Chapter 7: Squares and Triangles

Hermionie's academic ability was nothing new, but her being the centre of attention was. It seemed to be that lately she had been spending less time with her head in a book, and more with Harry, Ron and Marcus. To them it appeared that she was always with the other two. Ron thought that she spent all of her time with Marcus, Marcus thought she spent all of her time with Harry, and Harry thought she spent all of her time with Ron. Between the three of them, Hermionie was always occupied in some way.
Most of Marcus's conversations with Hermionie revolved around the subject of his singing, and finally she managed to persuade him to sing again...
"It'll only be you and me... No-one else even knows you have a guitar..."
"As long as you still don't tell anyone..."
"Fine... Just sing..."
"Okay. Meet me in the common room at midnight." Marcus sounded resigned. He had discovered that Hermionie couldn't be argued against.

Ron and Harry stared out over the Hogwarts grounds, lit only by the stars in the night sky. Neither could sleep, and both of them knew exactly why. Ron turned to Harry and started to talk.
"Something's going to happen soon." He declared.
"Like what?" Said Harry.
"Something big." Responded Ron, in a puzzled voice. Harry walked back to his bed.
"Ron, just enjoy the quietness while you can. We don't know how long it'll last, and there's no point just waiting for something to happen... When Voldermort..."
"Shush!" Ron interrupted, he still hated the fact that Harry always called Voldermort by his name.
"When Voldermort decides to come back for us, we'll all be drowning in worry, so until then, sleep, and be happy." Harry lay down on his bed, hoping Ron would leave it for a night.
"I didn't mean about you-know-who, I meant about Hermionie."
"You mean you're going to get over yourself and ask her out?"
"I don't know Harry. I just don't know what to do. On one hand it's Hermionie, and she's our best friend in the world and I wouldn't do anything to change that... But on the other hand, she's just so amazing, I don't know how to describe it to you." He looked across at Harry, who was listening intently.
"I know how you feel, Ron. I imagine it's the same way I feel about Cho... All I can say to you, is that if you don't tell her, you'll always wonder what might have been." Harry felt pained to say it, since he felt he didn't have the courage to tell Cho the same thing.
"I know I have to, but every time I see her I don't want to face the possibility of her saying that we're just good friends." Harry looked at Ron for a moment. He looked desperate to do something, to say something to Hermionie, but at the same time he was full of fear.
"I think you should sleep on it. Decide what to do tomorrow." Harry finally stated.
"Alright. 'Night Harry..."
"Goodnight Ron..." With that they both fell to their dreams.

At almost midnight, Marcus pulled himself out of bed, picked up his guitar and wand, then walked to the common room, where Hermionie was waiting for him.
"Done the soundproofing already?" he asked.
"Just as you came in." Hermionie said through a smile.
"So what do you want me to play?" Marcus asked, not knowing quite what to expect.
"Something thoughtful, maybe."
"Okay, here goes." Marcus said, putting on the guitar and sitting opposite her. "This is called "Learn to Be Still", by the Eagles." He announced as he started to strum the opening chords.
Again Hermionie listened intently. There was so much emotion in his voice, so much sadness.
He continued to play for over an hour when Nearly-Headless Nick came in and reminded them what Snape might do if they fell asleep in potions the next day. This prompted a quick exit from the pair of them, with Marcus only remembering that there was a sound barrier at the last moment.

A few minutes later, Hermionie lay in bed thinking about Marcus. There was something about him, or was it just that he was new, and so much more was yet to be discovered about him? She though of Viktor Krum, who she had met the previous year, during the Tri-Wizard tournament. She had for a time believed that she had loved him, but had later decided that it wasn't meant to be. Next her thoughts turned to Ron, and specifically the night of the ball. He was always so sweet, and ready for adventure, but that night they had had one of their few huge fights. It was such a horrible feeling when she argued with Ron, and she suspected that he might have taken more than a casual liking towards her at the time, but with all the danger they faced together, they never really talked about it. Finally her thoughts turned to Harry and Cho. She felt happy for them, if they would ever get together, but it seemed like it was taking a fair amount of time to sort itself out. For a time, during their first year, she had had a crush on Harry, but now dismissed it as nothing. Even so, she still felt a little jealous that Cho was the one always on his mind.
All of this was too much for her. It wasn't worth worrying about. None of them would seriously consider her as more than a friend, would they? If anyone would, then she'd deal with it when it arose, even though she doubted it ever would...