have a spot of trouble mate,” he finished as soon as he reached them.

“Hello to you too, Ron,” Hermione commented sarcastically, before taking a sip of her drink.

The redhead gave her a distracted wave. “Did you hear me Harry, I said we have a problem.”

“I heard you, but what's the problem?” Harry responded, placing a hand on his mates shoulder to calm him down a bit.

“She knows.”

“Who knows?”

“Ginny, she knows…”

Harry frowned for a minute before his eyes widened “You mean about the broom?” The other boy nodded somberly “How?”

Ron winced “Well… you see, she kind of ambushed me. I was walking back from Ravenclaw after saying goodnight to Luna and she was waiting for me around the corner. I tell you mate she hit me with so many questions that by the time she finished I was completely done over. I couldn't remember what I had and what I hadn't told her, and I damn sure couldn't remember what you had told her.”

Harry sighed and ran an agitated hand trough his hair.

“So how did she find out?” Hermione interjected, at his confused expression she expounded. “What did you say that implanted your foot firmly into your mouth?”

Ron gave her an irritated look, “I did not have my foot-”

“Just get on with it Ronald,” she interrupted impatiently.

He gave her an angry look but continued anyway. “Well, she asked how mum and dad could afford a brand new Firebolt, especially so soon after Christmas. She then asked me if I perhaps I had gotten confused about my facts and if I wasn't sure that it was from Fred and George instead… well -when she said that I saw it as a way out-”

“It wasn't a way out, it was a bloody trap you git,” Hermione commented.

Ron threw her a disgruntled look, “Ok, see this is why we couldn't date,” he looked at Harry. “Either she leaves or I do. I can't get through this with her interrupting me every two sodding seconds.”

The dark-haired boy sighed and gave Hermione a pleading look.

She frowned, “Fine, but I want to know what happened.”

When Harry nodded in agreement she gave Ron a disappointed shake of the head, turned and walked away. It was about five minutes later when she was talking to Verruca Salt, a foot or so away from Ron and Harry, that she saw Ginny Weasley enter the portrait to Gryffindor tower. When the redheaded girl paused at the threshold to scan the area; Hermione knew that she was looking for Harry. When Ginny spotted him her face lit up and she launched towards the dark-haired boy, just like she had after the game.

“Harry!” Ginny called out as she neared Hermione, giving a wave and an excited grin when his gaze flew to her.

From the look on her face and the twinkle in her eyes, Hermione discerned that as soon as the redhead reached Harry, she was going to kiss him just like she had at the Quidditch pitch. Next thing she knew Ginny flew past her, her long red hair trailing behind, and before Hermione realized it, her hand had reached out and grabbed the shiny tresses. Giving a firm yank she hauled the younger girl backwards, she landed on the ground just next to the brunette with a jarring `thud' and emitted a loud scream.

Hermione's eyes widened as she realized what she had just done, looking up she noticed that she wasn't the only one surprised by her actions as the startled gazes of every Gryffindor fixated on the Head Girl who had just de-scalped the star Quidditch Chaser.

“Spider!” Hermione yelled, quickly shaking her hands and jumping onto the nearest couch. “Huge spider… I think a tarantula got into your hair… you know, like the size that hang out in the Forbidden Forest!”

Her proclamation was followed by a flurry of screams, including another one from Ginny as students hopped on various peaces for furniture looking for the “huge” spider.

“Ahhhhh!” a voiced bellowed, everyone quickly turned to see Ron Weasley hopping around. “Get it off me! Get it off me!! I hate spiders, get it off me!!! It's under my robes!!! BLOODY SODDING HELL!!! SOMEONE HELP ME!!”

Hermione watched in shock as her ex-boyfriend allowed himself to be beaten my Dean, Seamus and Neville in an attempt to get the non-existent spider out of his robes. She was pulled out of her stupor when a hand grabbed her wrist and yanked her, pulling her towards the back of the room. Looking up she noticed the back of Harry's head as he quickly and nimbly lead her out of the common area and into her private one.

“What the hell were you thinking Hermione?! Were you thinking?!” He exclaimed, rounding on her as soon as they entered her sitting room.

“Harry I-”

“Perhaps you should be locked up, bleedin mental you are! I can't believe that you would put everything in jeopardy like that… I mean even Ron was catching on!” Harry continued cutting her off, she opened her mouth to respond and then snapped it closed and settled him with an annoyed glare. ““Honestly Hermione, you should be secure enough in our relationship and a mature enough person to be beyond such infantile conduct.” She threw a pillow at him; Harry shook his head and gave her a look of mock reproach, “Perhaps it is my duty to explain… you know after your marvelously blood-gitten wank-tastic display of childish jealousy, that type of behavior really isn't necessary.”

She huffed and bestowed him with a disgruntled look, “blood-gitten?”

He shrugged, “What? You got to make up a word for me, and it was the best I could come up with on such short notice.”

“Ok fine, but you also used my word-”

“I know, but since you're little display of …er what was it, “childish jealousy” took place in front of the entire house as opposed to just Ron and Zach… I figured you deserved both,” he finished with a smirk, dodging another pillow. “I mean honestly Hermione -a huge spider?”

She blushed and looked down at her hands, “Well it was the first thing I could think of.”

“Why? Why did you do it anyway?”

“She was going to kiss you again.”

“So,” he replied, when she looked up he gave her a teasing grin. “I'm sure it would have been quite chastite.”

“Harry,” Hermione said giving him a look of warning.

He laughed and approached her pulling her into a loose hug, “Don't begrudge me this moment Luv, not after all of the snooty gloating I had to put up with.”

She let out another huff, “You don't have to rub it in you know.”

“Why not, you do?” Harry responded cheekily, giving her a light peck on the lips when she glowered up at him. “Look Hermione, it doesn't matter if any other girl fancies me, because there's only one girl I want to be with and she's in my arms right now. So it doesn't matter if Ginny, or another bird does or tries to kiss me -they won't have a chance because I only want you.”

Hermione frowned at him, “She had a chance earlier.”

“Well…. she caught me off guard earlier,” Harry responded with an uneasy smile, quickly deciding that it was best not to mention what had happened at practice to his girlfriend.

“Well, she better not catch you off guard again,” she finished testily.

He gave a boyish grin, “Don't worry Luv, she won't.”

“Good.”

“One more thing,” Harry added, when Hermione gave him a questioning look he continued, “You need to realize that there is no one that I have ever loved or wanted more than you Hermione Jean Granger. So there is not need to act like a bleedin' headcase every time a bird says she fancies me or tries to kiss me, ok?”

She glowered for a moment, before shaking her head and giving him an amused look. “I don't know if I should hit you for being such a sodding prat, or kiss you for actually listening to and remembering everything that I said to you.”

Harry laughed quietly, “I'd like to go for the kissing if you don't mind.”

Hermione grinned and pulled his head down, giving him a long slow kiss.

“Mmm,” she murmured when he pulled back.

“Mmm, indeed,” he responded giving her a lazy smile for a moment before frowning. “You know what I just realized?” She shook her head, “It's bloody unfair.”

“What?”

“I'm not allowed to maim, dismember or even disfigure any bloke who touches you, but you're allowed to scalp any girl who touches me.”

Hermione released and indignant growl and Harry quickly ran, dodging various books and pillows that his girlfriend was throwing at him. After a moment he ran into her bedroom and she was in hot pursuit -a few minutes later the door closed with a soft `click' and Hermione's growls became anything but indignant.

A.N. That's it for this chapter, I guess Hermione should have kept those stones to herself ne? Did you notice my other movie reference in there… it's from one of my most favorite movies of all time -the original version that is, not the remake (even if the remake WAS closer to the book) Just call me a Gene Wilder fan girl ^.^. (grin) Stay tuned to see what happens next and PLEASE REVIEW!! Ja ne!

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29. Private Passwords

Forbidden Love

Chapter 28

Harry frowned at the complicated instructions stated in his potions book, then grimaced as he looked at the two page list of ingredients; he really hated that class.

“All this bloody work for a measly five minutes,” Harry griped under his breath, flipping the page and reading even more instructions.

For a large chunk of their Potions grade, they had to make a transfiguration potion-a murky brown substance Snape had shown them yesterday in class that was supposed to turn you into whatever you had been assigned. To make matters worse not only would the blasted thing be a culmination of strenuous labor for at least three two-hour class periods for a measly five bloody minutes, but also Professor Snape had taken it upon himself to assign them their creatures.

What that meant was where the Slytherin students had received creatures like a dog, a snake, a wolf and -to Harry's acute fury -a stag, for Malfoy. The Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students received lame creatures like a donkey, a turtle, a hamster and a gopher, though, as expected, the Gryffindors had really gotten shafted. Coming away with a spider, a tadpole (not even a frog), a fly for Hermione, who, according to Snape was annoying enough to do the creature justice, and a rat for Harry, who the Professor smugly stated would be referred to Scabbers for the remainder of his transformation… Oh how he wished he could punch that sodding prat.

Harry was brought out his angry musings and various scenarios of how he could kill the potions master without being expelled when he felt something rub his leg. Looking down he noticed his girlfriends black stockinged toe lightly stroking his inner thigh. Lowering his book Harry looked to the other side of the bed where Hermione was seated, the brunette had her large Potions text raised and blocking her face. As she continued to caress his thigh, he watched and waited. About a minute later, just as he thought she would, the brunette lowered her book a bit and looked at him with dark almond shaped eyes over the top of the heavy volume. They maintained eye contact for a minute, giving one another amused looks before she slowly and deliberately raised the book once more, concealing her face from his prying eyes.

Harry chuckled lightly and shook his head. He started to raise his book also but stopped abruptly when Hermione foot went from his thigh to a higher location. Harry glanced back down at the amorous appendage before he allowed his gaze to wander. He followed her stocking clad foot to her the equally covered calf, he smiled a bit when his eyes came in contact with a light knee and a soft creamy thigh. However when his gaze went higher he almost choked on his tongue, Hermione was sitting with her left leg outstretched, the foot rubbing him. Her right leg was bent and being used to help hold up her Potions book, but it wasn't her legs that halted his breath. No, as glorious as they were, her legs he could handle… however just beyond her legs, peaking from under her black school skirt, were a highly visible pair of lacey white knickers.

The seductive lingerie stood out brightly against the dark background of her skirt and were, at least partially, see through. Harry released a heavy breath as he felt himself began to strain against his pants. When his girlfriends' foot began to deftly caress his hardness, his gaze flew back to her face. Hermione was once again watching him and upon noticing that she had his attention, the brown haired witch lowered her book and sat it gently to the side before sliding down a bit on the mattress and lying back on the pillows. Harry groaned as her new position not only allowed her better access to him but also allowed him a better view of her, since her skirt slid up when she slid down. Hermione gave him a naughty smile as her foot continued to nimbly slide up and down the length of him, after a few minutes Harry couldn't take anymore and tossed his book aside, quickly advancing on his girlfriend.

“Wait!” she cried hoarsely, placing a hand on his chest and halting him from lowering onto her.

Harry pulled back and gave her a concerned look, “What's wrong?”

“Well… nothing… really, I guess…” she stated flushing and looking away.

He pulled all the way back and placed his hands on his knees, regarding her curiously. “Hermione, what's up?”

She sat up and nervously pushed her hair behind her ear; he frowned. “Now Harry, don't look at me like that I promise it's nothing serious, it's just that…”

His brows knitted together, “Just that, what?”

“I was kind of wondering if you would do something for me?”

Harry relaxed, “Parseltongue again?” When Hermione blushed and shook her head, he tensed up once more. “What is it then?”

“I was kind of wondering if you would…” she trailed off in a mutter.

“I'm sorry Luv, I didn't understand.”

Hermione turned a dangerous shade of red and then tried again. “You know… when you were staying at my house,” he nodded and she continued, “you remember the whole picture frame thing?”

“How could I forget,” he commented with a mischievous grin.

Her blushed deepened and she pushed her hair behind her ear once more. “Well, do you remember that talk we had our first night back about it?” she continued when he nodded. “So, you remember what you said… you know about how everyone does it?” Harry frowned but nodded once more, albeit a bit slower. “Well… could you -I mean, would you… can I -you got to watch me, so it would stand to reason that I should, you know…”

Harry stared at his girlfriend speechless. Hermione… Hermione wanted him to do that! Not only do it, but let her watch! He must going be out of his bleedin' tree, because this could not be happening… that's it! It was another dream, of course! Giving a smile and a light shake of the head, Harry gave himself a hard pinch on the hand.

“Rott'en hell!” he exclaimed, shaking his hand several times in an attempt to relived the stinging.

“Have you lost the flippin' plot Harry?! What is wrong with you?!” Hermione exclaimed, coming forward and snatching his hand.

After examining it for a moment, she grabbed her wand off of the bedside table and said a quick healing spell to get rid of the pain and any residual marks before giving the formally wounded area a light kiss. Still holding his hand lightly she gave him an expectant look.

“Well…er, I kind of thought that maybe I was dreaming.”

“Why would you think that?”

“Uh… you see that night after you had gone to bed I…” he trailed off blushing, “never mind. So what made you, you know, want to…”

She gave a graceful shrug and moved back to her original spot; Harry immediately missed her warmth.

“I don't know… I guess ever since that night when you said that everyone did it,” she gave a nervous smile and placed her wand back on the nightstand, “and when I asked if you had… well, from the look on your face I could tell -and ever since then I've kind of wanted to, you know, watch.”

He sighed and leaned back against the large bedpost, “I don't know Hermione…”

“Please,” she bestowed him with her best puppy dog eyes.

“You know I can't just do it on command, I have to be in the mood… you know, wound up.”

“Well, can't I do something to help?” she asked, chewing lightly on her bottom lip, and unconsciously helping already.

“We-w,” he cleared his throat, “well, you could but… I don't know Hermione this seems-”

“It seems what?” she interrupted with a disgruntled look, “You got to watch me Harry -it's only fair.”

His eyes widened at the hauntingly familiar statement, then he gave a resigned sigh. “Okay…”

“Great!” she exclaimed, coming forward and granting him a kiss before pulling back and giving him an eager look. “What do I need to do?”

Harry sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Take off your shirt.”

“Okay,” she said undoing the buttons, “did you want my skirt off too?”

He shook his head, “Not yet.”

Hermione removed her shirt, leaving herself clad in only a lacey white bra with pink nipples peaking through the light material. Harry released a breath.

“Ok, now sit back on the bed,” when she sat flat he shook his head. “No, just how you were before.”

She smiled and readjusted so that her back rested against the pillows, with one stocking covered leg outstretch and the other bent, her white knickers were once again visible.

“Now what?” she asked, watching him excitedly.

He chuckled and shook his head, “Just look at me Luv.”

As she watched him, Harry did his best to calm his fluttering stomach and stop his hands from trembling as the worked on the fastening of his pants. She had seen him starkers before, this should be no problem… he could do this. When he freed himself from his breeches, Hermione's eyes darkened to a rich chocolate hue and as he began to touch himself, she lightly bit her bottom lip once again inadvertently helping him with the task she had set forth. Harry's head fell back and he closed his eyes for a moment before once again looking at his girlfriend. She was watching him hungrily, as though he were her latest new book and she longed to flip the page, her long fingers once again pushed her hair behind her ears, but instead of stopping they continued and trailed down her neck and to the valley between her breasts.

When she slowly circled each firm globe, Harry groaned, and his movements became faster paced. When her hand left her breast and lightly caressed her stomach, he leaned heavily against the post and watched her with a heated gaze through lazy eyes. When that same hand slipped past her stomach and lifted her skirt higher so that he could see all of her, he thought he would go mad, but when her hand went past her skirt and to the center of her white panties he did.

Unable to take it anymore, Harry surged forward and gave Hermione a skillful yet demanding kiss. His hands slowly but surely retraced the path of her hand as he gently caressed the various soft contours of her body. When she moaned he captured the sound with his lips and took the opportunity to allow his tongue to delve deeper into the warm recesses of her mouth. As his lips moved to her neck, she panted heavily in his ear and gripped his shoulders, when his fingers reached the last place that she had touched Hermione arched off the bed and her nails scrapped roughly against his back.

“That's it Luv,” Harry murmured in her ear, before adjusting so that his mouth covered her own and caught her cries, keeping them for himself. When her body fell limply back against the bed he supplied her with a small smile. “A bit knackered are we?” he quipped.

When her sleepy eyes opened and she glared at him he chuckled, however his laughter was abruptly cut off as her hand found the last place he had touched himself. Harry's head dropped and he released a muffled moan against the crook of her neck as she continued to cares him.

He lifted his head and gave her a pleading look “I don't think I can take much more,” he whispered hoarsely.

Hermione nodded and grabbed her wand off the nightstand, Harry lifted up a bit and she pointed it at her womb, saying a quick anti-reproduction spell. Once she was done she replaced her wand and Harry lay atop her once more.

“Are you ready?” He asked, his voice filled with need.

“I've been ready,” she replied huskily.

Not needing to be told again, Harry caught her mouth in a passionate kiss before quickly removing the lacy white knickers. Once the flimsy barrier was gone, he surged into her like a forceful tide and swiftly swept them both to ecstasy.

----------------

Harry placed his other foot into his pant legs and stood to pull them up, however as his hands worked at the buttons he felt a pair of long soft fingers caress his waist. He chuckled and shook his head -who would have ever thought that Hermione would be so bloody insatiable?

“You should be getting dressed you know,” he commented with a grin, “we still have to finish studying for Potions.”

Instead of responding, Harry felt her fingers lightly trace the contours of his back. He then felt a feather light kiss on his waist before her soft, warm tongue trailed the length of his spine.

“Ugh, Hermione I swear to Merlin you're going to drive me completely mental if you don't stop,” he groaned as his head fell forward.

“Good,” she whispered huskily from just by his ear before giving the lobe a light nibble and a gentle suckle.

Harry moaned “Blimey Hermione, I swear we're never going to leave this bed if you keep this up.”

“So?” she replied pulling away.

“So, we have to get ready for this assignment. We both know that Snape isn't going to let us sit next to one another which means I really need to have this thing down,” Harry stated turning to his girlfriend. “You alrea-” he cut off with a strangled squeak at the sight before him.

Hermione sat on the bed with her knees tucked under her, leaning backwards and bracing herself on her hands. Her back was arched, causing her chest to push out a bit and her bushy locks, which were still somewhat damp from their earlier activities, were forming large curls that rested on her shoulders. - Oh, and did he mention that she was totally, completely and gloriously naked?

“You know the spell's still good for another couple of hours,” she said in a husky tone, with a seductive smile.

“The spell?” he croaked.

She arched a brown and nodded. When Harry gave a loud groan and came down upon her, Hermione giggled and immediately went to work on the buttons of his pants.

------------------

“Harry stop,” Hermione stated primly, a little over an hour later while slapping at her boyfriends hand.

“What?” Harry asked, reaching for her button once more, “You got to get me wound up, isn't it my turn?”

“No,” she slapped his hand again, “it isn't.”

“Why not?” he griped giving her an annoyed look.

“Because I said so, we have to get to work studying for Potions,” she answered giving him an amused look.

“Oi! When I used that excuse, you lured me right back into the bed!”

“Yes well, I have decidedly more willpower than you, now don't I?” Hermione replied haughtily with a cheeky grin.

Harry glared at her and moved to retrieve his pants from the other side of the bed, where she hand thrown them. “More will power my arse, if you had more willpower we would have never stopped studying,” he retorted, rolling his eyes.

She smirked at him, “Yeah well I-”

“Hermione!” Ginny's voice called from this sitting room.

“Shite!” Harry exclaimed.

Hermione raced to the door, however before her hand could reach the knob it was flung open.

“There you are!” Ginny exclaimed with a frown. “I've been looking all over for you. I figured with the killer assignment that I heard Snape gave you guys you'd be in the library.”

“Nope,” Hermione said with a nervous laugh, “I'm right here.”

“Obviously,” the redhead stated dryly. “Have you seen Harry?”

Hermione gave a brief sidelong glance to the location the dark-haired boy had been standing in earlier before giving the younger girl a shake of the head.

“Good,” Ginny continued, “I was worried he would be up here going over the assignment with you and I wouldn't be able to talk to you like I wante -what were you doing?” she asked abruptly, finally taking in her mates haphazard state.

“I… I was taking a nap. You see I crammed a bit for Snape's assignment earlier and by the time I was done I was completely toasted,” she finished leading the other girl out of her bedroom.

“Oh, well I hope you're nap helped. I know that a good snooze can sometimes completely invigorate me,” Ginny commented following Hermione into the sitting room.

“Oh, I'm invigorated alright,” the brunette mumbled, before continuing in a louder tone. “So what's up?”

Ginny gave a small huff a breath and a determined look crossed her face. “Okay, well I've been thinking…” Hermione winced slightly, “-and I know that Harry said that the broom was a platonic gift, but -a broom Hermione? I mean it has to be more than just a friendly gesture.”

Hermione frowned, “Ginny, it's a broom.”

“I know, but do you know how much those things cost? And then it was a brand new, Firebolt, personalized and engraved with my name -in my favorite colour! Hermione, Harry had to have put a lot of thought into it.”

“Even if he did he got it over a month before you guys broke up-”

“So!” Ginny interpreted impatiently, “That doesn't matter, he got it. Then, that day -you know -after the game.” Hermione nodded, “When I kissed him Hermione I felt it, it was still there and I know he felt it too.”

“Ginny it was a one second peck, what makes you think that he felt anything?” the older girl asked frowning.

“I just know it, especially since I felt it earlier that day at practice too,” Ginny insisted.

“At practice?”

“Yeah, earlier that day, I had been thrown from my broom -the crappy one, not the one Harry gave me -when he caught me. And as a thank you I gave him a kiss, you should have seen it, he even blushed! I know he felt something, I know it!”

Hermione's eyes flicked to her bedroom and she saw Harry peaking at her from over the side of the bed. The dark-haired boy grimaced and quickly disappeared from view.

“Just how many times have you kissed Harry since your break-up?” Hermione quizzed through gritted teeth.

“Only those two, why?” Ginny replied with a confused look.

The brunette shrugged and gave a small smile. “No reason in particular.”

“Well, it would have been three but you saw that bloody spider in my hair,” the redhead commented, rubbing the back of her head as she recalled that day.

Hermione cringed and offered a smile, “Sorry about that again… but it truly was about your health.”

Ginny nodded and took a seat on the couch. “I know, I just -I wish I had the chance to kiss him again. Like I meant it you know? And that night was so bleedin' perfect, we had just won the Quidditch match and everyone was celebrating, it…” she hesitated and looked up at Hermione with luminous eyes, “-it was just like it was the day of our first kiss. I was hoping if I could recreate that moment, Harry would remember how magical it had been, and how good we were together.”

Hermione sighed and took a seat on the chair caddy-corner from the other girl. “Ginny, sweetheart, I understand that you still have feelings for Harry but it's been three weeks since that night. And a little over a month since you two broke up, don't you think you should try… I don't know, at least try to move on? There are plenty of great chaps out there and quite a few of them fancy you,” she smiled, “especially after the way you played during that last Quidditch match.”

“No.” Ginny stated harshly “I won't give up on us. I love him Hermione; do you hear me? I love him, it's not a passing fancy, it real, true, deep, heart wrenching love! I've dated other blokes before and none of them made me feel like Harry did, NONE OF THEM!” she cried passionately as tears began to stream down her face. “Why don't you understand that?!”

“I do Ginny, I just -I'm tired of seeing you walk around here like a shell of a person. Look I understand how you think-” she sighed, “how you feel about Harry, but what I need you to understand is that, no matter how you feel you can not make him feel the same way! Ginny please, just move on with your life, you'll never get over Harry if you don't allow yourself to!”

“How do you know?! How do you know he doesn't feel the same way?!”

“Because if he did you would still be together, or at least back together! For Merlin's sake Ginny, get a hold of yourself, you can't spend the rest of your life waiting for the moment to do a sneak attack on Harry just so you can get one more bloody kiss!”

“Why not?! I'm telling you if I can kiss him one more time, just one seriously deep and meaningful kiss then he won't be able to deny his feelings anymore!”

“Who says he's the one in denial! Because I'm telling you now Ginevra Weasley that if you do that, then it doesn't make you any different from the thousands of Harry Potter fan girls out there who don't have a single iota of sense or the least bit of respect for Harry or themselves!” Hermione retorted standing.

Ginny stood also and regarded the other girl heatedly, “Yeah, well I'm not just some crazy fan I love Harry, I know Harry!”

“Do you?! Do you know Harry, Ginny?!”

“Of course I do!”

“Really! What do you know about him?!”

Ginny glowered at her “His favorite Quidditch team is Pulddlemere United! His favorite time of the year is Christmas! He speaks Parseltongue! He-”

“So,” Hermione interrupted, “tell me something I don't know, hell, tell me something the whole bloody school doesn't know!”

Ginny clenched her fists.

“Ok,” pressed Hermione, “what's his favorite book?” At the other girls' blank look she continued. “Quidditch Through the Ages.”

“So it's a book, of course you would know!” Ginny retorted easily.

“Yeah, well what's his favorite drink?… Pumpkin juice. What's his favorite candy?… Chocolate Frogs. What's his favorite dessert?… Treacle tart.” Hermione stepped closer and looked down at the other girl. “What's his biggest fear?… What was it really like growing up with the Dursley's?… What's the worst dream that he's ever had?… What's the one thing that he wishes that he could still tell his mum and dad?” she finished in a harsh whisper, breathing heavily.

Ginny blushed and looked away, “I don't know… but, you don't either.”

“Yes I do.”

“Then what are the answers? What's the one thing he wishes that he could tell his mum and dad?” the redhead questioned with a frown.

Hermione shook her head and took a few steps back, “If he didn't tell you, then why should I?” she answered softly.

Ginny flushed and glared at her angrily, “You know what your problem is Hermione Granger?! You're jealous!”

“Jealous! Of what?!”

“Of my relationship with Harry!”

“You don't have a relationship with Harry!”

“I would it you weren't so hell bent on keeping us apart! What a bloody plank I've been, coming to you for advice on how to get Harry and I back together, but you don't want us back together do you?!”

Hermione stared at the other girl is shock.

“Of course you don't! Since Ron chucked you like yesterday's Prophet, you've been trying to get me out of the picture. You're hoping that if I'm not around Harry would turn to you -and it's working too. I mean with my bone-head brother constantly occupied with his barmy new girlfriend then that leaves you and Harry alone most times.”

“What! Wh-”

“But it won't work, Hermione, Harry has better taste than to fall for a ragamuffin like you! Hell you couldn't even keep Ron's attention away from Luna, how do you expect to get a guy like Harry! Anyway, what Harry needs is a great girlfriend, not another mum, which is exactly what you are, always nagging about what he should and shouldn't do and harping on studying, homework and rules! Besides I'm not giving up on what I have with Harry no matter how much of a tramp you act!”

“Have you lost your bloody plot?! What the hell are you talking about -and who are you calling a light skirt, Mrs. “gonna shag for Valentines”! Perhaps you should be the one labeled barmy!”

“Yeah, well I already know what label you have -sneaky desperate nagging hag!”

Hermione was suddenly very glad that she had left her wand in her room because there was nothing she wanted more than to hex the little red-headed wank.

“Get out! Get out of my room!” She bellowed.

“Gladly!” Ginny shouted back before turning and storming down the stairs and out of the portrait door.

As the door slammed shut behind the younger girl Hermione turned and stormed back towards her room, looking up she came fact to face with Harry who was standing in her doorway.

“How dare she!” Hermione exclaimed to the wide-eyed boy, who offered a light shrug. “Just because she's deluded herself into thinking that the sun and moon shined out of your arse, doesn't mean that she should just assume that you feel the same way about her. And then to have the nerve to call me a trollop!”

“Well, you did just shag me thoroughly,” Harry joked, when she glowered at him, he winced, “Ok, neither the time nor the place huh?”

Hermione growled.

He came forward and placed his hands on her shoulders “Don't let her get to you Luv, she's just jealous of what we have and the fact that she and I were never as close as you and I are. What she said was just her way of lashing out at you for gaining my complete trust while she only had a fraction,” he finished giving her a light kiss on the forehead.

She gave a small smile, “I know Harry, it's just that… well I don't know, I think that… maybe some of what she said was true.”

He frowned, “What are you talking about?”

“I am trying to keep you apart, I am interested in getting you, and I-”

“Ok, let me stop you right there.” Harry interrupted giving her a severe look, “You're not trying to keep Ginny and I apart, you don't have to because I don't want us to be together. Also you're not interested in getting me because you already have me Luv, and you always will.”

Hermione smiled and lightly fingered the edges of his open shirt before giving a light shake of the head. “You know you really should finish getting dressed so we can study.”

He chuckled “Yeah well you really should get a more private password to your dorm.”

She laughed and slapped him playfully on the chest, then paused and caressed it, eyeing him appreciatively. “You know perhaps I will, then you can study with your shirt off.”

Harry laughed.

-----------

“Hermione!” Ginny called rushing up the last several stairs leading to the older girls sitting room. “Hermione, I'm really sorr-”

The red-haired witch froze in place as she took in the scene before her. Harry was standing in Hermione's doorway with his hair rumpled. His shirt was unbuttoned exposing his toned chest, his belt was missing… and so where his shoes and socks. Looking at Hermione, Ginny noticed what she had failed to discern about her supposed mate earlier, Hermione's brown locks were unbound and even messier than usual, her white shirt, though buttoned, was extremely rumpled and un-tucked from her dark skirt and her shoes as well as her socks were also missing.

It was then that it hit her like a Hippogriff -they both looked like they had just been thoroughly shagged… by each other. Pain and anger swarmed through her as she took in the sight of two of the people she had trusted most in the world coming out of Hermione's bedroom. Her fists clenched at her sides and her face contorted into one of rage as anger finally won out.

“YOU BITCH!!!”

A.N. That's it for this chapter, next chapter heads are gonna roll… lol or not. Please stay tuned and PLEASE REVIEW!!! Ja ne!!!

A.N.(Too) Okay sorry I just feel the need to rant. I'm so beyond mad, this “artist” on deviant art called ~CautiousRealRose ~AKA~ Kathleen first insults my H/Hr, D/G, R/L artwork that I did in photoshop in three long paragraphs about how Harry and Ginny belong together as do Ron and Hermione, then when I send a long reply of my own she has the nerve to call me “Not a real Harry Potter fan, who hates JKR” just because I don't like the ships and told me to “Go fuck myself” then when I replied to that, the cow reported me for copyright infringement so that it would be removed because she didn't think it portrayed the proper ship according to JKR. Which they did because I used pictures… that's right pictures of the actors and actresses, now my WHOLE deviant art account is empty because ONE person didn't like Harry/Hermione and felt the need to go into MY artwork with MY ship and complain about it. I'm pissed off because we don't go into Ron/Hermione artwork or stories complaining about their ship, so why the hell can't they just stay out of ours *le sigh* Okay I feel a bit better. For those of you who have time then please feel free to go to her deviant art account and let her know that Harry/Hermione, Draco/Ginny shippers aren't going to go away even if she goes around reporting all of our artwork. You can pull her up either searching Greg and Magie on deviant art, hers is the poorly drawn one in light pencil or by clicking the links if they show up. Even if you don't do that or don't have a deviant account I just thank you for listening to my rant.

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30. Confrontations and Quidditch Pitches

Forbidden Love

Chapter 29

Hermione started when Ginny yelled. She knew the other girl would be upset but the furious figure standing before her was even more enraged than she had thought. Ginny hands were clenched tightly at her sides, her nostrils were flaring and her eyes seemed to scream murder.

“Ginny I-”

“You what?!” the redhead bellowed, cutting her off, “You're a fake person?! A bitch?! A slut?! A prat?! Because those things I'll except but anything else you can take it and shove it, you dodgy whore! How could you?! And to think I was coming up here to apologize!”

“Ginny it's not that simple!” Hermione cried, taking a few steps towards the other girl.

“What's not that simple? That you went behind my back and started having it off with my boyfriend?!”

“Ex-boyfriend, Ginny, and no I-”

“He would have still been my boyfriend if you hadn't gotten your claws into him! We would still be together!”

“No, you wouldn't!”

“How do you know?!”

“Because I do! Please Ginny, calm down and let's talk about this!”

“What is there to talk about?! You went behind my back!”

“I -I, I wasn't trying to hurt you, but what Harry and I feel for one another-”

“What you feel for one another?! Ha! What you feel for him! You manipulative skank! The only thing Harry feels for you is lust!”

Hermione took several deep breaths attempting to control her temper, after all Ginny did have every right to be upset. “What Harry feels for me is a lot more than lust, Ginny.”

“Really? Tell me this, did you or did you not just finish shagging him?” When the older girl opened her mouth to respond Ginny cut her off. “No more lies Hermione, did you or did you not?”

Hermione threw a quick glance to Harry who was watching the exchange with a worried expression before looking back at the younger girl.

“We just finished making love, yes,” she answered after a moment.

“Making love my arse,” Ginny sneered, “Harry's a teenage boy Hermione, shagging isn't about love it's about getting off. Harry needed to, and you were stupid enough to let him, don't think that it's anything more… why would it be? Face it, he just slept with you because you're easy, available and stupid enough to let him.”

Hermione took a shuddering breath as she felt her control snap, “If that's true then why did he walk out on you? You were easy -after all you had been waiting all week for the opportunity to give it up. You were available if waiting around for him in nothing more than a robe and your knickers are any indication… and you were stupid enough to let him, considering it was only his dedication to me and unwillingness to hurt me that allowed you to leave that night with your virginity in tact. Those don't sound like the actions of some random horny teenage boy,” she stated in a steely tone, “they sound like the actions of someone who's in love.”

“He doesn't love you, he could never love you like he loves me!” Ginny cried as tears sprang to her eyes.

Hermione shook her head sadly, “You're right Ginny he couldn't, because he loves you like a friend, but he loves me like a friend, a girlfriend, and a lover all rolled into one. Ginny he loves me like a soul mate, and I feel the same about him.”

“Liar!!!” the other girl bellowed before hurling towards Hermione with a rage filled expression.

Bloody hell, Ginny was going to hit her! What should she do? Honestly, she couldn't blame the other girl -in fact she deserved it. Coming to that conclusion, Hermione closed her eyes and awaited the assault from the other witch. After a minute when it still didn't come she hesitantly opened her eyes to see Harry holding the enraged Ginny.

The red haired girl fought futilely in his strong arms for several more seconds before throwing him an angry look. “Let me go Harry!” she yelled.

“I can't,” the older boy replied, “not if you're going to attack Hermione.”

“But she deserves it! She tore us apart Harry, don't you see?!” she exclaimed with tear filled eyes.

Harry gave her a somber look and lightly shook his head, “No Gin, she didn't. It's not Hermione's fault that we didn't work-”

“So you didn't break things off with me to be with her?” Ginny quizzed turning in his arms and facing him.

“Well…” his gaze flicked to Hermione and then back to her, “it wasn't the only reason… Gin, I care about you so much and-”

“Oh Harry, I care about you to!” the younger girl exclaimed throwing her arms around his shoulders and burying her face in the crook of his neck. “We can work things out, I just know that we can! I'll even forgive you for what happened with her, after all we all make mistakes!” She drew back and looked at him happily, before getting on her tiptoes, Harry quickly pulled back and avoided the kiss just in time.

“Ginny I don't think you understand,” he tried again, giving another quick glance to his girlfriend who was now wearing a very pissed off expression.

“What do you mean?” Ginny asked, running her fingers lightly through his hair.

“I mean I care about you a lot- you're one of my best friends…”

She frowned, “But you do see me as more- don't you?”

He shook his head, “I'm sorry,” he offered softly, while removing her arms from around his neck. “Like I said that night, it just isn't there anymore between us.”

The redhead's bottom lip trembled, “You can't mean this Harry -we, we were in love. We are in love! She's making you say this!”

“No she isn't.”

“Yes she is,” the other girl persisted.

“Ginny, Hermione's not making me say this -I needed to say it; she didn't make me break up with you -I wanted to do it, and she didn't make me love her -I -I just couldn't help it. I'm sorry…” Harry replied giving her a sad look.

Ginny stared at him for a moment, “You love her?” she whispered brokenly.

He nodded, “With all my heart…”

Hermione jumped at the loud crack that echoed throughout the room as Ginny's hand connected with Harry's face. The red haired girl then took a step back and placed her hand over her mouth, staring at Harry and the red mark that was rapidly forming on his cheek as if she had no idea where they had come from.

“I'm -I'm sorry… I-” she stuttered tearfully.

Harry lightly touched his burning jaw, “That's ok… I don't blame you.”

When he reached out to touch her arm she wrenched away and whirled around, quickly heading to the stairs of the dorm and immediately fleeing the room.

“Harry, are you alright?” Hermione asked, rushing over to him and placing her cool hand softly on his flaming cheek.

“Yeah,” the dark-haired boy muttered with a small smile, “it could have been worse, she could have punched me… or worse yet hit me with a bat bogey.”

Hermione chuckled despite herself, “Harry this is no time for jokes. Ginny knows, which means soon everyone will.”

Harry gave a light shrug, “What's so bad about that? As fun as sneaking around has been Luv, I grew tired of never getting to hold or touch you in public like I wanted to. Oh, and not having the right to hex any guy who tries to hit on you.”

She rolled her eyes, “You still don't have that right.”

He smirked, “We'll see.”

Hermione huffed, “Harry Potter don't you-”

“Seriously Hermione,” he continued cutting her off, “you don't mind do you?”

“Don't mind what?” she frowned.

“Having people know about us?” Harry responded with a worried look.

She shook her head, “Don't be silly, there's only one person that I'm worried about finding out about us… and he's probably the first one Ginny's going to.”

He gave her a perplexed look before comprehension dawned on his face, “Ron.”

She nodded somberly and slipped her arms around her boyfriends' waist, resting her head on his chest. “Do you think he'll be mad? You know how his temper can get.”

“Yeah, but I'm sure everything will work out,” Harry responded placing a light kiss on the top of her head.

“How?” she whispered back.

He sighed, “I don't know.” They continued to hold each other for a few more minutes before Harry spoke once more. “I should go.”

She became rigid in his arms, “Why?”

“I should talk to Ron,” he replied.

Hermione pulled back and looked up at her boyfriend, “Right now?”

“It's as good a time as any,” the dark-haired boy responded, “besides I'd like to get a feel for where I stand. I don't fancy sleeping in a room practically next to someone and not knowing if they want to kill me or not.” He gave a dry grin, “Trust me, I get enough of that as it is.”

She chewed her bottom lip, “I guess tha-” she was cut off as he kissed her. When he pulled away she gave him an annoyed look. “I was in the middle of saying something you know,” she commented reproachfully.

Harry arched a brow “I can't help it Luv, you know how it drives me completely mad when you bite on your lip like that.”

She blushed and slapped him lightly on the shoulder, “You're completely incorrigible you know that?”

He smiled, “Thanks.”

Hermione emitted an unlady like snort, “Prat,” she muttered, shaking her head when his smile widened at her proclamation. Reaching up she lightly caressed his bright red cheek with her fingers, “Let me heal this for you before you go,” she said, but as she moved to retrieve her wand Harry grabbed her wrist and halted the movement.

“That's ok Hermione, leave it. Who knows, maybe if Ron sees how hard Ginny hit me, he won't be tempted to do the same thing himself.”

“I guess…” She sighed with an amused look

Giving her another smile, Harry turned and headed back into her bedroom to quickly finish getting dressed. Five minutes later he emerged fully clothed and attempting to put on his tie. Hermione grabbed his robe from her front closet and handed it to him. As he placed the heavy garment on, she stepped forward and began to correctly tie his tie.

“You know this is your seventh year at Hogwarts, Harry. You really should be quite efficient at tying ties by now,” she commented as she finished up and straitened the garment.

Harry gave a small hitch of the shoulders, “I am.”

Hermione looked at him, “Oh yeah, then why is it crooked eighty percent of the time I see you?”

His eyes twinkled as he gazed at her, “Because you're anal.”

“What?!”

“You're a hopeless perfectionist,” he responded.

“What does that have to do with your crooked tie?” she asked in an annoyed tone.

“That's easy -you see, because of your obsessiveness you can never resist the urge to retie it,” he gave her a boyish grin, “while I can never resist an opportunity to have your hands on me.”

“Oh you,” she muttered giving him a slap on the arm and a kiss on the cheek.

Harry turned to leave and had just made it to the stairs when Hermione called out once more.

“Harry?” he turned and looked at her, “Be careful, yeah?” she pleaded giving him an anxious look and chewing nervously on her lower lip.

He grinned and crossed the room in several long strides; upon reaching her he caught her lips in a searing kiss. “Don't worry Luv, I will.” With that, he turned and hurried out of the room.

--------------

Harry wandered into the Quidditch pitch feeling anxious and frustrated, he had looked everywhere for his best mate but it was to no avail. He hadn't been able to locate Ron anywhere, although -thankfully - he hadn't had anymore run-in's with Ginny either. He had searched everywhere possible, even the kitchens, twice, without any luck. Harry sighed, he just needed a moment to think and flying was the best way for him to do that. As he emerged from the entrance and onto the pitch clutching his Firebolt in his right hand, Harry was surprised to see Luna sitting Indian style on the lush grass, reading a book.

“Luna?” He questioned; the blonde looked up at him.

“Hullo Harry,” she called in a singsong voice.

“Er… what are you doing out here?”

“Why reading of course,” she responded with a serene smile, “how about you?”

“I thought I would do a bit of flying…hey- you wouldn't happen to know where I could find Ron would you?”

Luna looked at him blankly for a moment before redirecting her eyes to the sky above. Following her gaze, Harry looked up to see Ron zooming around the pitch on his broom. Sensing his audience the red haired boy looked down and up on seeing Harry he rounded the perimeter once more before coming to a graceful landing in front of his mate and his girlfriend.

“Hey Harry,” he said giving a slight incline of the head before looking at his girlfriend. “Luna, sweetheart, do you think you can give Harry and I a moment to talk.”

She regarded Ron silently for a moment before conceding to his request. “Ok my Plumperdink, if that's what you want.”

When Harry arched a dark brow, Ron blushed “It is, I'll see you later alright?”

“Alright,” she responded then giving Ron a light kiss on the cheek and Harry a cheerful wave she turned on her bare feet and skipped happily away.

As she disappeared through the exit Ron shook his head lightly, “She may be a bit mental but I love her,” he told Harry with a light smile.

“Love huh?” the dark haired boy asked with a surprised look, “That's a pretty strong word.”

Ron gave another shrug, “Maybe… so anyway, on to what we need to talk about.”

“And what would that be?” Harry asked with a feigned innocent expression.

Ron smirked, “Cut the crap Harry, I already talked to Gin.” When his mate sighed, the redhead frowned, “So is it true? You and Hermione?” Harry bit his lip and nodded, looking hesitantly at his best mate. “How long?” Ron queried.

“Well… we've kinda been seeing each other ever since I broke up with Ginny,” he hesitated, “To be honest mate, my feelings for Hermione -well they were kind of the reason I ended things between your sister and I,” Harry winced and waited for the explosion, giving a surprised look to Ron when all the other boy did was make a small grunt.

“Thought so,” Ron commented after a moment, while studying the sky above.

“What?!” Harry exclaimed.

The other boy gave him an annoyed look, “Hey I may be a bit slow on the upkeep at times but I'm not completely daft.”

“Uh… I think it's slow on the uptake Ron,” Harry commented with a small smile, realizing that his mate wasn't mad at him.

Ron gave another grunt, “See you sound like her already,” he commented rolling his eyes.

The dark haired boy chuckled, “I guess…”

“Seriously Harry, I'm not a complete cabbage -you guys spend most of your time studying alone together in her dorm. Then there's the fact that you almost gave poor Zach a concussion for asking Hermione out and she almost gave my sister a pre-mature bald spot for trying to snog you. And I'm not even going to go into her choice of passwords,” he finished with a smirk.

“Ahh -caught all that did you?” Ron rolled his eyes; Harry chuckled and then frowned “Wait? What do you mean her choice of passwords?

“Didn't I say I wasn't going to go into it?” Ron rolled his eyes, when his mate gave him a blank look. “Come on Harry I thought I was supposed to be the slow one -hello? They all relate to you.”

Harry frowned, “No they don't.”

“Of course they do, Quidditch -your favorite sport. Chocolate Frog -your favorite sweet. Cats -that stupid music thing that her mum took you guys to. Storm-”

“How does a storm relate to me?” Harry interrupted. Ron scoffed and pointed to the lighting bolt shaped scar on the other boy's head. “Oh…”

“Oh,” Ron responded with another smirk. “And though I don't know what it is I'm sure the frame one has a relation to you also,” the redhead stated, before giving a knowing grin when the dark haired boy blushed.

Harry shook his head, “Wow, maybe you're not as obtuse as we thought.”

“You're damn right, I'm not…” Ron stated with a perfunctory nod before giving his mate a sidelong glance. “What's that mean anyway?” When Harry laughed he scowled, “What?! I can't help it that you're using Hermione sized words!”

“Actually it's only a six letter word, Ron,” the other boy replied cheekily.

His mate glowered, “Just tell me what it means.”

“It means you're not as slow as we thought,” Harry responded.

“Bout time you realized that,” Ron said, then punched his mate in the arm when he sniggered.

After he had calmed somewhat, Harry gave his friend a curious look. “Wait -what about the spider thing? I mean you totally freaked out, why do that if you already knew it was a ploy?”

“I -er, well, I was just trying to take some of the heat off you mate, that's just the type of bloke I am,” the redhead answered blushing. When Harry smirked he blushed more before emitting a sigh, “Ok, so I hadn't really picked up on it at that point,” he admitted sheepishly. “Luna kind of clued me in the next day when I explained to her why I was limping.” When Harry laughed he gave his mate a disgruntled look, “What? Look you know how I feel about spiders! Why did she have to say it was a bloody spider anyway?” he finished in a grumble, giving Harry another hard punch in the arm when he laughed harder.

After his laughter subsided Harry gave Ron a serious look, “So… are we -you know, ok?”

The redhead sighed and fidgeted with his broom, “I don't know, I guess. I admit though, I am a little peeved that you guys didn't come to me. But as long as you two didn't start fooling around until after you and my sister actually broke up I guess it's no harm no foul,” he finished with a shrug completely missing the strangled expression that briefly appeared on his mates face.

“So, did my sister give you that?” Ron asked after a moment of silence, motioning to the bruise rapidly forming on Harry's cheek, the other boy nodded. “Hum… well I guess that mean's I don't have to punch you -so, I guess we're alright.”

Harry chuckled and took Ron's outstretched hand, giving it a firm shake. “Good to know,” he commented with a wry grin.

“Anyway,” Ron continued tentatively, “Ginny says that when she came in it looked like you and Hermione had just… well- you know had just… done the deed if you know what I mean…”

Harry blushed, “Well…”

Ron looked at him with a pole-axed expression, “You've got to be bloody kidding me! It took me three months to get the quaffle and you've already caught the snitch!” he exclaimed, dropping his broom and grabbing Harry's shoulders. “Seriously! You and Hermione have been doing the grown-up?!”

Harry frowned, “Doing the grown-up?”

Ron waved him off, “Dean told it to me, it means shagging -which leads me back to the original subject,” when Harry gave him a blank look, Ron released an impatient grunt. “You -Hermione -shag! Hello?! Details mate! How was it?”

Harry looked at Ron's eager expression and cringed, he was glad his mate was still taking to him and didn't seem upset even over this latest development. But, taking to Ron about his intimate relationship with Hermione was just bloody weird!

“Ron, I don't think I should-”

“And why the hell not! We're best mates!”

“I know, but Hermion-”

“What about her? Look I won't say anything! Come on Harry, what ever happened to male solidarity?”

Harry gave him a confused look, “Ron what does talking about my sex-life have to do with male solidarity?”

Ron pulled a face, “Well that's easy -guys should always stick together right? So as a guy with a sex-life, it's your duty to inform a guy who's never had a sex-life about the goings on,” he declared with a resolute nod.

“Actually, as a guy with a sex-life, who would like to keep, said sex-life, it's my duty to keep my mouth shut,” he responded with an amused look.

“Awww, come on Harry!”

“Look Ron, I hate to say this mate but I have to. The fact remains that not only are you best mates with both Hermione and myself, but you're also her ex-boyfriend. So talking about the things that happen in her bedroom is not only very uncomfortable, but completely out of the question,” Harry stated firmly.

Ron clapped his hands together and gave Harry an eager look, “Ok -so now we're getting somewhere. Her bedroom you say, what else?”

Harry groaned and hopped on his broom, kicking off he took to the skies.

“Ok, so you don't have to give me all the details!” Ron called flying up after him, “just tell me is it true?!”

Against his better judgment Harry slowed and allowed his mate to catch up with him, “Is what true?” he questioned as soon as the other boy was flying next to him.

“You know… what they say,” Ron responded giving him a look like it was totally obvious, when Harry arched a brow the other boy sighed, “… about quiet witches…”

Harry scoffed and gave Ron a small shove that almost sent the other boy off of his broom before zooming off.

“Aww Harry, come on!” Ron called racing after him, “You can tell me!”

A.N. That's it for this chapter, I love Ron in this chappy. I decided one jealous Weasley was enough, what do you think? *lol* I also wanted to give a thanks to everyone who replied and a special thanks to those of you who went to Deviant Art and responded to that chick personally. All of your kind thoughts made me feel all warm and squishy. Also to my Harmony readers I do have a new H/Hr fic coming out soon (actually I wrote it a while ago, it's been sitting on my lap top feeling ignored) it's called Unconscious Confessions I hope you get a chance to check it out. Don't forget to review and ja ne!!

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31. Birds and Bees...

Forbidden Love

Chapter 30

Harry groaned as a fifth year that he didn't know gave him a nod and a thumbs up. Shaking his head, he looked away. If he got one more `You're the man' he was seriously going to hit someone. It looked like Ginny had told any and everyone that she could find just what she had seen in Hermione's dorm yesterday, so now he was once again the main center of attention. Harry sighed, he could kind of understand why she would do it, after all he'd be seriously pissed too, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

`Or even tolerate it,' he thought, throwing a glower to a couple of third years who where whispering and pointing in his direction.

Even though Harry had given them what he thought was one of his most intimidating looks, the two younger boys just grinned, gave him overly obvious winks and a set up double thumbs up. He groaned again.

“Come on mate,” Ron said jovially, joining him at the foot of the stairs. “It's not that bad, now there aren't any doubts left.”

Harry frowned, “What are you talking about Ron?”

“I'm talking a bout your battle with You-know-who,” the redhead finished, pushing a gawking second year out of his way so that he could have a seat on the back of the couch.

His mates' brows furrowed, “What does me getting the thumbs up every five seconds like I'm a bloody automobile dealer have to do with Voldemort?”

“Oi! Keep that down,” Ron hissed, flinching at the name before rolling his eyes. “It's quite simple really,” he continued in a tone that implied it was obvious, “if you can get Hermione to shag you, then obviously you can do anything.”

Harry punched his mate in the arm, “Cut it out Ron.”

The redhead laughed.

“Cut what out?” Hermione quizzed, entering the portrait. When several of the students stopped and gave her curious looks she frowned, “Don't you people have someplace to be?!” she inquired loudly scanning the room.

Harry winced, crap, she was in a bad mood. “They may not, but we do,” he offered, “what do you say we head down to breakfast?”

She frowned at him, “I don't think I can do the Great Hall right now Harry.”

He sighed and approached her, lightly taking her arms he gave her a grim look “Come on Hermione, a spot of food will make you feel better. Besides we have to face everyone sooner or later so we might as well get it over with.” When her chin took on a familiar stubborn set Harry frowned at her. “Hermione Granger, there is no way I'm allowing you to hide out up here. You're going down to have breakfast with everyone else, just like you made me second year after I found out I spoke Parseltongue and everyone thought I was evil, or fourth year after I got picked for the Tri-Wizard and most of the student population thought I had cheated.”

She bit her lip wavering, “Harry, I don't know.”

“I do, look don't act like you're ashamed of us, that's what Ginny wanted… please Hermione,” he implored softly.

“I'm not ashamed,” she responded confidently.

“Good, then let's go to breakfast.”

Smiling, he took her hand and led her out of the portrait with Ron close behind.

“Geez, maybe you two do belong together,” the other boy stated, catching up with them and walking on the other side of Hermione.

“I may regret this, but why do you say that?” she queried.

He threw her a look and shook his head, “Because I never would have been able to get you out of that room and he did it in less than two minutes,” Ron replied with a grin, he then gave a thoughtful look. “You know now that I think about it, had you and I still been together -I totally would have sent Harry to get you.”

His mates shared a look and then burst into laughter. As they continued to the Great Hall, laughing and talking, Harry did his best to ignore the looks and whispers that followed the sight of the Head Girl and the Quidditch Captain holding hands. He also made sure to give Hermione's hand a reassuring squeeze every minute or so, just to keep her calm. Harry almost sighed in relief when the finally made it to the Gryffindor table.

“Good morning,” Hermione said with a light smile to Seamus, Dean and Neville as they took a seat.

The first two boys returned her greeting but the latter just frowned and got up from the table. Harry watched curiously as he gathered his things and exited the Great Hall without another word.

“What the hell was that about?” Ron voiced, beating Harry to the question.

“Don't know,” Seamus responded with a shake of the head “he's been acting a bit queer all morning though.”

“Whatever it is, I'm sure he'll get over it soon,” Dean commented, taking a sip of his drink.

Ron and Harry shared a shrug and began to immediately pile their plates with bangers, eggs and toast.

“Do you guys really need that much to eat?” Hermione sniffed.

Harry sighed, “I guess not,” he commented as he placed three out of his five pieces of toast back on the platter along with four of his eight bangers.

“See,” Hermione commented with a smile. “Now if you're still hungry after that you can get some more at that time.”

Harry sighed and shook his head.

“You might as well say `Yes dear',” Dean quipped with a grin from across the table that turned into a wince when Hermione kicked him.

“Pig,” she said to Ron who had snorted into his eggs at the other boys' remark.

The redhead didn't comment but instead threw her a smirk and continued to shovel food into his mouth like he hadn't eaten in days. Hermione gave a disgusted scoff, while Harry chuckled at the exchange; things were back to normal. With this thought and a grin he reached for his pumpkin juice, however before he could get it to his lips Ron grabbed the glass from his hands.

“Oi! You have your own you know!” Harry exclaimed, glaring at his mate.

Instead of responding, Ron held up a single finger and swallowed his food before taking the pumpkin juice, putting to his nose and taking a sniff. The other occupants of the table watched with baffled expressions as he then proceeded to swirl the liquid around and sniff it once more, before picking up his own glass and comparing the colors. Harry frowned as he mate then took a sip from both glasses before setting Harry's back down in front of him and turning once more to his own breakfast.

“Er… Ron? What was that about?” Harry asked, while pushing the glass of juice away.

Ron swallowed his toast and took another sip of his drink before answering. “Big brother duties,” he commented with a shrug. At their blank looks he explained, “You see Gin, is convinced that Hermione's been slipping you some type of love potion, so I told her I would check it out for her -you know, big brother duties.”

Dean and Seamus sniggered, Harry rolled his eyes and Hermione frowned.

“You think I used a potion on Harry?” she asked with a hurt look.

“No, of course not,” Ron said quickly, “but Ginny was so adamant about it that I promised her I would check,” when the brunette continued to frown her gave her a pleading look. “Please understand Hermione, she was in tears and I hate to see my sister that way. I would have promised almost anything to make her feel better.”

Harry looked back at his girlfriend and saw her give a light nod of the head, “Of course Ron,” she commented running a hand though her hair.

Harry leaned over and gave her a light peck on the lips, when her startled gaze flew to him, he smiled, “You looked like you could use one,” he responded softly, “and since we don't have to keep everything a secret anymore I decided to oblige.”

Hermione blushed and looked down at the table.

“Woo-hoo,” Dean exclaimed with a grin, “someone call the fire department, we have a four alarm going on!”

Hermione threw him an annoyed look, while Harry and Seamus laughed.

“Fire department?” Ron asked looking up from his sixth piece of toast.

As Dean attempted to explain what a fire department was, and the fact that a fireman was not made of fire to Ron, Harry chuckled and took a bite of his jam covered toast. As he reached for his glass his hand froze and a look of dismay crossed his features.

“Now what am I supposed to drink?” he whined.

“How about spilling your drink,” Seamus suggested, “then it'll magically refill and you'll have a fresh one.”

“It's not just magic, it's poor enslaved house elves,” Hermione informed him with a reproachful look before looking at Harry, “and don't you dare.”

Harry shrugged, “I wouldn't anyway, Ron's had his ruddy mouth on it.”

“Oi! I brushed my teeth!” Ron exclaimed, lifting his head from his plate. Harry shuttered when a piece of egg flew from his mouth and landed on the side of the cup in question.

“Disgusting Ronald, just disgusting,” Hermione grumbled, the other three boys nodded in agreement while Ron blushed. “Here Harry,” she said, passing him her cup.

“Thanks,” he responded before giving Ron a fierce look, “and don't even think about tasting this one.”

The redhead pulled a face but didn't comment, instead going back to his kippers.

“Aww, you two are so cute,” Dean teased as Hermione took a sip from the cup after Harry sat it down.

“Hey! I'm cute -she's beautiful, get it right,” Harry told the other boy with a smirk; Hermione blushed.

Dean laughed and nodded before tucking into the rest of his breakfast. Hermione nudged Harry playfully and the group continued to eat, settling into a comfortable conversation. After everyone was pretty much finished -Ron was still nibbling on a piece of toast -the trio got up and made their way out of the Great Hall.

“Well lookie here boys,” Draco sneered as they passed. “If it isn't the blood traitor, the scarhead and the groupie.”

Harry glowered at the blonde, “Shove it Malfoy,” he said in a steely tone.

“Perhaps you should be making that request of Granger,” he smirked; his minions tittered.

Harry made a move towards the other boy but Ron grabbed him, “Sod off Malfoy,” he spat before looking at Harry. “Don't let him get to you, mate. Come on lets just go.”

“Yeah, Harry just forget it,” Hermione whispered from his left.

“You know Granger if I realized that you had so much to… offer,” Malfoy wagged his brows as his cronies chortled. “I just may have considered acknowledging you every once and a while.”

Harry's wand snapped up at that comment and pointed at the Slytherins neck.

“Cool it mate!” Ron hissed, grabbing the dark haired boy's arm and forcing it down, he then made a small motion towards the staff table with his head.

Looking over Harry saw Snape watching them with a scornful expression. Malfoy followed their gaze and upon seeing the potions master he smirked.

“What's the mater Potter, afraid of a little detention,” he taunted.

“Don't press your luck Malfoy,” Harry ground out.

The blond smirked once more, “So, I guess this makes you -what? An honorary Weasley or something right? After all Weasel, we all know how big your piss poor family is on,” he looked at Hermione and leered “hand me downs.”

Ron and Harry both moved to raise their wands but before they could get them up a fist shot out and connected with the blond boys face. Harry's surprised gaze flew to his girlfriend who was staring down at the crumpled Slytherin with a murderous expression, before looking up.

“Did anyone else have any smarmy comments that they wanted to make!” she demanded, quickly scanning the shocked crowned with furious eyes.

All of the students who came in contact with her heated gaze quickly shook their heads `no' while several even went so far as to rush off to their respective classes.

“That was bloody brilliant!” Ron exclaimed in an awestruck tone, while Harry nodded his head enthusiastically in agreement.

Hermione's gaze flew to her best mate and her boyfriend and the anger dissipated to be replaced by a blush at their broad smiles. “I…well, that is…”

“Ms. Granger,” a stern voice said from their left. Everyone looked to see Deputy Headmistress McGonagall standing there with a frown. “A word if you will,” she then looked at Crabbe and Goyle “boys please make yourselves useful and help Mr. Malfoy to Madam Pomfrey's office.”

She looked back at Hermione “Now, Ms. Granger.”

************************

Hermione cringed at McGonagall's firm tone, frowning she threw a anxious look to Harry and Ron before nervously chewing on her bottom lip and silently following the older woman down the halls towards her office.

What had she been thinking? She usually knew better than to rise to the bait of Malfoy's obnoxious comments and small jibes. It was just that she had been putting up with it all day and his vulgar comment was the last straw. Hermione ran a hand nervously thorough her hair as McGonagall turned another corner.

`This day only seems to be getting better and better,' she thought as they neared the Professors office.

It had all started that morning when she had gone downstairs to do her morning rounds. When she and Zach met up in their designated spot Hermione had offered him a smile and a wave, which the blonde boy didn't return. Instead he just frowned and stiffly informed her that perhaps they, “should do their rounds separately” that morning. Since at the time she had had no idea that Ginny had spread what had happened like wildfire, Hermione had been merely confused at his actions and simply agreed.

However by the end of her rounds she had gone from confused to annoyed by all of the looks and whispers she had been getting from the few students that were up and about. Her mood quickly progressed from annoyed to a mix between anger and mortification when she finally realized just what was going on.

This came about when Lavender and the Patil twins cornered her and in hushed, very giggly tones asked if “the boy who lived” was also “the boy who could shag”. Giving them a shocked look and a fierce glower Hermione had huffed and stormed back to the Gryffindor common room, glaring at anyone who stared at her with a new found sense of self righteous anger. How dare they assume that just because Ginny Weasley had said that she and Harry shagged that they did! Even if it was true, they didn't know that, the bunch of gits!

“Ms. Granger,” the Professor questioned pulling her out of her wayward thoughts. “Are you going to go into the office, or just continue trying to intimidate my door?”

Hermione's eyes widened as she realized that she had been glaring, blushing she quickly schooled her features into a look of remorse. “Sorry Professor,” she mumbled, turning the knob and entering the medium sized office.

“Have a seat,” the older woman said, going to take one behind her desk.

Hermione complied, glancing nervously around the office and fidgeting absently with the sleeves of her robes. After a moment of silence she looked hesitantly back at the Professor.

“You do know Ms. Granger,” the older woman said when Hermione made eye contact “that it is not the type of impression we want to make for our younger students, that it is ok for them to go around hitting one another?”

“Yes ma'am,” she murmured blushing.

“And it trust you realize that as Head Girl it is of the utmost importance that you, above all others, follow this principle?”

“Yes ma'am.”

“So then I assume that it is safe to say that I no longer need to be concerned that I will once again come across one of my esteemed Heads, dismembering or incapacitating any other students or members of the staff -no matter how obnoxious they may be?”

Hermione blushed, “Yes ma'am.”

“Good, I'm glad that's settled.”

The younger witch threw the older one a surprised look. “That's all?”

“On this subject yes -why did you wish for more Ms. Granger?”

“No Professor, not at all,” she said quickly and moving to stand.

“However,” McGonagall continued, “there is another matter I wish to discuss with you.”

Hermione frowned and sat back down, “Yes?”

“I know that it is sometimes hard for girls being at school and away from their mothers. I must admit that after all of these years, the ups the downs and the circles that I have taken with Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley and yourself… I consider you in a somewhat different light than I consider most of the other students in this school,” Professor McGonagall said. “In truth, over these last several years I have begun to see you as… well, as -sort of like a daughter to me,” she blushed uncharacteristically and looked away briefly, “and it is because of this sentiment that I feel it is very important that we have a bit of a chat.”

“A chat? Really?” Hermione inquired nervously.

“Yes really… you know, as implausible as it may seem to you I was once a young girl myself and I do in fact understand how these things work. I realize that at your age… you have… certain, well certain urges…”

The brunette's eyes widened and her face took on a horrified expression, “Uh… Professor, just what is this talk about?”

McGonagall gave her a grim look, “Don't be obtuse Ms. Granger, it's about the birds and the bees of course.”

Hermione groaned.

***********************

Harry gave his girlfriend a curious look as she entered the classroom over twenty minutes late. Hermione immediately went to the front of the class, handed Professor Cypher a note and quietly made her way back to her desk. After she took a seat next to him, Harry frowned when she opened her book without giving him a second glance. Giving her a nudge in the side, his curiosity became peaked when she looked at him for a second before blushing profusely and turning away. What the hell was that about?

-----------------------------

Three hours later he found out when he and Ron finally got what had happened out of Hermione at lunch. When she told them about her conversation with the Professor, Harry turned a dangerous shade of red while Ron laughed so hard he spurted juice out of his nose.

“Just disgusting Ronald,” Hermione said for the second time that day frowning at her red haired best mate.

“You… M-M-McGonagall…birds… bees,” he got out between peels of laughter, “F'in classic!”

“Oh shut your cakehole, Ronald!” she exclaimed throwing a roll at the other boy.

When Ron not only continued to laugh but also began to hiccup and wipe tears from his eyes, Harry found himself having trouble not finding the sound contagious.

“Ow!” he yelped as his girlfriend hit him in the arm when he joined in on Ron's merriment. “I-I'm sorry,” Harry said chuckling, “but you have to admit, had it been anyone but you, you would be laughing too!”

She frowned, “But it wasn't anyone but me, so cut it out.”

Still grinning Harry placed his arm around her shoulder and pulled her against him. “Come on Luv, have a sense of humor,” he teased.

She gave him an annoyed look for a moment before emitting a resigned sigh, “Ok fine,” Harry grinned, “but just so you know, she took away my dorm privileges.”

“What?” he asked frowning.

Hermione gave him a serious look, “I can no longer have boys in my dorm…” she arched a brow and smirked, “so go on- laugh.”

Harry stared at her with a shocked expression, while Ron wore one of morbid merriment. A huge smile was frozen on his face and he stared at Harry wide-eyed as if debating if it was safe enough to laugh.

“F-for how long?” Harry sputtered.

She shrugged, “One week, one month, indefinitely… who knows. Pass the crisps will you Ron?”

Sniggering, the redhead did as requested and Harry shot him a glare.

“When will you know?” the dark haired boy inquired.

Hermione looked at him with a thoughtful expression, “Oh… I don't know, she said I would find out after she got Zach's opinion. After all he is Head Boy, so issues with the students and their privileges are part of his domain.”

“What?!” He exclaimed before glaring at his girlfriend when she quirked a grin. “You're pulling my broom aren't you?”

She gave him a sweet smile, “Of course I am, after all you did tell me to have a sense of humor.”

Ron let out a loud `hoot' and began laughing once more. Harry shook his head at his girlfriend while she gave him a superior smirk.

“Touché,” he commented with a chuckle.

Hermione responded with a slight incline of her head and a wink.

“You know what,” Ron said as his laughter died down a bit.

“No what?” Harry teased while taking Hermione's hand and kissing the back of it.

“The more I see you two together, the more I wonder how I couldn't have seen you two together,” the other boy responded with a shake of the head and a wondrous expression. “I've never seen anyone get her out of her moods like you can mate, it boggles the mind really.”

“Most things boggle your mind Ron,” Hermione commented dryly.

The redhead pulled face, “Geez, see if I complement you again.”

Hermione snorted, “That was supposed to be a compliment? No one can get me out of my moods? I mean really Ronald, you're a regular Don Juan.”

Ron frowned, “Who?”

She rolled her eyes heavenward, “Never mind.”

“No, tell me who it is.”

“Forget it, Ron.”

“No way, if that was an insult I have a right to know, right Harry?”

Both looked at the dark haired boy expectantly.

“So...er, more crisps anyone?” Harry asked with an uncomfortable grin.

“Aw mate, you're not going to back me up on this?” Ron whined, “What happened to that male solidarity thing we talked about?”

Hermione frowned, “What male solidarity thing?”

Harry threw his mate a glower and Ron winced and shrugged.

“Ron? What male solidarity thing,” when the redhead went back to his sandwich she looked at Harry. “Well? What male solidarity thing? What does that mean, and why are you two acting so guilty?”

Harry winced and looked down at his watch, “Oops time for class,” he said hopping up quickly and rushing out of the hall with Ron following closely behind.

“Harry! Get back here!” Hermione called gathering her books. “Harry! Harry!”

A.N. That's it for this chapter, the end is getting closer so stay tuned. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, though if you're like me you saw it as soon as Harry and Hermione became Harmony! (grin) Stay tuned, Please Review and Ja ne!

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32. Awk-ward

Forbidden Love

Chapter 31

Harry nuzzled his girlfriend's neck.

“Harry cut it out,” Hermione muttered swatting playfully at his face and not looking up from her text.

He grinned, “What Luv? I can't help it, you just look so adorable right now.”

She looked over her shoulder and smirked at him. “Well you'll have to. We really need to study, N.E.W.T.'s are just around the corner.”

He rolled his eyes and gave a sigh, “Fine.”

As she turned back to her book, Harry tilted his head back, resting it against the large tree behind him. Looking up at the sky above, he marveled at how well everything had been going lately. At first when everyone had found out about him and Hermione there had been a lot of whispering, speculation and rumors floating throughout the school. However those had died down quite a bit towards the end of the first day -he had a feeling Malfoy's broken nose had a lot to do with it. And everyone had quickly accepted that a duo from the “golden trio” had paired off once again. Honestly, Harry had actually been quite surprised by how swiftly everyone seemed to truly accept his relationship with Hermione. But he was even more stunned by how many people told him that they weren't surprised and that they had actually expected Hermione to be with him instead of Ron in the first place.

He smiled to himself, had also been blessedly nightmare-free since the one with Bellatrix and with Hermione as his girlfriend he was doing a hell of a lot better in all of his classes, which meant that his waking hours were peaceful too. He had aced his transfiguration potion, much to Snape's dismay, and he had begun pulling higher marks in every single one of his classes -even the ones he and Hermione didn't have together. Harry smiled and lightly kissed the top of his girlfriend's head. In fact now, at her insistence, they were studying for N.E.W.T.'s in the courtyard. He gave a wry grin… well he was supposed to be studying. And since the test was rumored to be so nasty, even Ron had readily agreed to give up his Saturday to sit outside and study with him and Hermione… oh and Luna, of course.

The red haired boy was sitting almost shoulder to shoulder with Harry leaning against the other side of the large tree trunk. Ron and Luna were sitting in the same position as he and Hermione with the blonde sitting securely between her boyfriend's legs reading a text on Transfiguration for her end of the year essay. Meanwhile, Ron teetered between paying attention to his own Transfiguration book and staring at his girlfriend.

`I guess Ron isn't studying either,' he thought with a chuckle. `Then again, he's also not likely to be the one quizzed by his girlfriend later on what he had learned.'

Harry mentally sighed and lightly stroked Hermione's waist while looking absently at his Potions book. He stared at the text on the pages for a couple of minutes before he was once again drawn back into thought.

The only cloud over his newfound relationship seemed to be his old one. Since the breakup his and Ginny's relationship had been extremely strained. Though the redheaded girl spoke to him, quite often in fact, the things that she said were so off that he didn't know how to take them. She still insisted that he was under some type of spell or potion, she had also taken to touching him whenever possible and on more than one occasion she had attempted to kiss him.

Luckily, because he had been there for her conversation with Hermione and had had several warnings from Ron, he already knew what she was about which made it easier to not only evade Ginny's advances, but also avoid being put into positions where he would have to be on guard for them. Harry sighed, well it could be worse -she wasn't even talking to Hermione unless it was hurling insults or hexes. Good thing his girlfriend was quite adept with protection spells and counter curses or she would be spending every other day in Madam Pomfrey's office. He had been quite upset when he had first heard about Ginny's actions towards Hermione, but it didn't take long for him to realize that his girlfriend had no problem at all handling herself against the younger Weasley.

No, what really troubled him was the strain in the relationship between Ginny and Ron. He and Hermione deserved what they got, but Ron… He sighed again, though the relationship between the Weasley siblings wasn't as bad as the one between Hermione and Ginny it was still bad. The younger girl didn't try to curse or hex her brother, but she also didn't try anything else either. When Ron would talk to her she would usually turn and walk away or worse yet stand there and ignore him, looking right through him as if her were invisible. What made Harry feel so guilty was the fact that Ginny seemed to have forgiven him and not her brother who, by the way, was as innocent as her in the whole mess.

It was during one particularly guilt ridden moment that Harry had asked Ginny why she treated Ron the way she did. She had responded that it was because Ron had chosen Hermione over her, so Harry had pointed out - somewhat hesitantly - that he had in essence done the same thing. But the redheaded girl had just smiled, patted him softly on the cheek and informed him that it wasn't the same. Knowing what Ginny was implying, he then tried to once again stress the fact that Hermione had not placed him under any spell or given him any type of love potion. But she had waved him off and hurried into her class. Harry sighed for a third time; he was really beginning to think Ginny had cracked her nut.

“What are you brooding about?” Hermione asked, turning and giving him a look.

He shook his head lightly, “Nothing.”

“Harry,” she said, arching a brow.

He exhaled, “I just don't understand how things can be so great and so horrible at the same time.”

“Come on Harry N.E.W.T.s aren't that bad.”

He chuckled, “Not what I was referring to Luv.”

“Oh… then what?” she quizzed, her brows furrowing.

He sat down his book and fiddled absently with a blade of grass, “Ginny.”

“What about her?” she frowned.

“Her relationship with Ron,” he whispered, throwing a look to his mate to make sure he hadn't heard. Lucky for him Ron was so wrapped up in listening to Luna read softly aloud that he remained oblivious to the conversation.

Hermione bit her lip, “Harry that's not your fault.”

“Yes it is,” he insisted.

“No it isn't,” she retorted, “it's Ginny's. She needs to grow up, if she wants to be mad at me fine, but everyone knows that she treats you like a mate and treats Ron like crap when it should be reversed.”

“I know.”

“Of course you know, everyone knows, weren't you listening?” she inquired turning and facing him fully.

“Of course I was, I-”

“Oh, sod off Malfoy!”

Harry and Hermione's gazes flew across the courtyard where, Ginny Weasley was being accosted by Draco Malfoy. Quickly getting up Harry and Ron rushed over to the pair with raised wands.

“Back off Malfoy!” Harry yelled.

“Step away from my sister before I hex your arse,” Ron added with a glower.

“Oooo I'm so scared Weasel,” Draco smirked, “puhleeze, everyone knows you couldn't hex your way out of a cauldron. Besides I'm not anywhere near the Weaselette anyway, I wouldn't want to get blood traitor on me.”

“Yeah, well you're going to get a lot more on you if you don't get lost -now.” Harry stated quietly.

“Harry,” Hermione commented touching his arm lightly. “Calm down, I'm sure that it was nothing.”

“Nothing!” Ron bellowed throwing the brunette a harassed look and ignoring the anxious glances from his girlfriend. “He was hassling my sister!”

Draco smirked, “If I we-”

“I can handle myself thank you very much,” Ginny Weasley interrupted glaring at her brother. “So just mind your business and stay out of mine!”

Ron gave her a surprised look, “Gin what-”

“We were having a private conversation, so it would do you all well to just but out!” the younger girl exclaimed before, to everyone's surprise, grabbing the blond Slytherin's hand. “Come on Draco, let's go somewhere where we can talk -alone.”

Everyone watched in wide-eyed shock as Ginny Weasley dragged Draco Malfoy through the courtyard and into the school building. The blond boy threw a bewildered look to his cronies who just stood with stupefied looks on their faces and their mouths gaping.

“What the hell mate?!” Ron exclaimed throwing Harry a confused look; having no response the dark haired boy just frowned.

--------------------

Harry scowled as Ginny and Malfoy walked hand in hand onto the Quidditch pitch. Ever since that day two and a half weeks ago the two had been just about inseparable. They were joined at the hip, and usually the lips, as Hogwarts newest and most controversial couple. The dark haired boy ran and agitated hand through his hair; he didn't know what the hell was going on. One day Ginny had hated Malfoy just like the other ninety percent of the student population, the next she was snogging him in the hallway in front of everyone.

In fact her and Draco's snog fests were so common -and disgusting - that there wasn't a house around that hadn't grown tired of the new couple already. On top of that they had gotten caught in the act by professors multiple times, which had caused a massive loss of points for both Gryffindor and Slytherin. It had also made Ginny the new enemy of her house.

Ron and Harry were both baffled as why the youngest Weasley was doing what she was doing, not to mention what they could do about it. Also, to make matters worse, when the other boy had told his mum and dad about his sister latest activities he had gotten blamed for it. Mrs. Weasley had even accused him of not looking out for her.

Ron had been hacked off at Harry for several days over that one, since they both knew that if it was anyone's fault it was Harry's. As a matter of fact that seemed to be the general consensus of the whole school, everyone thought that Ginny was just using the blonde Slytherin in a last ditch effort to get the dark haired Gryffindor back by making him jealous. As for Malfoy, everyone assumed that he was in it just to piss Harry off which, as much as Harry hated to admit it, was bloody well working.

“Give it a bleedin' rest, will ya!” Dean called from his broom.

Ginny threw him a disgruntled look as Draco made his way down her neck.

“Are you playing Ginny, or do we have to use one of the reserves?” Harry inquired sharply.

She gave a sweet smile, “I'm coming.”

“Maybe later,” Malfoy responded with a suggestive wink.

When she tittered Harry and Dean groaned.

“Ugh, gross…” grumbled the other boy, flying further away from the couple.

Harry didn't comment, but instead frowned as she took a dark broom from the Slytherin and placed it in front of her.

“Do you like it?” she asked with a grin. “It's Draco's.”

“I let her use it,” the blond smirked, “-you know, until I could get her new one.”

“What's wrong with your old one?” Harry ground out.

“Nothing,” Ginny stated with a shrug, hopping on the broom.

“Yeah, nothing.” Malfoy echoed arching a brow, “She just likes riding my broom.”

When the red haired girl giggled Harry growled. Quickly turning he flew away to rally the rest of the team, who were staring angrily at the couple. As he rounded the pitch and flew up to look for the snitch he threw another look to the blond.

`Fuckin' prat.'

------------------

Harry looked to his left scanning the parameter of the pitch for the small golden ball. The game had just started and already Gryffindor was up ten to zero. He gave an anxious look down to the Chasers below, so far Ginny seemed to be doing ok, but there was no telling how long that would last. Several of the members of the team had expressed concerns about the younger Weasleys somewhat erratic behavior as of late. Others had just come out and flatly stated that they were worried that she would throw the game, just to get back at Harry or to make Draco happy. Harry had readily stood up for her, along with Ron, both stating that Ginny would never do something like that. However their bravado was short lived as they realized that they didn't think she would ever get involved with the likes of Malfoy either.

Harry was brought back to the present as a burst of cheers sprang from the crowd below. Looking at the scoreboard he noticed with some dismay that Ravenclaw had just made a goal, so the points were now tied ten to ten. Pushing away his disappointment he began to once again search for the snitch with added determination. So far Gryffindor had had a perfect season and he wasn't going to loose that, no, for his final year at Hogwarts he was going to lead his team to victory and bring the Quidditch cup back to his house for another term.

Leaning forward and squinting a bit he saw something glint in the sunlight.

`The snitch!' he thought going forward on his broom, just as he was about to pick up speed a loud screech rang out.

“What the hell?” Harry muttered turning his attention to the ground below.

Looking down he saw Madam Hooch standing in the middle of the field with a whistle to her lips. Noticing that she now had the attention of the student populace she placed her wand to her throat and spoke.

“I have an announcement,” she stated in a loud echoing voice; the Quidditch players sat straighter on their brooms while the crowd leaned forward. “Today's Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw has been canceled until further notice.”

“What!” “You've got to be kidding me!” Harry and Cho yelled simultaneously.

“Can they do that?!” Mike Tellie, one of the Ravenclaw Chasers questioned, throwing Cho an incredulous look.

“Players please touch down onto the pitch and proceed into the locker rooms to change back into your school attire. All other students please follow your respective Heads back to you houses. Prefects, be sure to keep a close eye on the younger students and make sure to proceed in an orderly fashion.”

Harry and Ron shared shocked looks as they came down onto the pitch.

“What the hell is going on Harry?” Ron questioned in a harsh whisper as soon as they met up.

As the remainder of the Gryffindor team and a few of the Ravenclaw's gave him questioning looks, Harry he threw Ron a glare.

“I was up there with you, so I wouldn't bloody well know, now would I?” the dark haired boy retorted. “Bloody prat can't whisper worth a shite,” he finished in a mumble.

Ron scoffed and rolled his eyes implying that he had heard his mates comment. “Well it doesn't matter now does it, considering you don't know anything any bleedin' way?” he replied as they headed into the locker area.

Quickly changing out of their Quidditch gear, the team hurriedly made their way back to the dorms to see if they could find out what was going on. Upon reaching the crowded common room several minutes later, they were disappointed to find that no new information had been given and everyone seemed as baffled as they were as to why the game was cancelled.

As the buzz began to wind down and the common area slowly cleared out, Harry fidgeted nervously with the sleeve of his jumper. He hadn't seen Hermione since just before the game. He knew as Head Girl she was probably helping the professors out with whatever the problem was, but he was getting a bit worried. When the portrait opened his gaze snapped to the entrance and he gave a disgruntled huff of breath when Ron entered.

“Gee mate, good to see you too,” the redhead commented with a smirk.

“Sorry… have you seen Hermione?” Harry asked anxiously.

“Sorry mate, no such luck,” Ron replied sitting heavily on the couch.

Harry sighed, letting his head fall back he stared blankly at the ceiling. Ron had been called out to help the other house Prefect, Natalie McDonald almost as soon as he and Harry had entered. Professor McGonagall had come into the room a minute or two after the Quidditch team and ordered the two to do one last sweep for any stragglers. Harry had been dismayed that he hadn't been able to help, but he had hoped that Ron would at least come across Hermione and be able to let him know that she was ok. Turning his head he looked at the profile of his best mate.

“Any news on what's going on?” he inquired.

Ron gave a hitch of the shoulders “Nah, they didn't tell us anything but to check the hall for students. Didn't come across any either -pity,” he stated looking at his dark haired friend, “would have loved the opportunity to bust one of those slimy Slytherins. I just know that they're behind this.”

As Harry nodded in agreement the portrait door opened once more, sitting up he gave a relived smile when the familiar face of his girlfriend greeted him.

“Hermione,” he said, rushing to meet her.

“Hey,” she replied with a small smile as he pulled her into a hug and placed a light kiss on her lips.

“Are you ok? What's going on?” he quizzed while checking her for bruises.

“I'm fine Harry,” Hermione responded giving smile at his actions. “I wasn't there I was at the game just like everyone else when they announced the cancellation. Right after Madam Hooch broadcasted the first part, Professor McGonagall showed up and told me to go and meet up with Zach.

“To do what?” Harry asked.

“Yeah, what's going on?” Ron added.

The brunette gave a look around the room, though it was a lot emptier than before there were still several student hanging around and they all seemed to be doing their best to hear the trio's conversation.

“Let's head up to my dorm,” Hermione stated, ignoring the groans of he students that had been attempting to eavesdrop. The two boys nodded in agreement and quickly followed her to her portrait door.

“Well?” Ron asked as soon as they made it up to her sitting room with the door closed firmly behind them.

Hermione sighed and flopped down onto the couch. “Well, it was a breach.”

“A breach?” Harry questioned as he took a seat and placed an arm around his girlfriend.

“A breach?” Ron echoed plopping onto the chair and watching the dark haired girl closely.

“Well,” she said with a frown, “kind of. It was an attempted breach. Someone had tried to enter through the waters surrounding the school, luckily the mermaids found out and notified Dumbledore.”

“How did they find out?” Harry asked.

She gave a light shrug, “Don't know. We didn't receive that much information, basically they told us what they needed us to know in order to help assist with the search of the grounds.”

“What were you looking for?” Ron inquired with a frown.

“You didn't go alone did you?” Harry asked simultaneously.

“We were checking to make sure that no one had gotten onto the grounds that wasn't supposed to be here. The mermaids said that the person turned back just before making it to shore but Dumbledore wanted to be sure. -And no I went with Professor McGonagall.”

“So he cancelled the Quidditch match,” Harry stated; Hermione nodded. “So then they're sure that it was someone evil?”

“It had to be, otherwise why try to sneak onto the grounds,” she responded laying her head on his shoulder.

Hermione gave a contented sigh as her boyfriend pulled her closer and lightly stroked her arm.

“So you didn't find anything?” he asked.

When she shook her head Ron chimed in “Then how do they know that the mermaids weren't full of it?”

“Why would they lie Ronald?” she asked throwing him an annoyed look, “I mean really? Do you think they made it up just to annoy you? Oh wait -I know, maybe they're big Ravenclaw supporters and they thought Gryffindor would win so they concocted the story so you'd have to cancel your game.”

“Of course not,” the redhead responded, blushing.

“Then why ask such a stupid question?”

“Blimey, leave his head there Luv,” Harry cut in with a chuckle “he may need it.”

“Why he doesn't seem to be using it,” she muttered.

Ron scoffed while Harry grinned, “He's just confused and trying to get as much information as possible. I swear he's not asking you questions just to set you off.”

Hermione sighed, “I know, I just… I'm worried Harry. It's been a while since your last dream and if this is V-Vo-Voldemort…”

“Don't worry, the schools well protected. Look how quickly Dumbledore found out about what happened today. You're perfectly safe.”

She sat quietly for a moment before giving him an anxious look, “But are you?”

He gave her a lopsided smile, “Of course Luv, don't worry about me, yeah?”

“I can't help it.”

“Well try,” he replied before leaning down and kissing her lightly on her lips.

The second that his lips touched hers Harry knew that he wouldn't be able to pull away and he knew Hermione felt the same when her fingers threaded themselves in his dark locks.

“Okay,” Ron muttered, “Awk-ward… I'm just, gonna, you know, go now. So… yeah…”

When he heard the soft click of the portrait door, Harry knew that his friend had left. However, he also knew that he didn't care.

A.N. So that's it for this chapter on to the next. I predict about four or five more and then we're done. So see you for the next installment. PLEASE REVIEW and Ja ne!

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33. Coming Changes...

Forbidden Love

Chapter 32

Harry walked into his girlfriends' dorm and plopped down heavily onto the couch next to her, emitting a loud groan.

“Are you okay?” Hermione asked with an amused look.

“Ugh, no more questions please,” he moaned, placing his hand over his face.

“Oh, stop being such a baby,” Hermione laughed; he groaned. Still smiling, she moved over and placed a light kiss on his chin before moving to his neck, “Did you need me to make you feel better?”

Harry removed his hand from his face and looked at her, “Uh, ye-yeah, that would be great,” he whispered.

Hermione gave him a wide smile before coming forward once more and capturing his lips in a gentle kiss.

“Oh Merlin,” a voice whined, “just when my headache started to disappear I walk in on this.”

Harry pulled back and glared at Ron, “Then maybe next time you should knock.”

The redhead gave a light shrug, “Next time I will, but are you guys done this time?”

When Hermione adjusted and laid her head on his chest, Harry sighed, “I guess.”

“Good,” the other boy said, flopping unceremoniously into one of the chairs. “I've already been traumatized enough by that bloody test, I don't need to add watching Harry and Hermione snog to the list of issues for my therapist.”

“Who said you had to watch? -Perv,” the dark haired boy retorted.

“I wouldn't be able to help it, it's like a broom crash or something, you know it'll be disgusting but you just can't turn away,” Ron responded with a shrug.

“Could we please change the subject,” Hermione said, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

“Please,” Harry muttered.

Ron clapped his hands together, “Ok then! On to less nauseating things. So, we did it! We're done, N.E.W.T.s are officially behind us!”

Harry grinned, “I know, it's surreal isn't it? I mean the hardest test of our wizarding lives and we make it out virtually unscathed.”

Ron grimaced, “Speak for yourself mate, though I do believe that I did just well enough that my mum won't kill me. What about you?”

“I think I did pretty well, with Hermione's help studying I feel somewhat confident that I passed,” the other boy stated with a smile. “What about you Luv, how do you think you did?” he inquired looking down at dark haired witch.

“I aced it,” she responded, turning and giving him a wide grin, “I just know it, I went in, cool, confident and prepared and I aced it.”

“Congratulations,” Harry replied giving her a light peck.

“Wow, normally you would be freaking out right about now,” Ron responded with an incredulous look.

“Yeah, well with all the extra studying that we were able to get in I actually feel a tad more confident this time around.”

“Oh… well that's good, I guess.”

“You guess?”

“Yeah, I just hope that you don't get overconfident,” Ron stated nonchalantly while reaching forward and plucking a chocolate frog out of the dish on her table.

“Why shouldn't I get overconfident?” Hermione asked with a frown, “Did you hear something?” She threw Harry an anxious look, “Did you? Did you hear something? Oh no, I failed, didn't I? I bombed, completely blew it!” she exclaimed abruptly standing. “The biggest and most important test in my wizarding career and I blew it! I don't know what happened! I don't know how I could have blanked, maybe I studied too much, maybe I didn't study enough, maybe-”

“-Ron's an idiot,” Harry finished, catching his girlfriend mid-pace and pulling her into a hug. “I'm sure that you did fantastic, Luv. Don't let Ron get you all worked up, you knew those questions backwards and forwards and if I was able to recognize most of them with no problem, then I know that you were more than prepared.”

“That's what I thought, but-” Hermione gave Harry a wide-eyed look when he placed a finger over her lips to silence her.

“But nothing, Hermione you did great as always. I'm sure that you got a perfect score and will have your pick of every job out there so stop worrying,” he stated sternly.

“Harry…” she started; he kissed her.

“Just relax and breathe -I hear that that's important you know,” he joked, pulling away. Harry led her over to the couch and drew her back into his arms as he took a seat.

“Ok, you're right,” she said releasing a breath.

“I know,” Harry answered with a grin. She threw him an annoyed look and he laughed.

“Er… sorry about that Hermione, Harry's right I can be a bit of an idiot sometimes,” Ron commented with a sheepish look. “Forgive me?”

“Of course I forgive you.” “Of course I'm right.” Hermione and Harry stated at the same time.

Ron threw the dark haired boy a disgruntled look, “You said that like it's happened more than once.”

“It has,” Harry replied cheekily, “it's just that usually you were too obtuse to catch on.”

At that answer the redhead threw a pillow, which the other boy easily swatted away.

“You know you just finished a test that indicates that you're ready for the real world, so don't you think it's time you two started acting like adults?” Hermione reprimanded with a frown.

Harry and Ron shared a look, “Yes dear,” they quipped in unison, laughing when the brunette stuck her tongue out at them in response.

As their laughter died down, Harry gave a light shake of the head, “I can't believe that we're finally done.”

“Yeah, party in the common room tonight to celebrate! It's over -finally it's over!” Ron exclaimed, grabbing another chocolate frog to commemorate the occasion and throwing one to Harry so that he could join in.

Harry grinned, “No more potions, no more Snape!” he called out catching his frog mid-jump and taking a bite.

“No more having to watch slimy Slytherin's snog my baby sister!” Ron added, doing a cheers motion with the one leg that he had left from his.

“No more curfews!”

“No more detentions!”

“No more Filch!”

“More importantly, no more Ms. Norris!”

“I can't believe you guys!” Hermione exclaimed standing and frowning down at them. “Do you even realize what's going on?!”

“What do you mean?” Harry asked reaching for her hand.

She pulled it away, “You keep going on about “no more this” and “no more that”, well what about the other stuff there will be no more of, huh?! No more breakfasts together in the Great Hall! No more visiting Hagrid at his hut whenever we want! No more school Quidditch games! No more group trips to Hogsmeade or group study sessions! No more joking around at the end of each day or just hanging out together on weekends!”

“Hermione, we'll have time for some of that stuff,” Ron offered with a weak smile.

“And if we don't then we'll make time for it,” Harry added with a determined look.

“You still don't get it!” she cried looking frantic, her boyfriend and mate exchanged worried looks. “No more inseparable trio! No more running! No more protection during the fall! No more Dumbledore to watch out for you! No more delays!” tears began to stream unchecked down her face, “No more, Harry! No more safety! No more avoidance! Now you will have to fight Voldemort! No more peace…. No more…” she crumpled onto the couch and wept into her hands.

Harry quickly gathered her into his arms, “I… I never thought of it that way - I'm sorry. But it'll be okay Hermione, you'll see.”

“Yeah,” Ron chimed, “as for the inseparable trio thing… I don't know about you but I'm sure as hell not letting Harry leave me here to go gallivanting the countryside for the Horcruxes alone.”

Hermione laid her head against Harry's chest and turned to look at Ron. “Gallivanting?” she inquired with a sniffle and a watery smile.

The boy gave a shrug, “Hey I hung around you for seven years, something was bound to rub off sooner or later.”

She gave a wry grin, “I guess…”

Harry rubbed her back, “Please don't worry Luv. Hey look at it this way, at least now I'm officially a full fledged wizard. Honestly I'm a bit surprised that Voldemort has waited this long, but now that he has I feel a lot more equipped to handle whatever it is he's going to throw at me,” he pulled back and gave her a smile. “Especially with you by my side.”

“Oi! What am I -chopped liver?!” Ron exclaimed with an affronted look.

Harry rolled his eyes, “No, you're a bloody drama queen. Now could you shut your bleedin' cakehole, I'm trying to do something here.”

The redhead glared and muttered under his breath.

“You don't know that Harry,” Hermione whispered brokenly as her tears began anew. “What if all we've done is still not enough?”

“Hermione,” Harry stated, studying his girlfriend, “I may not know what the future holds, but I didn't know what the future held when I got accepted to Hogwarts and look where it lead me. I have friends; I have…” he looked at Ron, “family. I have love, things I was taught I would never have, that I was unworthy of, are now mine. I know that we have a long battle ahead of us and things may get a little difficult at times, but we'll pull through -together, same as always.” He gave a sad smile, “When I first learned of the prophecy I was terrified, I didn't want to die but I didn't see how I could live. Yet here I am, just two years later and though I'm still a bit afraid, I would have to be nuts not to be, I'm a lot more confident about my chances. You see then, I had just lost Sirius and I was terrified of losing the few people that I still had, I was terrified of losing myself. But now I have gained so much that I refuse to lose any of it and I won't. I can't die when I have so much to live for,” he said wiping a tear from her face.

Hermione released a shaky breath, “But-”

“But nothing. We've done enough and we'll still do more during whatever time we have left before the battle. Look, I'm under no delusions that I'm some incredibly powerful wizard that'll just blow the git away. However I'm no longer the little baby that he once tried to murder either. Besides, he couldn't kill me then and I'll be damned if I let him kill me now. So just trust in me Luv, believe in me - I need you to.”

“I do,” she whispered.

“Good, don't worry Hermione, I'll be ok -we'll,” he threw a glance to Ron before looking at her once more, “-be ok. And I promise you this; you and I will always be inseparable.”

She gave him a watery smile and he moved forward and placed a light kiss on her lips. After he pulled back, they stared into each others eyes with love and adoration until Harry heard a noise to his left. Looking over he saw Ron with his head down.

“Are you alright? Hermione asked before he could.

The redhead nodded, a scant second before they heard a small sniff.

“Ron?” Harry asked giving his mate a worried look.

The other boy was quiet for a minute before finally speaking, “That was just so bloody beautiful Harry!” he blubbered with another large sniffle.

Harry couldn't help it, he laughed.

********************

The Great Hall was abuzz with loud boisterous conversation as each of the houses rejoiced over the end of exams. Several seventh years recapped the horrors of the N.E.W.T.'s to an audience of captive fifth and sixth years, while other people pigged out on the elaborate feast.

“So then,” Ron said to a wide-eyed sixth year named Anthony Balford, “they make you take off all of your clothes and they throw stones at you. You know to see if you can get your protective shields up soon enough. If you can't then they soak you down with a hose, give you thirty lashes and do it all over again.”

Hermione shook her head and threw her boyfriend an annoyed look, “Do you believe him?”

Harry laughed, “The question is, does he?”

“Well if he does then he deserves the terror, I can't believe anyone would be basic enough to listen to a word Ron says anyway,” she responded while selecting a piece of chicken.

“I heard that,” Ron said looking at the dark haired girl and giving a distracted wave to Anthony who then rushed off to tell his fellow classmates about the new exam procedure.

“I know,” she retorted with a smug look.

Ron rolled his eyes before making a face, “Ugh, they're at it again,” he grunted tearing into a roll with added vigor.

“Who?” Harry asked.

The redhead made a jabbing motion behind him with his thumb. Turning Harry saw Ginny sitting at the Slytherin table, practically draped on Draco Malfoy like a second robe.

“Gross,” Hermione commented with a disdainful look, “there is such a thing as class you know.”

“Yeah well there's also such a thing as tact,” Neville stated, speaking for the first time since they got to the Great Hall.

“What is that suppose to mean?” Harry asked with a frown.

“It means this is all your fault, that's what it means. If you had been truthful with her instead of leading her on while you ran around with some dodgy backstabber who was supposed to be her friend, she would have never gotten involved with someone like him,” the other boy responded angrily.

The people around the two stared at him in shock for a minute before turning to Harry with expectant looks.

“See here Neville, say what you want to about me but leave Hermione out of this. Besides how does saying, “I only want to be friends” and “I don't feel the same way about you anymore” constitute leading her on?” Harry replied hotly.

“You say that, but then you still act all friendly with her-”

“That's because I wanted to be friends!” the other boy cried, Hermione placed a hand lightly on his forearm as a signal to keep it down. “Sorry…” he muttered before glaring at Neville. “I wasn't leading her on.”

Neville scoffed “You know what you did,” he threw Hermione a contemptuous look, “and so does she.”

“I told you to leave her out of this,” Harry ground out.

“Look you guys,” Dean interrupted, “this is supposed to be a celebration, it's no time to kick off.”

“Yeah,” chimed Seamus, “we're done with N.E.W.T.'s, you're supposed to be happy Neville.”

“How can I be happy when Ginny's so miserable, all because of what they did to her,” he replied giving the other boy a frown. He looked back at Harry, “Look just because you're Harry Potter doesn't mean you can treat people like crap. It also doesn't mean you can bloody well dictate what I say and what I don't. Regardless of your restrictions, she knows what she is as well as I do, whether I say it or not -I just choose to say it. You know, though there may be some people in this school who are scared of you -I'm not one of them,” he stated with a fierce glower.

Hermione, Ron, Dean and Seamus shared anxious looks as Harry sat quietly, intently watching the other boy.

“Look Neville,” he said a few minutes later in a tone that he usually reserved for Malfoy. “Just because you were too much of a bloody nancy boy to have been man enough to tell Ginny what you felt for her before she started dating Malfoy doesn't mean that that gives you free reign to run around here like some bleedin' saint. Don't be mad at me because you wanted what I had, but it didn't want you. Oh, and as for what you think that Hermione may or may not be…” he leaned forward on the table, “it would be best if you kept that to yourself. You know, I never wanted or deserved anyone's fear -until now.” He raised his wand and placed it discreetly at the other boys' neck, looking him directly in the eyes he finished in a steely tone. “So what I want you to do is give it a go. Tell me what you think she is… show me how brave you are, and I'll show you how misplaced that bravery was.”

“Harry,” Hermione stated anxiously looking around the hall. Luckily, people were so wrapped up in celebrating that everyone short of the few people at their section of table remained oblivious to the dangerous situation brewing between the two older boys. “Please Harry,” she whispered touching his arm.

“Come on mate,” Ron hissed, “we have less than a week. Getting expelled and sent to Azkaban less than a week before you graduate is just bloody stupid. Hell if you were going to do that you could have done it first year… or at least last week and saved yourself the headache of taking the N.E.W.T.”

“Yeah, besides… Neville was just kidding,” nervously added Seamus, “right Neville?”

The two boys continued to stare at one another seemingly ignoring the comments around them, until Neville's gaze wavered.

“Right,” he muttered, looking down at the table.

Giving a nod, Harry lowered his wand and took a seat; as soon as he did Neville stood from the table and stormed out of the hall. Harry watched the retreating back of a bloke that he use to call his mate, before running an agitated hand thorough his hair.

“You didn't need to do that you know,” Hermione said from next to him. He shook his head but didn't respond. “He was just venting Harry, he didn't mean it. Just give him a little while.”

He rolled his eyes, “That's what you said about Ginny,” he commented throwing his girlfriend a look. “So does this mean for graduation we should be on to look out for a Neville, Pansy match?”

Dean snorted into his potatoes, Hermione rolled her eyes and Ron and Seamus groaned.

“Blimey, mate!” the red haired boy exclaimed, “I was trying to eat! Now not only do I have to put up with seeing my sister snog Malfoy, but I get to add an image of Neville snogging Pansy to it too!”

“Ok, that's a mental image I did not need,” Hermione commented dryly, giving a small shudder.

“Could we please talk about something else,” added Seamus.

“Anything else,” chimed a pale looking Ron.

For the first time since his exchange with Neville, Harry cracked a smile. “And here I thought Ron was the only drama queen in our mist.”

“Hey! I am not a queen!” the redheaded boy exclaimed, blushing when several students turned and looked at him.

“Of course you're not Ronald,” Hermione stated giving him a light pat on the arm. “You're a Plumperdink,” she finished with an impish grin.

He threw Harry an arrested look, “You told her!”

His mate blushed and turned back to his food.

“Don't blame Harry,” Hermione stated over the laughter of the people who had overheard the nickname. “I had to force it out of him.”

“I don't care -I can't believe you told her. I would have never let Luna force anything out of me about you,” Ron responded still frowning.

“I couldn't help it,” Harry gave Ron a roughish grin, “you'd be surprised what she can force out of me mate.”

Hermione punched him in the arm while the boys at the table chortled at the implications.

“Right'o mate,” Ron said with a wide grin, “then you're forgiven.”

Hermione threw a roll at him, “You pig.”

“What? I-” he was cut off as Dumbledore called all attention to the front of the hall.

The five of them shared confused looks before turning to watch the Headmaster.

“Now I know that I usually reserve these long talks for the beginning of the year, however we can all do with a bit of spontaneity now and again,” he gave Harry an amused look and the younger wizard blushed. “As you all know, this years N.E.W.T.'s are over,” applause and whistles rang out. “To my dear seventh years you have less than one more week in our hallowed halls before you are released into the wizarding world. The usual routine is that the students enjoy their last moments as students, uninterrupted by classes or lectures. Spending four free days together completely unencumbered, to have some last -and hopefully profound- moments with your friends before moving into adult life.” He gave a small smile. “However this year there will be a slight -change in plans. In three days hence your parents will arrive,” a ripple of groans and exclamations of dismay rang out from the seventh years. “I realize that this may be inconvenient for you, but I do hope that my reason for doing so will get at least,” he threw and amused glance to the Slytherin table, “some of you, to forgive me. Earlier this month we had a bit of a disturbance which caused several things to be moved, cancelled or postponed.”

Harry and Ron threw Hermione curious looks but she responded with a baffled expression and a small hitch of her shoulders.

“Since that small disruption is no longer a factor I have decided that the things that were postponed shall now be rescheduled,” At this statement the students began to whisper excitedly. “So in order to avoid having such a glorious cup go to waste, I am pleased to announce that this year and for the first time in Hogwarts history we will be having a Quidditch match after exams. Ravenclaw, Gryffindor,” Dumbledore gave small smile to both tables, “I truly hope that you're ready. I'd hate for you to embarrass yourselves -in front of your families.”

The Great Hall was in an uproar. Harry looked at Hermione with a shocked expression. The Quidditch game between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor was back on! And the families were going to be there to watch!

“Wow…” Hermione said with a light shake of the head, “my dad's going to have a conniption.”

Harry and Ron both nodded, still too stunned to actually form words.

As people began to come over to congratulate them, the two boys slowly came out of their stupor.

“Isn't it just wonderful Ronald,” Luna said from the spot she had taken next to her boyfriend. “Your parents are going to get to watch you play a real game,” she frowned, “I just hope that the Faltrust leaves Ginny before your mum and dad get here or things won't be pretty.”

Hermione frowned, “What in the world is a Faltrust?”

“Oh, it's a type of leech that creeps into you're ear while you're sleeping and takes over your mind. It makes you do the strangest things, once my dad did an interview with a woman who was possessed by one and she just got up and jumped out of the window right in the middle of it,” she replied in a musical tone.

“What! Wh-w- was she hurt!” the brunette exclaimed with a worried look.

“Oh not at all,” the blond replied with a serene smile, “in fact right after she landed she just walked away.”

“Without a scratch?” Harry inquired; Luna nodded her head.

“She didn't have to see a healer or anything?” asked Ron taken aback.

“Nope,” the other girl replied.

“Luna?” Hermione asked arching a brow, “Just what floor was this interview on?”

The blond gave her a curious look “Why the first floor of course.”

Hermione smirked, “Of course.”

Harry and Ron both smacked themselves on the head before laughing. How could they not have thought of that? Grinning and now feeling more like his old self since before his run in with Neville, Harry stood and called his team over. They needed to discuss practice and strategy.

A.N. Well that's it for this chapter. Next chapter the families arrive. Hope you check it out! PLEASE REVIEW and Ja ne!!!

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34. Parental Welcomes

Forbidden Love

Chapter 33

Hermione threw an annoyed look to her boyfriend as he shifted anxiously next to her once more.

“Relax will you,” she hissed, looking around at the other students.

Everyone was standing in the front of the school waiting for the carriages carrying the families to pull in. They were supposed to be arriving sometime within the next couple of minutes.

“How am I suppose to relax?” he questioned in a disgruntled tone. “In the next two minutes your mum and dad are going to be here.” Harry looked at his girlfriend, “So not only am I going to come face to face with your parents for the first time since we started dating, but I also have to deal with the fact that you hadn't even bothered to tell them about us.”

Hermione blushed and winced, “Right… well, I just didn't want to have to put up with my mum.”

“What does your mum have to do with you hiding our relationship?”

“I wasn't hiding it -I was… keeping it private. And as for my mum, she has everything to do with it,” when Harry arched a brow as a silent signal for her to continue, Hermione groaned. “Well, you see my mum has been saying that we fancied each other since before we were ready to admit it ourselves, in fact she was completely sure that we were going to be together. So when she finds out that we're dating then I'm certain she's going to gloat so much that it'll be virtually impossible to deal with.”

Harry scoffed, “Let me get this straight -you keep us a secret from your mum, because you didn't want to admit you were wrong?”

The brunette turned a bright red, “We-well not really…”

“Then what, really?”

“Uh… I kept us a secret because…” she winced, “because I didn't want to let her know she was right?”

He rolled his eyes, “Same bleedin' thing Hermione and you know it,” he responded with a light shake of the head and a quick scan for the carriages once more. “Brilliant, just bloody brilliant, so now not only do I have to deal with your parents reactions to us, I also have to deal with the Weasley's reactions as well-” he gave her a peeved look, “thanks.”

“Er… you're welcome?” Hermione joked, giving a small grimace when he glowered at her. “I'm sorry Harry, I really am, but I'll be there with you for both and hopefully we'll make it out with most of our body parts intact.”

“Gee, I feel so much better,” he muttered with a chuckle.

Hermione got on her toes and gave him a light kiss on the lips and a wide smile, “It'll work out, you'll see.”

Harry sighed, “Yeah… I just, I don't know, I really hope the Weasley's are still speaking to me.”

“I'm positive they are.”

“Well I suppose one of should be positive, since I'm defiantly not. I mean, sure Ron took it well -but that was before Ginny started dating Malfoy. What if the whole family bloody well hates me? After all I couldn't blame them if they did, now could I?” he inquired anxiously.

Hermione turned him to face her and rested a cool hand on his warm check, offering a smile. “It'll be okay, you're like family to the Weasleys-”

“That's just it, I'm like family… Ginny is family,” he sighed.

Hermione gave a surprised look to Ron as he placed a hand on Harry's shoulder, “Don't worry mate, I know my mum and dad -it'll work out.”

“Yeah, if anything they'll probably just be mad at me,” his girlfriend offered with a smile.

“I don't want that either,” Harry replied frowning, “I wouldn't be able to stand it if they got mad at you, but were fine with me. After all I was the one that was supposed to be dating Ginny, not you, and the last thing I need is you getting blamed like Ron did. This is my fault, not anyone else's.”

“Actually Harry,” Luna chimed in her normal musical tone, “it's no one's fault.”

“Really, so what magical creature caused this then?” the dark haired boy asked with a harassed look.

She gave a small frown, “Well… I wouldn't exactly call love a magical creature -though when you do find it, it is like the most wonderfully magical feeling ever, isn't it?” Luna finished with a tranquil smile and a thoughtful look.

Hermione and Ron gave her surprised looks; that had not been the answer they were expecting.

“Yes Luna,” Harry replied after a moment of stunned silence, offering her a small smile, “yes it is.”

She grinned back, then leaning against her amused looking boyfriend looked reflectively up at the sky. “It's also quite powerful. Face it, you two didn't have anymore of a chance than Ronald and I did.” She glanced back at him one more, “It'll work out Harry… you'll see.”

Harry opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted by loud exclamations of excitement. The families were coming. Hermione gave her boyfriend's hand a light squeeze as she searched the incoming carriages anxiously for the familiar faces of her mum and dad.

“There they are,” Harry said after a moment.

Following the direction that he was pointing she saw her mum and dad sitting in a carriage with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Hermione's eyes widened and she could feel herself beginning to panic -what if they told them already?!

“Harry…” she said nervously, he didn't comment but gave her hand a light squeeze.

“Ok, so… I guess it's now or never,” Ron commented giving them a look.

“Can we take the never option?” Hermione responded with a tense laugh.

The redhead rolled his eyes in reply and pushed his mates towards the carriage, which had just come to a halt a few feet away. Harry and Hermione shared nervous looks as they neared the coach.

“Hermione!” Ella Granger exclaimed with a wide grin when she spotted her daughter.

“Mum!” Hermione yelled returning the smile and rushing the rest of the way forward.

She and Harry reached them just in time for him to help Ella out of the coach.

“Thank you Harry,” Mrs. Granger said with a smile, just before pulling the boy into a tight hug. “You still look smashing,” she teased merrily.

Harry blushed. “Thank you…”

“Hey there Harry old chap, how are you?” Mr. Granger asked hopping down from the carriage as his wife hugged his daughter.

“I'm fine sir,” Harry responded shaking the older man's outstretched hand.

Dan nodded and then gave a curious look back to their transportation as he pulled his daughter into a loose hug, “Do these things always pull themselves?”

Harry grinned, “Actually they don't pull themselves,” at the two parent's surprised looks he elaborated, “you see, they're pulled by a couple of -well, I guess you could call them, magical horses. They're called Thestrals.”

“Really?” Ella asked in a surprised tone before looking once more at the seemingly empty space in front of the coach.

“Yes, really,” Harry responded with a jovial smile before going forward and petting the nose of one of the creatures.

“You're touching it?” Mrs. Granger inquired examining the space where the dark haired boy's hand seemed to be touching something.

“Yep, you know you can too,” he replied with a wink.

“Really?” she asked, at his nod she held up her hand. Harry took her wrist and guided it to the creature's neck, moving it in slow stroking motions.

“See?”

“Oh my gosh! Dan, Dan -there's something there!” she exclaimed turning and looking at her husband with an excited look. “I can't believe this,” she finished in an awestruck tone as she continued to rub the creature's neck.

“Be careful honey, you don't know how that things reacting to you,” Dan warned with a frown.

Harry and Hermione shared a look. “Don't worry sir,” he said with a small smile' “he's perfectly calm. Aren't you?” He asked, scratching the Thestral under its chin.

“Wait?” Dan commented coming forward, “You can see it?”

Harry blushed, “Yes.”

“How?”

“Dad, lets not get into that, okay?” Hermione asked, shooting her boyfriend a look.

Harry smiled at her and gave a shrug. “That's alright Hermione,” he looked back at Mr. Granger. “Well… you see they're not invisible. It's just that only certain people can see them.”

“What kind of people?” Ella inquired with a frown.

Harry blushed once more and looked at the ground, “Only people who have seen death.”

Ella and Dan Granger stood in stunned silence.

“So Dad,” Hermione commented after a minute, “did you hear?”

“Uh, hear what Pumpkin?” Mr. Granger asked looking back at his daughter.

“That they're going to be having a real Quidditch game while you guys are here. Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw,” she answered smiling.

“Oh yes, I heard. Arthur Weasley mentioned it to me on the ride up, can't wait to see you in action Harry” he commented giving the dark haired boy a grin and wink. “Hey… speaking of the Weasley's, where did they go?” he looked around for the other couple.

“They're over there dear,” his wife answered, pointing to his far right.

In the distance the Weasley family, minus Ginny, was gathered around talking and joking with one another. The twins seemed to be teasing Ron and Luna to no end, if their beet red faces were any indication, while Mr. and Mrs. Weasley just stood back and watched the scene with contented smiles.

“Lets head over then,” Dan said turning, when he made a step in that direction his daughter grabbed his hand.

“Daddy I don't think we should…” she stated nervously.

“Why Pumpkin? Is everything alright?”

“Well… kind of…”

“Did you and Ron have a row?” her mum asked with a frown.

“Well… you see… Ron and I kind of broke up a while ago.”

“So let me guess, you two weren't able to go back to being friends?” Ella inquired with a sympathetic look.

“Well, er… it's not exactly that,” she continued when they gave her confused looks. “You see Ron and I are still friends -best mates really. Actually, his new girlfriend Luna and I -you remember Luna don't you? …From Christmas? Well, we get along great too. We often all just hang out and study together…”

“I'm sorry Pumpkin but I don't understand,” her dad said with a frown, “what's the problem then?”

Hermione and Harry shared a look.

“Uh, the problem isn't my relationship with Ron… it's my relationship with Ginny,” she replied biting her lip.

Her mum's eyes flicked between the two teens before setting on her daughter. “What's wrong with you and Ginny?”

“You see….” Hermione took a deep breath and fidgeted with her hands, “Well, it… the problem with Ginny and I… is….”

“Me,” Harry stated stepping forward. Looking at the older couple he took a deep breath before reaching out and clasping Hermione's hand in his own. “I broke up with Ginny to be with Hermione and she wasn't too happy about it,” he finished with a worried look.

“You mean… You two?” Dan said looking between the two teens.

Harry and Hermione looked at each other once more before blushing and nodding.

Ella Granger shook her head and scoffed, “Well it's about bloody time!”

Harry threw her a surprised look while Hermione's blush deepened.

“How long?” she asked looking between the two.

“Uh… almost five months,” Harry answered, wincing when the older woman frowned.

Ella directed her displeased gaze at her daughter, “And you didn't tell me? How could you not tell me Hermione?”

“I'm sorry mum, I just… well I just didn't know how.”

Her mum snorted, “Please, the only thing you don't know how to do is admit when you're wrong.”

“I wonder where she gets it,” Mr. Granger grumbled.

“What was that Dan?” Ella asked rounding on her husband.

He gave her a grin, “What was what, dear?”

“What you said.”

“Sorry, I don't remember what I said. But then again, like you said I am getting a bit senile in my old age,” he responded with a smug look.

She poked him in the shoulder, “I'm going to remember that lippy comment later you know.”

“Good dear, one of us has to.”

The two teens chuckled at the conversation before sobering somewhat as the Weasley's began to head in their direction on their way to the school.

“I'm sure it'll be alright Harry,” Hermione whispered.

“Arthur, Molly,” Ella said with a smile, “there you are. We were wondering where you had gone off to.”

“We were right over there talking to the kids,” Mrs. Weasley responded returning the smile.

“Hey there Ron,” Mr. Granger said, “I look forward to seeing you play later.” He gave the blond next to the other boy a kind smile, “Luna, very nice to see you again too, of course.”

“Thank you,” she replied with an uncharacteristic blush.

“I can't wait either,” Ron answered, “though the person you should really be watching is Harry, he's awesome on the field.”

“Hear, Hear,” said Fred, “best Seeker we ever had, Harry was.”

“You could always count on him to find the snitch,” added George.

“Yeah, it was staying on his broom he had problems with,” Fred commented with a wide grin.

“But you have to give they guy credit, I've never seen anyone fall with so much style,” George finished with an appreciative nod and a wink.

“Ha -ha,” the dark haired boy commented dryly.

“Well I do look forward to seeing you in action Harry,” said Mr. Weasley, “I've been hearing about how great you are for the past several years. It'll be nice to finally get to see for myself.”

Harry blushed, “W-well, thanks sir. I just hope I can live up to what you've heard.”

“I'm sure you will, I-”

“Ron, have you seen Ginny?” Mrs. Weasley interrupted; and uncomfortable silence descended upon the group.

“Uh, not since breakfast,” Ron answered after a minute.

“I could help you find her,” Harry offered, thinking of the Marauders Map.

The other woman was quiet for a moment before looking up at the sky “I believe that you've done enough Harry.”

“Mrs. Weasley,” Hermione started but was cut off as her mum put a hand on her shoulder.

“Well we'll let you guys do what you have to,” Ella Granger said with a smile. “We'll just see you guys at lunch before the game.”

“I don't think so,” Molly Weasley replied looking at the other woman. “I think that this afternoon we should really have a private lunch, you know… just,” she looked at Harry “-family,” she turned and walked away.

The dark haired boy snapped his eyes shut as pain coursed through him.

“Molly!” Arthur Weasley exclaimed giving his wife a frown and Harry a strained smile before turning to follow her.

“She didn't mean it Harry,” Fred said.

“Yeah, she's just in a mood,” offered George.

“She'll get over it,” chimed Ron.

Harry gave a mirthless smile and shrugged his shoulders. “What does it matter anyway? -It's not like she was my mum or anything,” he commented tonelessly before turning and walking towards the lake.

Hermione turned to rush after him but was forestalled as her mum took her arm.

“I'll handle this,” she said but before she could do so her husband placed a hand on her shoulder.

“No dear, I will.”

----------

Harry tossed another leaf onto the sparkling lake water, staring lifelessly at the shining surface.

“Hello Harry,” Dan Granger said taking a seat next to him. “Wow, this place is beautiful, is that due to magic or does nature get the credit?”

Harry didn't respond but instead sat quietly, picking at random blades of grass.

“Then again, some people may say that nature is magic,” Dan continued after the silence had stretched for a minute. The older man gave a sigh “Look Harry, we both know I'm not here to talk about the joys and wonders of nature… I'm not going to say that I know what you're going through; I don't think anyone can. But I will say that whatever it may be you don't have to go through it alone.” The dark haired boy gave him a sidelong look, “You have Hermione, Ron, his girlfriend Luna… not to mention any of your other friends.” He sighed, “Look I don't really know you well Harry so I don't know everyone you have in your life but I do know you have people there. Not just the ones I mentioned either… you have Ella and I too.”

Harry scoffed, “For how long?” he looked at the older man, “Until Hermione and I break up, or have our first big fight? I'm not an idiot Mr. Granger, I know that any affiliation that I have with any family is only temporary. I'm not really a member; I'm just a guest.” Harry gave him a sad look, “My parent's are dead- gone. They can't be here for me and neither can my Godfather, he's dead too. The only people in my life that share my blood would collectively give their right arms for the possibility to shed it and have me out of their lives for good. For the past seven years the Weasleys have treated me like family, like their eighth son and now… now they don't even want to have lunch at the same table as me.”

“First of all Harry, Molly was the only one who expressed that sentiment. Second she was just upset, I'm sure it'll blow over.”

The dark haired boy shook his head, “No it's not “only Molly” it's Mrs. Weasley, the glue that holds the family together… and the closest thing I've had to a mum my whole life,” he finished in a hurt whisper.

“She'll get over it-”

“And what if she doesn't?! What if she never wants to see me again?! Do you really think I'll get any more invitations for the holidays then? Or any more birthday presents or anyone who gives a damn about my health or my life short of saving the Wizarding world?!”

“So you put that little importance on what my daughter feels for you?” Dan asked with a frown, “Does how much she cares about you come into account? Do you think that your life doesn't matter to her? Because it does -look Harry I may not know a lot about you, but I know my Pumpkin. The way she talks about you, the way she looks at you… the way she is with you. This last break, I had never seen her act so alive, so happy. You mean a lot to her, a whole lot and I hate to think her feelings are one sided.”

“N-no sir, they're not, I-” he licked his lips and looked the older man in the eyes. “I love your daughter, more than anything…”

Dan arched a brow, “More than Molly Weasley?”

Harry chuckled and looked down, “Yes.”

“Good, then pull yourself together man. Whether you are or are not still included in the esteemed Weasley family lunches, you have now joined the ranks of the Grangers. A slightly less boisterous but still, if you count my wife, quite mischievous lot. With a penchant for problem solving, getting our way and stubbornness; also with a history of loyalty to those we care about.” Mr. Granger grinned and gave a wink. “Welcome to the ranks my boy, laundry is every Thursday but we don't do underwear,” he arched a brow, “-or windows.”

Harry laughed, “Good to know.”

“Besides Harry if I were you I wouldn't worry,” Dan commented standing and extending a hand to the younger boy, helping him up. “I think my wife likes you better than Hermione anyway, so if things don't work out we might just keep you and throw her back.”

Harry laughed harder, “I don't think I could let you do that sir.”

Mr. Granger gave him a grin and a hearty clap on the back, “Good answer my boy, good answer.”

A.N. Well that's it for this chapter, as for the next one… Quidditch anyone? Stay tuned and PLEASE REVIEW!!! Ja ne!

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35. Quidditch Anyone?

Forbidden Love

Chapter 34

Three hours later Harry and Ron walked into the Great Hall together discussing how brilliantly practice had gone. The game was two hours after lunch and the Gryffindor team had never felt more prepared. Just before practice, Harry had had an epiphany and out of nowhere. New ideas for strategies had come to him. Everyone had instantly latched onto the fresh approach and quickly taken to working together like a well oiled machine on the field. Now Gryffindor had a whole new game plan than they did just yesterday, however there was one problem. Ginny Weasley -the younger witch had decided not to show up for today's practice, so therefore she had no idea what her team would be doing on the pitch. This meant that the reserve Chaser Millicent Crawford -who had covered for her today, would have to be the one to play the game this afternoon. A situation that most, if not all, of the team seemed to be quite thrilled about…

`Then again,' Harry thought with a frown `they're not the ones who have to tell Ginny or Mrs. Weasley about the change of plans.'

“Harry!” Hermione called.

Hearing her voice, Harry was pulled out of his gloomy thoughts and immediately began to relax a bit. The dark haired boy quickly scanned the Gryffindor table for his girlfriend, locating her a moment later. He hurried over to join her, however as he neared and got a better view of the area his steps faltered. The Grangers were sitting towards the middle of the large table… right next to the Weasley's. In fact Mr. Weasley and Mr. Granger were involved in what looked to be a lighthearted conversation about something. The dark haired boy threw a glance back to the entrance, seriously considering turning around.

“Harry?!” Hermione called again, watching him with a confused expression.

“Go on mate, I'm wasting away here,” Ron said giving him a small shove.

Harry shook his head and threw a distressed look to Mrs. Weasley who was watching him with a frown. “I can't…”

Ron sighed. “Harry, look I'm sure my mum is probably over it already. Just go on.”

The dark haired boy shook his head again, giving one more fleeting glance to the older woman frowning at him from the table. He quickly squeezed past Ron and headed towards the door.

“So you're not even going to eat?” his mate asked following after him. “Harry, we have a huge game in a couple of hours, you can't play well on an empty stomach.”

Harry threw the other boy a look “No Ron, you can't play well on an empty stomach I can play just fine.” When Ron frowned he sighed, “Look, I'll have Dobby bring me something to the dorm okay?”

“Harry-”

“Just leave it Ron, I'll catch you later,” he finished, cutting his friend off and jogging out of the hall.

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Harry distractedly pushed his mashed potatoes around with a cold drumstick as his mind replayed the events of the day. So this was it, his relationship with the Weasley family was at an end. He sighed and put down the piece of poultry, wiping his hand on a napkin before running it through his hair.

It was amazing really; he had never realized that loosing someone living was actually just as painful, if not more, than loosing someone who had died. After all, even though he would never get to see his parent's or Sirius again at least he knew they didn't want to leave him. But with the Weasley's… they had made a choice. Harry sighed, sure it was just Mrs. Weasley for now, but how long would it be until the rest of them - with the exception of Ron of course - forgot about him?

Harry was pulled out of his depressing thoughts when he heard the portrait door open. Sitting up a bit straighter in his seat, he briefly considered trying to act like nothing was wrong, but nixed that idea almost as swiftly as it came. Hermione knew him better than anyone so why bother.

“How was lunch?” he asked while still looking down at his own virtually uneaten meal in a last ditch effort to avoid the topic he knew she would wish to discuss.

“I've had better.”

Harry's head snapped up and he stared in shock at Molly Weasley.

“But I may be a bit biased, since I was usually the one to make it,” she continued with a small smile. “I -I hope you don't mind. I got the password from Ron, he and Hermione were sure that this was where you had gone…”

Harry looked down briefly before giving a small shrug, “I don't mind…”

“Good… well,” she looked around nervously, “I just, well I wanted to talk to you Harry. If I could -I understand if you don't want to, with the way I acted earlier but-”

“Of course I want to,” he interrupted, “I mean, I…”

She gave him a kind smile, “I understand. Look Harry, earlier today I was out of line and I apologize.”

“That's okay, you had every right to be upset.”

“I sure did, but not at you. It was just -when I didn't see Ginny there and then I saw you there with Hermione I blamed the two of you for her absence.” She held up a finger when Harry opened his mouth to comment, “Just let me say this. Between my two children in this school I'm pretty well versed on both sides of what's been going on here. I must admit at first I was quite angry to hear about what you two had done behind Ginny's back,” Harry bit his lip and looked down. “However, as Ron explained, you and Ginny were broken up at the time so technically you hadn't done anything wrong.”

“Hermione didn't either,” Harry interrupted with a frown.

Mrs. Weasley made a face “Her, I'm still on the fence about.”

“Why?”

“Because she was supposed to be Ginny's best friend.”

“So, I was supposed to be Ron's,” Harry retorted, “besides Hermione and Ginny were hardly best friends. True they were mates, but everyone knew that they generally couldn't spend more than a day around one another with out arguing at least five times and driving everyone within hearing range to distraction.”

The older woman gave a slight incline of the head. “Well… that is true, but they were still mates and Hermione shouldn't have done what she did.”

“Fair enough,” conceded Harry, “but in that case Ron shouldn't have done what he did, and neither should Luna have. After all, Luna was a member of the D.A. and though she and Hermione didn't really hang out, they still considered themselves friends.” The dark-haired boy stated before giving her an inquiring look. “So I do hope that you got on her for what she did to Hermione, you know going behind her back to be with your son.”

“Fine Harry, you've made your point.”

“So you're not mad at Hermione?”

“A little yes I am, but Ginny's my daughter and as her mother it's my duty to maintain that bit of self righteous anger.”

Harry chuckled, “I'll give you that.”

“Either way that's neither here nor there,” Mrs. Weasley continued brusquely. “What I came up here to say was that I'm sorry, I shouldn't have blamed you for Ginny's recent actions.” She shook her head. “You know Ron had told us that lately she's been acting like a bit of a brat, but today we got to see if first hand.” Molly sighed wearily, “At first she was happy to see everyone, but when she caught wind of her father and the boys trying to talk to me on your behalf her demeanor changed.”

“Then when we asked about her relationship with that Malfoy boy,” she frowned, “well that bit of lip that she gave her dad almost had me put her across my knee right there in the Great Hall. I haven't seen her act this way since she was a little girl,” she rubbed her temples. “And though it would be easy to blame you… both of you, I don't -well, not anymore. After all, Ginny's almost in her last year of Hogwarts and nearly to her adult life, these temper tantrums just won't do. You should have seen the ruckus she caused when Ron tired to get her to go to Quidditch practice,” she shook her head.

“That's okay, Mrs. Weasley… uh, speaking of Quiddi-”

“No it isn't,” Molly interrupted, “I shouldn't have treated you that way. I'm very sorry if I hurt you.”

“You didn't,” Harry replied looking out the window.

“Really?” He nodded. “So then why did you leave the Great Hall?”

He looked down and scratched the back of his neck. “Ok so you may have hurt me a bit…” glancing up at her he blushed, “or a lot.”

“Oh Harry dear, I regret what I said to you. I've always tried to be like a mother to you-”

“You were,” he interrupted, “which is why it…” he trailed off with a sad smile.

She came forward and gathered him I a tight hug, “I promise I'll never do anything like that again, ever. I'm so sorry Harry.”

They hugged for a few minutes longer before the older woman pulled back and tisked at him for not finishing his food. Then grabbing his arm she lead him down the stairs of Hermione's dorm and back towards the Great Hall.

“Uh Mrs. Weasley,” Harry said hesitantly as they made their way down the hall.

“Yes dear.”

“About the Quidditch game…”

She threw him a small smile “Don't worry, Ron already told us.”

“All of you?” he asked wincing.

Molly nodded, “Yes and she threw a fit, but he had told her to go to practice. That's what happens when you don't do what you should,” she then gave a small sigh and regarded Harry curiously. “Do you suppose you can answer a question for me Harry?”

He raised his brows in surprise and nodded slowly.

“Since as a mother I should be mad at Hermione for taking Ginny's boyfriend… do I also have to be mad at that Millicent girl for taking her Quidditch spot too?”

Harry opened his mouth and closed it, clearing his throat, “I..er, well… I don't know… maybe?”

Mrs. Weasley shook her head, “You know being a parent is turning into quite the bothersome job,” she stated as they headed into the Great Hall. “Do yourself a favor Harry, don't have kids… have pets.”

**********************

Hermione looked over at her dad and gave a small smile. Dan Granger was practically beside himself with excitement as he looked over the massive pitch filled to the brim with students, teachers and parents. She chuckled as he leaned over the railing and looked down at the substantial drop to the grass below.

“They put us up here so we can see the game better daddy,” she said when she saw his surprised look. “Now you're more eye level with the action and you don't get as much of a crick in your neck from looking up.”

“Ahh,” Dan responded noncommittally as he studied the layout.

Hermione looked at her mum who just rolled her eyes and smiled.

“Here ye! Here ye! And welcome to the last and most exciting game of the season!”

“Yes, you have the wonderful, talented and brilliant Gryffindors!!!! Against…that other team…”

Hermione rolled her eyes heavenward and chuckled as a chorus of cheers and boos rang out. She could not believe that Dumbledore had actually allowed the Weasley twins to announce the game.

“Alright, alright we here ya!” yelled Fred.

“Yeah keep your knickers on!” added George.

“The other team is Ravenclaw,” said Fred in a monotone voice.

The Gryffindors laughed at their antics while the Ravenclaws cheered loudly for their house.

“So let's get this victory -I mean show on the road!” called George.

“Yeah and let's hope Harry stays on his broom,” muttered Fred, causing most of the students to laugh and the parents to look around confused.

“Here you are, your clever…” George stated.

“-but not enough,” threw in Fred.

“smart…”

“-at certain stuff,”

“hardworking…”

“-they'll need to be,”

“Quidditch players…”

“-I guess we'll see,”

“for Ravenclaw!!!!”

The Ravenclaw students burst into thunderous applause as their house flew out from the team entrance lead by Seeker Cho Chang. The team circled the pitch twice, waving at family and pumping up their house.

“Okay, okay, enough of that,” commented George.

“Now on to the main event!” added Fred. “The Brave!”

“The Bold!”

“The Daring!

“And The Strong!!!”

“Miiiiiigty Grrrryyyyfffiiinnndddooorrrssss!!!!” they finished in unison.

Hermione and the rest of the Gryffindor stands went wild as the players flew into the pitch lead by Harry. The Gryffindor team circled the area evenly spaced out, growling and roaring at the audience, sounding exactly like of a pack of lions headed off to hunt. Hermione grinned, so that was what he wanted those magical animal crackers for. Harry gave her a smile and a wink as he flew past before the team went to their starting positions. A moment later Madam Hooch blew the whistle and the game began.

Hermione watched in awe along with her dad as the Gryffindors played as she had never seen them play before. Their speed was lightning fast and their passes were flawless, if she hadn't known any better she may have thought she was watching a professional match. She watched with keen interest as Beaters Charlie and Verruca volleyed the two bludgers between them until Chasers Millicent and Dean were right on Ravenclaw Keeper Finnius McGee, at which time they released them in rapid succession. The Ravenclaw Beaters hurried to block the dangerous balls but were only able to successfully guard one; the other went into Finnius at full force. Knocking him soundly off of his broom, out of the game and allowing the Chasers to simply toss the quaffle into the goal making Gryffindor first on the scoreboard.

“Brilliant!” exclaimed Fred over the roar of the crowd.

“Just bleedin' brilliant!” added George.

“Beaters after me own heart.”

George nodded, “I don't know about you, but I feel a tear coming on.”

When his twin sniffled Hermione and her mum looked at one another and burst into laughter. Turning back to the game a moment later, she noticed with great amusement that the Beaters were guarding the new Keeper Taylor Winterborne like she was the bloody crown princess.

“Go Gryffindor!!!!” Dan Granger shouted when Ron blocked his third quaffle, and the rest of the stands quickly joined in.

Hermione glanced up at the skies and smiled at Harry who was watching the game distractedly from above as he searched for the snitch. Realizing that he was on a mission to win the game for his house she didn't get upset… well -too upset, when he didn't notice her. Instead she was pulled back down to the action below as Gryffindor scored yet again, it's third score in the last fifteen minutes; enabling their team with a forty to none lead over Ravenclaw.

Hermione watched with baited breath as Charlie hit a bludger towards Ravenclaw Chaser Mike, who instead of moving, just closed his eyes and cringed. The blond released a sigh of relief when Beater Marion Baxter reached him just in time to hit the ball away. However while this was going on Verrucca took it as her opportunity to knock the bludger towards Taylor, who was just barely guarded by the other Ravenclaw Beater Daniel Matherhorn from, not only that bludger, but also the one that Charlie had volleyed his way when Marion had hit it back at him. Ravenclaw was so busy cheering their Beaters for avoiding the obviously planned attack that they forgot to watch the goal, something that they realized too late when Angela scored another goal for Gryffindor.

“That's it, that's it, it's over!!” bellowed George.

“Absolutely deadly they are! Keeping them on the defense so much-”

“-that they have no time for offense!”

Hermione grinned as she realized that this was what Harry had meant earlier when he had mentioned that they had a completely new and brilliant strategy.

“Did you see that Pumpkin!!!” Her dad exclaimed excitedly, not removing his eyes from the game. “I knew this was a great game but who would have thought!!! -Yeah!!!” He finished when Ron blocked another of Ravenclaws attempts to score.

Hermione laughed.

“Wow dear, this really is exhilarating isn't it,” Her mum said from her other side. “I can see why you like it so much, but… what does Harry do?”

“He looks for the snitch mum,” she answered looking at the older woman. “It's a little golden ball about the size of a walnut that flies with amazing agility, it changes speed and direction almost instantaneously and if he can catch it, it ends the game and earns Gryffindor another one hundred and fifty points.”

“Really?” Ella asked, frowning when Hermione nodded “Isn't that a bit unfair then? I mean if you have one hundred and fifty points with scoring alone and the other team has ten, then they can steal the win if their…er, was it Seeker?” she nodded once more “If their Seeker finds if first?”

“Yep.”

“Well that's just bloody stupid,” Ella responded looking back at the game.

Hermione smiled at her mum a moment longer before looking up at Harry once more. He looked so good sitting on his broom like that with the light wind ruffling his hair. Hermione gave a sigh, swatting at an insect as if flew by her face. Biting her lip she stared intently at her boyfriend willing him to look down at her, if only for a moment. As she swatted away the stupid dragonfly or whatever it was again she noticed Harry finally look her way. The dark haired boy smiled and she grinned in return, blowing him a discreet kiss. He blushed before suddenly turning serious.

As Harry continued to study her curiously Hermione gave him a questioning look. Straitening her hair and her robes she gave him a shrug and mouthed the words `What's wrong?' but instead of answering she was surprised when Harry suddenly shot towards her. The crowed began a flurry of excited whispers as Harry swiftly and nimbly maneuvered his way around a bludger sent towards him by Ravenclaw and two of his own Chasers. Hermione's mouth dropped as Harry barely avoided another bludger and continued to barrel towards her full speed, giving a strangled squeak when the bug flew into her mouth.

Before she could spit it out and to her utter shock, Hermione suddenly felt her boyfriends lips upon her own and his tongue delve into her mouth.

“What the hell is Harry doing?!” exclaimed Fred.

“I don't know…” replied George “I've heard of young love but this is ridiculous.”

Hermione's eyes fluttered open when Harry pulled away and she looked at him with a baffled expression.

“Harry, what?”

Instead of answering the dark haired boy just gave her a smile and a wink. Then, placing two fingers in his mouth and before a captive audience he slowly removed them. There between his fingers and twinkling in the sunlight sat the golden snitch. The Gryffindor stands went crazy.

“Wow!!” breathed Fred.

“I…I..” sputtered George.

“Well, I guess this is a lot better then the way he caught the snitch with his mouth his first year,” joked Fred.

“Yeah,” added George “that's what I call going out with a bang!”

“Really? I'd call it going out with a hell of a snog.”

“Personally I think that's one of the best bangs you can get.”

His twin nodded in agreement while several of the students sniggered.

“Is that… ho-how you're supposed to catch it?” Ella asked with a bewildered look.

The two teens blushed profusely.

“No mum,” Hermione answered over the noise of the crowd. “I can honestly say that's never happened before and will probably never happen again.”

“Good,” grumbled her dad, “I was really enjoying the game till then.”

“Er… sorry sir,” Harry responded still blushing, “I...er, just didn't want her to choke… so… yeah…” he nervously ran the hand with the snitch thorough his hair. “I… er, I've got to go…”

Hermione laughed as her boyfriend flew off to join the rest of the team who were circling the pitch and throwing animal crackers down to the fans. She laughed even more as her mum and dad both caught several and proceeded to have a roaring contest with one another. Wow, that had been one hell of a game.

----

“Well that was certainly… interesting,” commented her dad a several minutes later as they finally made their way out of the stands.

“Yeah, now I know what you meant when you said Harry was magnificent,” her mum joined, with her normal teasing grin back in place.

“I… uh, have to go… Head Girl duties,” Hermione muttered blushing and hurrying away from her parents.

“Hermione wait!” someone called.

As she came to a halt Fred and George Weasley quickly flanked her, Hermione groaned.

“Great game huh?” asked George.

“I know I've never seen anything like it,” answered Fred.

“Yeah, too bad Harry's not around for another year or two.”

“I know, with play's like that Gryffindor would never loose.”

“Yeah…” Hermione said speeding her pace a bit when she caught sight of her mum in the crowd.

“So anyway that's not what we stopped you for,” stated Fred.

“Yeah we kind of need your help,” said George.

“Really?” Hermione frowned “With what?”

“I had a new prototype for Weasley Wizard Wheezes; it was a magical ring,”

“Yeah but he lost it shortly after we got here.”

“It still has a few kinks to work out,”

“-so we're worried some poor sod's going to find it,”

“-and end up missing a body part.”

Hermione cringed “Okay, well what can I do to help?”

The twins grinned “Thanks Hermione you're tops,” said George

“Yeah, we knew we could count on you,” added Fred.

“We just need you to do one thing,”

“-very simple really.”

“Okay, what?” she asked halting and looking between the two.

“Just look at me,” said Fred; Hermione turned to face him.

“And say Ahhhhhhh,” added George.

Giving them both glares she promptly elbowed George in the stomach and stomped on Fred's foot before storming off. As Hermione pushed her way thorough the crowd and back into the school she did her best to tune out the sound of the twins' laughter… especially when her mother joined in.

A.N. That's it for this chapter! A few things, first I know the snitch may or may not have fit easily into Hermione's mouth but for this story it did. Second Cho and Angela are in Harry's year for this story. One more down only a few more to go. Stay tuned and PLEASE let me know what you think by REVIEWing! Ja ne!

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36. Graduation

Forbidden Love

Chapter 35

Hermione fiddled anxiously with her sleeves as the students got ready to walk out of the school courtyard and to the lake where the graduation ceremony would be taking place.

“Cut it out Hermione, you're making me nervous,” Ron hissed from next to her.

“Then stop watching me you git,” she responded throwing him an aggravated look.

“How can I? You're right in my bloody line of sight -and if you adjust that stupid cone on your head one more time then I'm going to go bleedin' mental.”

She looked at him and smirked before once again adjusting her small black hat.

When Ron growled Harry stepped in.

“Look you guys we're almost done, so give it a rest will you?” he whispered, looking around the crowded area. “You guys only have one more day with the hats anyway, so Ron come on and give her a break. You know as well as I do it takes a lot of maneuvering to get these stupid things to look right,” he finished adjusting the cone on his head also. “I feel like a ruddy elf with this thing on.”

Ron gave him a curious look, “Elves don't wear these kinds of hats…”

Harry rolled his eyes, “You know what I mean.”

Grudgingly the redhead nodded in agreement, “Prat,” he commented.

Following his gaze, Harry and Hermione noticed that he was glaring at Malfoy.

“Don't worry Ron,” Hermione said touching his arm lightly. “Whatever game they're at, it'll be over when he graduates.”

“I still can't believe he's graduating,” muttered Harry.

His mates nodded in agreement as the blond Slytherin pushed one of his cronies into the other because they had accidentally brushed his robes.

“Alright everyone,” Professor McGonagall called coming into the courtyard, “it is now time, please get into order,” she clapped several times. “Hurry, we don't have a moment to waste, everyone is waiting.”

Hermione gave Ron a quick hug and Harry a swift kiss before hurrying to her spot between Slytherins Gregory Goyle and Daphne Greengrass, ignoring their dirty looks. When the professor gave the signal the group proceeded out into the bright sun, along the grassy knoll and past their families to the seats waiting for them. Hermione smiled and took a deep breath inhaling the fresh crisp morning air.

As she made her way forward she waved happily at her mum and dad who were grinning widely from the sidelines. Ella Granger was practically glowing as she watched her only child proceed past in her little hat and huge robes. When they made it to the cluster of chairs designated for the graduates, Hermione broke away from the group and continued to the front with Zach Smith. Together they stood patiently next to the pond waiting for the signal to proceed.

The brunette smiled and threw an excited look to her parents when a bridge materialized out of water and the professor walked on it to the floating platform located in the middle of the lake. The other teachers along with the Headmaster were all already situated on the area with some wearing looks of exhilaration; like Professors Hagrid and Sprout and others wearing looks of boredom, like Snape and Cypher. Ella and Dan Granger, along with several other muggle parents were wearing expressions of total shock at the materialization of the bridge. Hermione chuckled when her dad wiped his eyes and squinted as if to check what he was seeing.

Turning forward once more, she too gave an astounded look when Professor McGonagall placed a stool at the front of the stage. A surprised murmur rippled through the students as the professor grabbed an old floppy brimmed hat and placed it on the stool. Silence reigned when it began to sing.

In times of old, when I was new,
And Hogwarts barely started,
The founders of our noble school
Thought never to be parted.
"Together we will build and teach"
The four good friends decided.
And never did they dream that they
Might some day be divided.

Such good friends I'd never seen
So how could it go wrong?

But wrong it went and that way it stayed

For what was much to long

However now I'm pleased to see

A bond is newly forming

But more must be done to speed things up

Though some aren't quite as charming

In times of strife and great unease

We have a journey to take

Not of leisure, not of rest

But of the highest of stakes

So my dear houses `tis you I beseech

To look amongst your lot

Take the time to band together

And use friendships once forgot

For the road ahead brings rocky times

Which will be hard to scale

If you do not take heed to my warning

And let unity prevail

Come together as a school, as you were meant to be

Make this class the very start for all around to see

That one plus one plus one plus one, four does not this equal

But all these numbers make only one of unity with no sequel

Ravenclaw, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor

Four houses you are no longer

For now you are just alumni of Hogwarts

A house that is much stronger

So to those out there that to look to harm

I warn you now to run

For the mighty alumni of Hogwarts will triumph

And they'll do it all as one.

For over a minute after the last note rang silence prevailed until the graduating class -minus the Slytherins and led by Ron Weasley, began to clap, first hesitantly then enthusiastically. Most of the families quickly joined in and thunderous applause reigned for the next several minutes. When Professor McGonagall removed the hat and placed it on a seat of honor next to the Hogwarts Professors Hermione smiled. A moment later the older woman made a small motion with her hand and the Head Boy and Head Girl quickly made their way over the bridge and to the stage, taking seats just in front of the professors as Headmaster Dumbledore took the podium.

“Hello one and all I'm very pleased that you could be here to join us for this year's graduation ceremony. There are a lot of bright,” he threw a glance to Hermione “… and mischievous,” he looked at Harry and Ron, “students in this year's graduating class that I know myself and the staff will miss upon their departure.” Several of the students smiled, “But it is on to bigger and better things they go. Their futures await and I, at least, am not at all interested in taking that from them. However, others may not be so considerate,” his gaze scanned the crowd. “Over the next year or so, hopefully no more-” Hermione saw Harry fidget as several people turned to look at him “-things may get a bit harder for some of you to handle. Nonetheless I am sure that all if not most of you will have no problem doing what is asked of you. Your time at Hogwarts as a whole has been filled with adventures to get you ready for what is to come.” He smiled softly, “Mountain trolls, Basilisks, Dementors, wizarding tournaments with dragons and even an attack on our very own grounds by Voldemort himself…”

A murmur rippled through the crowd at the mention of he-who-must-not-be-named's name. Hermione took a deep breath and looked at her boyfriend. She had the overwhelming feeling that most of Dumbledore's speech was for him. Harry was staring intently at the Head Master a small frown marring his handsome features. Feeling her gaze upon him, his eyes flicked to hers and Hermione offered him a minuscule smile. The dark haired boy returned it with one of his own before directing his gaze back to the Headmaster, who had once again begun to speak as the conversation died down.

“Keep in mind that though times may get hard and you may loose ones you love… if you haven't already, there is still a brighter day ahead. A future on the horizon that I know you will not only one day experience but also deserve. So no matter how hard it gets, how impossible or imposing the task seems to be, you will make it though. You will triumph because you have gifts, talents that Voldemort,” a lower ripple went through this time, “does not. You see Voldemort,” lower still, “does not understand you, how you fight or what it truly is that you fight for. And it is this lack of understanding, this lack of perception that will ultimately be his downfall and your upsurge. So when that day comes, when that time is here and Voldemort is breathing down your neck,” Hermione gave a subtle smile at the silence that greeted Voldemort's name this time around, knowing that whatever his point Dumbledore had made it. “Don't fear him… don't cower before the self proclaimed `Dark Lord' in terror. Stand before him as the wizard you are and the man that you have become and show him that for all his talk of his infinite powers and all his wishes for destruction there is one power more unbounded than he has ever possessed and more potent than he has ever known. And that power is good old fashioned love.” He smiled at Harry for a moment longer before pulling his gaze away and scanning the audience. “I also wish for you all to be aware that the words I have spoken, though they did put him on the spot, were not just for Harry.” He gave a subtle smile, “They are for you all. Voldemort seeks to ruin, to destroy and to invoke fear and panic into you all. Tear to shreds your beliefs and your faith in mankind. What I want to say to each and every one of you,” he eyes momentarily paused on the Slytherins, “is that no matter what happens in the days and weeks to come, you are loved and that love has no boundaries, no limits, you will always be alumni of Hogwarts and welcome here be it to seek refuge from Voldemort himself… or just from overzealous parents with twisted views and dangerous whims.”

Hermione's mouth dropped a bit and she flicked a glance to Draco Malfoy who shifted uncomfortably in his seat, an unreadable expression flashing across his face. She then hazarded a look at Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy, the latter's face was a blotchy red his fingers curled roughly around the head of his silver walking stick. Hermione put a hand over her mouth to stifle the giggle that wanted to erupt turning her attention back to the Headmaster, who was finishing up his speech.

“-and they will not.” He sighed “So now that my longwinded drabble is out of the way, what do you say we head on to less heavy things and the reason for this wonderful celebration? If the Head Girl and Head Boy will come over to assist, then may the graduation ceremony commence.” He gave a wide grin and the audience was pulled out of their stupor caused by his speech and into a seemingly rehearsed applause. Professor McGonagall stood once more, unrolling a large parchment as the students stood from their seats and proceeded single file to the water bridge.

“Abbott, Hannah,” Professor McGonagall called in a clear concise voice.

A young woman, somewhat resembling the first year from seven years past strode confidently across the water bridge a large smile on her face as bright eyes, scanned the crowd. Two people that Hermione assumed to be the Hufflepuff girl's parents stood from the crowd clapping loudly and grinning madly.

“Ms. Abbott has passed her N.E.W.T.s with grades qualifying her for jobs in both the Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee and the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad. Each positions being located high on Ms. Abbott's potential job list.” Headmaster Dumbledore announced with a smile. “Congratulations Ms. Abbott and job well done.”

Hannah nodded excitedly to the Headmaster and taking his hand she shook it enthusiastically before turning to Professor McGonagall. The older witch nodded at the younger one accepting a roll of parchment containing her certifications from Zach while Hermione stepped forward and removed the small cone from atop Hannah's head. After the hat was removed, she then turned and faced Headmaster Dumbledore once more. He then took the time to place a brand new witches hat upon her head and pointed his wand at the Hufflepuff crest on her chest. With a small `whoosh' the insignia spun, coming to a halt a moment later now the crest for Hogwarts as a whole instead of just her house. Hannah gave one last wide smile to the professor, waving her certifications for the two previously mentioned positions at her parents she practically skipped off of the platform.

“Bones, Susan,” Professor McGonagall called as soon as Hannah headed for the exit bridge.

Susan Bones looking just as excited as her best friend hurried onto the stage, her hair flying behind her in her rush and stumbling somewhat on her robes. She gave an embarrassed smile to the crowd before coming to a halt in front of the Headmaster.

“Ms. Bones has passed her N.E.W.T.s with grades qualifying her for jobs in the Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee, the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad and the Improper Use of Magic Office. Each position, like her friends,” he gave her a smile as Susan's flush rose once more, “being located high on Ms. Bones's potential job list. Congratulations Ms. Bones and job well done.”

“Thank you Headmaster,” she mumbled with a smile before turning to Professor McGonagall for her certifications.

The ceremony continued in the same fashion with Terry Boot following Susan and Mandy Brocklehurst following him.

*************

Harry gave a large smile when his girlfriend's name was called. Wincing slightly as though she had gone under the impression that handling cone hats had exempted her from being put on the spot like everyone else, Hermione hesitantly stepped from the side of the Professor and approached Headmaster Dumbledore. The older man gave a jovial smile at her obvious discomfort before turning slightly to face the crowd.

“Normally this is the part where, as you've seen I list the jobs that the student has qualified for,” he gave Hermione a look. “However with Ms. Granger I find myself unable to complete this task,” a chorus of talking rose from the crowd and the students shared mystified looks. Hermione's panicked gaze flew to Harry and he offered her his most comforting smile, though he too was at a loss as to what was going on. “Now do not fret,” he said, catching the dark haired witches bewildered look. “For you see this lack of list is not due to the fact that Mrs. Granger did not qualify for any jobs, but rather is due more to the fact that she was overqualified.” Several people chuckled while Hermione's mouth dropped. “I am proud to say that for the first time in a very, very long time, we've had a student do so well on their N.E.W.T.s that they've meet the criteria for every position from Ministry janitor…” he grinned, “to Minister of Magic.” Most of the audience and students laughed and Hermione's blush intensified as she put one dainty hand over her mouth in shock. “A very hearty and much deserved congratulations Ms. Granger,” the Headmaster said, removing her cone shaped hat and replacing it with her new one. “I hope you do not mind if we don't have your certificates here. However I believe that it is imperative to be able to continue on with the ceremony with as little disruption as possible. And having to have our dear Professor McGonagall take leave to be patched up by Madam Pomfrey due to the strain of lifting such a sizable object would be most detrimental to what we are trying to accomplish.” Hermione joined in on the laughter at this comment. “So once more, kudos Ms. Granger,” he turned her pin to the Hogwarts crest, “and I am most proud to be able to call you Hogwarts alumni.”

Hermione smiled at the Headmaster, dipping her head slightly she took a step back to her original place. Looking out at the audience she waved to her parents and the Weasley's who were all clapping excitedly. Harry grinned as he caught sight of Ella Granger dabbing tears from her eyes an intensely happy and contented expression on her face as she watched her baby graduate. A small pain went through his heart as he realized that he had no one to look at him that way. Quickly brushing off the feeling and mentally admonishing himself for stealing Hermione's moment, even if it was only internally, he looked back at his girlfriend. When their gazes connected he gave her a mock bow and when she laughed he mouthed the words `I love you' and she responded in kind.

“Greengrass, Daphne,” Professor McGonagall called a moment later when the noise quieted down somewhat.

The dark haired Slytherin approached the platform and Harry allowed his mind to wander. As he continuously moved forward with the line, automatically clapping for those he knew like Neville (though he was still a bit peeved at him) Ernie Macmillan and the Patil twins he replayed Dumbledore's speech in his head. He really didn't know if he should be upset with the Headmaster for putting him in the spotlight once again, or relived that he had noticed Harry's distress. Since hearing the sorting hat's song, the dark haired boy had found himself lost in thought over the danger ahead and how, if at all, he could protect the members of his graduating class from having to suffer as he had.

“Potter, Harry.”

He shifted his brows furrowed. Sure he had love and Dumbledore says it's enough, it was enough to save him as a child but it wasn't enough to stop Voldemort from resurrecting himself that night in the graveyard. It wasn't enough to save Sirius.

“Potter, Harry!”

He sighed running a hand though is hair. Maybe Dumbledore was right; with them fighting together they would be able to prevail. The problem was that even though, technically, the fight did concern the whole wizarding community Harry couldn't help but feel that the fight was his and only his to have. And that it was between him and Voldemort, no one else. So it was be his fault if-

“Harry!” his thoughts were cut off when he was nudged to the side. His startled gaze flew to his right where Dean Thomas was staring at him. “Mate they're calling you… you're up, go!” he hissed.

Mentally cursing he looked up and noticed every eye trained on him. Several of the Slytherins chortled in amusement while Hermione regarded him worriedly. Flashing her a quick smile and giving everyone else an embarrassed wave, he hurried up the platform coming to a halt in front of the Headmaster.

“Sorry sir,” he mumbled with a weak smile.

“No apologies necessary Harry, it's understandable you'd have a few things on your mind,” he gave the dark haired boy a meaningful look.

Harry flushed more, once again unnerved by how uncanny Dumbledore's sense of perception seemed to be.

“Mr. Potter,” an eerie silence reigned at the mention of his name by the Headmaster, “has passed his N.E.W.T.s with grades qualifying him for jobs in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement including the Magical Law Enforcement Squad and as an Auror,” he gave Harry a meaningful look. “Mr. Potter has also qualified for several positions in the Department of Mysteries and a much coveted but hardly retained position as the new Defense Against Dark Arts Professor here at Hogwarts,” several surprised exclamations flew through the crowd and students. Harry stared at the Headmaster in shock for a moment before hazarding a glance at Professor Snape. He almost smiled at the disdainful look on the greasy haired mans face and the distinct tick in his right eye. “The position will remain open for as long as Mr. Potter wishes to mull over his options,” continued Dumbledore, “with our esteemed Professor Snape filling the opening either temporary or permanently until which time Mr. Potter has decided.”

Was he imagining it or did Professor Snape just snarl? Harry fought a laugh.

“I hope Mr. Potter that you will consider my offer, I'm sure that with you in the lead we will be able to actually retain a Defense Professor for more than one year at a time,” he gave a kind smile, seemingly oblivious to the dark glare Snape was sending his way. “Once more my utmost congratulations Mr. Potter you are more than ready for what the world has in store for you… even if you don't realize it yet.”

As a smiling Professor McGonagall handed him his roll of parchment containing his certifications, Harry gave a surprised look at the pride that shone through in her eyes. When Hermione stepped forward and removed the small cone from his head he gave a small smile when her fingers purposefully grazed the back of his neck in a comforting feather light caress. He then turned and faced Headmaster Dumbledore again, who placed his wizards hat upon Harry's head and quickly changed his crest to a Hogwarts one. Giving the Headmaster a handshake that ended up in more of a half-hug Harry started to make his way off the platform. He was almost to the bridge when a shrill whistle cut though the fog of his thoughts, halting he looked out at the crowd. Almost everyone was on their feet clapping but he noticed with great amusement that the Weasley twins and… he shook his head and grinned Ella Granger, were actually standing on their seats cheering. Harry laughed outright when Mrs. Granger let out another ear piercing whistle that earned her admiring looks from both of the Weasley twins. Seeing his laugh her eyes shone brightly and she waved happily to him, her eyes reflecting with unshed tears and her face about to split from the size of her smile.

Harry felt his heart swell at her enthusiastic response, along with the more subtle eye dabbing and watery smile of Mrs. Weasley and the huge grins by both Mr. Weasley and Mr. Granger. As he made his way to the water bridge once more, he fought contented tears realizing that he was wrong earlier. Between Professor McGonagall, Dumbledore, Hagrid, the Weasley's and the Grangers he had more than enough people who looked at him and truly cared.

As he took a seat with the rest of the students who were done, he gave a large grin when Ron's name was called and joined the twins in their stream of whistles and catcalls to their brother. Ron's face turned bright red under all the attention and he smiled brightly to Dumbledore when the older wizard told him that he had qualified to become a staff member of the Department of Magical Games and Sports.

When Blaise Zabini finally made his way off of the water bridge and to the area where all of the other students were located, Dumbledore took the podium once more. “Everyone I would like to present,” the students stood as they had rehearsed. “The Hogwarts graduating class of nineteen-ninety eight!”

Thunderous applause began once more, only slightly drowned out by the fireworks that the students shot from their wands in celebration. Harry laughed heartily when Ron pulled him into a huge bear hug babbling on and on about an interview that his dad had promised to secure if he qualified for the sports department. His laugh turned into a contented sigh as warm arms wrapped around him from behind, shifting around he pulled Hermione into a tight hug and gave her a deep kiss before pulling back and grinning down at her.

“Congratulations Luv,” he grinned “I told you, you did smashing.”

She blushed prettily in response before giving him another peck. “So did you… Harry, have you considered Dumbledore's offer?”

He chuckled, “I had wondered how long it would take you… zero point four seconds, not bad,” he winked, “you lasted longer than I thought you would.”

She rolled her eyes and removed one arm from around his neck hitting him playfully in the shoulder. “Ha-ha,” she smirked.

“Hermione!” Mrs. Granger called.

Harry and Hermione quickly disentangled themselves and turned to face the families who were approaching. They gave broad smiles to the Grangers who immediately pulled them into hugs, while the Weasley's greeted Ron. Then switched hugging parents.

“Wow Hermione, brilliant job,” said George.

“Yeah way to make everyone else feel inadequate,” grinned Fred.

Hermione rolled her eyes while Harry and Ron nodded in agreement. As everyone was herded into the Great Hall for the graduation feast the twins jokes continued, added onto by a jaunty Ella Granger.

An hour or so later, Harry frowned a bit as words from a conversation between Bill and Mr. Weasley floated down to his side of the table.

“-emergency,” Bill was saying with a frown. “Well this is supposed to be the safest place which is why he insisted upon going himself. He wanted us to say here just in case.”

“But wouldn't it have been better for Dumbledore to send one of us? What about Mad Eye?”

“He's on his way too… several people are injured but as far as we know there's only been one fatality.”

Harry frowned and looked to his right where is girlfriend was sitting, Hermione was looking down at her plate her brows knitted together in concentration as she strained to pick up the conversation. As he looked across the table at the worried faces of Ron and Luna a tingle began at the nape of his neck. Harry's gaze flicked to the large table at the front of the hall his eyes lingering on the empty seat normally occupied by the Headmaster. Taking a deep breath to try to calm the sudden uneasiness that caused his stomach to flutter he allowed his gaze to scan the hall. As it did he frowned slightly when he noticed Neville and Professor Flitwick near the doors leading to the Great Hall. His frown deepened when a horrified look crossed the dark haired boys face a scant moment before he was forcibly pushed out of the Great Hall by the normally docile and joyous Professor. When Professor Cypher suddenly ran down the isle and out the door in the direction that the two had just disappeared to, Harry quickly stood from the table. The curious gazes of the Weasleys and Grangers flicked to him as he pulled out his wand.

“Something's wrong,” he said in a hard tone. Then, without another word he turned and headed towards the exit, vaguely noticing that his girlfriend and best mate were right behind him. As they neared a scream erupted from the entrance to the Great Hall followed by an unmistakable haunting laughter a laughter that seemed to have jumped straight from Harry's nightmares and right back into his reality.

A.N. That's it for this chappy. Trouble is a'brewin ^.^ The sorting hat song was a small mix of pre-written and my own creation (for the rest after the first couple of lines). Thanks for reading, stay tuned and PLEASE REVIEW!!! Ja ne!

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37. Battle At Hogwarts

Forbidden Love

Chapter 36

At Neville's scream Harry's swift walk towards the exit hastened to a sprint. Coming to an abrupt halt at the top of the stairs before the Great Hall, he watched worriedly as Professor Cypher faced off with Rodolphus Lestrange. The ruby eyed professor took several steps back in their direction as Bellatrix issued a loud hiss towards Harry from her location behind her husband and his brother Rabastan.

“Take Neville and get into the Great Hall now!” she shouted without even looking in their direction.

Harry, Hermione and Ron nodded rushing forward to help the other boy up from his location sprawled on the floor near her feet. His expression was dazed as he looked up at him they could tell he had been hit with some type of curse, his eyes were unblinking and unfocused.

“Neville?” Hermione quizzed softly. “We need you to stand for us, can you do that?”

“We don't have tome to coddle him Hermione,” rebuffed Ron, reaching forward and hauling the other boy up. Harry quickly stepped forward to help steady him.

As they made their way, balancing Neville between them back towards the Great Hall, Harry noticed Arthur and Bill Weasley join Professor Cypher in the face off with the Lestranges'.

“This way children,” someone called.

Looking over, Harry saw Professor Flitwick beckoning them to a hallway just right of the Great Hall.

“This way, we'll get him to Madam Pomfrey right off,” he said with a small smile.

Ron and Hermione began to head in that direction but Harry held fast as he recalled the scene between the Professor and Neville in the Great Hall. Wasn't he the one that the other boy had left with? -Correction, wasn't he the one who had forced the other boy out of the room?

“Harry,” whispered Ron harshly, “what are you doing? Come on.”

“No,” the dark haired boy stated firmly. “Hermione stop,” he commanded.

His girlfriend threw him a surprised look but stopped nonetheless regarding him curiously “Harry, what's wrong?”

“He is,” Harry stated with a frown. “Help Ron get Neville into the Great Hall, when you do, send Professor McGonagall out right away.” He kept his eyes trained on the small professor who was now watching him with a narrowed gaze. “Something's not right and I mean to find out what it is.”

At that comment both Ron and Hermione looked at the professor once more, now discerning the shifty light in his eyes and the strange twisted smile upon his features that didn't travel past his lips. Observing their silent study of them the professor cocked his head to the side, resembling a large bird at the strange tick like motion before his grin became more pronounced.

“Oh dear, oh dear,” he commented in an oddly far away tone. “Seems to be a problem, a problem indeed. I shall have to handle the problem before it spreads.”

That was the only warning that they had of what was to come. The spell came so quickly that Harry knew it could have easily been the end of one of them if Hermione hadn't, amazingly enough, been able to get a shield up just in time. The silent spell bounced off the barrier and hit the wall next to Flitwick causing a section of the stone to burst into several large pieces. As the dust cleared Harry looked on horrified to see that while the professor had gotten out of the way, he was now no longer alone. He was flanked by six Death Eaters, wands raised they began shouting off spells.

“Confundo!” yelled Hermione as Harry barley deflected a spell, only to be advanced upon by another Death Eater.

“Protego!” shouted a voice to his left, Harry's surprised gaze flew to Neville who once more looked alert.

Giving a relived sigh, Harry released the other boy and grabbed Hermione's hand rushing the rest of the way towards the Great Hall with Neville and Ron in tow.

“Get to your parents!” he called to Hermione, turning to face off with a DE who as not far behind them.

“But,” she plead, her conflicted gaze flying between her boyfriend, who was hurling spells and deflecting curses and her terrified looking parents who were being guarded by an anxious looking Molly Weasley.

“Expelliarmus! But nothing, Hermione go!” shouted Harry.

Chaos had erupted in the Great Hall as the remaining teachers rushed towards the door and families scrambled towards the back of the room. Harry gave a small sigh of relief when, after a small hesitation, his girlfriend disappeared from his side. He knew that she had gone to her parents, he also knew that she would be back after a while but at least for now she was safe.

“Duro!” Ron shouted from his left, Harry threw him an impressed look when one of the D.E's turned to stone.

“Not bad mate,” he shouted between yelling off several spells of his own.

“Thanks,” Ron shot him a quick grin before ducking a spell aimed for his head. “Couldn't have done it without the D.A.”

Harry nodded absently as he and Professor Cypher shot off simultaneous hexes pushing the D.E.'s back towards the exit of the Great Hall. He knew what Ron meant, he still remembered covering that lesson in the D.A., mainly because Neville had turned his feet to stone and had to be carried to Madam Pomfrey's office by him, Ron and Dean. Hazarding a quick look to his left and right he was pleased to see the members of the D.A. fighting alongside the Professors. As Dean shot off a spell sending one of the larger D.E.'s out the door, Harry grinned and finally began to relax a bit. This would be no problem.

Once they reached the hall once more his grin faltered as he realized that he had spoken too soon. Several more Death Eaters seemed to materialize from nowhere and these were a lot faster moving than the last. With their forces down due to several teachers like Sprout, Burbrage and Hagrid evacuating families through the door at the back of the Great Hall, he quickly realized that easy was not the way to describe this battle.

Harry let out a painful grunt as he was hit in the chest with a spell and flew backwards further into the hall. As he skidded along the floor from the force he came to a halt next to the benches of the Hufflepuff table hitting his head painfully on the side. Groaning he rubbed the back of his head where he had been hit before stiffening at the sound of laughter coming from his far right. Setting up a bit he was incensed to see Malfoy and his two cronies Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum watching the battle as though it were some type of show put on for their amusement. Giving an inaudible growl he pointed his wand at the table and called out a spell making the water pitcher next to them explode. He gave a small laugh and a self satisfied smirk when Malfoy screamed like a girl and fell out off of the bench onto the floor.

“Protego totalum! Confundo! Expelliarmus!” A voice called from just behind Harry.

The dark haired boy looked over and saw a nearby Death Eater fly into the far wall. He turned his head just in time to see his girlfriend skid to a halt next to him. Ducking when a spell was shot her way Hermione threw Harry a disgruntled look.

“What the hell were you doing?! You almost got yourself killed!” She hissed, throwing up another protection spell.

“Sorry I had something to take care of,” he replied, calling out another disarming spell and shouting off a counter curse.

“Yeah like frightening Malfoy,” she shot back with a glare.

“What?!” Harry exclaimed standing and pulling her with him as several hexes came their way. “He deserved it!”

“Yeah well you deserved to get hit for being so ruddy careless,” she called back shouting off another spell and taking out a rather large Death Eater.

Harry sighed and pulled her against him as a killing curse flew past her head “Maybe,” he conceded with a shrug, “but obviously we don't always get what we deserve,” he finished, throwing a scowl to the Slytherins who were now heading out of the fighting area lead by Malfoy's mum.

Hermione rolled her eyes, “Let it go Harry, we have more important things to worry about right now,” she ducked and shot off a curse, causing boils to break out on the D.E.'s hands, “if you hadn't noticed.”

Harry gritted his teeth against a frustrated retort and refocused on the fight. He pushed Hermione in one direction and dove in another just as one of the large benches came hurdling towards them. Grabbing a metal tray off the table and paying no head to the rolls that now littered the floor, he used it to deflect a more harmless curse back at the Death Eater who had shot it.

“Ella! Watch out!!!!” Harry started at hearing Hermione's mum's name.

Turning quickly he saw Ella Granger standing frozen just behind the teachers platform. Her eyes wide and her mouth open as another bench flew full tilt right for her.

“Nooooooooo!!” the agonized scream ripped from Hermione's throat snapped Harry out of his stupor.

“Levicorpus!” he shouted.

A moment later Ella Granger was lifted into the air by her ankle, the bench slamming into the wall where she had been moments earlier just seconds later. Harry was racing behind Hermione to her mum, deflecting and protecting her from the curses that she was forgetting to look out for in her haste. When they arrived Dan had already reached his wife and was holding his arms up, clasping fingers with her.

“Liberacorpus!” Harry called when they were almost to the couple.

Ella floated back down to the floor just in time to get tackled by her daughter.

“Mum, mum, mum, mum, mum,” Hermione just kept whispering over and over again.

“I'm okay,” Ella whispered kissing her daughters neck and her husband's cheek as he too joined the impromptu hug.

“I know, I know,” whispered Dan pulling back and studying her face. “But how?”

“I don't know,” the older woman, shrugged shaking her head in wonder.

Hermione pulled back from her mom and wiped her tears. “Harry,” she breathed.

The dark haired boy, who had been busy watching over the small family reunion, had not been paying attention to the conversation so he was surprised to feel his girlfriend fly into him. Grunting a bit at the impact, he shifted and put one arm around her, attempting to keep his wand arm free just in case.

“Thank you, Harry. Thank you so much,” she breathed, kissing his neck, then his chin, then his lips and wreaking havoc on his concentration.

When she pulled back a moment later he was surprised to be the recipient of yet another strong hug. A moment later and after placing a kiss of her own on his cheek, Ella Granger pulled back and offered him a small smile, “I guess I owe you my life, huh?”

Harry blushed, “It was nothing, you should-”

“It was everything,” Dan Granger interrupted.

Harry gave him a quick look and a small nod, unable to argue with the logic in that statement. He couldn't even begin to imagine the Grangers without Ella… it was… just too… impossible, too depressing.

“I also owe you for Hermione's life,” the older man continued with a wry smile.

Harry's brows furrowed, “What do you mean? If anything she's saved me, I mean I would have been dead at least twice already during this fight if it weren't for her.”

“And she would have been dead how many times on her mad dash over here if it weren't for you?” Dan stated seriously. “You saved the two people who matter most in my life Harry and just earned yourself a position as the third,” his eyes flicked between him and Hermione. “So, you two, be careful out there.” They both gave quick nods.

“Why didn't you guys leave with everyone else?” Hermione asked, voicing Harry's initial thoughts.

“That's my fault,” Ella said sheepishly. “I couldn't just leave with you two still in here. I mean you're just children -I, I would have gone mad not knowing that you were okay.”

Harry gave her a small smile, “Hermione's the brightest witch of her age, you have nothing to worry about.”

“And Harry's the strongest wizard of many ages,” Hermione chimed; Harry threw her a look. “You are, you've done stuff, been through things that are - are indescribable yet you still fight. You have lightning fast reflexes and every student out there fighting is able to hold their own because of what you taught them.”

Harry turned and gave a look to the students in question, allowing himself a small smile as one of the Patil twins hit a D.E. with a spell that made him punch himself in the face and Ginny Weasley hit another with a spell that made his wand arm grow so large that it tipped him over. However his smile quickly fell when he noticed Ron on the ground and a Death Eater standing over him, his wand pointed.

“Ron!!” Harry and Hermione called out in unison.

However before either could lift their wand someone else called out too.

“Avis! Avis!” Luna Lovegood shouted.

Two small flocks of twittering birds appeared behind the blonde then, like something out of a twisted muggle fairytale, she sent then with a large brandish of her wand hurling towards the D.E. who had Ron down. Harry and Hermione watched in amused shock as the birds attacked the large man, pecking and at his mask and biting at his hands. They cringed a bit when they realized that the birds were going for flesh. The D.E. swatted helplessly at the squawking animals and made a mad dash for the exit of the Great Hall a large flock of angry birds following in his wake.

“You two get somewhere safe!” Hermione called to her parents before taking off after Harry who had rushed over to Ron.

“Ron, are you alright?” Harry asked, looking his mate over.

“Yeah, just a bit of a headache is all,” Ron shrugged before giving an admiring look to his girlfriend. “Wow… I've never seen anything like that…”

Harry and Hermione nodded in agreement and the blond girl blushed. “Yes well… he shouldn't have been messing with you,” she muttered.

Ron grinned and sat up giving her a light kiss. “I'm sure that he won't ever make that mistake again,” he winked.

Luna's blush deepened.

“I'd hate to break up this moment, but we're kind of in the middle of something here guys!!” Dean Thomas called from a few feet away

“Oh -er, right! Sorry!” shouted Harry, standing to help the other boy fight off the two large Death Eaters that were blocking his way.

Hermione gave a quick glance to the back of the hall. Relieved to see her parents no longer in sight, she went back to the battle also.

The bloodcurdling laughter of Bellatrix Lestrange brought Harry's attention abruptly from the D.E. he was facing off with. He jumped out of the way just in time for the spell that the man had hurled to blast a chuck out of the wall before freezing on his spot on the floor. Across the hall Ginny Weasley was on the ground writhing in pain, with Bellatrix standing over her a twisted smile on her gruesome features.

“No!!!” Harry yelled, distractedly hearing the sentiment repeated by several members of the Weasley clan.

However before any of them could get a spell off, Bellatrix was hurled into the wall just past Ginny's prone form. Harry watched in shocked awe as Neville Longbottom quickly jumped over Ginny, blocking the younger girl from Bellatrix's view with his own body.

The older woman hissed at him and gave a small smile “Serpensortia!” A large deadly snake flew from her wand, hissing at the dark haired boy and winding back and forth looking for the right place to strike.

“Confringo!” Neville called without hesitation.

Harry cringed when the serpent exploded into tiny bloody pieces before quickly standing and resuming the fight with his own Death Eater. Five minutes later when he finally had the D.E. safely incased in stone he returned his attention to the fight between Bellatrix and Neville. Harry gave an appreciative nod at the litheness of the other boy when he seamlessly removed himself from the way of a killing curse.

Harry's gaze searched the ground for Ginny, and he sighed in relief when he located her awake and alert watching the fight from a short distance away being held protectively by Mrs. Weasley. Rushing forward the dark haired boy lifted his wand to add a couple of curses to Neville's when his arm was grabbed. Giving a startled look to his right he was surprised to see Ron holding him back.

“Ron what?”

The red haired boy shook is head “Don't… he wants to do it himself.”

“But-”

“No buts Harry, dad gave him the go ahead.”

The dark haired threw a shot look to Arthur Weasley who was on the other side of the hall also watching the fight. As his gaze took in the scene he realized that several people, D.E. and student/Auror alike had stopped to watch the battle.

“But…” Harry shook his head lightly “I can't just stand here. Ron, she killed Sirius!”

The other boy side and gave him a sympathetic look, “I know mate but… well, she did a lot worse to his parents.”

Harry looked down.

“Come on mate, look if he can't handle her then you have free reign to jump in and give it a go, but -well, give him a chance. He deserves it, you know?”

Harry bit the inside of his cheek and gave a stiff nod. The tension ebbed away from his body somewhat when a warm hand lightly touched his back. Turning his head he gave a brief small smile to his girlfriend before looking back at the fight. One of Bellatrix's spells sliced through Neville's arm, a huge gash appeared and red blood steadily flowed as several shouts of laughter rang out from the Death Eaters. Harry tightly clenched his wand and gritted his teeth.

“Don't kill the little bastard Sweet, we still need him,” the deep voice of Rodolphus Lestrange called out playfully.

Harry took a step in his direction, but Hermione forestalled him by placing a hand on his arm. “Harry, look.”

Turning his gaze back to the fight his was surprised to see Bellatrix get hit with one of Neville's attacks. Stumbling backwards the older woman tripped slightly over an overturned bench at the Slytherin table before brandishing her wand once more.

“Expulso!” she shouted, Neville jumped out of the way and part of the Ravenclaw table behind him was blown into small pieces.

He barely had time before she was on him again “Crucio!” The dark haired boy as well as several people behind him ducked to avoid the spell.

“Fight back!” Harry yelled impatiently.

Neville ignored him and Bellatrix smiled. “Fight back little Neville-weville,” she sang while shooting off another curse. “It's not fun if you don't, your parents fought back,” her smile widened, “Well… at first.”

The dark haired boy clenched his teeth but still did not yell out a single spell. Harry and Ron shared bewildered looks.

“Well this is turning into a downright bore,” Bellatrix said rolling her eyes, “I bet Potter can give me something more interesting to play with,” she leered in Harry's direction. Hermione grabbed his arm again. “We don't really need him alive do we Dear?” she called in the direction of her husband. The large man shrugged

“I suppose it was a bit on the optional side,” Rodolphus replied with a wide twisted grin.

“Oh goody,” she sang before turning sharply back to Neville, as quick as a serpents strike she called her most dangerous spell. “Avada Kedavra!”

“No!” Harry along with several others called, however the dark haired boy didn't look worried.

A moment after she shouted out the killing curse he reached behind his back and pulled out one of those sterling silver trays like Harry had used earlier. The spell hit the shining surface and immediately deflected back, Bellatrix had only time enough to let out a strangled scream before she was hit dead center with her own curse.

“Noooooooo!!!” her husband roared as her wide eyed body limply hit the cold ground.

Several people including Harry pulled their wands but it was too late, the large man shouted out a spell that hit Neville so hard that he flew into the air and connected roughly with the wall at the back of the Great Hall. His body made a sickening crunching sound before slamming the floor like a rag doll. The fight immediately began once more, but Rodolphus Lestrange seemed numb to it as he made his way over to his wife's prone form. His brother deflected and countered the curses shot at them while the large Death Eater grabbed the body from the ground. Lifting his wand he blew out one of the windows of the Great Hall before running over to it, and with the agility of a large cat he jumped onto the ledge and out of the opening with his brother in tow.

Not caring for now about if the Lestranges' escaped, Harry took off in the direction of Neville, distractedly noticing that the Death Eaters were attempting to make a hasty retreat. Coming to a skidding halt at the wall, he recoiled a bit at the gruesome image of the usually quiet dark haired boy lying in a crumpled heap on the floor. His body twisted in a manner that would make it seem that he had no bones if it weren't for several of then jutting out in various odd and sickening ways. Ginny Weasley was over him crying, while Hermione had turned and buried her head in Harry's shoulder as soon as he arrived.

“Stand back!” ordered a strong voice, Harry turned to see Professor Cypher pushing through the small crowd that had gathered. Kneeling down next to the body she reached out a hand to his twisted neck and pressed down. “He has a pulse, get Madam Pomfrey here right now!” She demanded. “If we hurry I know we can save him.”

Harry let out a ragged breath as Bill Weasley disappeared in the direction of the door at the back of the Great Hall where the healer had evacuated with the families. Closing his eyes and giving his girlfriend a strong squeeze he feverously prayed that the professor was right.

A.N. Well that's it for this chappy, I only have one more. As for the symbols that show up, that is a CODING ISSUE, I do what I can to stop it, but since it doesn't show up when I preview the chapter and I don't always get a chance to check it after I submit then all I can do is the best I can. I apologize for not always catching it, but please refrain from cursing or making rude comments about my writing because of an issue that I cannot control. Thanks!! Don't forget to PLEASE REVIEW and until next time Ja ne!!!

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38. Resolutions

Forbidden Love

Chapter 37

Hermione slowly made her way through the infirmary and to the last bed at the end, pulling back the curtains she immediately saw who she had been looking for. Ginny Weasley was sitting on the side of Neville's bed, her head down and her hand clasping his. The soft light of the candle on his nightstand was the only source of illumination, casting a dim and slightly romantic glow over the duo.

Hermione smiled softly to herself; the younger girl had not left Neville's side since Professor Cypher, whom they had learned was an Auror of all things, and Mr. Weasley had levitated him on a bed to the infirmary. Madam Pomfrey had worked on him for over two hours, but like a good ending to a bad muggle fairytale she had indeed been able to put Neville back together again. Hermione watched Ginny lean forward and push some of the older boy's hair out of his face when he shifted in his sleep and smiled once more. `Maybe Ginny is finally opening her eyes to her feelings as well as Neville's,' she thought before her smile faltered a bit and she took a deep breath. She hated to break up the moment between the two but she was here for a reason. There was finally a break in all the chaos and she really needed to talk to the younger girl about something.

Taking the last few steps forward she placed a hand lightly on the red haired girl's shoulder. “Ginny?”

Ginny turned her head slightly and gave Hermione a fleeting look before looking down at the boy in the bed once more. “Hey.”

The older witch made her way towards the top of the bed so that she was in front of the younger one. “Hey, where's Neville's Gran?”

“She's getting a quick kip,” the other girl replied, motioning to a bed across the way, “she was exhausted and I let her know that I would stay with him.”

Hermione nodded. “So how's he doing?”

“He'll be alright, just needs some rest. At least that's what Madam Pomfrey says…”

“And how are you doing?”

She looked up at the other girl in surprise. “Me?”

“Yes you, Ginny Weasley,” Hermione replied arching a brow. “You've been here for hours, not to mention the battle and everything else that happened today…how are you doing?”

Ginny nodded slowly and looked down at her and Neville's hands. “I'm… doing. I suppose… I can't believe what he did.”

“Yeah he was really great out there,” the other girl agreed looking down at his face once more.

“I know and the way he got me out of the way… Hermione, he saved my life,” she whispered.

“Yes, well that's just the type of bloke that Neville is.”

Ginny gave a jerky nod. “I still can't believe what he did for me,” she whispered.

“Why not?” Hermione quizzed; Ginny's gaze shot to her. “Come on Gin, I mean he's a great bloke sure, but it's no secret that Neville fancies you -he has for quite some time.”

The younger girl gave her a surprised look and her gaze shifted between the two before settling on Hermione once more, “He does?”

“Yeah,” Hermione laughed, “where have you been?”

Ginny sighed and frowned. “Obsessing over a bloke who can barely stand, and in no way at all fancies me.”

The brunette's smile faded and she chewed worriedly on her bottom lip. “Oh Gin… that's not true. Harry can stand you, you mean a lot to him… to us…”

“I was a brat,” the redhead replied not looking up.

“We deserved it… well, Harry and I did, but Ginny, Ron didn't do anything.”

She nodded, “I know I just hated that he had forgiven the two of you so easily, therefore making me look even more pathetic.”

Hermione sighed and took seat a in the chair next to the bed. “You weren't pathetic Ginny.” When the other girl shot her a `get real' look, she winced and amended her statement. “You weren't…. Sure you were perhaps a bit psychotic -totally obsessive and maybe a tad stalkerish, but not at all pathetic.”

The younger girl laughed softly. “Gee, thanks.” She looked over at her, “Hermione, I'm sorry for constantly trying to hex you -oh and snog your boyfriend.”

The brunette winced and looked at her hands briefly before looking back at her. “There's no need, you see… I … well, I snogged your boyfriend first…”

“What?” Ginny asked with a frown.

Hermione sighed. “Gin, there's something I didn't tell you that I've been wanting to… It's actually the reason I'm here,” at the other girls questioning look she continued. “You see, Harry and I we… shag-er, snogged before you guys broke up,” she stumbled then scrunched her eyes closed when she was done and waited for the hex.

“When?” Ginny frowned.

The brunette kept her eyes shut and whispered. “The day Ron and I broke up.”

“Good.”

Hermione's eyes snapped open and she looked the younger girl. “Excuse me? Good?”

Ginny frowned. “Well, not really -but yeah in a way. I mean I knew that something had happened between you two that day, but Ron and everyone else I mentioned it to just told me I was overreacting or going mental.” She looked over at the older girl, “But my gut had told me something happened and it was usually right. So when Ron came back and told me that you two had had a row and that was all, I felt like I couldn't trust myself anymore, like my instincts were off. Then when I found out about the two of you I felt I couldn't trust either of you anymore and then when Ron continued to call you guys his best mates instead of flipping out as usual I felt like I couldn't trust him anymore. Which basically left no one -not even myself that I could trust…” her gaze flicked to the bed, “well almost no one.”

The older witch sat quietly for a moment before speaking. “Is that how you ended up with Malfoy?”

Ginny blushed and shrugged, “Yeah, I guess. I mean I was angry at you, he was angry at Harry -it seemed like a good idea at the time.”

“Why?”

“I don't know, I guess part of me was hoping that Harry would be so upset by the notion he's come running back to steal me from Draco. And another part of me…” she trailed off her blush deepening.

“Another part of you? …” Hermione hedged.

“Well… another part of me loved the snogging, I mean he may have been a git but Draco is a great kisser.”

“Ewwww,” the brunette made a face and the redhead giggled. “Gin, that is absolutely disgusting! I'm going to be scarred for life now -great, just bloody brilliant.”

“Hey the truth is the truth,” the younger girl shrugged with a grin. “Besides you scarred me for life a while ago, so this just may make us even.”

Hermione sighed and ran a hand though her hair, “I guess it might,” she bit her bottom lip again. “Ginny, I really am sorry for what we did to you -what I did to you. And I want you to know that Harry and I never expected to feel what we feel for one another and when we did then we fought it. We fought it hard, with everything in us because we didn't want to hurt you or Ron.”

“Fought it hard eh?” Ginny's brows rose. “How hard?”

The other girl smiled. “Well… let's just say that if our lives were a story and the story began this summer, out of -oh I don't know, thirty five or so chapters we fought what we felt for at least twenty two and a half, if not more.”

“Wow, that's way over half the story,” the younger girl smirked.

Hermione nodded, “Yeah, I know if I were a reader I wouldn't be too happy about it myself. I'd probably write little reviews to the author complaining about the time frame.”

“Me too, though I'd be rooting for Harry to stay with me,” Ginny shot the older girl a look and then laughed softly. Hermione joined in for a moment until the other girl sighed and looked back down at Neville. “Do you think he'll forgive me for being such a prat?”

Hermione nodded. “I know he will… especially if you can forgive me and Harry for being the biggest prats ever…”

The redhead's gaze flicked to her briefly before returning to the boy in the bed. “I can try…”

“That's all I can ask.” Hermione replied with a small sigh. They sat in silence for several more minutes before Ginny spoke again.

“Did you guys ever find out what they wanted with Neville?” she frowned looking up.

Hermione nodded. “Yeah, Profess… uh, agent Cypher explained it to us. It seems that after his battle with Dumbledore, Voldemort had seen two people. A healer to help him recover from his injury, though all they did was provide a potion or two -from what I understand he doesn't trust anyone enough for them to do more than that -and a Seer. The Seer informed him that he could forgo the need for any future potions and regain all of his strength and possibly a bit more if he got one very important ingredient.” The brunette frowned, “The blood of the boy who lived.”

“Harry?” Ginny inquired, when Hermione nodded she threw a quick look to Neville, “But what does that have to do with him?”

The brunette sighed, “Well, Harry is virtually impossible to gain access to. He's probably the most well guarded wizard of our time, a fact that Voldemort is aware of. When he told the Seer of this he was informed that, though it may not be as potent, the blood of another boy of the same age and birthday may be just as useful to his needs…”

“Neville,” Ginny whispered.

Hermione nodded, “As you know the only thing that made Harry the `boy who lived' as opposed to Neville was the fact that Voldemort chose to go after Harry instead.”

“So his blood could still have healing qualities…”

“Not as potent as Harry, but yes -at least that was the belief,” she shrugged.

“Is it true?” Ginny frowned.

“I don't know…” she shook her head, “I don't know…”

They fell into a comfortable silence, each retreating to their own thoughts about the new information that had been gained.

“So Cypher was sent here to protect Neville?” Ginny asked after a while.

Hermione nodded. “Yes, I believe she is an Auror from Ireland or something,” the brunette frowned. “Mad-eye says that they placed her here as opposed to an English agent so that any spies for the D.E.'s would not know they had an agent on the inside. Also so that we wouldn't realize that we were being watched and start worrying, since Harry knew most of the Auror's already thanks to his trips to the ministry.”

Ginny nodded. “Wh-”

“Why didn't they tell me?” a voice cut in.

Hermione and Ginny's gaze shot to the dark haired boy in the bed. Neville stared at them from behind sleepy lids, his curious gaze trained on Hermione.

“I -I don't know. All I can say is that they rarely tell us anything, it's quite vexing if you want to know the truth. After all, if they would just be honest with us we may be able to prevent half of this stuff from happening,” she frowned.

Neville sighed. “I just wish someone had let me in on the secret, it was my life after all that they were gambling with.”

Both girls nodded in agreement.

“So, how are you… you know, feeling?” Ginny inquired reaching out a hand and pushing a few stray hairs from his face.

He averted his gaze and shrugged. “Alright I guess, kind of sore and a bit of a headache but…”

The red head nodded, “Well good… er, not about the soreness or the headache but that you're alright. You know, good- for that, that is.”

Neville nodded and Hermione suppressed a smile.

“How long have I been out?” he inquired glancing at the clock across the room.

“A couple of hours,” supplied Ginny.

He nodded again.

“I'm actually surprised you're up so soon, Madam Pomfrey predicted you would be resting at least till late tomorrow afternoon.”

“Really?” he frowned.

“Um-hum,” she nodded, “uh, your Gran is here she's just across the way catching a quick kip.”

“Good.”

“Yeah…”

Hermione looked between the two as they snuck glances at one another and smiled softly to herself. “Well, I'm going to go and let everyone know that you're okay Neville,” she said aloud. “I think Ginny wanted to talk to you about something anyway,” she finished giving the red haired girl a pointed look.

Ginny's eyes widened and she shook her head. “No, no I think I'm good…”

“Really? I thought you wanted to say thanks… and something else if I remember correctly,” Hermione frowned.

Ginny blushed. “Right…”

“Right,” the older girl repeated. Coming forward she gave Neville a light kiss on the head then turned to Ginny pulling her into a light hug. “Tell him how you feel, trust me he feels the same way. Besides,” she pulled back and finished in a low tone, “after the way he fought today you can't be expecting him to stay single for long.” The younger girl sighed and frowned and Hermione gave her a smile. “I'll catch you later Nev.”

With that and a jaunty wave she headed though the curtains, making sure to loudly call out a silencing charm on her way to let them know that they had a spot of privacy. Ginny chuckled and Hermione shot her a wink. “Have fun you two.”

***************

Harry looked up as he girlfriend re-entered Gryffindor Tower. Standing, he approached her and pulled her into a strong hug.

“How did it go?” he inquired, pulling back and leading her over to the couch were Ron and Luna sat.

“A lot better than I thought I would,” she breathed, taking a seat next to him and laying her head against his chest. “Where are my parents?”

“In your dorm, they're using your room tonight,” he replied.

“What does `a lot better then you thought' mean?” quizzed Ron, lightly stroking Luna's hair.

“It means… she was -oddly enough, relieved by the information.”

“What?” Harry and Ron exclaimed in unison.

“I know. I felt the same way, but it's true. She says that her gut had told her something had happened and she was relieved to find out that her instincts were still spot on,” the brunette shrugged.

Ron and Harry shared a look and the red head rolled his eyes. “Bloody women,” he muttered.

Hermione shot him a glower, “And just what does that mean?”

“That means that if I found out that you and Harry snogged before we broke up, relieved would not be the word to describe the exact emotion that I felt,” he stated with a frown. When Harry winced and exhaled Ron threw him a look. “Did you?”

“Did we what?” Harry asked.

“Did you two snog before we broke up?” the other boy frowned sitting up a bit on the couch.

Harry opened and then closed his mouth, “Well-”

“Did you?” Hermione interrupted, lifting her head from her boyfriends' chest and studying her red haired mate.

“Did I what?”

“Did you and Luna snog before you and I broke up?” she inquired arching a brow.

Ron turned a dull red and Luna grimaced a bit, “I…we… well… so-so how's Neville doing?”

Hermione gave him a smug look and laid her head back on Harry's chest as he relaxed once more and gave a deep chuckle.

“He's doing well,” she replied dropping the other subject. “He was up and talking when I left. In fact that's why I left, so that he and Ginny would have a moment alone to hash a few things out.”

“What kind of things?” asked Ron.

Hermione and Luna shared a look and the brunette rolled her eyes. “Oh for goodness sake, don't be obtuse Ronald.”

“I'm not, it was a perfectly logical question,” he frowned.

“It was stupid, it's quite obvious what they had to talk about,” she replied.

“How is it obvious, I-”

“Oh please, how is it not?!”

“Just because you ruddy well think something-”

“Alright, alright!” Harry called cutting them off. “Ron she's taking about them going over whether or not they fancy one another. Hermione, lay off of Ron you know reading signs is not his forte.”

“Oi! That's not true,” the other boy exclaimed.

Harry snorted and rolled his eyes. “Oh come on Ron, how long did it take you to realize that Hermione fancied you? Or that Luna fancied you… or to suss out that Hermione and I were-”

“Alright, alright,” he grumbled, “I get your bleedin' point, no need to do a detailed recounting.”

Harry smirked and Luna giggled. “Don't worry Plumperdink, you have other skills,” she winked. Ron blushed a deep red.

Harry arched a brow at them, “Are you two-”

He cut off with a grunt when his girlfriend elbowed him.

“That is not any of your business Harry,” she stated primly.

Harry rolled his eyes and then shot Ron a discreet questioning look, the huge grin that spread over his mates face told him all that he needed to know.

“Well we should head out,” Ron said a second later. “I'm going to go on over to Ravenclaw tower with Luna -since most of her house is gone and what not.”

When Harry and Hermione arched brows at them both teens blushed.

“He helps to keep the Duberdemons away,” the blonde commented softly.

“I'm sure that's not all he helps to do,” muttered Harry, wincing when Hermione elbowed him again. “Geez Luv, what are you trying to do? Permanently bruise me?”

Hermione shot him a glower but didn't respond. “We'll see you two tomorrow then,” she smiled.

Luna smiled back. “Yes, tomorrow.”

Ron nodded and winked at Harry before the two stood and quickly made their way out of the portrait. Finally alone with his girlfriend, Harry pulled her back into his arms and held her close.

“I'm glad that you're okay,” he whispered kissing the top of her head.

“I'm glad that you are,” she murmured back, lightly kissing his chest. “Harry?”

“Hum?”

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For my life… for my mum's life.”

“Well thank you for my life too…”

“I'm serious,” Hermione stated pulling back and looking up at him “thank you for what you did. If it weren't for you my mum…”

He sighed and kissed her lips lightly. “You don't need to thank me for that. It is something that I would do again and again if need be.”

She exhaled and gave him a watery smile. “I know…” When he nodded she cupped his face. “But I still want to thank you.”

“You already did,” he smiled.

“No… I mean, thank you…”

Harry's brows rose. “Th-thank -thank me, thank me?”

She nodded.

“Right now?”

She nodded again.

“But… here?”

She chuckled. “No… your room.”

“But… but I think Seamus is still here…”

She shrugged and stood from the couch, Harry watched the sway of her hips entranced as she slowly sauntered to the stairs of the boys' dorm. “True…” she replied throwing an impish smile over her shoulder. “However if I remember correctly your bed does come with a rather sturdy set of curtains and, if I do say so myself, I am quite adept at silencing charms,” she finished twirling her wand.

Harry's mouth dropped a bit before a huge grin spread over his features. As he hopped up from the couch, Hermione let out a girlish giggle and sprinted up the steps to the dorm, her boyfriend hot on her trail.

*********

Harry stood at the bottom of the stairs, his bag a few feet away near the front door as he watched his girlfriend hug both of her parents.

“Are you sure you can't write or something?” Ella was asking with an anxious look.

“I'll try mum, but I can't guarantee it,” Hermione replied with a frown. “We're on a serious mission here and there will be people looking for us. I can't allow them to trace me back to you guys.”

“Don't worry,” chimed Mrs. Weasley, “We'll keep an eye on your parents dear.”

Hermione gave her a grateful smile and a quick hug. “Thank you Mrs. Weasley.”

Harry smiled also. It was a couple of weeks after graduation and into the summer and they were about to head off to find the remaining Horcruxes. Harry, Hermione and the Grangers had arrived to the Burrow a couple of days ago so that they could have some time to hang out together with their mates and their parents could get a briefing from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley as to what exactly was going on. Harry was relieved when the parents retreated to the living room to talk over everything and left them to their own devices. He didn't like being in the room when people heard his story, they always looked at him oddly and it made him feel uncomfortable.

By the time they saw the Grangers a few hours later they were up to date on everything that had occurred. Ella had pulled Harry into a strong embrace and whispered that she loved him, while Dan had given him a hearty handshake, an admiring look and said that he was proud of him. The dark haired boy had blushed under the attention and grudgingly accepted the compliments from the two as well as the ones added on by the Weasleys before deflecting some of the praise to Hermione and Ron who had been with him every step of the way. That in turn caused a round of tears from Ella who berated herself for not being aware of the danger her daughter was in everyday, as well as a demand from her to summon Dumbledore so that the Headmaster could explain to her face why they, Hermione's parents, hadn't been informed when she had been hurt at school -especially second year when she had been petrified.

Her husband and Mrs. Weasley took straight away to soothing the other woman's ruffled feathers as everyone instantly realized that they did not want to see what happened when you mixed a man like Dumbledore with an irate Ella Granger. Forty-five minutes, three arguments and one very long owl to the Headmaster later, all was well once more and the family sat calmly in the living room going over just what the trio had planned for their search.

They had decided to start where he and Dumbledore had left off and resume the hunt for the locket. Hermione had several ideas of other possible items and locations that they were going to explore once they had the locket in hand. In the mean time the Grangers would be staying with the Weasley's for a while and would have guard of the very capable Weasley twins when at their dentistry to work. The newest couple in their mists, Ginny and Neville would take over the command of the D.A. at Hogwarts to continue to train students to defend themselves should the need arise. Neville would be staying up the road in Hogsmeade so that he was close to the school incase anything else happened there.

Harry was pulled back to the present as Hermione put her arm around his waist and hugged him lightly. “Hey there, were did you head off to?” she inquired softly.

He gave a subtle smile. “No where, just thinking.”

“About?” she pressed.

He chuckled, “About, stuff.”

“What kind of stuff,” she persisted.

He grinned and leaned forward a bit, “I don't know… about you, me, private tents and long nights…”

She blushed and threw a look over her shoulder. “Harry,” she reprimanded, “my parents are right there.”

“I know, that's why I'm only thinking about it,” he winked.

She slapped his shoulder. “Oh you.”

He laughed lightly and pecked her softly on the lips.

“Aww, come on,” griped Ron heading down the stairs, “are you two at least ready to go before you start all that.”

Harry rolled his eyes.

“We've been ready,” Hermione stated, shifting in her boyfriends arms so that he was hugging her lightly from behind. “We're waiting on you.”

“As usual,” chimed Harry with a smirk.

Ron pulled a face at Harry before addressing Hermione, “Well we're ready, aren't we sweetie?”

“Oh yes,” Luna said skipping down the last several steps.

“Luna dear, are you sure your father doesn't mind?” Mrs. Weasley frowned, referring to the fact that the younger girl would be joining them on their search for the remainder of her summer break.

Harry hadn't really wanted her to go, he was worried about placing another person in so much danger. But Ron replied that he wouldn't let anything happen to her, he also informed Harry that he needed Luna there as much as the dark haired boy needed Hermione. Unable to think up a proper counter to that argument because he knew how much he needed his girlfriend at his side, Harry had relented and agreed to allow Luna to join them for part of their search.

The blonde shook her head in response to Mrs. Weasley's question. “Oh no, not at all -he thinks it's the perfect way to do a mini-expedition for the Snorkack.” She grinned excitedly, “I can't wait myself, after all we will be camping in some really remote areas.”

“Snorkack?” inquired Mr. Granger with a frown.

“Don't ask,” mumbled Mr. Weasley.

“That's nice dear,” commented Mrs. Weasley.

When Harry and Hermione snorted, Ron shot them a glower, “I figured that I'd help her, between the two of us we might even manage a picture,” he stated to his mum giving his girlfriend a small smile.

“I'm sure,” muttered Hermione.

Harry dropped his head and laughed into his girlfriends' hair.

“So is everyone ready to go?” inquired Ron ignoring his mates' reactions to what he had just said.

“I am,” chimed Luna.

“Once again, we've been ready,” stated Hermione arching a dark brow.

Ron rolled his eyes. “Well let's head out.”

“Do you have your tents?” asked Mrs. Weasley anxiously.

“Yes mum,” replied Ron. “I have one in my bag, Harry has another.”

“How about food?” quizzed Mrs. Granger with a frown.

“Yes mum,” replied Hermione, “It's in my bag.”

“Do you have your fireworks?!” called Fred from the top of the stairs.

Hermione rolled her eyes while Harry and Ron laughed.

“We don't need fireworks,” she stated prudishly with a disapproving frown.

“Of course you do,” replied George.

“Yeah, they're essential to any Dark Lord soul expedition,” added Fred.

“You should never leave home without them,” chimed George appearing suddenly between Hermione and her mum.

Ella Granger jumped, her hand going to her chest. “Wha?! How…”

“Never seen that before,” inquired Fred appearing on the side of her and throwing an arm over her shoulder. “Funny, I thought you had.”

“No… no I haven't… how did you do that?”

“It's called apparation,” supplied George pulling a bag of fireworks from his coat pocket and handing them to Ron.

“Wizards use it all the time,” threw in Fred, conjuring another bag and handing it to Luna.

“Fastest way to travel, it is,” nodded George.

“That's how the kids will be getting around,” commented Mr. Weasley with a kind smile. “Gets you from point `A' to point `B' just as quickly as you can envision point `B'.

“Wait,” Dan Granger held up a hand “all wizards and witches can do this?”

“Of age, yes,” nodded Mrs. Weasley.

The other mans gaze swung to Harry. “Can you do it?”

The dark haired boy's mouth dropped a bit but before he could conjure an answer Mr. Weasley chimed in.

“Why yes, Harry can. I took him to get his apparitions license as a Christmas present,” he grinned, “passed with flying colours on his first try.”

Harry shifted uncomfortably as Dan Granger frowned, the older man studied him for a moment before looking at his daughter. “I knew it,” he shook his head, “I knew it -what did he touch!” he exclaimed jabbing a finger in their direction.

Hermione blushed, “Nothing daddy, geez!”

“Don't nothing me,” Dan scoffed, before pacing, “I knew it, I told you Ella,” he looked at his wife, “didn't I tell you?! He was in her room -I know he was.” He stopped and glowered at Harry. “What. Did. You. Touch?”

“Nothing sir, honest… I… we…” he shot Mrs. Granger a helpless look.

She was watching the two of them with a surprised expression before shaking her head and grabbing her husband's arm. “Don't be daft Dan, Hermione and Harry didn't start seeing one another until she broke up with Ron -which was after they returned to Hogwarts.”

“Ha! Bollocks!” exclaimed Dan, “What has he touched?!”

“He's touched everything,” muttered Ron.

Everyone shot the ginger haired boy dubious looks and he blushed a beet red.

“Wow… did I say that aloud?” he winced.

Fred and George gave low whistles while Hermione groaned and covered her face with both hands. For his part Harry took several steps back towards the door.

“So… we really should go, we'll call you guys later bye!” called the dark haired boy disappearing through the exit before the last syllable rang out.

“Wow…” said Fred.

“I think that was faster than apparation,” commented George.

Dan Granger blinked, once… then twice, before suddenly coming to life.

“Danny no!” yelled Ella grabbing her husbands arms and trying to keep him where he was. Fred and George each grabbed a shoulder to help. “Her-Hermione…d-dear,” she continued still struggling to be heard over the bellows of her husband for Harry to `Come the hell back here!' “why don't you kids… go-go..go on and he-head out!” she called blowing her daughter a kiss.

Hermione nodded quickly and blew her a kiss back before running to the door and grabbing their bags. She gave Ron a punch in the shoulder when the got outside “What the hell was that?”

“Sorry,” he shrugged “how did I know it was going to get so bloody quiet at that exact moment.”

“You shouldn't have said it to began with you prat,” she hissed as they met up with Harry at the end of the drive.

The dark haired boy was craning his neck to look past her “Is it safe?”

“Somewhat,” Hermione sighed, throwing Ron another glower; Luna giggled. “My mum and the twins have him pinned.”

“Yeah but for how long,” added Ron looking at the door, “he looked ready to ruddy well kill yo…” he trailed off at the set of glares his mates were giving. “Right then… well, let's be off.”

“Sure, oh and thanks for opening you huge ruddy mouth Ron,” Harry said sarcastically.

“What?” the other boy frowned, “He's just in shock Harry, it'll blow over just give him a week or two-”

”Let me go! I'm not going to kill him, I swear! I'm just going to remove every sodding part of his body that touched my Pumpkin!! -And I know just where to start!”

“Dan you're being ridiculous, Hermione's not a little girl anymore!”

“She's my little girl -she always will be! Now were do you keep your hedge clippers Arthur?!”

“Er… or a month or two…” the redhead corrected wincing when upon hearing that there were no hedge clippers Mr. Granger requested a rusty knife.

“We… should… go…” murmured Hermione.

Harry, Ron and Luna all nodded quickly in agreement. Both boys put their arms around their respective girlfriends and closed their eyes envisioning the place where they wanted to be. The familiar pull of apparation took over, ensuring his escape and Harry released a relieved sigh as Dan Granger's last comment floated to his ears.

“Aww, but dear he doesn't need children!”

The End

A.N. I know, finally right!! Sorry real life has been overly hectic right now, I'm in College and it seems every professor wants a paper… at the same time. >.< Well that's a wrap!! Thanks for everyone who has been with me from the beginning of this story over a year ago and thanks to Beta Ben for coming to my rescue after my last beta slipped out of me to go on a mission -also thanks to Secretofthebronzeagle for betaing the chappys you did. I hope the story turned out as well as you'd hoped and I also hope that you'll check out my other stories -yes, even my Draco Malfoy one that does have hints of H/Hr relationship though it's mainly Draco/Ginny. My other multi chapter stories are `Redemption: D/G some hints of H/Hr', Ace of Hearts: H/Hr, Snogging Chronicles: H/Hr and my newest addition Facades ~ this one you have to read to believe, though I will warn you if you cannot handle very naughty situations then steer clear, this story is not for the too young (who shouldn't be reading this fic anyway) or the too moral, you've been warned. However I will tell you I find it to be a fun and interesting fic, I hope you check it out, I'm pretty sure that you'll find your favorite ship in there somewhere, even if its now how you intended to. *wink*.

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