A/N: This is the sequel to "Finding the Courage." I hope you enjoy!

I am using this chapter to apply over at Portkey!

Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to those who took the time to review "Finding the Courage."

Ron and Ginny lovers beware, some bashing this chapter.

Disclaimer: The HP Book Universe belongs to JK Rowling and JK Rowling alone!

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Forgetting the Hate

Harry and Hermione entered the Great Hall late the next morning. Usually when Harry entered for breakfast greetings and hisses met his ears. However, today absolute silence greeted him. A few short seconds later a combination of yells, applause, and groans resounded throughout the Hall as students saw Harry and Hermione's intertwined fingers and the sloppy grin on Harry's face and the pleased beam Hermione wore. All throughout the hall bet money was being demanded. To the shock of the school body even some now shamed Slytherins were in on the gambling. Up at the teachers table, Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Slughorn smiled knowingly. Hagrid wiped at his eyes and had to restrain from crushing them in a monster hug. Snape scowled into his goblet, he was never one to be pleased when new love was in the air.

Harry and Hermione's eyes sought two particular red-headed Gryffindors. They saw them staring moodily and their plates, only looking up to glare at the otherwise festive Lion table. Harry pulled Hermione along as he made his way towards them. When they sat down across the table from the two Weasleys Ron glowered at Harry and Ginny shot a death glare at Hermione.

"Have a good night?" asked Ron sarcastically, "you must have remembered your silencing charm!"

Harry pulled at his wand and pointed it right into the black of Ron's eye and the entire Hall immediately tensed and drew in a breath. Hermione placed a warm hand on Harry's arm and he met her eyes, this calmed him down considerable and he lowered his arm. Everyone around them exhaled and disappointed groans sounded from the Slytherin table.

"You knew I liked her!" Ron said bitterly.

"You knew I liked him!" Ginny exclaimed at the same time as Ron. Their high decibels pierced through the otherwise quiet of the Hall. An awkward silence ensued, the tension seemed to press in and suffocate students and teachers alike. Everyone's eyes were glued at the red-faced Weasleys and the blissfully happy couple, distantly someone's earnings dropped to the floor. The clang of the coins seemed to magnify a 100x, it served to break the silence.

At the same moment Ron and Ginny stood up, looking Harry and Hermione dead in the eye, and then they abruptly turned and walked briskly from the usually lively atmosphere of the Great Hall. In the general shock of this morning's revelation no one except Dumbledore noticed Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood stand and pursue the temperamental siblings. His blue eyes twinkled in hope.

After a few moments the murmur of conversation, surrounding Harry and Hermione's relationship rose throughout the hall. Harry and Hermione ate in a comfortable silence; every time their hands brushed they looked at each other and with a smile upturning the corners of their lips, instead of the usual blush. Once they had finished eating they stood and immediately grasped the other's hand. They walked to the door, ignoring the blatant stares boring into their backs.

"When do you reckon we should talk to Ron and Ginny?" asked Harry quietly.

"We need to give them a little bit of time, a day or two perhaps, and then approach them. Hopefully by then they will have cooled off substantially." She replied equally quietly. All around them students conversations ended and they leaned in, not even bothering with subtly, attempting to eavesdrop.

"You know what I hate?" asked Harry loud enough for all the surrounding students to hear easily.

"What?" inquired Hermione interested in his rapid mood change.

"When random people listen in on my conversations, seriously it's ridiculous!" exclaimed a frustrated Harry. This, of course, caused everyone in the corridors to draw back, ashamed, and soon the murmur of conversation rose to allow for more private conversation.

"Do you have anything planned for tonight?" asked Harry.

"No, why?" she questioned back, hopefully.

"Meet me in the common room at 7." he said.

"Can't wait!" she practically squealed, squeezing his fingers. The entire student body practically heard this exclamation. Wolf whistles came at the couple from all directions and Hermione ducked her head embarrassedly and Harry chuckled softly, although very pleased at her reaction.

They hurried along to their first class, Potions with Professor Slughorn. He grinned at them as they walked in and patted Harry on the back with a whisper of "Way to go, my boy." Harry rolled his eyes while Hermione tried to muffle her laughter with the back of her hand.

A minute or two later the rest of the class came in and watched Harry and Hermione attentively. Draco Malfoy approached the couple and said in a sarcastic whisper "So, did you and your Mudblood have some fun last night?" Harry nonverbally cast the Levicorpus spell which flipped Malfoy over. Slughorn saw this entire display and simply cast the counter curse while trying to restrain from laughter. He took 10 from Slytherin and 5 from Gryffindor. However, the rest of the period he periodically found the most random excuses to give Gryffindor points. By periods end Harry had earned 35 points and Hermione had earned 20. Draco had lost an additional 15 points for muttering obscenities about Slughorn.

The next class was Transfiguration and McGonagall shot a huge grin at her Lions. Harry and Hermione were the only two to successfully transform some of their appearance so they each won 10 points. Hermione told Harry to wait outside at the end of the lesson and approached McGonagall. Their head of house smiled at her favorite student and in a rare display of affection gave the approaching student a brief hug.

"I was wondering if you had any books, pamphlets, or anything on animagus transformations?"

"Let me see here, dear." She walked back into her office and sifted through her bookcase and pulled out three books: Finding Your Form, The How to Guide on Animagus Transformations, and Preparing to Change, the Ritual Itself. She brought them back to her classroom and handed them to Hermione.

"Do you plan on registering?" she asked seriously.

"I'm going through the pros and cons of each route, it could really come in handy if we surprised some Death Eaters and Voldemort, but breaking the law…" she trailed off.

"I think you should hold off on registering until after the war, keep it a secret as long as possible." McGonagall stated.

"Yes, I think you're right… Thank you Professor." Said Hermione.

"You're welcome, dear." McGonagall responded.

Hermione magically shrunk the books and placed them in the enlarged inside of her book bag, then she reinforced the feather light charm and took her leave. True to his word, Harry was dutifully waiting outside the door, he deftly took her bag off her shoulder and grabbed her hand.

"What did you want to talk to Professor McGonagall about?" Harry questioned.

"I guess you could say I expressed interest in animagus transformations and asked if she had any books we could find useful." replied Hermione.

Harry beamed at her and squeezed her hand gently, his fingers caressing hers. They had some down time before lunch so they went up to the common room. They sat down together on the couch, she pulled out a book Finding Your Form and began to mull over its contents. Harry took this time to study her, he found her little quirks very endearing. She would periodically lick her lips, bite her lip, and brush back a troublesome strand of hair. They both lost track of time, lost in their own worlds and nearly missed lunch. They came rushing in late, to the amusement of the entire student body and had to eat extremely fast. Ron and Ginny abruptly left when they entered, shooting them death glares as the Great Hall erupted in snickers.

After wolfing down their food they left the Great Hall again and made their way to their last class of the day, Charms. Harry was slightly disappointed because he wouldn't be able to have a private conversation with Hermione and there was only two open seats… the ones next to Ron. Ron glowered at them, and promptly scooted his chair to the very edge of the table, Harry and Hermione didn't want to invade on his sour mood so they sat closer together, flaring up his temper even more.

During class they worked on a more advanced version of the cheering charm nonverbally. Harry and Hermione accomplished this easily on their first attempt, while the rest of the class struggled throughout the period. Most of their class save Ron managed to make it work at least once but were very inconsistent with it. Professor Flitwick explained right before the end of the period that the charm fed off the emotions of the caster. He continued to say that those extremely happy could cast it consistently with ease, those in a horrible mood wouldn't be able to cast it at all unless extremely gifted, but most often when the caster is in an average mood they will be able to cast it consistently with raw magical ability or lots of practice.

They left the room with 10 more points each, Hermione was practically bouncing with her excitement. Harry and Hermione walked to the common room slowly and watched angrily as Ron stalked past them. Once they got into the common room Harry pulled her down into a chaste kiss before taking off back out the portrait, leaving a baffled Hermione in his wake. Harry flew to the kitchens looking for a certain house elf, Dobby was easily spotted sporting his vibrant clothes. Harry enlisted his help for his first date with Hermione which he was very anxious about. Dobby agreed to be a waiter of sorts for their dinner later that night.

Harry rushed back to the common room to get ready for his date. His hands were sweating and he was doing his best not to pace, he wanted everything to be absolutely perfect! He changed into his only really nice muggle clothes which he had to buy with his own money after exchanging galleons for pounds. The outfit consisted of black dress pants, a very nice white dress shirt, a black suit, and striped black and blue tie. He combed through his hair, desperate for some control, but, in the end, settled for flattening his unruly hair over his scar instead.

When he got down stairs Hermione was waiting in the common room, thankfully it was empty (everyone as at dinner) to spare more wolf whistles. His breath escaped him in a rush when he saw Hermione. She was wearing a blue dress, similar to her Yule Ball dress and her hair was pulled back in an elegant bun but a few strands were curled around her face. She smiled beautifully at him as he descended the stairs. Harry approached her and then wrapped his arms around her, pressing their bodies together and he whispered into her ear in a slightly husky voice "You look gorgeous, Hermione." And then he kissed her neck right below her ear.

She pulled back to smile at him once more "Thank you." She whispered back. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close. He led her to the seventh floor, their only companions the clink of her high heels as she started to lengthen her strides, wanting to get to spend some private time with her boyfriend. Harry squeezed her waist before releasing her, he smiled at the moan of protest from her. He paced in front of the wall three times before the blank expanse of wall. A door popper into existence, Harry twisted the door knob and held it open for his excited girlfriend. After she walked through the threshold he followed her with a hand on the small of her back, to guide her to an ornate table. He reached in front of her and pulled out a chair for her and then took his seat next to her. Two menus popped into existence, Dobby as par Harry's request had charmed the menus so only their favorite foods had been displayed, Hermione gasped at the food the menu offered.

"What are you going to order?" he asked leaning forward, his chin resting on his hand, looking into her eyes.

"I am not sure," she gushed "everything looks so good."

"I think I am going to eat the prime rib, I have always wanted to try it." He explained.

"Never?" she asked, shocked.

"No but Aunt Petunia always made sure Dudley got two, sometimes three." He said, his face drained of emotion. Hermione grabbed his hand that was clenched on his thigh. She wove her fingers between his and applied a gentle pressure. He responded by giving her hand a quick squeeze and flashed a genuine smile.

"I think I'll have some lasagna," said Hermione, serving to break the silence. Harry snapped his fingers and Dobby appeared, dressed a little nicer that usual, he even wore a bowtie around his neck. Hermione stared at Dobby, then looked suspiciously at Harry. He ordered for them, and Dobby effeicently took the orders and then disappeared again. Harry explained in a soft whisper to the slightly upset Hermione "He will be paid for his services tonight."

She nodded, and her face cleared of all disappointment and suspicion. A moment later Dobby returned with their meals and a butter beer for each of them. In unison they whispered their thanks to the obedient house elf and then smiled at each other. They each lost their selves in the other's eyes but at the same moment each came to their senses and looked away wearing a slight blush.

They turned their attentions to their meals, the food was outstanding and Harry mentally made a note to tip the house elf even more. When they were finished Harry snapped once more and Dobby appeared, he cleared off the table and Harry paid Dobby to Hermione's joy. After receiving his payment, Dobby apparated away once more to give the couple some more private time.

A plump red couch appeared on the other side of the room, music playing softly, seductively in the background. They sat down closely together; he had her tucked securely into his side and his fingers played with some of the stray hairs that had been driving him crazy throughout their meal. She turned her face to his and he responded by cupping her cheek and bringing her lips to his. They adjusted their positions without breaking the kiss. She ran her tongue along his bottom lip and he immediately granted her access. Their tongues met in a fierce, sexy dance. They continued kissing until extreme oxygen deprivation forced them to pull apart. They sucked in gulps of much needed air. Harry looked over at his girlfriend, her lips were swollen, her face flushed, and a few more hairs escaped her bun. He thought she looked beautiful.

She looked into his bright, emerald eyes. She could see the emotions positively radiating from them. She could detect happiness, lust, and to her pleasure love.

"I love you." He whispered, his fingers twirling the strands of her hair, his eyes boring into hers, alight with his joy.

"I love you, too." She whispered back breathlessly, hearts beating in unison.

Harry pulled back the cuff of his dress shirt to look at his watch, it was after 11. Harry wondered vaguely where all the time went.

"We better get going, as much as I'm enjoying myself." He said regretfully.

She sighed, "I suppose so," she admitted reluctantly.

"Just one more sec." he muttered, before pulling her down for another soul searing kiss. He surprised her at the end by nibbling at her ear, afflicting a soft moan from her.

He sighed, "We really have to go now," he told her.

"Alright," she responded, allowing him to pull her to her feet.

He held the door open for her again, and put his hand back on the small of her back. They ran into a few close calls, but somehow managed to make all the way back to their common room without running into a teacher, ghost, or prefect.

When they gave the drowsy Fat Lady the password, they climbed through the portrait hole. He walked her to the stairway and leaned down slightly for a chaste kiss.

"Good night," he whispered.

"G'night," she murmured drowsily.

They parted ways, both with huge grins on their faces, elation pumping through their veins. Harry could tell Ron was still awake although her pretended to be asleep and Harry signed mournfully, his train of thought shifting back in fourth between a certain bookworm and the talk he would have to have with Ron soon.

Harry prepared himself for bed and then pulled the covers over himself. He had a rare nightmare less night, his dreams focused on his new, exciting relationship. Although he woke up early, he felt completely refreshed, he raced through his morning routine so he could see Hermione as soon as possible. He left the dorm just as the first boy showed signs of stirring.

He went down the spiral staircase and smiled when he saw Hermione just coming out of her staircase as well. He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her slimmer body and breather into her ear a mornings greeting. He was pleasantly surprised at her resulting shiver. They went down to breakfast hand in hand and were the first students there, a minute or two later some other students started to arrive. Since they began eating so early they were down before over half of the student populace had come down for breakfast.

They had time to go back into the common room before class and went to collect their stuff. When they entered the common room, it was almost completely empty, only Ron and Ginny still remained rubbing the tiredness from their eyes. Harry and Hermione met eyes and agreed without speaking that now was the time to first broach the subject. Harry spoke first:

"Ron, Ginny can we talk to you guys?"

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Sorry about the cliffy, forgive me please!