Focus. Focus. Everything will work out if you just focus. Find your moment and strike. Ron was walking down to the swimming pond with his sister and his two best friends, barely able to keep his chuntering thoughts to himself. The moment will come. I know it will. There is no reason for it not to. I just have to wait for the pattern to complete itself. We walk down to the pond, put our towels on the ground and get into the water. Sooner or later Ginny will start trying to get Harry's attention. That is the moment that I have to seize. I'll pull Hermione to one side and make her see that she should choose me as her flying tutor. Okay we're here; showtime. I'm always the first one in, so don't disturb the pattern. Ron quickly spread his towel on the grass and took a running leap into the pond. As he lay in the water he fixed his eyes on the shore and the rest of the group.

Hermione laying out her towel like it's a homework assignment from McGonagall? Check. Harry looking awkward trying to do the same? Check. Ginny taking off her dress in an inappropriate way? I really need to talk to her about that. Maybe I should get Bill to help. She likes him more than me. Wait... focus! The girls will get in first. Hermione and Ginny both waded in until the water came up to their knees and then gracefully dove forwards. Harry will wade in looking awkward. I don't get why he does it like that, but it should help in this case. Yep, there he goes. Now it's just a matter of time. Wait for it. Wait for it. There! Keep him busy for just a few minutes Ginny.

"Hermione? Can I have a quick word?"

"Of course, Ron. Is something the matter?"

"I just wanted to say that if you wanted midnight flying lessons you could have come to me. You didn't have to settle for Harry."

"Excuse me?"

"I can do a much better job. You shouldn't have to sneak out with Harry at all hours of the night."

"He told you about our lessons?" Should I say yes? No, too many ways that can go wrong.

"That's not important. The point is that you know you can have me now. When would you like to have your next lesson?" Wait, why is she turning white? A blush I would understand, but this makes no sense.

"Harry! How could you?!" Oooh boy, she sounds furious.

"How could I what?"

"How could you tell Ron about our lessons?!" Oi! Why should he not tell me? I think, of the two of us, I have more reason to be angry.

"I didn't. I found him sleeping in my bed last night when I got back and he told me that he was your flying instructor. I just told him that it would be your choice."

"Oh...sorry." Harry just waved her apology off but kept watching the discussion. Crap. That makes me look like a right idiot when you say it like that. "I want Harry to keep teaching me." Time for my final strategy. Ron took a step closer to Hermione and leaned in.

"He's just doing it to try and get under your robes. You know that, right?" Ouch! "Merlin's Sweaty Sack! What was that for?!" Ron didn't get an answer. After slapping him Hermione had run for the house like she was being chased by Acromantula.

"What did you say to Hermione to make her react like that?" Oh, no you don't. You don't get to judge me for doing the same thing you were. I was just the quicker one this time.

"Nothing! Mental that one..."

:-:-:-:-:

What do I do? Damn you, Ron. I won't be able to concentrate on anything like this.

"He's just doing it to try and get under your robes. You know that, right?"

Arrgh! I can't get those words out of my head. Is that really what Harry wants? I just can't seem to imagine that. I mean I know that there is a possibility for abused children to show some sociopathic tendencies, impulsivity, distrust and an inability to understand other people's emotions certainly jump to mind; but Harry has trouble with letting people touch him. He still stiffens if he doesn't see a hug coming. Could he really be faking that? What do I do if he is? What do I do if he isn't?

If Harry isn't trying to seduce me then cutting him out of my life could really hurt him. If he is trying to seduce me...do I mind? I...I do if he is trying to trick me. Does that mean I wouldn't mind if he just came up to me and asked to kiss my brains out? Hermione was drawn out of imagining what it might be like to have Harry kiss her breathless by a knock on the door. Huh? Darn. I don't want to see anyone right now. Just ignore it and they may go away.

"I know you're in there, Hermione!" Ginny? I was expecting Harry or Ron to show up. "You may as well let me in. You're going to want to talk to someone about whatever it is before you have to spend a dinner with my brother." Can I really talk to Ginny about this? She is dating Dean so she may be able to tell me something about how a boy who's interested in you acts. So, an uncomfortable conversation that might help me avoid an awkward situation with Harry? Fine, let's do this. Hermione got up and walked to the door. When she opened it she found Ginny with her fist raised to knock again.

"Well, finally. Decided to talk after all?"

"I suppose."

"Good. It'll make you feel better, you'll see." Ginny breezed past Hermione and sat down on the bed. "So, what did Ron say to you that made you run off like that?"

"Well...um, that is..." How on earth do you have a conversation like this? This is more Lavender or Parvati's specialty than mine.

"Hermione, I promise you that whatever you say I won't tell a soul. You don't have to worry about my brother finding out or anything."

"Thank you for that, Ginny. The problem is that I don't even know where to begin though."

"How about you start with those midnight flying lessons with Harry? That seems to be the cause of Ron's outburst after all." Is that...envy? I knew this was a bad idea.

"Ginny, we don't have to do this if you don't want to."

"No, Hermione. I'm here for you." Okay. If you're going to ignore it, I will too. I'll just talk without mentioning my confusing feelings for Harry. Yeah...I am absolutely sunk.

"Here goes. Do you remember when Ron tried to teach me how to fly and I fell?"

"Yeah. Is this about how Harry was incredibly sweet to you all evening after that?"

"No. Maybe. I don't know. I was grateful that he caught me and was there for me, but it really started when he flew up to my window that night." Yep. Definitely envy. I was sure she was dating Dean though. "When I let him in he talked to me and managed to convince me to try flying his broom with him. He just flew us around my room until I started relaxing a little. Since then he has kept slowly increasing the distance, altitude and speed of our flights. Last night I even flew Harry's broom while he rode behind me. Harry is a really patient and gentle teacher. Remember how he was last year with the DA? It reminded me a lot of that. He has this way of making me understand what I'm doing and why. I think my favourite part is afterwards though. We just sit and talk. I can honestly say that I've never felt closer to my best friend."

"How close are we talking?"

"That's actually more or less what Ron said. He suggested that Harry was only teaching me how to fly so that he could...seduce me."

"Hermione, I don't know how to tell you this, but Ron might have a point."

"What?!"

"Well, it's not necessarily down to the flying lessons, but boys are always trying to get something from you in my experience."

"I just don't think that Harry is like other boys in that regard. I mean even his dates with Cho last year were down to her chasing him."

"You can't trust an impression like that, Hermione. We never even saw half their interactions." No, but I can't tell you the real reason why I'm in such a state of doubt. I know what I've seen and I know what's said about children who've gone through what Harry has. Which is the true Harry? I have no idea how I'm going to resolve this.

"So what can I trust?"

"Your own observations. You're going to have to test him to figure out if he's just trying to get into your knickers."

"How do I do that?"

"You could just go along with it and wait for him to overplay his hand."

"And how would I know that he wouldn't just be responding to what I'm doing?"

"Oh, come on, Hermione. I'm not saying you need to lead him on. I'm just saying that you let him steer the conversation anywhere he wants. If he really is trying to seduce you then he will start talking about physical intimacy sooner or later. I have yet to meet a boy who is the least bit subtle about that sort of thing." And yet you have had two boyfriends already. No, that is an unkind thought. Still...

"Have you ever noticed something like that with Dean then? Or with Michael when you were dating him?" Not that Dean and Michael are really the best comparisons to Harry.

"Hahaha, of course I have. They try to be subtle about it but they always seem to feel the need to mention their interest in that sort of activity."

"Well, I've never noticed anything of the sort from Harry."

"I suppose it's possible that he really isn't interested in you that way. It would certainly solve your dilemma, wouldn't it?" I...I'm not so sure. "Unless you've finally come around to the same mindset as every other girl in Hogwarts that doesn't have Death Eater connections?"

"I am not some Boy-Who-Lived fangirl!"

"Okay, okay. Not interested in the most desirable boy in school; I hear you." I didn't say that. Not exactly. "Are you going to come down and join us for dinner?"

"I...no. I think that I need to spend some time thinking this over before I can face the boys; either of them."

"Suit yourself. I'll make sure to bring you up a plate."

"Thank you, Ginny." Ginny just waved at Hermione as she left the room. Ginny bringing up a plate wins me some time, but I think I have already proved that time will not necessarily help me reach a conclusion in this matter. So I need to think this over without going around in circles. The starting point I've been using so far has been Ron's claim that Harry is trying to use our lessons for something more...carnal. Maybe I should drop that for the time being and try to look at the facts. Fact: Harry has been teaching me how to fly since I fell when Ron was trying to teach me. Fact: I have been learning from those lessons. Fact: we sit under the stars and talk after we're done with each lesson. Fact: Harry has been abused by his relatives. Fact:...wait; do I have any more relevant, indisputable facts? I don't think so. Ok, then what conclusions can I draw from these facts? Because of the abuse and the fact that I didn't notice it until I managed to corner him with an injury (hey, I did have another fact), I can conclude that Harry is likely to be a functioning sociopath. I have no way of knowing whether he is simply trying to keep up with the rest of us emotionally or a cold, manipulative shell behind a front that he presents to us. I certainly know which one I want to be true, but short of Legillimency I am unlikely to find any evidence. All I have is my trust in our friendship, which is hardly empirical. It also brings up the problem that if Harry is, in fact, damaged and not malicious that I could really hurt him by shutting him out for no reason he can see. Damn, this is already getting complicated and I'm nowhere near deciding a course of action.

Focus! Even if Harry is trying to get me in bed, he hasn't made anything I would consider a suggestion to that end. The problem is that I have no experience with such situations and I could be missing something. All the while I have been getting a lot out of our time together. Completely ignoring Harry would stop the lessons that have been worth a lot. That would be stupid. I should at least keep going until he does try something that would reveal these hypothetical intentions. Should I continue our talks though? I can't deny that there is something utterly romantic about sitting on a roof under the stars and talking like we do. I've gotten to know so much more about Harry; so much, in fact, that I wonder if I even knew him at all these past five years...I have no idea which way that points though. Gargh! I just know that I'm either overthinking this or missing something; maybe both. The only thing I do know is that I should probably keep going with the lessons. Flying is too important a skill to not learn.

:-:-:-:-:

This is wrong. Harry, Ron and Ginny were sitting in the Burrow's living room, digesting one of Mrs. Weasley's wonderful meals. Without Hermione here this just feels wrong. Ron still won't tell me what he said to her, but if she's reacting like this then it must be something fairly severe. Do they not fight enough at school or something? Harry's eyes darted towards the stairs again. She's still not come down. At this rate we might not see her for the rest of the holiday. Damn you, Ron. What on earth did you say to her this time?

"Harry, you going to join us for a game of gobstones?"

"No thanks, Ron. I think I'm going to check on Hermione." I don't know why I didn't think of it earlier. I hope Hermione doesn't think that I'm a terrible friend.

"Harry, stop." Huh? Harry realised that a small redhead had appeared in his path just in time to keep from running her over. "I've already talked to Hermione. She just wanted some time to think things through. Alone."

"But she's alright?"

"She's...she's just a little confused right now. I don't think it's something you can help her with either so, please, just be patient okay?" I don't want to be patient. Still, it's not like I can really help Hermione with something she's confused about. It'll either be massively complicated or, more likely, some kind of emotional mess. Me being there would probably just make things worse for her. In fact there is only one thing I can do.

"You'd better fix this."

"What?"

"I don't care what you did or said to upset Hermione this morning, but you'd better fix it."

"Harry, I'm not sure that Ron's going to able to fix this anymore. Like I said, Hermione's confused right now and we just have to give her some time." What on earth is going on? I don't know what's wrong, but please be alright, Hermione.

:-:-:-:-:

Is Harry not coming tonight? Hermione lay awake watching the window. Everyone must be asleep by now. Why isn't Harry here? Was Ron right after all? Has Harry stopped because his intentions have been revealed? Would Harry really give up that easily? I can't imagine that being the case. What's going on then? Hermione tossed and turned some more before swinging her legs out of bed. If Harry isn't coming here, I can always go there. Flying lessons are important. That was the only concrete conclusion that I managed to reach after all that thinking. Hermione carefully slipped out the door and crept down the hall until she reached the door to Harry's room. Quietly she inched the door open and snuck inside.

"Ha-..." He's asleep. Does that mean that he had no intention of showing up tonight or that he was exhausted by what they did today after I left? Am I going to be analysing everything he does from now on like this? I hope not. Hermione tip-toed closer to the bed. He doesn't look anywhere near as peaceful as he did last time. I wonder which is usual for him? A person's sleep right after their wounds have been magically healed can't be their 'usual', can it? Except that would mean that this is how Harry usually looks when he sleeps. I think I would prefer it if that more peaceful face was his usual sleeping face. The only thing I can think when I see him sleeping like this is that I won't have to feel too guilty if I wake him. Hermione's hand started reaching out towards Harry's shoulder to shake him awake.

What am I doing? How would I even start this conversation? "I'm sorry I ignored you all day, but could you still give me flying lessons, except without the wonderful conversations under the stars?" Harry will either be completely and understandably confused or angry that his plan failed. I don't know how to talk myself out of either situation. I don't think I'd even be able to talk my way out of him asking me what's wrong. I...I can't do this. I need some sort of plan if I'm going to do this. A plan and daylight, or at the very least a setting that isn't Harry's bedroom in the middle of the night. Hermione withdrew her hand which had hovered over Harry's shoulder the whole time she was beset by doubts. As quietly as she could she snuck back to her own room, firmly keeping herself from looking back. I need a plan. One that won't collapse the minute I actually see Harry like this one did. I'll spend tomorrow working one out.


AN: It's easy to forget because of her confident/bossy attitude, but Hermione isn't the most socially experienced character in the HP universe. In all honesty Ron is the most 'normal' teenager of the group. Then again, they're all teens.

As always: thank you for reading.