A/N: Welcome back, good readers! In this chapter, I am once again trying a new perspective, one that I think you'll enjoy. In other news, Ron seeks advice from an unexpected source and Harry is compared to his father.


Chapter 9: We Need To Talk

"We need to talk."

'Four words' thought Neville, as he watched his two friends, 'How can they communicate so much with only four words?'

The round faced boy looked on as a meaningful glance passed between Harry and Hermione. In the end, Harry just nodded and told Neville to go on ahead of him, then scurried off with her to find somewhere private to talk.

Neville stood there for a moment, watching the two go. He was still trying to figure out how they could exchange so much information with just four words. After a few seconds, he shook himself out of his daze and entered the Great Hall. He wandered over to the Gryffindor table and took a seat on his own.

He allowed his mind to drift back to the scene he had just witnessed. Not just the wordless conversation, but also the way Harry had stepped up in DADA. Neville hadn't even noticed that Hermione needed help and he was fairly sure nobody else had either, except Harry of course.

He couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy at the bond they shared. He had told himself repeatedly that his crush wasn't going to happen, but it was still difficult to drop it, especially when Hermione continued to be so helpful and considerate towards him.

'I just have to let it go' he told himself for the millionth time, 'She's never going to look at any boy twice while Harry's there, I'm no exception'

It didn't help that she was the only girl who would even want to be friends with him, let alone anything more than that. 'Actually there is one other' he remembered, as he caught sight of her across the room. Strangely, she was sitting on her own. In fact, it almost seemed like the rest of the Ravenclaws were avoiding sitting anywhere near her. He couldn't really understand why. Yes, she was a bit odd, but she was really nice as well.

He was knocked out of his musings by one of the most unexpected things possible. Ron Weasley sat across from him and started talking to him.

"All right Neville," he greeted, before grabbing a plate and filling it with food.

"Er, hullo Ron," he returned, slightly confused. Ron never really spoke to him much, not nearly as much as Harry and Hermione, but he'd always been somewhat friendly, so he didn't have anything against him.

So far, Neville managed to stay out of the big confrontation between Ron and Hermione and he hoped to keep it that way. He knew full well that he couldn't stand up to an angry Weasley, he'd been on the receiving end of Ginny's temper once last year (An occurrence that he didn't want to repeat).

A few moments of uncertain silence hung in the air before the redhead spoke again. "Listen Neville, I need your help," he said, leaning forward and a serious expression crossing his face.

Neville was very confused now. He wasn't sure what help he could offer anyone, with anything. "Um, what... what with?" he asked, tripping over his words a little in his puzzlement.

Ron looked a bit uncomfortable with the whole discussion and shifted in his seat a bit. "It's about Hermione... and Harry, as well," he revealed.

Neville frowned at that, it certainly wasn't what he'd been expecting. "What about them?"

"I want to try and... patch things up with them," he explained, looking like it took him great effort just to say those words, "I want to see if we can put this... whatever this is, behind us."

This admission further surprised Neville. "That's great Ron, but why do you need me?"

Ron sighed and bowed his head a bit. "I'm not sure how to go about it," he admitted, "I don't even know whether they want to try and fix this and... I thought... well, you've been spending a lot of time with them, maybe you help me out?" His voice was becoming hopeful bordering on pleading by the end.

Neville's eyes widened. He didn't know what to suggest to Ron. Well, that wasn't strictly true. He knew exactly what Ron should do, but he didn't think it was what the redhead wanted to hear. "Oh, um... well, the thing is... you see..."

Neville was stumbling over his words and close to rambling, but fortunately, Ron interjected before he went to far, "Neville, I know you're a good friend to them, but I need the truth mate. What do you think I should do?"

Neville sighed and decided to give Ron what he asked for. "Have you thought that, maybe, you just need to... apologise?" He wondered.

Ron's face darkened slightly at this, but his next question was said with nothing more than curiosity, "Why should I? I mean, neither of them have and I doubt it'll be that simple anyway."

Neville shook his head and chose his words carefully, "Ron... Hermione wanted to apologise to you," Ron's face brightened again at this, but Neville ignored it and continued, "Harry won't let her though, not until you do anyway. He thinks you have... more to be sorry for."

Ron frowned. "Like what?" he asked, "It's her cat that ate Scabbers. I'll admit I've been a git about it, but I can't say I'm sorry while she still won't accept the facts."

"Ron, have you considered that... you might be wrong?" Neville queried, then quickly continued when Ron's frown turned angry, "I'm not saying you are, but if Scabbers is still alive, then they don't have anything to be sorry for do they?"

Ron leaned back and ran a hand down his face, it was obvious that he had considered this and it hadn't helped. "In some ways, that might be worse Neville. I just hate the fact that, after so long trying to get her to admit she was wrong, I might have to instead."

"I... don't think it'll come to that," assured Neville, "You three have gotten through worse than this, but I think... the longer you leave it, the harder it'll get."

Ron had stopped scowling and instead was nodding thoughtfully. He turned to Neville. "You're right, the three of us need to talk about this, and soon," he sighed and stood up, "I should probably move before they get back. Thanks Neville, I really needed to get this off my chest."

"Um, you... you're welcome," stammered Neville, wide-eyed. He definitely hadn't been expecting a thank you.

Ron grinned and walked over to sit with Fred, George and Lee. Halfway there, he stopped, turned around and said, "For what it's worth, I don't blame you for what happened with Black." Then, he carried on.

Neville just stared in disbelief. It could be his imagination, but he may have just befriended the entire Golden Trio.


Remus Lupin was sat in his office, marking homework. Specifically, an essay that Professor Snape had set his fourth year Hufflepuff/Ravenclaw class.

He was unsurprised to learn that the topic was, once again, werewolves. He was well aware of what Severus was trying to do with these assignments, however there was nothing he could do about it. The man was well within his rights to set whatever homework he wished and Remus couldn't explain his reason without revealing his secret.

'If it's a choice between complaints about homework and getting the sack, I'll choose the homework any day' he reasoned silently.

He didn't really mind the Potions Master's attempts, he actually found it rather amusing that Snivellus was still clinging to this old grudge. The werewolf mentally scolded himself for the use of such a nickname. He always attempted to treat the Professor with the respect he deserved, but old habits die hard.

He looked up when he heard someone knock on the door. "Come in," he called. The door opened to reveal a familiar third year Gryffindor with a head of bushy brown hair.

"Hermione," he greeted, "Is there something I can help you with?"

She nodded and moved closer to his desk. "Yes Professor, I... I'm worried about something," she said, looking decidedly nervous.

Taking in the uncertainty in her stance and voice, Remus came to the conclusion that it was important. He placed his quill on the desk before him. "Please, take a seat Hermione," he offered.

She smiled her thanks and sat down opposite him. He gave her a reassuring look before continuing, "Now, why don't you tell me what's troubling you."

She nodded and took a deep breath. "I'm worried about facing my boggart," she said, as if she were revealing her darkest secret.

Remus frowned at this. It wasn't really what he'd been expecting, but he wasn't too shocked either. Susan Bones and Justin Finch-Fletchley had both come to him for help with their fears, as well. He also remembered the incident with Harry earlier today, she had seemed petrified at the idea of facing the boggart.

"I see... do you happen to know what shape it takes?" he asked. Hopefully she did, it would make everything much easier.

She got a thoughtful look on her face while she contemplated the question. "I'm not sure," she replied, "I... I think I have an idea of what it could be, but I... can't be certain."

He nodded at her answer. It was the same one most students gave him. Truthfully, you couldn't know for sure what your boggart would be until you saw it. He recalled the misconception he'd had about what Harry's fear would be.

"I am going to assume that, whatever you think it will be, you do not want the rest of the class to see it?"

She gave a tiny nod.

He returned the nod in understanding. "Well, how about you come back here sometime next week. I'll find another boggart and we'll give you a chance to face it away from prying eyes."

She looked up and nodded again eagerly. "Thank you Professor. I don't want to be a problem or anything, but... I am very worried about this."

Remus shook his head and smiled. "It really is no trouble Hermione, you're not the first to come to me about something like this."

Her eyes brightened significantly at this and she beamed in gratitude.

"I would suggest we meet earlier than that," he said to her, "But, unfortunately, I need time to find a new boggart and I have managed, once again, to fall ill at the most inconvenient of times."

Her eyes took on a strange look at that and flicked down for a second to the essays in front of him. He narrowed his eyes slightly. 'Does she know?' he wondered, 'It makes sense, if anyone was going to figure it out it would be either her or Harry, maybe both' For a moment, he considered asking her about it, but that thought was gone as quickly as it was conceived. If he brought it up and his suspicions were wrong, then he would find himself facing several very awkward questions.

"Thank you," she repeated, before standing up, "It means a lot to me to get this done."

"You're very welcome Hermione. Now run along, I'm sure you're friends are waiting for you."

She smiled for a final time, then left the room.

Remus sighed and leant back in his chair. Before he had accepted the post as DADA teacher, he had promised himself that he wouldn't show favouritism. However, he was finding it harder and harder to keep that promise. Two students in particular, were greatly testing his resolve.

It was strange how much they reminded him of James and Lily, yet managed to be completely different at the same time.

Harry was the spitting image of his father and his rivalry with Draco Malfoy was incredibly reminiscent of how James acted towards Severus. He had also heard of Harry's quite blatant disregard for the rules, though he had never witnessed it first hand. Then of course, there was the Quidditch skill.

Hermione was incredibly similar to Lily, mainly because of the natural intelligence they shared and the fact that they both came from a muggle family. They were also both fiercely loyal to their friends (He still remembered how Lily stuck up for Severus, even when he called her a mudblood).

However, Harry had inherited none of his father's arrogance and possessed a determination that James couldn't even hope to achieve. Hermione, for all her parallels with Harry's mother, seemed to have no problem breaking rules if she thought it was the right thing to do. He couldn't recall a single time Lily had broken a rule or lied to a teacher.

The most startling difference was the bond Harry and Hermione seemed to share. James and Lily had been at odds with each other from the moment they stepped off the train in first year and that hadn't ended until their seventh, but Harry and Hermione seemed like they'd been friends for their whole life. They shared something very intense, something that Harry's parents never had with each other. It was quite astounding to observe how deep the connection seemed to be. Remus had truly never seen anything like it.

All in all, both Harry and Hermione were close enough to his old friends to feel familiar, but different enough to be their own person. It was a rather odd situation for the werewolf.


When Hermione returned to the Gryffindor Common Room, she found that several students seemed to be congregating around the notice board. Instead of trying in vain to see what everyone was so interested in, Hermione made her way to where Harry was sat in the corner.

"Hey Hermione," he greeted her, "How did it go?"

"Professor Lupin's going to give me a chance to practice in private next week," she said, dropping her bag and sitting down next to him.

"That's great," he said, grinning at her, "Just as long as you don't overdo it. You've got enough stress as it is."

"Harry, your concern really is touching, but you are starting to sound like my mother," she said, smiling along with him. In truth, his concern made that warm feeling bubble up again, but she ignored it again.

"Yeah, that's never a good sign," he agreed.

"What's everyone looking at over there?" she asked curiously, peering at the throng of people she had noticed before.

Harry frowned and took a moment to answer. "There's, um..." he started, "There's another Hogsmeade trip this weekend."

Her head whipped back around to face him and she saw the look in his eyes. "You're not thinking of going are you Harry?"

The sheepish expression that covered his face was more than enough to convince her. "Oh Harry, you can't," she said, "You can't honestly think it's worth the risk after what happened to Ron." He still looked uncertain, but before he could answer she continued, "If you're worried about being stuck here on you're own then don't be. Neville can't go, neither can Luna."

"What about you?" he asked.

She frowned at him, "What about me?"

"Who are you going to go with. Obviously it won't be Ron and I doubt you'll want to spend the day shopping with Parvati or Lavender. You can't go with Neville or me, so who are you going to go with?"

She looked at the ground and bit her lip. She hadn't even thought about that. "I... don't know," she admitted, "I guess I could go on my own or stay behind with you, I mean I've got loads of work to do any-"

"No."

She looked up at his one word interruption and found him wearing a familiarly determined look on his face. "No?" she said, raising an eyebrow.

"No," he repeated, his emerald eyes still holding that look, "I'm not letting you stay in and do work. I don't care if I sound like your mother, you need a chance to get out and do something fun, before you work yourself to death."

She wanted to retort, but she couldn't. She looked into the intensity of his gaze and understood that there was no point arguing with this. That didn't stop her from giving it one last attempt.

"I still don't think you should risk it Harry. I'm not worth that."

"Yes you are Hermione," he told her, then decided to take a different tactic, "Look, if it makes you feel any better then I'll wear the cloak. Actually, I probably would have done that anyway, best not to take too many chances."

She thought about that for a minute. It seemed like an okay plan, there was nothing to suggest that Black could see through invisibility cloaks. She could see that some of his intense look had been replaced with one of pleading. She knew that he desperately wanted to get out of the castle and, despite her claims, she did as well.

Sighing in resignation, she looked him straight in the eye and said, "Okay."


A/N: Yay, more Lupin! I like Lupin. I am curious to know what people think about the insight he offered about Harry and Hermione, as well as his character in general. Also, I'd love feedback on the Ron/Neville interaction, since it's a bit different to what I normally see in fanfiction. Anyway, thanks for reading and I will see you next time, good readers.