A/N: Thank you for your kind reviews and I'm glad you are enjoying it. I'm not a very good dialogue writer and could use some feedback on my exchanges.

Also would like to know if so far it is --

a) Too confusing; what the h*ll is going on here?

b) Over simplified; woman, let ME put two and two together!

c) Ahhh… just right.

Here's another chapter that explains a just a bit, a tiny bit, to keep you comin' back for more!

Disclaimer - HRH are not mine (MM, too).

***

"You've returned again!" delightfully cried the apparition, her head popping over the stall.

Whether it looked contrived or not, Harry forced a smile to match her delight. "Myrtle, what a pleasure."

"Going back in time again?"

"Sorry? H-how did you know about that?"

"You came here to do it. It was the first time you came to see me in so long. No one visits poor Moaning, Maladjusted Myrtle," she sobbed, her delightful demeanor flitting away as she pointed out her desperate reality. "My only guests are Peeves, you and your friends. And that's only when you are in some kind of trouble." Bowing her head, Myrtle wailed loudly.

Harry rolled his eyes wondering how long Ron would take to rescue him. Speechless, he watched while thinking of something to curb Myrtle's misery.

"You know, Myrtle, I never did properly thank you… I couldn't have finished the second task of the Triwizard Tournament. You were a gigantic help to my success and I appreciate what you did, both with the egg clue and underwater in the lake. I mean, I wouldn't have thought to submerge the egg in the water for the answer… and you saw how I got lost swimming in the lake. S-so, there you have it--thanks."

Harry was right. This was the first time since the tournament two years ago he's spoken with Myrtle and he felt truly sorry for not visiting sooner. The ghostly figure listened quietly and oddly watched him, obviously stunned by his gratitude. After Harry's short speech, she sailed down to him and lifted her mouth into a modest smile. Breathlessly she mouthed the words, "Thank you."

A whirling draft of chilly air rose the short hairs on the back of Harry's neck as he shivered. Wrapping his hands around himself he started to rub in some warmth.

"You ought put something else on under those robes." Myrtle eyed him from head to toe with curious interest.

"You can't see through my clothes!" Harry accused but then immediately second-guessed himself, "Can you?"

"Wouldn't you like to know." She answered moving her eyes up and down, smiling.

"Ahem," came a voice from the bathroom entrance.

"Hermione!" Harry excitedly called, saving him from a truly awkward moment.

"Oh, it's you," Myrtle said with an air, turning her back on them. The dark places in Myrtle's heart never forgave the girl that teased her till the day Myrtle died. Until now, more than fifty years later, she holds a grudge against all girls.

Harry beamed in a mix of excitement and relief to see his friend and would have hugged her but stopped short remembering the room at Hogsmeade Inn and that he was naked under his robes.

Once they were out of the bathroom, Hermione smiled at him. "Sorry for the switch. Ron was so excited for the Quidditch match; I just had to switch places with him so he could watch the game. I know you're hungry. Ron kept repeating you needed to go to the kitchen first thing."

"Change of plans," Harry said quickly. "We're going to the dormitories first. No matter how hungry I am, I have to eat with shorts on."

Pressed for time, they hurried to the tower of the Gryffindor common room and Harry dashed to his room and into a warm set of clothes. No sooner than he clasped his robes around him they were off down to the kitchens and greeted by the house-elf's merrily working. Bacon, eggs, pastries and fresh pumpkin juice were laid out before the students in record time. At their request, the house-elfs busied themselves leaving Harry and Hermione alone to talk privately.

" …and then I found this," Harry concluded his retelling of the Hogsmeade events handing Hermione the crumpled note.

The note was short but Hermione took a very long moment to inspect it. After a length, she spoke solemnly, "And you don't remember anything about stealing the time-turner or the plans we made together?"

The blood rushed from Harry's face and he turned a stark white. Plans we made together? What is she talking about? He noticed her lips moving again but he couldn't hear what she was saying over his own voice inside his head echoing 'plans we made together… '

"Harry?" He faintly heard her say.

"Harry? You OK?" His hearing returned but he remained deathly stunned.

"What do you mean, er, plans we made together?" Harry said slowly as if she didn't understand English.

"OK, so you don't remember any of it." She looked away defeated.

Beads of sweat began to form on the skin around his lightening scar, his heart pounded at a speed he thought it would jump out through his throat. This is it, here it comes, he thought. She's going to drop the bomb.

"On Wednesday, both Ron and I found notes from you in our Defense Against the Dark Arts books to meet you at four o'clock outside Myrtle's bathroom. I didn't believe you at first, when said you stole the time-turner and that there were two Harry's at this moment in time. You continued that the Harry in front of us wasn't the 'alpha' Harry, but the 'beta' Harry. Needless to say, we were bemused. You even said the look on our confused faces was like you spoke to us in Parseltongue."

Harry's head spun like a top. He didn't understand a word she said that he said.

Hermione continued. "Then you wouldn't provide Ron and I any details about why or how you took it. Even when you pulled it out to show us, I found difficulty accepting it as truth."

Knowing Hermione, and Harry correctly guessed it, she had this difficulty because she was appalled to be in association with someone who'd break such a steadfast rule.

"How did you come to believe me then?"

"Ultimately, we had to see both of you at the same time. We walked out to the Quidditch field and you remained hidden among the trees while Ron and I approached the practice area and saw you flying drills with the rest of the team. If we were flabbergasted by the news the first time around, we were completely dumbfounded when we saw you zooming overhead and in the trees behind us. It was quite embarrassing actually, because I fainted. Ron was able to revive me before I drew too much attention. Back to Myrtle's bathroom we returned and you explained you needed our help to get through this week and safely arrive unnoticed to what you called your 'time return point'. That's when I gave you this." Hermione pointed to the amber stone fastened to his robe. "Accurate identification purposes: so myself and Ron can tell the 'alpha' Harry apart from the 'beta' Harry."

A tension-releasing giggle escaped Harry's lips; he now found the prospect of his and Hermione's secret rendezvous positively absurd and extremely embarrassing. A product of watching too many daytime dramas during the summer with Aunt Petunia. He blushed on the spot.

"Harry? What is it? What did you think I was going to say?"

"Oh, nothing… nothing…" Harry covered up unconvincingly.

"Harry?" She shot him a wary look.

Struggling and shifting, Harry delivered another pathetic attempt at a façade, to which irritated Hermione all the more.

"Out with it." She in such a dead calm she sounded hauntingly like Professor McGonagall.

"Er… I thought this morning in Hogsmeade, that you, uh… that perhaps we might have--well… " He flustered and finally spat out, "God, Hermione! Don't make me say it!"

To Harry's relief Hermione giggled, too. "Oh no, you thought that I was the one in the shower this morning, didn't you?"

Harry weakly nodded, going even pinker.

"You're cute, Harry, but not that cute!" The giggle grew into a loud audible guffaw Hermione could no longer control. Even the house elf's took notice to stop and see what was so funny.

Of course, Harry took only one thing away from their conversation: Hermione thinks I'm cute!

"I could hear you laughing from the other side," said Ron entering the kitchen. "What's so funny?"

It took awhile to get the answer out of Hermione; she was still doubled over in laughter. Harry didn't want to tell Ron, nor did he want Hermione to.

Either ignoring his gestures to shut up or she couldn't she see past her tears, while catching her breath, Hermione finally explained it to Ron. "Harry thought that I was the one with him at Hogsmeade this morning."

Saying it aloud only brought back her fit of laughter. The house-elf's were staring again. Ron chuckled but didn't find it quite as amusing, even far, far less than Harry did. A glint sparked from Ron's eyes, the smile wiped entirely off his face. Harry knew right then that Ron was the jealous type.