A.N.: Updated.

Three days passed since that catastrophic day and Harry was still taking everything in. Ron hadn't been home since that day, nor had he been to work; the only news Harry had gotten from Ron was that he had taken the week off and went to the Burrow. In a way, he felt guilty for what happened. Maybe if he hadn't wished so hard not to be left alone by his friends it hadn't come true. Every once in a while, Hermione would pop up across his mind, and he would daydream until something would wake him up: he would think about her skin and how soft it looked; how perfectly her hair sat on her shoulders; how sexy she looked when she bit her lower lip whenever she was working. Harry shook his head and rubbed his eyes. 'Not now', he told himself, reproachfully, as he scrambled through his desk in hope he could find something that could take his mind of off that.

Monday never looked so long to him. He enjoyed what he did, after all it was what he always wanted to do for a living, and 8 hours of office work seemed to fly by as quick as a dragon flaps its wings. That monday was the worst ever. Whenever he looked at the watch over his desk, it would seem that time had stopped and all he could think of was how could he make an excuse to visit St. Mungo's hospital. All he wanted was to explain to her how he felt for her, how painful the last few months had been; if only he had the courage to do it. Like what he did with Ginny, he had to do it with Hermione and that could take a long time.

His thoughts were interrupted with someone knocking on his door. 'Mr. Potter,' said his secretary as she popped her head through the threshold of the door, 'there's someone here to see you.'

'Well, let them come in...' he said reluctantly, hoping that it wouldn't be someone to discuss business, as it was the least thing he wanted to do that day. The secretary opened the door to reveal the guest and it was Hermione. In his head he could almost swear that all colour had vanished from his face; she was standing in his office with a faint smile on her face.

'Hi,' she voiced, shyly.

'What are you doing here?' he inquired, still in awe with her unexpected visit.

Hermione raised an eyebrow in surprise to her friend's response. 'Wow, that wasn't the answer I was hoping for,' she said jokingly. 'I need to talk to you.'

At the sound of those words his heart sank. He could only hope the worst. Probably Hermione had already noticed how longingly he looks at her, how he contemplates her, and she probably had made up with Ron by now. But, for a somewhat strange reason, he could't let that happen. Only a second passed, but in Harry's mind seasons had come and gone. 'Um… Sure, go ahead,' he managed to say.

'This isn't going to be easy, but here it goes…' She took a deep breath, let the air sink in her lungs and looked at Harry with a shameful face. 'I broke up with Ron.'

Harry stood there flabbergasted, his heart racing. Those last days had been the confession days and they had been extremely exhausting. Even though those days were tearing him down, that announcement was the best he had heard in the last month. But then again, he was resolute that he wouldn't tell Hermione his feelings until he was prepared. 'What? Why?' he managed to say.

'Oh, Harry… I don't know. When you told me that you didn't feel the same way for Ginny that day, I broke down.' She sat down on the chair in front of Harry's desk, her cheeks turning into a rosy red. 'It's been two months now… I've been thinking about someone else.' As she said that, her face seemed to have become redder than blood and hotter than flames.

'I know the feeling…' he murmured.

'You, too?' she asked. Her expression went from guilty to a sweet astonished look, which made Harry's heart melt.

'Yeah…'

The pressure in his heart had barely faded with that confession, but he knew that he had so unveil much more in order to be totally at ease. But even though he had just confessed that, he couldn't help but think about whom she had been thinking of. It could be Krum, after all she had had a crush on him back in fourth year; or even Cormac McLaggen. Maybe he was the only one who could think of one of his best friends in that way.

'Do you think I should tell him? Or should I wait? Oh, Harry, I'm so confused!' She sighed loudly in despair.

'Hermione, you should know that I'm not the best person in the world to resolve love situations... But I think you should wait; he hasn't been home since that day.'

'I'm dying inside; I want to tell him, but I don't want to hurt him... After all, the person I've been thinking of is quite close to him...' Harry froze. "Quite close" to Ron? Who could that be? It could be one of his older siblings, a friend from work, or even Harry himself. But to know that he would have to ask her, which was still a fearful question.

'Hey, don't worry so much... For what I know of Ron, he'll be fine.'

'Oh, but I know he will not take it lightly, Harry... This is serious; all I could tell him that day was that I didn't want to keep living in lies. I really like him, he's my best friend and he has done the most amazing things for me... Telling him what goes in my heart feels like I'm stabbing myself, too.' She rose from the chair and hugged Harry, firmly.

'Seems like we're on the same page...' he whispered. 'Ginny hates me; I'm fantasising about someone I know I'll never have; my best friend won't come back home. I feel alone...' He sighed and, as they parted from the hug, he swore that their noses almost touched, and immediately lowered his head so that she wouldn't spot the redness on his cheeks.

'Well, you still have me! If you ever need to talk, stop by my place. I can try to make it better,' she said smiling sweetly. Those last words made Harry happy, in a way. Maybe, in a couple of months, he could be able to confess his feelings for her; it would never be as when the two of them were together hunting down Horcruxes, but that could be it.

'Thank you,' he said softly. 'You can do the same.'

She reached to kiss him in the cheek and left his office with a smile.

'Stupid!' she muttered as she walked down the hall of the Ministry of Magic. There was a reason she had gone there and she wasted it. Instead of telling him about her feelings, she just stood there and talked about how much she felt sorry for Ron. 'Stupid, stupid, stupid!'

She liked to be thorough about almost everything, but for some reason she just couldn't do it with Harry. Whenever she would think of him, words seemed to be easy to speak, but when she actually faced him, all the words she could think of would seem gibberish. This wasn't the true Hermione: the true Hermione would have a logical approach to whatever the matter was, but this time it was different. She felt different, as if she was doing something illegal, as if she was falling in love with him.

Hermione shook her head. 'No, that's impossible,' she thought. He was her best friend, a brother, she couldn't feel that way about him... Or could she?

There was something that only Harry could give her and it was the pleasure of his company, his arms around her body, his hand on hers, his breath on her skin, his lips savouring hers, his hands discovering all her curves. It could be only lust, she thought as a shiver ran down her spine. The image of her and Harry was something that would cross her mind several times a day, and every day it would get more and more explicit, more and more passionate and, damn, she was starting to lose it.

As she walked away from the entrance to the Ministry, all she could think about was how stupid she had been for not telling Harry what she felt, how the only thing that occurred to her was telling him that they should spend more time together. Something was different; Hermione was no longer the resolute girl she used to be, there was something making her doubt every thought, something she never felt before. Back when they were at Hogwarts, she would sometimes fantasise about how it would be if she, Harry and Ron weren't best friends. It was a weird thought, nonetheless she could imagine being with both of them. They were, after all, two incredibly handsome wizards. In their sixth year, what made her suffer most was the fact that both of them were happy without her: Harry and Ginny were finally getting it off and Ron and Levander seemed to be pretty "happy".

Suddenly, a loud 'pop' knocked Hermione's train of thought astray. She looked to her side to find that Ron had just Apparated right next to her. 'What - Ron, are you crazy? You could have been seen!'

'I just couldn't resist...' he said, a small smile painted across his face.

Hermione sighed; that was what she needed least. Ron's presence would only make things harder, making her feel a sinner. 'I told you not to look for me. Seriously, Ronald, is it that hard?'

'Well, yes...' he replied shamefully, as he lowered his head. 'I needed to see you, I needed to talk to you.'

'Ok, ok... Let's head somewhere else, then.' She grabbed him by his arm, and dragged him to the nearest coffee shop. 'A cappuccino, please' she said as they sat down and the waitress approached them. 'Go ahead' she prompted him coldly.

'I've been thinking... And I guess you were right.' Hermione's hard expression shifted to a softer look of amazement and inquisition. 'We weren't ok. The bickering was starting to get on my nerves, too. Whoever said that opposites are attracted, lied. I really love you, Hermione, and I really thought that proposing to you could make it all better... I guess it was just a waste of time.' He smiled lightly, looking relieved.

Hermione smiled back and said, 'Oh, Ron... I'm so glad you agree with all this. But I -' she hesitated, 'I have something else to tell you...'

'Sure,' he said, as a calm smile took over his lips.

'I don't even know how to put it... I feel guilty, a sinner.' She cupped her face with her hands, hiding the tears that started to form on her eyes. 'I've been thinking of someone else, who's really close to you. That's just one of the reasons I broke up with you and, please, don't make me say anything else.'

The smile vanished from Ron's face. 'Who?' he asked, regardless of what she requested him not to do.

'Please, don't make this harder for me...'

She grabbed her purse, got up and sped off the coffee shop, leaving an appalled Ron behind.

Harry was exhausted. He had the opportunity of a lifetime right in front of him that afternoon. But courage failed him once again; even though Hermione had been there, he just couldn't tell her. Of one thing he was sure: he couldn't take as much time as he did with Ginny. Hermione was a beautiful woman, pleasing to the eye of any everyday regular Joe, and he had to act quick if what he really wanted was to be with her. Even if he would be with her just to make sure that all those feelings were nothing but lust, he needed to be with her, feel her and Merlin knows what else.

As he was heading over to the window, where he used to sit in front of whenever he had to think, a familiar voice popped just behind him. 'Hey mate.' Harry turned back and saw Ron standing next to the kitchen door.

'You're back! I thought you would never come back... Is everything ok?' Harry asked, as he greeted Ron with a hug.

Ron smiled and said, 'Yeah, everything's fine. You?'

Harry hesitated. He still hadn't been able to tell Ron that Ginny and him broke up. 'Good, I guess...'

'You broke up with Ginny, I know...' Harry's head jolted upwards, his eyes open wide in disbelief. 'She told me, if that's what you're thinking. She's not really happy, either, but she'll get over it.' Silence fell between them until Ron added, 'I also got things straight with Hermione today...'

'Did you guys make up?' was all Harry could think of saying.

'No,' he said immediately, 'We're through... I knew it would happen some day.'

Harry's heart seemed to be racing out of his chest, color drained from his face. 'I'm sorry,' he said.

Ron chuckled and responded, 'Don't be. She's amazing, Harry, you should know that. Being with her made me the man I am today, I regret nothing.'

'I know...'

'Also, I think she's crushing over you,' Ron added promptly. The smile on his face hadn't yet faded, as if Ron was happy that it happened.

Harry, on the other hand, stood flabbergasted in front of his best friend, unsure of what to say or even think. He felt as if he had stolen something from his best friend, thing which he never dreamed of doing. But Ron didn't seem preoccupied with that.

'You better go for it, mate. You have my full support,' Ron said, tapping Harry's shoulder. 'Friends will be friends, right?' he finalised, a grin taking over his face.