Hey all! Red here! This is my first fanfiction so please be kind to me!

Valac: Ya' know Muse-chan, lying isn't the best way to kick things off.

Red: Stuff it Valac. I'm not lying, this is the first time I've ever posted something that is entirely my own ... well ... minus the part that J.K. Rowling owns the Harry Potter series and it's characters and I'm just writing an alternate storyline that's mine and mine alone but ...

Kusaka: Flame boy was referring to Naruto, Sasuke and a Squirrel WhatTHE!?!

Red: Oh, that, right ... well that's a collaboration on mine and ... i think she calls herself demonclowsorceress here ... but yeah, i'm just the muse for that, it's not "mine" in the sense that I'm referring to.

Valac: Tch. Fine, fine, fine, just get on with the story.

Red: Okie dokie! But this is a Harry Potter fanfiction so I have no idea why you and Kusaka randomly appeared.

Kusaka: To help you explain things of course. Now then, a proper disclaimer and summary should be stated.

Red: Uhhh ... sure.

Disclaimer/warning: I don't own Harry Potter or any of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter related paraphernalia. This particular storyline is mine and any person stealing it shall be caught and forced to spend eternity in the darkest recesses of my mind, trust me, it's not a good thing. Also, the characters will be acting the way I perceive them so if you don't like it don't read it and if you don't like guy on guy don't read it either.

Summary: In which Harry is chastised and Ron and Hermione are left dumbfounded.

For Lack of a Better Word

Chapter One

Harry was, for lack of a better word, bored. It was now November of his 6th year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and nothing had happened since the Ministry of Magic debacle at the end of last year. Harry knew that he really should be thankful that nothing big that affects both worlds dramatically, for instance a repeat of the Great Fire of London, occurred, but it made him nervous to think of what was really going on that it took this time to devise.

"What do you think they're planning? I mean, something is going to happen sooner or later and it's bound to be something big. What if they-"

"Harry, stop," interrupted an exasperated Hermione, "We've been over this a thousand times already. Will you please drop it?"

"Yeah mate," agreed Ron, "there's nothing you can do 'bout it really. So … why do you even bother to try and figure it out? Besides, your paranoia's starting to put the rest of us on edge. Ya' need to relax a little."

"Relax. You want me to relax?" Harry deadpanned, "There's a raging homicidal, bestial, misanthropic maniac on the loose with even more loony, bigoted followers, with numbers growing by the day, and you want me to relax … How the bloody hell am I supposed to do that?! Why, for bloody Merlin's sake, is everyone acting as if nothing ever happened!?" He ranted, volume growing with each word as they spilled forth from his mouth in outrage.

Hermione looked around the Common Room, all eyes were on the three of them, all eyes were staring nervously, waiting for something to happen. She stood abruptly from her comfortable position in nice poufy armchair by the fire, grabbed Harry's wrist in a firm grip, the strength of which bewildered Harry, and yanked him off the sofa; Ron obediently stood and followed them out of the portrait hole, pushing his best friend out and after Hermione as she led the way, half-dragging the protesting boy.

"Hermione! Stop it, let go already!" Harry protested. He honestly had no idea why Hermione couldn't just answer him when they had been in the Common Room, or now, since they weren't near prying ears anymore, and he wondered where he was being tugged along to.

"Hey, where are you taking me? … Why can't you answer me? … Oi! … Hey? Oh c'mon! … H-hey! Ron! Ron stop pushing me! Seriously! Both of you let go!"

"Harry, shut up," Hermione deadpanned, continuing to drag Harry along the corridors and up flights of stairs until she came to a dead stop, Harry and Ron stopping in the nick-of-time before running into her causing them all to fall in a heap on the floor, but, they stopped just in time.

Hermione spun around on the spot and faced the two boys, "Stay here," she said sternly, mostly to Harry, and then she focused on Ron, "Make sure he doesn't run-off." Hermione then promptly scurried off around the corner leaving the two alone. Harry turned around and faced Ron, staring up at him.

"Well?" he questioned.

"Don't ask me," Ron said, shrugging it off, not even bothering to glance down at Harry. They shared a look when Hermione shouted from down the corridor around the corner for them to 'come here,' and they rounded the corner. Harry had a moment of 'oh yeah, I knew that' when he saw Hermione standing in the doorway to the Room of Requirement and Ron … well Ron had one of the dumbest-looking, slack-jawed expressions on his face that caused Hermione to giggle and Harry to snort. Hearing that, Ron proceeded to look downright confused.

"What?" he asked. Harry and Hermione just shook their heads at him and went inside, leaving Ron to shut the door behind them.

The Room of Requirement now looked like a replica of the Gryffindor Common Room and, as usual, they situated themselves in the chairs around the hearth.

Harry sat expectantly in his comfy chair, watching Ron and Hermione. They, in turn, were giving other looks silently communicating in the same way those couples that are completely in tune with one another do. After a few minutes of staring at Ron and Hermione, in their sickeningly sweet couple mode, Harry was at the breaking point of his patience and could feel his dinner wanting to come back up thanks his two best friend's lovey-dovey antics.

"Enough is enough already! Will you two please stop it with the coupley, lovey-dovey, eye communication thingy! It's makin' me sick!" Harry snapped when his patience did as well.

"Really now Harry, we're just trying to figure out the best way to tell you some … well, some 'bad' news, I mean the entire school has been saying-"

"Harry's off his rocker and has gone off the deep end!" Ron chipped in, cutting Hermione off.

"… that for a month now. Thank you Ronald for that interruption." Hermione continued after Ron's two-cents was added.

"Heh heh … yea … Harry … actually, there's something else, good news," Ron glanced over at Hermione and she gave him an encouraging smile, "we, that is … Hermione and I wanted to tell you before anyone else. Look mate, we … don't look at me like that! It's creepy!"

"Harry, stop it. Harry!" Harry glanced over at Hermione and complied with her command and she spoke again. "Good. Now look, I know that it's hard to relax with all that's going on, what with You-know-who back and the Death Eaters on the move and everything but, you really do need to lighten-up some. I mean, it's not right for you to push your anxiety onto everyone else. They-"

"But they need to be thinking about it now! Before it's too late to do anything!"

Hermione let out an enormous sigh, "Harry, they are thinking about it. But, they also want to be happy and do things now, while they have the chance to still do it. I'm not asking you to not think about it at all, it's in the back of everyone's mind and you should let it be in the back of yours for awhile too." Harry stared at her, thinking about what she said, mulling it over in his mind. After a pregnant pause Hermione tentatively asked, "Will you try it?"

"I … I guess I never thought of it that way before … does the whole school really want to avoid me?"

Ron nodded his head slowly, "Yeah … yeah they do, but only because you've been acting loony lately. I mean, even Malfoy hasn't bothered to be a git for awhile now, he hasn't played pranks, or gotten under skin."

"I … yeah, you're right. That's kind of weird, I mean it's Malfoy we're talking about here … I can't believe Malfoy is related to Sirius. It just doesn't seem possible."

"Harry … Harry are you … do you need to talk to someone about losing him? You know you-"

Harry's face went completely blank and he stood up, immediately cutting Hermione off. "I'm fine. I'm going to go back to the Common Room, then I'm going to bed." Harry walked to the door and was about to open it when Ron spoke.

"Harry! We didn't get to tell you our news! And you never told us if you'd take it easy or not!"

Harry looked over his shoulder at them and said, "I'll try okay? I'll try not to think about it too much … it's not like The Order isn't doing anything, so it shouldn't be okay for me to try for awhile. Oh, and congratulations you two. It's about bloody time." He smiled and left, leaving the two staring after him with dumbfounded expressions on their faces.