A/N: Thank you to all of my reviewers! You really make my day. So, here you go, another chapter for you!

Run, run, run! Sprint, run! Move as far away as you can! Run, Potter, run! Harry ran this way and that through the corridors, trying to put as much distance as he could between himself and Hermione. His shoes slid and squealed as he tripped and ran down the empty, cold corridors; hair flying and robe swinging. His breath came in ragged gasps as he stumbled through a green tapestry with blue embroidery of a dragon, and through a secret passage way. He ran down a long, dark corridor, and stopped in front of a covered hole at the end. Here, he finally stopped.

Harry felt faint as he collapsed onto his hands and knees in front of the closed portrait hole. He was sweating as he loosened his gold and red tie from around his neck. He sat up, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose when his breath was almost back.

Oh, no…I have to meet Hermione in the Great Hall for the stupid designing! Harry slammed his fist onto the floor because of his frustration and embarrassment. Why did you shout it out loud? You might as well have told everyone in the school that you love her, because anyone could have heard you.

Harry slowly stood up, and faced the portrait. I'll just…apologize and…oh, it's no use! Merlin knows that she's the brightest witch of her year; she probably put two and two together and got 'Harry Potter Loves Me'!

Harry pushed the portrait, and it swung outward a bit. Harry saw a corridor straight ahead from his dead end position. He slowly and quietly opened it a bit further, fearing of waking the sleeping, grumpy wizard painted onto it.

"Harry?" said an echoed voice from behind. Harry turned around, his heart beating as fast as a Snitch's wings. Hermione was standing in the arch way of the tapestry, holding it aside, looking into the depths of the corridor. Harry quickly let go of the portrait and ran, trying to get away.

"Harry wait!" said Hermione from behind. Harry could hear her echoed footfalls in the corridor. Coward. Harry's shoes squealed as he stopped in his tracks, causing a high pitched echo to bounce around the corridor. This was the first appreciated thought that his little voice had given him all day. I am a coward. I can't believe I ran like that. I need to face the consequences, even if they are me loosing Hermione. That thought burned a hole in his heart. He didn't want to ruin the best relationship that he ever had, but he might have already, thanks to one stupid sentence.

He slowly turned around, his eyes stinging with tears of sadness of him loosing the girl that ran towards him. She ran up to him, panting.

"Hermione, I'm sorry," Harry said hastily, trying to think up an excuse, "I didn't mean that. I—well…no! I didn't mean it like that! I really meant to say was that you will go with me…tooooo…the Great Hall to help with the designing!"

"Really?" said Hermione. Harry could tell that he was in for it big time; she didn't believe a word he had said. "Then why did you run?"

Bugger her intelligence, Harry thought, shutting his eyes, hanging his head.

"Hermione…you—I didn't…no; I won't lie to you anymore," said Harry, opening his eyes, and looking down at her, "I did mean that I wanted to…go to the Ball with you. I'm sorry I did that. If you want, I can to and get Neville—"

"No!" she shrieked; her eyes wide with fear. She then blinked and looked away from Harry. Harry could see her breathing had become ragged as she stared at the stone floor intently.

"I actually want to go with you," she whispered, not looking up at him. Joy, pure joy and happiness slowly filled Harry when he repeated her words in his head. I actually want to go with you. I actually want go with you! Can this be true?

"R—really?" said Harry cautiously, "You want to go with…me?"

"Err…well, you were the one that I actually wanting to go with," said Hermione, looking down at the floor; her fingers nervously tugging at her robe.

Harry closed his eyes and mentally cursed himself, many, many times. Her disappointment and regret were that you didn't ask her you huge, pathetic git! She probably thought that she didn't give you enough of a hint!

"But…but what did you mean yesterday? You said that the person—" Harry was cut off.

"—the person that I wanted to go with was someone that you knew…" she said, looking up into Harry's green eyes. Harry slapped his forehead; now he understood! Who would I know better than myself! Potter, you idiot!

Harry slowly lowered his hand, and looked at Hermione from between his fingers. She had a little smile on her face, but that did not distract Harry from her anxious eyes.

"Sooooooo," said Harry casually, trying to act normal after he lowered his hand slowly, "Hermione…did you want to go to the Ball with me?"

Hermione laughed, looking away from him as a beep blush rose to her cheeks. Harry started to smile, too. He felt so light and giddy that he was surprised that he didn't start singing and float into the air.

"Yes; I'd love to," she said, looking at him.

"Okay…cool," he said, trying to act cool and calm when he really wanted to jump up and down like a giddy school girl.

"Umm…oh!" said Hermione, looking at her wrist watch, "We should be at the Great Hall right now designing for the Ball!"

She then grabbed a fistful of his robes and started dragging him back to the portrait hole. The painted man was awake; his curly mustached hiding his smile.

"Race you there 'Mione!" said Harry before he sprinted around her in the little dark corridor.

"Harry!" squealed Hermione, trying to catch up. Harry laughed, as he burst through the tapestry. He felt a happiness that he had never felt before as he ran around the corners and down the corridors. He felt like he was the prince of Hogwarts castle, and Hermione was his princess.

Harry didn't noticed Neville, standing unnoticed around a corner, watching them running and laughing their way to the Great Hall. With his books in hand, Neville grinned as he walked to the Gryffindor Tower to drop off his new library books. I'm glad she said that she wanted to with 'someone else'. Harry and Hermione…I actually see them being a nice couple. After all, they have known each other for, like, seven years.

Neville walked slowly down the same corridor that Harry and Hermione had just ran through, and eventually ended up in the same spot where he had asked Hermione out to the Ball. He walked, watching his friends, robes swishing left and right, sprint down a corridor, he ran into someone: Seamus. His books tumbled out of his hands, and this time, landed on Seamus's feet.

"Oh, sorry!" Neville said, stooping down to pick them up again. He grabbed a few and then looked up as he saw Seamus's feet walk around him. Neville looked over his shoulder; Seamus was walking quietly down the same corridor Harry and Hermione had just gone.

"Okaaaaay," whispered Neville to himself, picking up his books again. He seemed like a Muggle robot. Did he even notice that I had just run into him? He pushed Seamus the Robot out of his mind as he walked up the moving staircase.

Along the way to Gryffindor Tower, he hymned a Muggle song that he had once heard out of a car. He was walking to Diagon Alley when he had heard this song; a song that seemed to constantly replay itself in his head. It seemed like the lyrics were made just for his two friends.

"I love you

I have loved you all along

Hum hmm hum hmmmm…"