"Harry, are you coming?"

Harry looked up with his mouth open, turning left and right. His heart was hammering against his chest; he'd been drenched in a deep sleep before he'd been woken so suddenly. The moment he saw a mane of wavy brown hair he smiled.

"Sorry Hermione, what?"

"Harry, we've got Transfiguration in twenty minutes and you've been sleeping by the fire."

She glanced down at the open book he'd been using as a pillow, smiling a little at the spot of drool in one corner.

"The Animagus Transformation? But Harry, we're on Inter-Genus Crossings; we don't start this until—"

"Oh, I know I know Hermione." He wiped some drool off his face, hoping his sleeve would cover the blush beginning on his cheeks. "This isn't for homework; it's for my own interest."

"Why, you aren't—"

"Well, I was sort of thinking of learning, y'know, I thought it sounded interesting." He saw she was frowning slightly. He pressed his sleeve harder against his face. "I mean it's really fascinating isn't it? Shapeshifting? Actually turning into your inner animal? I mean, my Patronus isn't my inner animal, right? That's my dad's; it's a reflection of him, not me. And—"

"I understand Harry." Hermione tucked one of her books tighter into her shoulder. "You better get ready quickly though. Ron and I have already finished breakfast and he had some of his own homework to catch up on. You've finished your paper, haven't you?"

"Oh, er, yeah I did." He sat up and stuffed his book into his bag. "Actually finished it a few nights ago. That's why I was working on—er—other stuff."

"I see." She smiled. He smiled back. "But Harry…" She gestured down at his chest. Harry felt the blush break out again, and prayed that he'd looked down fast enough to hide it from Hermione. His robes were rumpled and dusty, and covered in cat hair (Crookshanks had been sleeping on his lap the previous evening), and not to mention the larger portion of his drool.

He turned away to make for the boy's dormitory. As he headed up the stairs, Hermione called after him "Do you want me to wait for you? We've got to hurry or we'll be late."

"Uh, it's your choice. Guess I'll have to sit on an empty stomach till lunch. Haven't got time for breakfast have I?"

"Oh, don't worry about that." Hermione reached behind her. "I brought you some." She pulled a stack of toast from no where.

Harry grinned. "Thanks Hermione—you're the best!"

"I've been told. Now hurry!"

Harry nodded and dashed upstairs. His face was still burning.

Why? He thought as he pulled off his robes. Why did he have to feel this way? They were friends for God's sakes—friends! And yet…

As he made to remove his pants, he felt a sudden hard stiffness. He resisted the urge to look down before putting on a new change of undergarments, loose ones. Even though the roomy material, he could make out the lump. Gritting his teeth, he looked away and hurried to put on a new pair of robes. They did the trick. He sighed and mopped his face. His cheeks were still burning. His penis slowly relaxed.

He walked towards the door and opened it.

"Uh Hermione?" he called. "I'm actually gonna be a bit late. You can go down without me. I don't want to make you late too."

"Alright, see you in class!"

He heard footsteps and scrambling around the portrait hole. He sighed sadly and finished getting changed. And trying to keep his thoughts on the Transfiguration homework he hadn't finished, or the Animagus Transformation, or Dobby's socks, anything but (oh God no don't start thinking about her! Don't start thinking about her!) he jammed on his hat, gathered all his books, papers and miscellaneous supplies together, scrambled through the portrait hole, and ran for the classroom so fast that he forgot to grab the toast Hermione had left for him on the table. By the time he made it to class with a minute to spare he was huffing and wheezing. Well, at least now he had a good reason for being red in the face.

Everyone was already assembled into their seats. The only available spot was beside Neville at the back of the room. Ron and Hermione were sitting in front of him. He tried to pay particularly close attentions to his books and quills as he pulled them from his bag.

"Hi Harry!"

"Hey Neville." Harry looked up to stare sideways, but caught sight of Ron and Hermione. They were sitting close to each other, snuggling and giggling happily as the rest of the class withdrew their things. Harry felt his face, so contrasting to earlier, drain of blood as he stared at the two. Now they were forehead-to-forehead, broad smiles across their lips. Harry immediately held up a book to hide his face, but they didn't notice, too engrossed in their public displays of affection.

At that moment Professor McGonagall entered the room. The class fell silent. Hermione and Ron were still locked by their foreheads.

"Granger, Weasley, though I understand that we are practicing Inter-Genus Crossings during this lesson, that does not involve performing them on one another."

Most of the class laughed. Hermione and Ron turned pink, but Professor McGonagall smiled too, showing she was not entirely upset with them.

Harry studied his Petrified bobcat and tried to focus on turning it into a lynx, but his mind (and not to mention his…er…private parts) were racing with other thoughts.

He was so stupid. He'd known her for over six years; he'd known since he was eleven how he thought about her, and he'd had so much time. Why hadn't he told her how he felt? How come he hadn't mustered the courage before Ron meekly asked her out-two months earlier! He hung his head and toyed with the bobcat's paw. He leaned forward and zoomed in on its heavily spotted flank, trying to block out Ron and Hermione sidled next to each other, the latter correcting her forehead on his wand motions.

He sighed. If only he'd told her sooner…

Hey everyone, Shiba here! For those reading my other fanfiction Waiting for You, I am SO SO SO sorry it's late. Life's been getting in my way.

I'm writing this story based on the fact that I'm a huge Harry/ Hermione shipper. Don't get me wrong—I love Ron and Hermione as characters. I personally just don't feel they're a good match together. (R/ Hr Shippers, please don't flame me!) If any of you want me to elaborate on my opinions why, I'd be glad to explain, but I don't want to bore you before I know anybody wants them. Also, this is AU as this takes place during Seventh year and, of course, they weren't at Hogwarts then. While this fic won't go into huge details of what happened during the last two books, I'll add more to them as I go along. Until I explain what's changed, everything besides Harry's feelings for Hermione, that has happened up to the fifth book should be considered canon.

Also, I'm a girl, so I know I'm not the best at describing Harry's…er…excitement. If anyone wants to tell me how to make it sound more…convincing…that would be most appreciated.

Please review, and happy reading!