I do not own Harry Potter, and I'm not J.K. Rowling.

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The atmosphere at Hogwarts was one of nervous trepidation as the key players assembled in the newly restored Great Hall. People milled about the place, uncertain where to go or when they would be needed.

Ginny took hold of Harry's arm and hauled him across the Hall to where Luna stood waving madly beside a sober looking Neville.

"Hi Luna!"

Luna offered an absent smile, her large eyes skimming over their faces.

"Hello Ginny, Harry. Did you eat breakfast today? Daddy always stresses the importance of a complete breakfast in staving off nargle infestations."

Harry nodded, struggling to look interested when his gut was twisting with dread. He had been avoiding Kingsley since they had arrived a few minutes ago. He was less than eager to discuss the looming prospect of making his grand speech, something he knew that Kingsley was keen to have finalized.

He smiled at Neville, ruthlessly suppressing a wave of queasiness.

"Morning, Neville."

Neville crossed his arms, looking decidedly less than happy to see his friends.

"Morning."

Harry's smile faded as he realized that this was the full extent of conversation Neville intended to have with him. Was there something wrong? Had Harry done something to offend him somehow? Everything had seemed fine when last they had spoken. Maybe Neville was just nervous, he wasn't exactly the type to enjoy the spotlight, after all.

Luna and Ginny were deep in a discussion of gown fittings, leaving Harry to stand awkwardly beside a disinterested Neville. He shifted from one foot to the other, playing idly with his wand.

He grinned with relief as Hermione bustled over to them, pulling Ron by his hand. Her hair was already starting to escape its plait and curl around her face in little clouds of frizz. Ron's hair was still wet, and looked as though it had been forcibly combed. Ron's face transformed once he noticed his friends, a broad smile breaking like sunlight.

" 'Lo there Harry, Neville!"

Harry braced himself against a friendly slap on the back and Neville grunted, his eyes looking away from them, searching the Hall for … something. Ron looked at Harry with eyebrows raised, tilting his head in Neville's direction. Harry shrugged helplessly, for once he was just as clueless as Ron.

Hermione joined in the female conversation and Ron and Harry looked around, scanning the group for friendly faces. Harry caught sight of Kingsley headed toward him and resisted the urge to duck behind Ron. Instead, he squared his shoulders and walked away from his friends, to find a secluded spot to conduct this conversation.

…

Ron watched Harry leave, confused at his abrupt departure until he saw Kingsley headed in the same direction. He looked over to where Hermione stood a few feet away, gesticulating wildly as she described some sort of torturous sounding footwear. Luna and Ginny nodded fervently. They were still talking about clothing. Yuck.

He turned to Neville. The larger boy stood with his back half turned, his arms crossed tightly. If Ron hadn't known better he would have said that Neville was cross at him. He walked up to him, giving a light punch in the arm.

"Hey Neville! What've you been up to? Just standin' around with Loony all morning?"

Neville gave him a hard look.

"Don't call her that."

Ron nodded, he had forgotten that she didn't like the nickname. He didn't see any harm in it, frankly.

"Alright."

Neville turned his back, taking a few steps away. Ron was starting to get annoyed. It was one thing for Hermione to act that way, she was a bloody girl. It was quite another for a bloke to blow him off like that rather than to have it out like men.

He walked up to where Neville stood apart from everyone else.

"Oi, Neville."

Neville looked at him with a completely neutral expression. Ron held his arms out in appeal.

"Are you cheesed off at me or somethin'? Look, if I've done somethin' to piss you off, you're just gonna have to tell me, mate. I'll never figure it out."

Neville's face changed, twisting with anger.

"No. You won't, will you? The thing is-"

He ran a hand through his hair roughly in a gesture that reminded Ron of Harry.

"The really infuriating thing is, is that you already know. All of you. And you're just too … too self absorbed to worry yourselves over it!"

Ron lowered his arms, taken by surprise. There really was something bothering Neville.

"What're you talking about? Who is all of you?"

Neville jerked his head angrily, crossing his arms again.

"You. Harry. Hermione. You know. And you've never once bothered to …"

He shook his head, looking about as frustrated as Ron was confused.

"Bothered to what? What do you think we know, 'zactly?"

Neville sighed, looking over his shoulder to where the girls stood talking.

"I can't tell you."

Ron puckered his brow in bewilderment.

"Why not?"

Neville lifted one shoulder helplessly.

"I gave my word."

Ron stared up at him for a few silent moments, noting how serious Neville's eyes had become. Whatever it was that was bothering him, it was something he considered very important.

"Right. Well, could you give me a hint, at least?"

Neville looked away for a few seconds before turning his gaze back to Ron's, a new light in his eyes.

"Yes, I-I think I can do that."

Ron nodded impatiently.

"Well go ahead then."

Neville closed his eyes, holding a fist to his lips for a moment before leaning in to speak quietly, once again glancing over his shoulder.

"It's an issue that is … very close to home for you. "

Ron raised his eyebrows.

"I'm afraid you'll have to try harder than that, mate. I'm not Hermione."

Neville nodded, a ghost of a smile flickering across his face.

"Okay. Well, by "home" I mean the Burrow."

Ron nodded slowly.

"Something close to the Burrow … can you give me anything else?"

Neville leaned back in.

"You know what I'm talking about Ron, just-just tell Hermione what I've told you, she'll work it out soon enough. I can't, I just can't tell you anymore, I promised her I-"

His eyes widened and he straightened up quickly, looking surprised at himself. He started to walk away but Ron caught up to him, grabbing his arm.

"Her? Who's 'her'?"

Neville wrenched his arm away, looking angry once again, obviously frustrated by Ron's failure to comprehend his cryptic message.

"Who do you think?"

Ron let him go this time, walking back to stand beside Hermione, nodding absently when she seemed to address him, his mind working over Neville's words.

…

The rest of the day was spent in bursts of dizzying activity interspersed with long stretches of boredom. Everyone was instructed on where to go and when to go there and why. Hermione had taken several feet of notes just in case they forgot any of the details.

Harry's speech was the second item on the agenda, right after Kingsley's. He really did not enjoy the idea of immediately following the rather commanding figure of the Minister. After Harry there were to be a few more speakers, Professor McGonagall among them, and then the awards ceremony.

Following the awards was a light feast and a dance. Harry really didn't think that anyone would feel like dancing at that point, but no one had asked his opinion on that bit of things. He looked up at the walls, which had been covered in swaths of dark cloth from the ceiling until about midway down. Kingsley had said that whatever the cloth was hiding was not to be revealed until the Memorial.

A blur of motion caught his eye and he saw Neville off to the side, having a rather animated discussion with Professor Sprout. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong between him and Neville, but for the life of him he couldn't imagine what.

He turned as a gentle hand touched his shoulder, smiling with relief when it was just Ginny. He had had more than enough fawning gratitude for one day. For one lifetime, actually, but he knew that this was just a tiny taste of what he could expect at the Memorial Ball.

"Ready to leave, Harry?"

Harry was already walking, his hand on his pouch of Floo powder. Ginny hurried to keep up, walking by his side.

"You have no idea, Ginny. Where are Ron and Hermione?"

She shrugged carelessly.

"Dunno. I think they've already left."

Harry took her hand and hurried to do the same.

…

Hermione watched Ron out of the corner of her eye as they wandered the corridors hand in hand.

"Shouldn't we be getting back, Ron? You know we are supposed to be at your house for supper."

Ron nodded absently, turning his head to check yet another empty classroom for whatever it was he was searching for. Hermione grew weary of wondering.

"What are you looking for, Ron?"

He jerked his head forward, staring straight down the corridor while a pink flush crept up from the collar of his shirt.

"Nothin'."

She raised a disbelieving brow.

"Really? Then why have you been looking in every classroom we come across?"

He shrugged, pulling his hand from hers to rub the back of his neck.

"I was jus', I dunno, looking for a place to sit or something."

Hermione stopped and crossed her arms suspiciously, fully aware that he was attempting to keep something from her.

"And just why, precisely, were the chairs in the Great Hall insufficient for that purpose?"

He shrugged noncommittally, continuing on without her to check the rest of the rooms. Hermione watched him until he disappeared behind a bulky suit of armor.

"Ron?"

No answer. She felt the tiny hairs on the back of her neck stand up as she was engulfed in irrational fear.

"Ron, where are you?"

She started forward, breaking into a run as she sped down the corridor. Her heart jumped into her throat as she was grabbed by a strong pair of arms, a broad hand muffling her scream of surprise.

She relaxed immediately, recognizing the hand across her face. Smiling mischievously, she stuck out her tongue and licked his palm, causing him to pull it away with a shout of disgust.

"Hermione! That's disgusting!"

She grinned at him, following as he sunk deeper into the shadows cast by the suit of armor.

"You deserve far worse, after scaring me like that. Honestly, Ron, what were you thinking?"

He leaned back against the stone wall, his eyes obscured by shadow as he looked down at her, his hand coming up to stroke the side of her face.

"I was thinking the same thing I've been thinking for ages when we've been alone like this in the corridors."

Hermione swallowed, stepping closer until her shirt brushed the front of his.

"And what is that, exactly?"

She sensed rather than saw his grin.

"Jus' how bloody nice it would be to pull you off into the corner an' snog your head off."

"Mm. That sounds like a worthy thought indeed."

She lifted on her toes to meet him as he ducked his head, pressing their lips together softly. The sounds of activity in the Great Hall were almost too faint to hear from this distance.

Hermione realized that he must have been searching for a deserted bit of corridor for exactly this purpose. That thought, the thought that he had planned this, sent a flood of warmth throughout her body, all the way down into her toes which were now curling with pleasure as he deepened the kiss.

She squeezed his shoulders with her hands, trying to gain leverage and balance up on her toes, every cell in her body straining to be closer to him. He mumbled something and turned them so that the cold stone wall was at her back, his long body pressing her into the stone. She nibbled his neck in encouragement, dipping her tongue beneath the edge of his collar to taste the soft patch of skin she found there.

He shifted against her, one of his thighs sliding between hers until his knee touched the wall. She gasped, squeezing her thighs around him at the delicious pressure. He pulled his head back slightly to grin down at her.

"Like that, do you?"

She debated nodding but decided instead to rock herself against his leg, holding his gaze and biting her lip in that way that always made his ears glow stoplight red. He made an odd sort of choking sound, swooping in to kiss her hard, leaving them both breathless and aching.

She yanked his shirt out of his trousers, running her hands up the warm skin of his back, digging her nails in as he pressed against her harder, lifting his knee. She distracted him with a searing kiss as she entwined her fingers with one of the hands he held at her waist, slowly bringing it up to cup her breast. He thrust his tongue into her mouth, moaning softly as he rubbed his hand against her. He dragged his mouth across her jaw to worship her throat, whispering into her skin.

" 'ermione… you're killin' me."

She smiled broadly, pulling his head back up by his hair.

"Good."

He ran his hands down her sides, pausing to knead her hips before hooking his fingers beneath her legs and hauling them up around his hips, pinning her against the wall. He smiled a bit sheepishly, reddening at her raised eyebrows.

"My neck was gonna break, bendin' down like that."

She nodded sagely, attacking his mouth with fresh ferocity, their tongues battling for dominance as they pressed their bodies as tightly together as possible. She heard soft mewling noises and, blushing, realized that they were coming from her.

"Well of course this was inevitable."

They both jumped at the sound of Luna's voice, Ron lowering her legs and stepping away to peer around the suit of armor. Hermione checked the state of her clothing and moved to do the same, finding herself face to face with a grinning Luna and a very red-faced Neville. She stepped out in front of Ron, smoothing her hair self-consciously as she walked closer to where Luna stood waiting.

"I'm sorry Luna, did you say something?"

Luna nodded.

"Inevitable: fated, occurring as a natural consequence. "

Hermione looked at Neville for clarification, but he just shrugged apologetically, grabbing Luna's hand and tugging her away.

"Come on Luna, I'll take you home."

She followed him sedately, only walking for a few steps before breaking into a jubilant skip. Neville walked beside her at a brisk pace, his shoulders pulled up until they were nearly level with his glowing ears.

Ron cocked his head to the side as he watched their friends' retreat.

"What is he, her handler now?"

Hermione looked up at him for a silent moment before sighing and patting him pityingly on the head, as one might do a particularly simple child. She bit her lip, taking in his bewildered expression. Or dog.

She started walking back down the corridor, hearing the soles of Ron's worn trainers slapping the stone a pace behind her. He wrapped his hand around her arm just before she turned the last corner, pulling her back against his chest. She tilted her head back until her crown rested against his collarbone and she could see his eyes looking down at her.

"Yes, Ron?"

He bent forward to press a quick upside-down kiss against her lips.

"Jus' that, an' I have something to tell you about Neville."

She turned around, feeling her insides dance at his brief kiss.

"Now that is interesting, because I also have something to tell you about Neville."

"Alright then, you go first."

"No, you go first, you brought it up."

"Yeah, but my bit doesn't make any bloody sense and your bit is probably already worked out an' everything an'-"

She flapped her hand in his face impatiently.

"Enough. I was just going to tell you that Neville isn't Luna's handler, he's her …"

She trailed off as she realized that she didn't really know how to describe their relationship. Luna had been pretty clear on the point that Neville wasn't her boyfriend and-

"Her what? Her trainer, her gardener, her bloody dance teacher?"

"He's her lover."

Ron's mouth dropped open like his jaw had been tied to a hundred pound weight.

"You mean Neville, Neville Longbottom Neville?"

She nodded.

"But that's-that's not, he's not, I mean they aren't … you're sure?"

She nodded again, watching as a wide smirk bloomed across his face.

"Well your bit was certainly better'n mine, jus' wait until I tell George, he'll flip his-"

Hermione slapped a hand to his mouth, drawing her eyebrows down menacingly.

"You aren't going to tell anyone. I only told you so that you wouldn't start speculating with Harry."

Ron groaned against her hand.

"Oov ot tuh be kihdig meh"

She shook her head, keeping her hand firmly against his mouth.

"I am certainly not kidding. And you are certainly not telling. Do you understand, Ronald?"

He nodded reluctantly, looking rather like he had just been denied a treat.

She removed her hand, nodding firmly.

"Good. Now what was it that you wanted to tell me?"

He scratched his head, contributing to the ruffled mess she had left his hair in.

"Well actually, your bit helps my bit make a bit more sense I think."

She blinked in confusion. There had been one too many "bits" in that sentence, she was sure. He continued on, oblivious to her bafflement.

"At least, I think I've figured out who Neville's "her" is. And … actually, Hermione, can I wait an' tell this to Harry too? All at once I mean?"

She blew out a loud breath of consternation, turning on her heel and reaching for her Floo powder. She didn't bother to look over her shoulder; she could feel him following her.

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