This chapter is dedicated to the one and only...James Phelps! I doubt he will ever read this (although, James Phelps, if you are reading this, please review and tell me!) but without him, the Harry Potter films wouldn't be anywhere near as good. After all, he does play Fred Weasley, the best Weasley of all. Ok, I'm rambling, and sound like some obsessed, stalkerish fan-girl - which I'm not(!), so, without further ado, I present...Chapter 7.
Oh, and a disclaimer: I do not own the wonderous world of Harry Potter. If I did, then there would be a vehicle to Gretna Green with mine and Fred's name on it!
Chapter 7
As everyone headed upstairs, with the exception of Ginny, who had been sent upstairs as soon as talk had turned to Order matters and what Voldemort was doing, Harry grabbed Hermione's wrist and motioned for her to stop.
For all Hermione's head was spinning was the newfound knowledge that You-Know-Who was after something he didn't have before, she immediately realised that Harry wanted to quiz her about Fred. She pulled him into an abandoned room, where the furniture was all covered in dust-sheets. Harry closed the door behind them to give added privacy and turned to face Hermione.
"What the hell was that when I arrived, Hermione? What were you doing sitting on Fred Weasley's lap? You know what he's like. He'll hurt you and won't care because he doesn't take anything seriously. As nice as he is, as a good a friend he may be, you shouldn't trust him. You know he's got a reputation, you saw how carelessly he asked Angelina to the Yule Ball. I don't want to see you get hurt Hermione, and the probability is that he will hurt you, whether it's by intention or not."
Hermione bit her lip, wrestling with the decision of whether to confide about what happened this morning to him. After a couple of seconds of indecision, Hermione knew what she was going to do. Harry was her best friend, wasn't he? If she couldn't trust him, who could she trust? Anyway, Harry hadn't even been there that morning, so there was no way he could have done it.
"I'll tell you everything, but only of you promise not to tell anyone what I told you. It's got to stay between us – no one else can know I ever said anything."
Quickly Hermione recounted the story of what had happened last night and that morning, including the kiss and agreement to 'fake-date', but excluding the real reason Fred had come into her room, instead recounting the nightmare that she had told everyone else. After all, that was Fred's secret to tell, not hers.
Harry was a very good listener. He didn't speak once, although at several points he did seem on the verge of interrupting but caught himself and waited. As Hermione finished her explanations, she looked down at the ground, only risking a quick glance at his face while waiting for his reaction.
"OK then, if you know what you're doing, then I won't stop you. I must admit, I see the logic in your plan. But you will be careful with Fred Weasley, and I don't want to see you get hurt."
Hermione looked up sharply at the suggestion of her being in love with Fred, but did nothing to deny it. Instead she smiled softly. "When did you become so wise and observant, Harry?"
"Wisdom increases with age Hermione, and, as for being observant, would you rather I be like Ron?" A wry smile appeared on Harry's face at the thought of their other best friend and his complete unawareness of his surroundings. Even Hermione had to smile.
"Good point. And, you, Harry, are wise beyond your years. You just sometimes, actually, most of the time, lack a little thing called common sense."
Now it was Harry's turn to look discomfited, and he quickly changed the subject. "Right. Now that that's all sorted, we should be heading back to our rooms, otherwise everyone will be wondering where we are. And, by the way, I do not lack common sense. How dare you suggest such a thing!"
Harry and Hermione left the room still arguing over Harry's common sense, or lack of it.
Author's note: You lucky people! Two author's comments in one little chappie! One of my favourites so far though. I just love the idea of Harry being a brother/agony aunt to Hermione, and this was so fun to write. But, on a more serious note, my reviews and visits have been decreasing dramatically. I had over 800 people visit my first chapter, yet only 100 visits for my last chapter. And only 1 review. My heart is breaking. I've given you loads of chapters, so please make me feel better and REVIEW! I don't even care if there not all drooling over my amazing writing skills, although I would prefer them, but a little encouragement would be nice. And them, TELL OTHERS. Tell your friends and your beta readers, ask them to read and review. I will love you all forever. OK, rant over. I just hope it didn't go in through eye and out the other. And remember, my brain and my spell-check made all of this - I have no beta - reader.