Disclaimer: The answer is no, ok?

A/N: Ah, there's nothing like waking up with a massive cold! Yes, I am terribly sick. I can barely talk, as a matter of fact (I sound like an old hag when I do...*cringe*), so I might as well write chapter 5.



Fire and Rain



Chapter 5

Interruptions



"Harry! Wait!" Hermione yelled as she ran to catch up with him. Just as she turned the corner of a hallway, Harry turned into another one. She groaned inwardly before following him. But as she turned into the hallway, she immediately bumped into something. Someone. That person turned around and faced her with quite an annoyed expression.

"First him and now you! How many times am I going to get run over today?"

"Malfoy?" Hermione asked, frowning. She saw Harry slowly approaching from over Draco's shoulder.

"Yeah...," Draco cautiously said. And after a very short staring match, he added, "Now, if you don't mind, I'll just be on my way."

Harry and Hermione both watched with a mixture of shock, surprise and relief as he jogged down the hallway, toward the dungeons.

"What just happened?" Harry asked, moving beside her.

"I'm not sure," Hermione replied, deep in thought. "Did you notice how...civil he was?"

"And did you notice how he didn't call you 'Mudblood' or me 'Scarhead'?" he pondered for a moment. "But he's probably just up to something...as usual."

"I don't know...there's something strange about him. I don't know what it is, but it's definitely there," Hermione said as they began walking toward Gryffindor Tower.

Harry simply nodded.

"Do you think it has anything to do with...what happened?" she asked, while secretly wondering why she even cared the slightest bit about Malfoy.

"It probably has everything to do with it..." Harry sighed. They now found themselves in front of the Fat Lady. He stood there, idle, waiting for Hermione to open the door. She just looked at him as if to say 'What are you waiting for? Open the damn door!'.

"Um...Hermione...don't you have the password?" Harry said slowly.

"No, am I supposed to have it?" she retorted, placing her hands on her hips.

"But you always have it..."

"Well, not this time. Honestly, Harry! Weren't YOU listening when McGonagall gave it to us?"

He looked completely unphazed.

"Of course not. I was focusing on more...important things," he told her, his eyes gleaming slightly as he looked directly into her own.

Hermione couldn't help but notice the way he looked at her. It had only recently become more evident, and there was no denying that he was seeing her in a whole new light. She met his gaze, not wanting to brake the connection. And before she even knew it, Harry's face was approaching hers. The more she looked at him, the closer he got. She could feel his warm breath caressing her skin, and her heart was beating so fast she was sure he could probably hear it too. Their lips were about to meet when the portrait door swung open. They quickly separated, their faces completely flushed.

"What are you guys doing out here?" Ron asked, totally oblivious to what could have just happened between his two best friends. "I've been wondering where you were.."

Harry was the first to sober up. "Yeah, well, Hermione here forgot the password to the..."

"I did not, you bloke!" she spoke up, her eyes still showing the longing she had just been feeling a few seconds before.

Ron chuckled as Hermione lightly punched Harry on the arm and as a look of mock pain crossed his face. Harry let her step through the portrait door first, then quickly followed before Ron closed the door behind them.



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Two weeks had now gone by, and Harry thought he was going to have to admit himself to St-Mungo's sooner or later. He just couldn't concentrate at all. Not in classes. Not on homework assignments. Not even on Quidditch. His mind kept on shifting to that intimate moment with Hermione that Ron so conveniently interrupted. Not that there was anything wrong with Ron...he just seemed to always be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"Harry?" someone asked, but he couldn't see who it was. All he kept seeing was her face, her eyes, her lips...

A hand flashing in front of his eyes brought him back to Earth.

"Huh?"

"Are you feeling alright?" He saw that it was Ron. "You've been unresponsive for the past couple of minutes...maybe you should stop by Madam Pomfrey's."

"No, no. I'm fine," Harry replied, running a hand through his unruly hair. "I just need to get to class and..."

Ron interrupted him. "Harry, there are no classes today. It's Saturday, remember?"

A look of sudden realization spread across his face. "Oh...oh! Right, Saturday.."

Ron gave him a worried look.

"I'm fine! Really!" Harry said, frustration clearly in his voice, as he stood to make his way toward his escape. The door.

"Don't go too far. Dumbledore wants us all down in the Great Hall in 10 minutes. Some speech...or something."

Harry stopped, his hand resting on the door knob. "Ok...yeah...I'll see you down there then," he said, turning his head toward his best friend before leaving the room.

"Yep," Ron said aloud to the empty room. "Something's definitely up. And I have every intention of finding out what it is."



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The Great Hall was practically full when Harry finally entered it. He spotted Ron and Neville, and made his way through the sea of people toward them.

"Hey," he said, once he joined them. "What's this all about anyway?"

"Beats me," Neville shrugged as he stretched his neck in an attempt to see over the heads of the other students, toward the teachers' table. Harry did the same but had a slightly different target. He scanned the crowd for a certain brown haired Gryffindor and finally found her at the other end of the room, laughing at what must have been a very funny joke. He smiled to himself as he watched her.

She was standing with Ginny and some other girl with dark hair who had her back to him. Ginny pointed out something in the crowd and both Hermione and the girl turned to look at it. Harry instantly recognized the other girl: Anika. Anika had arrived at Hogwarts six days after the start of the term, the reason being that she had gotten...lost on the way there (she had used a portal, of course, but even though she was sure her calculations had been right, she still ended up somewhere in Poland). And even though she had been placed in Ravenclaw, that didn't stop Hermione from spending as much time with her as possible. She found her very intriguing with all her crazy ideas and inventions, and both she and Ginny thought it nice to have another somewhat normal girl around. Harry didn't see much of her, since he didn't have many classes with her, but they still managed to chat with each other once in a while. Ron, on the other hand, had yet to meet her.

'That'll change soon enough..' Harry grinned as he thought of the plan Ginny had come up with Hermione to set the two up. His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat. He looked up and noticed that Dumbledore was now standing in front the students, waiting patiently for the chattering to die down before speaking.

"Students of Hogwarts! Once again, I welcome you to a brand new year!" Dumbledore said with a warm smile. "You must be wondering why I have summoned your presence to the Great Hall this lovely autumn day."

Some students nodded while others glanced up toward the magical ceiling of the Great Hall. Dumbledore was right; it was indeed a glorious day.

"After much consideration," he went on, "We, my fellow Professors and I, have come to the conclusion that there will be another Yule Ball held in this very room, in exactly four weeks time."

At this, the whole student population broke into loud cheers as the Headmaster looked on with a broad smile.

"Now, I suggest you get your very best dress robes ready to wear because I'm sure you all know how fast time can fly by at Hogwarts when a special event like this is anticipated." he chuckled at the excited (and even terrified) expressions on the faces of so many students.

"That will be all. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!" Dumbledore continued to smile as he watched the room become deserted once more.



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"I can't believe it!" Ron complained, obviously not too fond of the idea of making a complete fool of himself yet again.

"I know," was all Harry could say. He kind of liked the idea of having another Ball. He'd actually have an excuse to be close to Hermione. Not that he needed one...

"And who's going to want to go with me? Everyone knows what a terrible dancer I am," Ron said, remembering the wonderful time he had had at the last Yule Ball.

"It won't be that bad, Ron," Harry tried to reasssure him. "Besides, I am positive that there's somebody in this school who is just dying to go with you."

Ron sighed loudly. "I just hope you're right..."

'You don't know how right I'll be once our plan works,' Harry grinned as he thought of what he, Hermione and Ginny had called 'Project RNG' (Ron Needs a Girlfriend).

"What are you so happy about?" Ron asked suspiciously, bringing Harry back to the present.

"You'll find out soon enough..." Harry vaguely told him.

Ron stopped and raised an eyebrow at him. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"I'm not saying anything more," Harry replied stubbornly and began walking down the hallway.

Ron stood there frowning for a moment before he realized that Harry was gone.





A/N: Ok..that's it. I can't take it anymore. I had to stop it there because if I didn't, you guys wouldn't be getting this chapter for another week. What's up with Malfoy? What exactly are Harry, Hermione and Ginny planning to do with Ron? How the heck did Anika end up in Poland? And why Poland? And will Harry and Hermione EVER kiss?? Next chapter will be up some time this millenium (aka I have no idea). Thanks for reading and please REVIEW! Thank you!