v v Chapter 2: A Day Never to Forget

The next morning in the Great Hall, Ron, unbeknownst to the two young lovers with smug looks of happiness on their faces, kept on staring at them.

"So Harry, how'd you sleep last night?" Ron asked, trying to mask the mischievous look in his eye with a serious one.

Harry choked on his bacon. "Sleep?"

"Yes, sleep, you know, what you and Hermione do 6 nights out of the week." Ron could hide his laughter no longer.

"Ron you idiotic git! How long have you known?" Hermione asked him.

*Harry, did you tell him?*

*Of course I didn't tell him.*

*Well, you weren't being careful enough.*

 *I was too being careful.*

*Then how did he find out?*

"Hermione, Harry is extremely careful, and no, he did not tell me."

Harry and Hermione turned to look at Ron with shocked expressions.

"No I can't read your minds, but as a very wise wizard once told me, it's written all over your faces."

Ron got up, and sashayed out of the Great Hall, a smug look on his face.

*I hate it when he has the last word.* Hermione mumbled in her head.

******

"So, Christmas gifts…" Ron began, as he got ready to head down to Hogsmeade for the day.  

After breakfast, the Trio headed back to Gryffindor Tower to get ready for the Hogsmeade weekend. Hermione went off to her dorm room and the two boys came to their own, to find it empty, save Trevor. Christmas Break began next week so everyone was going to Hogsmeade with the purpose of buying Christmas gifts, and unlike Harry, Ron was looking frantic at the thought of buying gifts this year.

"What do you think I should get Hermione this year?" Ron asked Harry, slightly pink around the ears.

"I don't know."

"Well you can bloody read her mind! You should know something!"

"Get her a book."

"A book? And I suppose you're gonna get her a book as well?"

"No, its different now."

"Different? Different how?"

"I'm her bloody boyfriend now! I can't give her a book!"

"Right."

Ron turned to stare at Harry, who was fuming out of his ears. Ron knew Harry didn't like to discuss the nature of his new relationship with Hermione with him. Harry still thought Ron was mad about the whole thing, which was not quite true.

"Harry."

Harry turned to look at Ron.

"You know I'm not mad anymore, don't you?"

Harry still stood there, staring at Ron.

"I guess I was mad in the beginning because, you know…for the past four years, it seems like you've had everything I couldn't have. First the fame, the money, then you became the youngest Seeker at Hogwarts in a century, then you got even more fame and glory after defeating Voldemort all those times, and then you became Triwizard Champion (Harry winced at this) and this year you became a Prefect and the Captain of the Quidditch Team…and then you took Hermione. Then I realized you didn't take her from me, she was never mine in the first place, and no matter what kind of a relationship you have with Hermione, you two will always be my best friends."

Harry still stood there, staring at Ron.

"Are you just gonna stand there, staring at me the whole day?"

And then Ron realized he wasn't string at him, he was staring past him, at Hermione where she stood, at the door.

Hermione was the first to break the silence.

"Oh Ron!" Hermione yelled as she flung herself at him. Soon enough, Harry joined this little hug and the three of them stood there like this, for quite some time.

"Come on you two, let's go." Hermione said as she mussed up their hair and reluctantly broke away from the hug.

******

"Come on, I wanna buy some more Dungabombs! Please!" Ron whined to his two best friends. The Trio currently sat in a big table at the Three Broomsticks, surrounded by the rest of the Gryffindor 5th years. Harry and Hermione, oblivious to everyone else, where sitting huddled in a corner of the booth sharing a Butterbeer. Finally, Ron got annoyed.

SMACK! "Ow!" Harry yelled, "Why'd you go and do that for?"

"I wanna go back to Zonkos and buy some more Dungabombs!"

"Why did you have to smack me to tell me that?"

Ron gave him a pointed stare.

"All right, fine. Hermione, do you wanna come?"

Hermione stopped listening to their argument, and was currently engaged in a heated conversation herself with Lavender Brown: Arithmancy versus Divination.

"No, I'll catch up with you later." And she gave Harry a quick, but full, kiss on the lips and turned back to Lavender.  

"Women," mumbled Ron.

The Duo set out into the blistering cold of Hogsmeade.

"Hey Harry, I didn't see you get Hermione anything for Christmas." Ron asked Harry as they made their way to Zonkos.

"I had Sirius get it for me."

Harry had, in fact, asked Sirius for help on picking out the gift.

"What do I get her now that she and I are…you know?" He asked Sirus' head that night in the Gryffindor Common Room when he and Sirius had had their weekly hearthside chat.

"I know what you should give her."

Sirius told him about something James had given Lily a long time ago, something that was passed down from generations of Potter women. What Sirius was referring to was part of the Potter family treasury, a set of Jewels that included (among many items that were sitting in Harry's vault at Gringotts) a necklace, earrings, and a ring, a ring that the Potter men gave to their beloveds as their engagement ring. Harry got a bit freaked out when Sirius told him this, but Sirius began to laugh and told him that he didn't have to give Hermione the ring yet, maybe the earrings or the necklace would do. Harry decided that he would give Hermione the necklace. When he got the necklace, he was amazed. It was so beautiful. It was gold, and in the center of it there was a diamond, in the shape of a Lily flower. He could picture in his mind the night when his father had given it to his mother. He couldn't wait for Christmas to come so he could give it to Hermione. 

 They were nearing Zonkos when Ron snapped Harry out of his reverie. 

"Look Harry, it's a new store!" Ron pointed out excitedly. "The Olive Branch? What would they sell in a store named that? Olive branches?" Ron asked Harry as they were both curiously drawn to it. They entered the store and to Ron's surprise, he realized it was an antique store.

"An antique store called The Olive Branch? That's weird."

Ron looked about curiously. He saw that at the far left corner of the store, there was a large bookcase filled with books. "I might as well get Hermione's gift."

He began looking around at the various titles:

Circe: A History of a Powerful Witch ~by Homer Scriptorius

Witches are from Erebus Wizards are from Tartarus ~by Persephone Regina

All the Little Seahorses~By Poseidon Neptune

How to Destroy a Most Annoying Son-In-Law-with Magical Creatures~by Hera Erua

How to Trap a Woman Using the Power of the Seasons~by Hades Rex

How to Rule the Universe~by Zeus Jupiterious

Grindewald: The man behind the Terror ~by Adolf Hitler ("Adolf Hitler!"  Harry exclaimed loudly)

Harry Potter: The Boy Who Lived~by Rita Skeeter ("Oh My God! I am going to kill her!" Harry yelled again, loudly.)

"Well, these books seem interesting." Ron muttered. "I think Hermione might like the one by Rita Skeeter."

"Ron, if you get her that book no one will find your body for years!"

Ron smiled, until he noticed Harry standing frozen, holding a book in his hand, a look of horror on his face.

"What is it Harry?"

Harry didn't even speak, he just handed the book to Ron and pointed at it.

"Through Time and Space~by Hermione Potter."

If it was possible to look more horrified than Harry was a moment ago, Ron surely looked it.

"Harry, this is just some sort of coincidence, isn't it?"

Harry was staring at him, a smile beginning to spread over his face.

"I don't know," he answered.

"I mean, Potter is a normal name," Ron stammered, "But Hermione, how many people do you know named Hermione?" 

The Duo dropped the book and continued to browse.  

"I guess I'll just get her this one." Ron picked up the fattest book he could find:

"The Truth Behind the Gods of Ancient Greece ~by A Lot of Different Authors Whose Names Couldn't Fit On the Cover of This Book."

Ron grinned, "I'm sure this will give her valuable reading time."

Ron got the book and walked up to the cash register. Harry dawdled behind him.

"Thank you very much." The salesman told Ron as he handed him the book and his change. Harry noticed the salesman looked very much like Lockhart, but the way Lockhart would look at Ollivander's age.

Ron put a shrinking charm on it so he could put it in his pocket and keep it a secret from Hermione.

As they were walking out of the shop, Harry saw the salesman wave to them, and he heard him mumble,  "Nice book you guys got, be careful with it."

Harry didn't understand what the salesman was trying to say. He did notice, however, that salesman had a weird mark on the palm of his hand. Sort of like a tattoo, of a serpent. For some odd reason this made Harry feel uncomfortable.

"If you wanna get your Dungabombs, you better hurry up," Harry said, pushing Ron out the door.  "Hermione is getting impatient."

And indeed she was, if only Harry had stayed to witness what happened after he left.

******

After Hermione turned back to her argument with Lavender. She realized that the entire Gryffindor table was silent, and that they were all staring at her.

"Is something the matter?" She asked the silent group tentatively.

Seamus was the first to break the silence. "You just kissed Harry."

Hermione hung her head in defeat. Oh great! Way to keep a thing secret! 

Harry and Hermione, even though they now knew Ron finally accepted this, had decided to keep their relationship a secret for fear of the Daily Prophet.

They had this conversation on their way to Hogsmeade that very day:

*So…we don't tell anyone?*

*Nope. Imagine what the press would do? They'd hound us for all eternity! Remember last year, Hermione?*

Hermione did indeed remember lat year. She didn't want a repeat performance.

 And now this happens.

"I…we…er…" Hermione attempted to do damage control, but couldn't.

Why did we pick a bar full of people to have our first public kiss? Hermione thought bitterly.  

But she immediately stopped that trail of thought. They didn't necessarily choose to kiss for the enjoyment of everyone, kissing Harry was something that just came naturally.

"Harry is my friend." Hermione said dumbly.

"Friends don't kiss each other the way you two just did." Parvati giggled.

Soon enough, the entire Gryffindor table erupted in questions: "How long have you been dating?" "Why did you keep this a secret?" "Is Harry a good kisser?" "Are you in love?" "How many children do you want?" "When's the wedding, am I invited?" "Have you thought of names?"

Hermione could slowly feel herself sink under the table. I can't believe this, she thought to herself. What will Harry say?

As the questions continued coming, really absurd ones, ("Does he snore in his sleep?") Hermione felt annoyance rise up within her. This is ridiculous, she thought to herself. She finally could not withstand the ringing in her ears….

"YES!" She yelled out all of a sudden. "YES, Harry is my boyfriend all right? Happy?"

Hermione watched the stunned, silent table, and looked around the Three Broomsticks to realize that EVERYONE was staring at her. Apparently, she yelled too loud.

At that moment, Harry decided to walk in.

Harry looked around the room to realize that EVERYONE was glancing from him, to Hermione, and back again.

*What happened?* He asked her telepathically.

Hermione didn't answer, she just ran to him and hugged him. He hugged her back and silently dragged her out of the room.    

******

On their walk back to Hogwarts, Hermione delighted Harry and Ron with what happened in the Three Broomsticks. Hermione expected Harry to be furious, but actually, he was quite the opposite.

Right after she finished the story, Harry began o laugh.

And it wasn't just a regular laugh, he was really cracking up.

"Harry, have you gone mad?" Ron asked his best friend, as he slowly watched him fall to the snowy floor in hysterical laughter.

Ron couldn't take it any more, Harry's laughter was contagious. He soon fell with his friend and began rolling around in laughter himself.

Hermione watched them both with a stunned expression, that was, until Harry decided to throw a ball of snow at her. 

"Harold James Potter! You are SO gonna pay for that!"

Hermione grabbed some snow and made a ball of it, and threw it at Harry, who ducked, and it instead landed on Ron.

"Hermione you evil…!"

SPLAT!

Harry threw another ball of snow at Ron.

"Oh all right. So this is WAR!"

Pretty soon, all three of them began throwing snow at each other, ruthlessly hitting everything and everywhere until all three were soaking wet.

"Gosh…I haven't laughed so hard in…actually…I don't think I've ever laughed so hard." Harry relied to his two best friends, where they all lay on the snow, panting for breath.

"I could use a nice cup of hot chocolate right about now." Ron sighed.

"All right you two, we better get going back to the castle." Hermione urged reluctantly.

Harry got up, dusted some snow off himself, and helped Hermione up.

"Aren't you gonna help me up?" Ron asked with an impish grin, what he got instead where two balls of snow in his face.

"Don't think I'll forget about that." He yelled at them in amusement.

Slowly, the Trio made their way back to Hogwarts, knowing in their hearts that this would be a day they never forgot. 

*****

A/N: You are going to have to be really patient with me with Chapter 3. I need time to settle my ideas. I have too many! Until then, reviews will help me with my strengths and weaknesses.