Hermione was sleeping fitfully again, dreaming of being chased. She bolted up in bed when the door to the girls' dorm was flung open by an anxious Penelope Clearwater. "Everyone get up! Get up! We have to all head down to the Great Hall."

Cries and shouts sounded as girls jumped out of bed and pulled on their robes. "What? Why? What's happened?!"

"Hurry up! We need to be down there now. Someone broke into the castle again and almost all the teachers are near our corridor because they spotted the intruder near our area of the castle." Penelope's voice rose until at the end she was almost shouting as she waved her hands about, trying to get them to rush. Penelope's normally placid face was pale and lined with tension. Her hair was in a tangled mess down her back.

Hermione jumped up, pulling on her night robe, and she and the rest of the girls in her dorm hustled down the steps to the Ravenclaw common room. The common room was in chaos as everyone was excitedly talking while exiting the tower holding random items. Luna came next to Hermione and was holding a rather large and long stuffed white animal that Hermione couldn't quite remember the name of.

Michael joined their group with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders as their house group all started walking quickly down the stairs towards the Great Hall.

"Does anyone know who the intruder was?" Hermione asked.

"I heard it might be a prank from one of the Weasley twins in fifth year. It was one of them that spotted the intruder last time, too. Kind of suspicious, if you ask me." Michael yawned widely as he was speaking.

Hermione looked at him disbelievingly. "The twins joke yes—but I don't think they would make up an intruder to Hogwarts—and besides, Peeves saw him too last time."

Michael rolled his eyes. "Ah yes. Notorious pranksters backed up by an unreliable poltergeist."

Hermione looked at Luna, who had been walking along quietly. "What do you think, Luna?"

Luna looked thoughtful as they made their way down the stairs and came into view of the doors to the Great Hall. "I think you'll sleep better once you figure out what to do about Harry."

Hermione felt her face positively burn with embarrassment and avoided Michael's raised eyebrows. "That's not what I meant."

They walked through the doors sleepily, seeing Professor McGonagall was standing on the teachers' dais. The Gryffindors were already there, but the Hufflepuff and Slytherin tables were still empty.

"Please keep it down. I will explain everything once the other two houses arrive." Professor McGonagall's strident professor voice easily carried through the hall even without the help of an amplification charm. Professor McGonagall was dressed in pink sleeping robes, which did detract a bit from the intimidating presence she usually had.

"Hermione!" Hermione looked up at the sound of her name, meeting Fred's concerned gaze as he hurried over to her. He looked more frazzled than she had seen him, his hair a mess and robes askew. It didn't look like he'd been to bed yet. He leaned over her close, resting his hand on the table in front of her as he whispered almost directly in her ear.

"I need to talk to you about something important. When they release us, do you think you could meet me in the secret room behind the room closet?"

"What about? Fred–"

He put his hand on her shoulder, cutting her off. "It's important, please, Hermione."

She pulled back from him a little to search his eyes for a moment. Whatever it was really had Fred agitated. "Yes, I'll meet you there."

He smiled and squeezed her shoulder, and that's when Hermione felt it. A burst of hot anger that traveled through their connection before Harry abruptly froze it out, the connection clamped down on Harry's end.

She turned in the direction of the door to see the entrance of the Slytherins, Harry and Malfoy in the front. Harry, unlike most of his house, who was dressed in some version of Slytherin green sleep clothes, was dressed in a black woven male pajama set. The different color made him stand out from his other house members and the fact that he was at the front of their crowd as if he led them. In fact, she spotted their prefect near the rear, so Harry was actually leading the Slytherins into the Great Hall.

Harry's face looked like it had been cut from stone, and he didn't acknowledge her as he walked past. Hermione resisted grinding her teeth together at his behavior. She had already told him she didn't like Fred. There was no reason for him to be getting angry at her for nothing..

Malfoy next to him smirked, his gaze flickering to the Gryffindor table then back to her, almost in a taunt. Hermione felt Luna shift next to her and looked over to see Luna face Malfoy placing her stuffed animal on her lap and using its little arm to wave in Malfoy's direction.

"Luna, what type of animal is that? It's on the tip of my tongue…"

Luna gave her a small smile. "It's a ferret. Draco really likes it."

Hermione glanced at Draco's face, which had turned about as red as her own had been when Luna remarked on her dreams and thought that maybe Luna may be wrong about Draco liking the ferret.

There was another minor commotion as the Hufflepuffs arrived last and finally McGonagall called for quiet.

"We're sorry to have disturbed you so late, but we had a credible report of an intruder to the castle and to be safe, we have gathered everyone here while we complete another search of the grounds."

Groans went up amongst the students while they shouted questions about if everyone would be obliged to spend another night camping in the Great Hall. McGonagall shook her head at them as she responded. "Quiet! We fully anticipate that we will be releasing everyone back to their common rooms within the next hour. Be patient and this will be over quickly."

Harry still hadn't spoken to her when they released everyone into the hallway and given the late hour, Hemione guessed she would have to clear everything up with him tomorrow. She asked Luna to cover for her as she split off from the Ravenclaws as they turned the corner, dashing down the hallway quickly to duck into the broom closet to meet up with Fred.

She pushed the wall and found Fred pacing impatiently, waiting for her. "Hermione!"

He rushed to her and gave her a tight hug. She patted his back, a little confused at his reaction. "What's going on Fred?"

Fred rubbed his hands over his face roughly before gesturing to the couch. "Let's sit down for a minute."

She sat down next to him and watched as he nervously rubbed his hands on his thighs. "I'm going to tell you something, but you have to promise to keep it a secret–and not tell any teachers."

Oh, boy. She hoped Michael hadn't been right, and he was about to confess to pranking everyone about an intruder. Fred was waiting impatiently for her answer and so she promised what she could. "I promise not to tell anyone anything that will get you into trouble."

Fred paused in the act of pulling a bit of parchment from his robe. "Hermione, this isn't about me getting into trouble. This is about keeping you safe. I've seen how you are–this is going to help you and I don't want you to give this away to a professor because you're trying to follow some misguided rules."

Hermione's forehead wrinkled in puzzlement, but she nodded. "I promise Fred, I won't tell any teachers."

Fred spread out the parchment carefully and tapped it with his wand. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Hermione watched in wonder a ripple of magic spread through the parchment and a map of Hogwarts appeared with labels for every single person. Her eyes caught on one particular label, though that was quite close to them. Harry was waiting in the corridor outside the broom closet. Her stomach twisted at the thought he might have seen her go into the broom closet with Fred. She pushed away those thoughts and tried to concentrate on the magical item in front of her.

"This is—frankly amazing, Fred. But why are you giving it to me?"

"Well, me and George have already memorized all the hidden passages… and… you need it, Hermione."

"What do you mean?"

"I've seen the name Peter Pettigrew twice on this map–and each time he seems to be heading in your direction. Tonight I tried to catch him–I was right in the corridor with him and he walked right past me and nothing—I don't know what spell he was using, but he was completely invisible."

"Um, are you sure this map is safe? What if it's wrong or playing a trick on you?"

She remembered Luna's caution about trusting something without knowing where it kept its brain.

"Nothing bad has happened to us in the three years we've been using it. Me and George got this in second year from Filch's office and it's never wrong. It even shows Mrs. Norris or McGonagall when she's in her animagus form. The map is bloody brilliant. Pettigrew was definitely here in the castle and somehow he's completely undetectable."

"Who is he? Do you know him?"

"Never heard of him. But like I said—he has to be after you—the first time we spotted him on the map, it looked like he was trying to follow you through the castle. Then tonight he was waiting at the entrance to the Ravenclaw common room."

"Did you tell any of the teacher's his name and ask if they knew him?"

"How could I without explaining the map?"

"Don't you think they should have it? So they can keep the school safe?"

"You know what's going to happen if you show them that map? It's going to disappear into Dumbledore's office and you're never going to see it again — and you won't know if someone is trying to sneak up on you… "

Fred's voice trailed off as he looked at the map, finally noticing Harry waiting in the corridor outside the broom closet secret room. He looked up, his brown eyes watchful as they met hers. "If you don't want to talk to him, you don't have to." His finger followed the passageway behind them. "The passage behind us curves back out and exits on the western corridor… you could avoid him completely if you wanted."

It was a tiny bit tempting to avoid Harry, as inept socially as Hermione was even she knew this meeting with Fred looked absolutely terrible. The thought of facing Harry and what he might think, especially after Harry had asked to be with her, made her cringe on the inside. She still didn't even feel a glimmer of his emotion from the bond between them since the brief rush of his anger earlier, and that in itself was telling.

However, intertwined with that trepidation was the anticipation she always got at the thought of seeing him. She would never leave him waiting in a corridor for her. She would just have to make him understand and show him the map.

"I have to talk to him."

Fred cocked his head at her, his voice light. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to."

There was a message there, and when she had seen that emotion in Harry's eyes, it had made her feel excited and a little scared—seeing it in Fred's gaze made her feel a little sad and uncomfortable. "I want to talk to him, Fred."

He nodded, breaking her gaze and looking down at the map. "He's a lucky wizard, then."

Hermione looked at Fred, feeling her heart twist a little for him. No wonder Harry had asked if she liked Fred. She hadn't realized… "Fred…"

Hermione trailed off when he picked up his head to look at her. She had never been in a situation like this before. She might not even have understood the situation clearly if she had. Before Harry confessed to her, she had not known what that look meant in a wizard's eyes.

There were faint circles under Fred's eyes, as if he hadn't gotten a good sleep for a while, and his face had a serious expression that she couldn't have imagined on him before tonight. He leaned in close to her, his shaggy red hair almost touching her curls. Hermione resisted the impulse to pull back, her instincts running around like little alarm bells, wrong wrong wrong!

"When my brother invited you over and we fought in that practice duel.. You were so amazing. And then you got upset when I talked about you being blessed and I wanted to kick myself for upsetting you."

He finally pulled back, and she let out a silent sigh of relief. Fred leaned back against the couch, throwing his arm over his eyes as he continued. "Then I saw you with Potter and I knew, even though you said you two weren't together. You don't know how you two look like to the rest of us. He's always watching you and… you're always watching him. Sometimes it's like no one else even exists."

His arm dropped to the side, and he turned his head to look at her, still relaxed against the couch. "But there's something off about him, Hermione. I don't know how he grew up, just the rumors everyone else has heard - but that doesn't change how he behaves. He only steps in to do something right if it benefits him. Neville sings his praises, but has he ever stopped Malfoy from picking on Ron? Why only Neville? The Slytherin Quidditch captain Marcus Flint is a bloody git to everyone, but Potter stepped in for Hannah Abbott—why?

"Then there's the way he treats you. Ron told me he barely talked to you, then suddenly he's acting like you're some kind of possession. Not all Slytherins are bad, but the very dark wizards? Yeah, they're all Slytherin. And Harry Potter? Well, from what I can tell, he's pretty much in charge of that house."

Hermione wouldn't explain Harry to anyone, even Fred. He had his reasons for the way he acted and the disagreement she had with that was between Harry and her. She licked her lips, trying to think of a reply.

Fred's gaze went to her lips briefly before back to her eyes and she felt herself turning red. "Nevermind Hermione. You just have to know that you have options, if there ever comes a time when you need help—I'm here for you. Anytime. Any place."

Fred shook his head, straightening, his tone changing as he went back to talking about the map. "So. The point of all this. The map. You need it and you need to keep it a secret and not let anyone take it from you. It activates with a tap of your wand and saying 'I solemnly swear I am up to no good.' and it deactivates when you tap it again with 'Mischief managed."

He handed the parchment to her. "Try it."

Hermione activated and deactivated the map while he watched. "Good. You need to keep it with you and check it periodically, although I have been keeping a very close watch on it since the first time and it seems as if Pettigrew has only entered those two times and both times its been nighttime."

Hermione nodded at him, and he stood up, looking around. "Probably better if I don't run into Potter tonight. I'm not in the mood to see his face. I'm going to take off using the back passage."

She watched Fred walk towards the back passage, and he paused at the doorway, throwing a smile over his shoulder. "Night, warrior nerd, see you around."

Hermione smiled back at him. "Good night, Fred."

He disappeared into the darkened passage and Hermione sat there for a moment, pulling out the map again to check. Harry was still there, unmoving. She dismissed the spell, turning it back into a bit of blank parchment, and tucked it into her robe pocket. Hermione stood up, breathing deep to brace herself for what he might say.

Hermione stepped into the dark corridor, quietly closing the broom closet door behind her. She looked around cautiously, but she didn't see Harry. She walked slowly to where the map had shown him. Had he left that quickly?

She stopped in the middle of the corridor, concentrating on her surroundings. She didn't see him, but she felt him. Regardless of him blocking his emotions, the tie was still there, binding them together—in a stadium of people she could find him easily and she knew absolutely he was in this corridor with her… Very close.

"Harry." She whispered, looking around. Was this how Pettigrew had hidden from Fred? Footsteps sounded behind her and she whirled around and that's when hands grabbed her.

She was about to start fighting when his sharp whisper made her still. "Be quiet, someone's coming."

Harry threw what felt like a cloak over her, pulling her against the wall. His hands were tight around her, crossed over her chest as if he was keeping her bound. She sometimes forgot how much larger Harry was in comparison to her. His chin brushed the top of her head as he held her, and his arms felt like steel. She could barely move as they waited to see who the footsteps belonged to.

The cloak he threw over her was charmed in some way. It was almost translucent and felt light, like silk. She knew it completely covered her, but she could see the darkened corridor perfectly and recognized Professor Snape as he slowly stalked down the corridor as if he knew someone was hiding from him.

Snape paused almost directly in front of them, his wand out and slowly scanning the corridor as if he could sense them. Hermione held her breath, her heart beating hard. But he couldn't see them and eventually he walked past them. Harry had an invisibility cloak, a pretty powerful one from what she had read about them. They remained still until several minutes had passed since Snape's footsteps faded.

Hermione could tell Harry thought they were safe by the way he relaxed back against the wall, but he didn't release his hold on her, keeping her back to him. They were both silent for long minutes. They were both afraid to start what might be a terrible row. Her hands came up to rest against his arms where they wrapped around her, the warmth of his skin against hers helping her anxiety a little bit as the silence stretched on almost unbearably.

Harry was the one who broke the silence, and his voice was soft when he spoke. The air almost vibrated with the force of his will to keep his emotions in check and his tone even. "Do you care about me, Hermione?"

"Of course."

He lowered his head, his mouth brushing her ear and making her shiver. "Then why would you do that? I care about you and I would never hurt you like you hurt me tonight."

Tears sprang into her eyes and she tried to turn around to see his face, but he tightened his arms, not letting her move. "Harry, you don't understand—nothing happened—I know it looks—"

He squeezed her, cutting her off. "Fred likes you. You know he likes you, and you disappeared into a fucking broom closet with him."

Her heart was pounding so hard she felt like it was going to burst out of her chest. "Don't do this. You know I wouldn't do that to you."

"You act so oblivious Hermione and sometimes I wonder. You're so smart. Are you really that unaware? How could you be? Are you making me into a bloody fool?"

She sniffled and tears started falling and he turned her around, swiftly pushing her up against the wall. "No, no, no. Don't start crying."

The bright green of his eyes almost seemed to glow in the dim corridor. His hand hit the wall beside her and she flinched, still looking up at him as tears drifted down her cheeks. He groaned and hugged her close before pulling back and wiping away her tears.

"How would you feel if you went looking for me and I disappeared into a closet with Daphne Greengrass? If Daphne was always around me, if I spent my bloody summer at her house?"

He'll be drinking tea with Daphne in Hogsmeade before you can pry your ginger away from free food in the Great Hall!

Draco's snarky voice echoed along with Harry's words, hitting hard. Hermione's response was visceral and beyond her control, the intensity of the anger causing her magic to lash out, and the window beyond them into the courtyard cracked loudly.

Harry laughed softly, but there was no amusement in the sound. "What if I did what you did? Shove Fred away if he got too close." He nuzzled her, his cheek brushing against hers. "What if I set him on fire, Hermione?"

There was a hint of anticipation in his tone, as if he'd thought of it, and chills broke out on skin. She needed to clear the air between them, make him understand.

"Harry, no—please just listen to me. This is all — all — just a big misunderstanding. Just let me explain."

"Explain how you're doing it to protect me? Explain that even though I know you feel it —" The bond flared between them and his fury rampaged forward, making it hard to breathe.

It hurt to meet his eyes, to look at him while the bond twisted between them. She remembered him telling her about the Mirror of Erised, and knew if she looked into the mirror she would see the mirror of his wants- Harry with dual colored eyes.

Hermione knew he had allowed his emotions to show through the bond to emphasize how angry he was, but she felt his hurt too and it gutted her. They were both just trying to figure things out that were too big for them, trying to deal with emotions that were overwhelming, and it was hard to take a step back and act rationally. To analyze what might be happening- but that's what they both needed to do.

She stood on her tiptoes and threw her arms around his neck, locking them tight. "Harry."

He tried to pull back and she could feel his magic like a thin layer over his skin, taking little nips at her as if angry, but she refused to let go. "No. You listen to me."

"What else have I done, Hermione? You're apparently the one in charge between us. I'm just the bloody fool that does whatever you say."

There was an edge to his voice as he said the last sentence, and Malfoy popped into her mind. Her arms tightened further. She knew without being told that Malfoy was the one who had said that to Harry and he was repeating it.

One of these days, she was going to hurt Malfoy very badly, and she would enjoy every minute of it.

"Listen to me! Look at how we're behaving! It's this connection between us—do you really think it's the best thing to let it grow between us?"

She stopped bracing herself as she whispered the next part. "When I wrote in the diary, I did things, I felt things that I wouldn't have normally without its influence. What we have here… the dreams… the connection… what if we're not acting with our own free will?"

His hands came up and pulled firmly, and even though she resisted, he lowered her arms until he held them between their bodies. "You still aren't listening to me. I did make a choice. I chose you."

"But how do you know that? You can't know that! We have to research–"

"Oh, is that what you've been doing with Fred, then? Research? I guess if you really want that, I could research with Daphne. How much research would make you happy, Hermione?"

She tried to jerk her hand out to smack him, but he wouldn't let go. "Tsk, tsk, so violent."

"I'm not going to be pushed into something because you're trying to make me jealous!"

Pain hit her lightning, and she gasped, almost stumbling back as Harry released her hands abruptly. Harry stepped away from her to the middle of the corridor, looking down the corridor.

"Fine. We need to get back to our common rooms before we're missed." The words were flat, his face wiped clean of emotion. The message was loud and clear–he was done talking to her.

It made her unreasonably angry. They argued because he was ready to argue—the argument stopped because he was done with it! He was saying she was in control and he completely missed how much he controlled their every step!

"No. You're going to listen to me and stop throwing the stuff with Fred in my face. It's not like that, and I'm sorry I hurt you, but please, Harry, listen to me."

He turned to look at her, not moving from the middle of the corridor, the cloak held in his hand. The words were still low, but all the emotion was gone, the response flat and uncaring. "What?"

"I can barely sleep sometimes because I'm constantly dreaming of being chased. I'm so tired and scared of doing the wrong thing, please. Please don't freeze me out."

"You're dreaming of being chased?" That seemed to shake him slightly, and he moved closer to her again, crowding her, as the icy walls of his occlumency skill retreated and his emotions peeked through again. "Why didn't you say anything to me about it before?"

"It's not like the other dreams, it's not really like I'm in danger, they're just sort of nightmares."

"Nightmares." He paused. "Who is chasing you?"

Hermione shrugged, wrapping her arms around herself. "I don't know. I just know that he's trying to catch me."

Harry looked at her observantly, his head tilted to the side as if he was trying to figure out a puzzle. "I've been having dreams too."

She looked at him, caught by the gleam of his eyes. Anticipation. Harry reached out, twirling one of her curls around his finger. "Do you want to know what about?"

"What were they about?"

"That I'm chasing someone."

His words made a shiver go through her, even though she knew what he would say she still asked. "Who are you chasing?"

His eyes roamed over her as if he was noting and comparing. "A pretty-"

A loud yowl cut him off and both their heads whipped to the side to see Mrs. Norris' bright lamp-like yellow eyes fixed on them.

Harry whipped the cloak over both of them and hustled them down the corridor. They could already hear Filch's heavy breathing and stomped down the passageway. "Where are those brats? Show me."

They both ran as quietly as they could while keeping under the cloak and hearing Filch not far behind them. When they were close to Ravenclaw tower, they almost ran straight into Fred and George Weasley. But Harry barely pulled her to the side as the twins moved past them.

She felt the flicker of anger right before Harry's hand came up and his wand flicked around them. "Flipendo. Silencio."

Harry's first spell hit a suit of armor in the direction Fred and George were heading, and it fell out with a loud crash. Fred and George looked around wildly and started running down the corridor away from them. Harry's second hit her and prevented her yelp at the noise from being audible.

Mrs. Norris dashed by them, following the noise and now after the Weasley Twins while Filch was hot on her tail.

Hermione reached into her robe angrily to dispel the silencing charm, but Harry grabbed her arm and pulled her rapidly toward the eagle door of the Ravenclaw Common room.

As if the door was in league with Harry, it swung open without a riddle for him. Harry practically pushed her through and she whirled around angrily, grabbing her wand to dispel his silencing charm.

"What the bloody hell did you do that for?"

Harry shrugged with a smirk. "The least they can do is provide a distraction for us to get into our dorms. Now Filch is following them as they run back to Gryffindor tower."

"That wasn't nice."

"Yeah, well, you seemed to be uncomfortable with me setting them on fire, and that was my other plan." His voice was light, almost playful, but she didn't mistake the cold gleam in his green eyes.

"Harry-"

"Look, we don't have time. I have to get back, but Hermione?"

"What?"

"Maybe next time you dream about being chased. Let me catch you?"

Her heart skipped a beat, and her mouth opened wordlessly. He smiled at her, his teeth flashing as the door closed between them.

A/N: Cheers to all the people who helped me finish this chapter needed a lot of feedback to make sure I didn't go off on craziness.

ಠ‿ಠ no names but someone actually got the question right from last chapter. Kudos to you champion reader! It made me strangely, deliriously happy.

(ᵔᴥᵔ) This Slytherin Harry. Ay. His temper. Hopefully Fred stays uncrispy. Happy Monday and hope ya'll have a great week!