Friday

Harry and Ron were doing their Divination homework. Or this was the pretence.

Harry was idly smoothing the feather of his quill as he planned what he was going to say to Andromeda. Why did it have to be so hard? Hadn't the Yule Ball fiasco been torture enough? OK. Andromeda, I really enjoyed us working together the other day and I'd like it if we could do it again. Or maybe we could do something else. How about next time we go to Hogsmeade, we could meet up?

That's terrible.

Ron failed to realise that he was getting ink all over his left cheek as he fiddled absent-mindedly with his quill. Why hadn't Hermione started talking to him again yet? Usually, if you left her more than a day, she'd have something to say again. And he'd been loudly cheating on his homework to try and get her to come over. But she was sitting next to Parvati and Lavender, looking thoroughly bored with their conversation. What could he say to her? Hermione, I'm really sorry for what I said. I don't know why you got upset, though, because it was only the truth…

That's terrible.

After a while, Harry couldn't stand to be cooped up any more. The clear weather had inspired most of the Gryffindors to take walks in the grounds – why shouldn't he do the same? Ron promised to catch up with him as soon as he'd finished his Divination. That's not like Ron, thought Harry, but his friend's decision was explained much better by the fact that Hermione was sitting alone by the fire. He left through the portrait hole to give them some privacy.

Ron walked over to where Hermione sat looking dejected. 'Hello,' he said cautiously.

She turned and looked up at him, then said very coldly, 'Hello.'

'Not going for a walk then?'

'Apparently not.'

'Me neither?'

'Really? I hadn't noticed.'

Ron paused. Firstly, he was feeling very uncomfortable, and secondly, Hermione was using sarcasm much more effectively than he could, which was slightly unnerving. He decided just to go for it. 'Hermione, I'm really sorry about the other day.'

'Why?'

The dreaded question. Now what was he going to say? 'Well, er… I hurt your feelings… and I didn't mean anything by it. I didn't mean no one would want to go out with you, that's not true, obviously… you're quite pretty with your hair up…' (AAAHHH! NOOO! SAY SOMETHING BETTER, QUICKLY!) '…and it suits you even better down… er… and you're really clever, and you care about people – and elves – so it really isn't true that no one would want to go out with you. Just… I'm not. Going out with you. And I was just telling Fred and George that.'

She regarded him, looking very slightly amused, but still angry. 'Finished?'

'Er, yeah.'

'Good. Because yet again, you've totally missed the point.' And she flounced up the stairs to the girls' dormitory.

'What am I supposed to DO?!' demanded Ron angrily to the seemingly empty common room.

'Stop talking to yourself?' suggested a sixth-year on the other side of the room.

Harry, meanwhile, was wandering along by the lake, musing over what he would say to Andromeda. He'd thought about it a lot now, and the words still weren't changing into anything remotely good enough. He supposed he'd just have to leave it. After all, it would be trouble, going out with a Slytherin. And that was even if she said yes, which, he thought, she probably wouldn't…

But nevertheless, when he saw her walking on the other side of the lake, he got up and started running. He almost didn't catch up with her – but in the end he did. And he asked her. Just like that. He couldn't even remember the words he used. But it wasn't important, because she said yes.

That night, both boys had things on their minds. Harry, because there was a Hogsmeade visit tomorrow and he would have to find places to go with Andromeda; and Ron, because when he had been listing all the good things about Hermione, he had realised how very much he meant them.