Disclaimer: This is a Harry Potter fanfic. Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley, and any of the other characters do not belong to me, sadly enough, but they do belong to the wonderful J.K. Rowling. The places mentioned (the common room, the Great Hall, Hogwarts, etc.) also do not belong to me. They are the creations of J.K Rowling's mind, and always will be. So, don't sue me for using them, and BE NICE. (Oh, look, I actually own a character: LACEY ROSE is miiine!)
Things you need to know: Harry, Ron, and Hermione are in their fifth year. Harry is captain of the Quidditch team for Gryffindor, and Ron is the Keeper. Draco Malfoy is the captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team. At the beginning, the three are already a month into the school year. Ginny is still in love with Harry, but is trying to act like she doesn't like him anymore. I guess that's it...
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Chapter One:
Mixed Feelings
Fifteen-year-old Hermione Granger sat in a huge chair, a big book in her lap. She was sitting alone in the Gryffindor common room, waiting for Harry to come down from his dorm so that they could begin working on their Great People of the Past project for Hogwarts History 101. Harry was already twenty minutes late, and Hermione was beginning to get impatient. She sighed heavily and brushed some pieces of her long brown hair out of her face.
Meanwhile, Harry Potter was upstairs in the fifth year dorm room he shared with Ron, Dean, and Seamus. He was sitting on his bed while Ron was saying, "Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out."
"I know how to breathe, Ron!" Harry snapped. "Oh, bloody hell. I'm too nervous. I can't go down there."
"You have to!" Ron exclaimed. "You can't leave poor Hermione down there waiting for you like an old maid. If you don't think you can handle yourself alone with her, just go down and tell her you don't feel well and you don't think you are able to work on the project tonight. Then suggest that you two work on it tomorrow, that way everyone else will be in the common room with you guys, and you won't have to worry about making a move on her."
Harry glared at one of his two best friends. "Don't say it like that!" he screeched. "By saying 'you won't have to worry about making a move on her' it sounds like you're suggesting I'm some kind of hormonal teenager that can't control himself around Hermione Granger!"
"You are some hormonal teenager that can't control himself around Hermione Granger! Half the guys in Hogwarts are hormonal teenagers that can't control themselves around Hermione Granger! Including Draco Malfoy!"
Harry sighed. He knew Ron was right. For some reason, when Harry saw Hermione at the beginning of the school year, he felt something different for her than he had last year. She had changed so much, not just in looks but in personality. Her looks had changed, sure; Hermione's hair was no longer frizzy: instead it hung straight down to her waist. She had sprouted up another two inches, making her five foot six. Her baby fat from the previous years had thinned out all over her body. Something Harry couldn't help but notice was that her breasts had grown larger over the summer, because last year her robes barely rose from her chest, but this year her breasts strained against the fabric. Aside from looks, Hermione's personality had changed as well. She was no longer a perfectionist bookworm. True, she still cared about her grades, but you could no longer find her engrossed in a thick hardback book on the fluffy couch in the common room. Hermione's bossiness that she had had the first four years of attending Hogwarts seemed to have vanished. Harry really liked the change, but it just made him like Hermione as more than a friend. He longed to be her boyfriend. He knew he could never have her when seventh years and fifth year Slytherins like Draco Malfoy, who hated Gryffindors, were even competing for her!
Back down in the common room, Hermione checked her watch. Feeling an enormous hurt take over her body, she sighed and stood up from the chair. *Great, Herm,* she told herself. *You can't even get Harry Potter to come down for a study date!* Aloud, she voiced, "Well, I'm not taking all responsibility for this project! If he wants it finished, he'll have to help!" She sat the book down on the chair and slipped her shoes on her feet.
With another sigh Hermione began to climb the stairs to the fifth year girls' dorm room that she shared with Lavender Brown, Lacey Rose, and Parvati Patil. She began to make up reasons for Harry in her head: he was busy with a game of wizard's chess that he absolutely could not quit; he was busy writing a letter to the Dursleys; he had too much homework. None of the reasons seemed to suffice, though.
Hermione opened the door and walked over to her bed. She collapsed into the velvetty red sheets and comforter of her comfortable twin-size bed. Hoping that nobody else was in the dorm, she began to cry quietly. But she quickly brushed away her tears. She refused to be another starstruck Harry Potter fan club member! She refused to cry over him for standing her up on their study date! She wasn't an immature fourth year any longer. *Get over it, Herm. He stood you up. There's better things to cry over than Harry Potter,* a voice in her head told her. Another voice said, *Cry all you want to, Hermione Lynn Granger. Harry Potter doesn't deserve you anyhow.*
She listened to the second voice and continued to sob into her pillow.
In the boys' dorm, Harry was still glued to his bed. "Maybe I'll just get in bed early and tell her I fell asleep and slept through our study date," Harry told Ron.
"You're hopeless."
"Yes, I am," Harry agreed. "I would go down, but I honestly don't trust myself around her. She's so beautiful...and I like her so much. But...I don't want to hurt her like that idiot Viktor Krum did earlier this year!"
"Hermi's a strong girl, Harry," Ron said after a long silence. "She'll stop you if you try something that she doesn't want you doing."
"I know that she most likely would stop me," Harry said. "But what would it do to our friendship if I tried something and she didn't stop me? Or if I tried something and she told me to stop, but I wouldn't? Or got caught trying something with her, by somebody like Lavender or Lacey? We're fifteen, and I just don't wanna risk the chance that I would try something with her that could—could—you know, get her into trouble."
"You're a strange guy, Harry," Ron said. "A really strange guy." He laughed and went over to his bed. He turned back and looked at Harry. "You really think about getting Hermione into 'trouble'?"
Harry's eyes widened. "Did I say that?" he asked quickly. "Of course not! I don't think about things like that! Not yet! I'm only fifteen!" When Ron laughed, Harry threw a hard pillow at him and then laid face down on his bed.
Harry tried to make the voices spinning around in his head stop. But they wouldn't. *You don't want to hurt Hermione, so go down to the common room. She'll stop you if you do something that she doesn't like,* said one. Another said, *Stay right where you are, Harry. Don't take the chance.*
Like Hermione, Harry listened to the second voice and stayed put. He soon dozed off into a restless and guilty sleep.
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Well, that's the first chapter! Hoped you guys liked it! I'll put up the second chapter when I get...two reviews!
Things you need to know: Harry, Ron, and Hermione are in their fifth year. Harry is captain of the Quidditch team for Gryffindor, and Ron is the Keeper. Draco Malfoy is the captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team. At the beginning, the three are already a month into the school year. Ginny is still in love with Harry, but is trying to act like she doesn't like him anymore. I guess that's it...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter One:
Mixed Feelings
Fifteen-year-old Hermione Granger sat in a huge chair, a big book in her lap. She was sitting alone in the Gryffindor common room, waiting for Harry to come down from his dorm so that they could begin working on their Great People of the Past project for Hogwarts History 101. Harry was already twenty minutes late, and Hermione was beginning to get impatient. She sighed heavily and brushed some pieces of her long brown hair out of her face.
Meanwhile, Harry Potter was upstairs in the fifth year dorm room he shared with Ron, Dean, and Seamus. He was sitting on his bed while Ron was saying, "Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out."
"I know how to breathe, Ron!" Harry snapped. "Oh, bloody hell. I'm too nervous. I can't go down there."
"You have to!" Ron exclaimed. "You can't leave poor Hermione down there waiting for you like an old maid. If you don't think you can handle yourself alone with her, just go down and tell her you don't feel well and you don't think you are able to work on the project tonight. Then suggest that you two work on it tomorrow, that way everyone else will be in the common room with you guys, and you won't have to worry about making a move on her."
Harry glared at one of his two best friends. "Don't say it like that!" he screeched. "By saying 'you won't have to worry about making a move on her' it sounds like you're suggesting I'm some kind of hormonal teenager that can't control himself around Hermione Granger!"
"You are some hormonal teenager that can't control himself around Hermione Granger! Half the guys in Hogwarts are hormonal teenagers that can't control themselves around Hermione Granger! Including Draco Malfoy!"
Harry sighed. He knew Ron was right. For some reason, when Harry saw Hermione at the beginning of the school year, he felt something different for her than he had last year. She had changed so much, not just in looks but in personality. Her looks had changed, sure; Hermione's hair was no longer frizzy: instead it hung straight down to her waist. She had sprouted up another two inches, making her five foot six. Her baby fat from the previous years had thinned out all over her body. Something Harry couldn't help but notice was that her breasts had grown larger over the summer, because last year her robes barely rose from her chest, but this year her breasts strained against the fabric. Aside from looks, Hermione's personality had changed as well. She was no longer a perfectionist bookworm. True, she still cared about her grades, but you could no longer find her engrossed in a thick hardback book on the fluffy couch in the common room. Hermione's bossiness that she had had the first four years of attending Hogwarts seemed to have vanished. Harry really liked the change, but it just made him like Hermione as more than a friend. He longed to be her boyfriend. He knew he could never have her when seventh years and fifth year Slytherins like Draco Malfoy, who hated Gryffindors, were even competing for her!
Back down in the common room, Hermione checked her watch. Feeling an enormous hurt take over her body, she sighed and stood up from the chair. *Great, Herm,* she told herself. *You can't even get Harry Potter to come down for a study date!* Aloud, she voiced, "Well, I'm not taking all responsibility for this project! If he wants it finished, he'll have to help!" She sat the book down on the chair and slipped her shoes on her feet.
With another sigh Hermione began to climb the stairs to the fifth year girls' dorm room that she shared with Lavender Brown, Lacey Rose, and Parvati Patil. She began to make up reasons for Harry in her head: he was busy with a game of wizard's chess that he absolutely could not quit; he was busy writing a letter to the Dursleys; he had too much homework. None of the reasons seemed to suffice, though.
Hermione opened the door and walked over to her bed. She collapsed into the velvetty red sheets and comforter of her comfortable twin-size bed. Hoping that nobody else was in the dorm, she began to cry quietly. But she quickly brushed away her tears. She refused to be another starstruck Harry Potter fan club member! She refused to cry over him for standing her up on their study date! She wasn't an immature fourth year any longer. *Get over it, Herm. He stood you up. There's better things to cry over than Harry Potter,* a voice in her head told her. Another voice said, *Cry all you want to, Hermione Lynn Granger. Harry Potter doesn't deserve you anyhow.*
She listened to the second voice and continued to sob into her pillow.
In the boys' dorm, Harry was still glued to his bed. "Maybe I'll just get in bed early and tell her I fell asleep and slept through our study date," Harry told Ron.
"You're hopeless."
"Yes, I am," Harry agreed. "I would go down, but I honestly don't trust myself around her. She's so beautiful...and I like her so much. But...I don't want to hurt her like that idiot Viktor Krum did earlier this year!"
"Hermi's a strong girl, Harry," Ron said after a long silence. "She'll stop you if you try something that she doesn't want you doing."
"I know that she most likely would stop me," Harry said. "But what would it do to our friendship if I tried something and she didn't stop me? Or if I tried something and she told me to stop, but I wouldn't? Or got caught trying something with her, by somebody like Lavender or Lacey? We're fifteen, and I just don't wanna risk the chance that I would try something with her that could—could—you know, get her into trouble."
"You're a strange guy, Harry," Ron said. "A really strange guy." He laughed and went over to his bed. He turned back and looked at Harry. "You really think about getting Hermione into 'trouble'?"
Harry's eyes widened. "Did I say that?" he asked quickly. "Of course not! I don't think about things like that! Not yet! I'm only fifteen!" When Ron laughed, Harry threw a hard pillow at him and then laid face down on his bed.
Harry tried to make the voices spinning around in his head stop. But they wouldn't. *You don't want to hurt Hermione, so go down to the common room. She'll stop you if you do something that she doesn't like,* said one. Another said, *Stay right where you are, Harry. Don't take the chance.*
Like Hermione, Harry listened to the second voice and stayed put. He soon dozed off into a restless and guilty sleep.
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Well, that's the first chapter! Hoped you guys liked it! I'll put up the second chapter when I get...two reviews!