TANNER'S POV

Jason and Killian were heckling Tanner about his affection for Hermione. Once Jason found out he didn't hesitate to tell half the people in the Ravenclaw common room.

"Why Hermione? She's such a stiff!"

"There's no way you're getting anything out of her mate." said Killian, nudging Tanner in the side.

Jason and Killian laughed, but Tanner was not having it. He got up from the table and walked out onto the grounds. He made his way down to the lake, but made sure he was in an area where no one else was. He just wanted to be alone. He sat down by a tree near the lake, and thought about the previous night; Umbridge's threat. Did she really mean it? Is there any way his father could effect his life now? While all these thoughts rushed into his head he spotted a flat, rounded rock just to his left. He picked it up then tossed it around in his hand. He stood and threw the rock into the lake, watching it skip 3 times before sinking to the bottom. He did this many more times, just thinking about his father and how much he truly hated him. He then heard a voice from behind him.

"Harry! Ginny! Is that you?" he turned around to see Hermione walking towards him.

He gave a weak smile then spoke, "No, just me. Sorry."

"Oh, well have you seen them?" she asked.

"No, not since breakfast." He responded shortly.

"Is everything all right?" she asked sounding concerned.

Tanner hesitated, "yeah" he said weakly,"just got a lot on my mind."

"Did something happen?" she questioned. Tanner turned slightly to the side, then spoke.

"My friends were just being arses... and everything Umbridge said last night really struck me too."

"What.. what did Umbridge mean... when talking about your father?" Hermione asked.

Tanner looked up at her and his stomach began flipping again. She was even prettier than before, her beautiful hair falling on her shoulders, her eyes shining in the sun. He would give anything to kiss her again, but now wasn't the time. He strode back to the tree and sat down, Hermione following.

"I lied before Hermione, I do know my father. He was a Death Eater, or is a Death Eater, He's been in Azkaban. My mother always knew that he had a dark side, but she thought he could change. Before I was born, he left - as he had been a faithful servant to You-Know-Who for many years - to continue fighting. My mum went to her parents house, then she had me. She used to tell me about him, about all the things he did to those muggles, the evil that was inside of him. If I were to ever see my father again I don't know what I would do. I'd fight him for sure, but I don't know if I'd kill him or not. To see all the pain in my mothers eyes, to hear all those stories about him, it triggers something inside me that just wants to cause him the pain he caused my mum.

"And so that is what Umbridge meant. How my father was a Death Eater."

Hermione looked at him with sympathy, then leaned in close to whisper in his ear.

"There is a group that some students have formed and we will be practicing defensive spells. It would help you if you ever got the chance to meet your father." Hermione took a gold coin out of her pocket and placed it within Tanners hand. She closed his fingers over his palm, and kept her hand amongst his.

"We're meeting tonight at 7 in the Room of Requirement up on the 7th floor corridor. This coin will tell you the next time we will be meeting." Tanner could only focus on how close they were, her whispering in his ear sent chills down his spine.

"Meet me in the library at 6:30, I can take you there."

Tanner looked up at her, then placed his other hand on top of hers. He began leaning in, their heads centimeters from each other. Right as their lips were about to touch, people came marching down the grounds toward them. They quickly pulled away, putting distance between themselves. As they both looked up they saw that it was Hermione's friends walking towards them.

Ron saw both of them looking up at them as the walked down.

"Hermione where have- oh that's where." said Harry with a grin.

"Are we interrupting?" asked Ron smiling.

"No, I was just telling him about the you know what up on the 7th floor." Hermione said sharply.

The other three sat down across from Hermione and Tanner. The five of them began talking, getting to know Tanner a little more. They were all laughing and having a good time, when they decided to head back up to the castle. Ron, Ginny, and Harry led the way with Tanner and Hermione straggling behind.

"Did you tell them?" asked Tanner in a whisper.

"Tell them what?"

"About last night." he replied.

"Oh, no I didn't... but they know."

"How?" he asked.

"I was talking about last night with Umbridge, they sort of jumped to conclusions, but I mean they were the right conclusions. I didn't deny it but I also didn't confirm it." she responded in a whisper.

Tanner chuckled and continued to walk along back to the castle.

"Did you tell your friends?" She reiterated his question back to him.

"What? Oh, no,no... I didn't."

They continued to walk back up to the castle, occasionally catching the glances of Ron and Harry. Once they reached the castle they all said goodbye and went their separate ways.

"He seems nice." Tanner heard Ginny say.

"Yeah I think he's growing on me Hermione." said Ron with a chuckle.

He continued his way towards the Ravenclaw common room with nothing to do but wait for an hour and a half before he was to go meet Hermione.

After the time passed, at 6:20, Tanner made his way up to the library. Once he was there he looked for Hermione but didn't see her. He went for the table they normally sit at and saw her book bag. He glanced down a few isles and saw her looking through some of the shelves, with no one else around. He quietly snuck around to the other side, then he stuck out his arms and grabbed her by the waist. She jumped and then turned around.

"Hi" said Tanner with a big smile on his face, but before she could respond he pressed his lips to hers. Her lips were so soft and her kisses were so gentle they made his stomach drop ten feet. He could feel her smiling into the kiss. He kept his hands on her waist, and slowly pulled away smiling.

"Hi" she said breathlessly.

"How long have you been here?" Tanner asked.

"Not long," she responded, "about 10 minutes." she gripped the sides of his shirt and leaned back against the edge of the shelf, his hands still on her waist.

"So who's all going to be here?" he asked in a whisper.

"Loads of people." She responded leaning into him and pressing their lips together once more.

"If the meeting isn't until 7, why are we meeting so early?"

"I just wanted to be alone with you." she said as she played with his shirt. Tanner smiled down at her.

"How are you now? You seemed pretty upset earlier today." she asked cautiously, trying not to trigger any anger within Tanner.

"I'm better now." he said as he grabbed her chin and tilted it up gently, causing her to look into his eyes. She smiled at him, then he let go of her waist and they made their way back to the table.

The two sat down and began talking, waiting for the minutes to pass by. Finally, at 6:50, they left the library and made their way up to the 7th floor corridor. Once they reached the corridor, Tanner became very confused. They stood before a giant wall with no doors. He turned to ask Hermione if this was right, but saw that her eyes were closed shut, and when he looked back at the wall a huge door had appeared, then he followed Hermione into the room.