Listen to your heart

A/D: *giggles* I own...*giggles* nothing! The characters and places belong to J.K. Rowling. The story line and most of the dialogue belongs to Francine Pascal. The two greatest authors: J.K. Rowling: Fantasy; Francine Pascal: Romance/Drama.

A/N: *giggles* The story line might sound familiar to any Sweet Valley Saga readers. *giggles* Anyway. I worked quite hard on this. I'm pretending Ron died at the end of their sixth year, it's for the story. Part one! Read and Review!

Listen To Your Heart: Part One

Hermione's high-pitched laugh echoed through the almost empty common room.

"Not that again Harry! I told you! Marriage and children are not for me!"

"But you need to settle down someday." Harry said.

Hermione laughed again. "Oh, Harry! That is so old fashioned!" She patted his hand and closed her book.

"But we're seventeen. You can't tell me you've never even thought about it!" Harry protested.

"I haven't thought about it! Now I'm going to bed." She laughed again and walked up to the girl's dormitory.

Harry sighed and walked up to his dormitory.

Harry sat in the living room at Sirius's house. The cold December rain poured down in sheets outside. Harry paused. He heard a knock at the door. Slowly he got up and opened the front door.

Hermione was standing there, with no hat, no coat. She was sobbing too hard to speak. After sitting her down on the sofa, he ran for a blanket, which he wrapped around her heaving shoulders.

"Tell me what's the matter. Is it about..."

"Yes, it's Seamus." She sobbed. "Oh, Harry. I've been such a fool! I opened myself up to him-I trusted him! But the whole time he's had not one but two women behind my back!"

"The scoundrel! To take advantage of an innocent girl..." Harry clenched his teeth. He couldn't say he warned her-she needed comfort, not criticism. "Herm. He didn't-your not..."

"I'm not pregnant if that's what you're asking. But I cared about him. And I thought he..." Her face crumpled again. "Oh, Harry. Hold me."

Harry put his arms around her, holding her tight.

"There, there," He murmured. "Everything will be alright."

Gradually Hermione stopped crying. She looked up at Harry with red rimmed eyes. "I do feel better. I knew I would if I came to you."

Harry felt a spark of hope ignite in his heart. For years now he had been wooing other girls without much interest, all the while loving Hermione from a distance. She's learned the hard way about me like Seamus. Will it change her feelings toward me? "Then you must always come to me."

He went into the kitchen and returned with a mug of butterbeer. Hermione sipped it gratefully. "Better?" Harry asked.

"Better," She said.

"I hate to see you sad." Harry sat next to her on the sofa, his arm around her shoulders. He intended to keep his opinion to himself, but suddenly he couldn't help venting it.

"You should have known better then to trust your heart to someone like that. You deserve a man who will cherish and protect you, put you on a pedestal, not drag you down in the dirt."

Hermione shrugged off his arm and put down the mug. "That's where you're wrong. What I've learned from Seamus isn't that I need a nicer man. It's that I don't need any man at all."

Why did I goad her? Harry thought, wanting to kick himself. "You've always said that, but you can't really believe it, deep down in your heart."

"My heart doesn't make my decisions." Hermione retorted. "My mind does, my intellect and common sense."

Standing up, she handed back the damp blanket. "Sorry to barge in here and make a mess of your life as well as my own."

"I'll always be here for you." Harry assured her.

A minute later she forged back into the rain, taking his umbrella with her.

His umbrella, and as always, his heart.

A/N: Sooooo romantic. Read and Review! PWEEESE??? There is more!