CHAPTER 4

"Harry!" Seamus shook Harry's shoulders and sighed.

Harry opened one eye. "Morning," he mumbled. "What time is it?"

"Nearly six-thirty."

Harry groaned. He reached over and fumbled about on his bedside table for his glasses. He wearily put them over his eyes and the blurry lines of the circular bedroom came into focus.

Seamus had walked back over to his own bed and had begun to get into his school clothes. Harry supposed he ought to do the same.

"Morning, Ron," Harry said habitually.

"He's not here," Seamus stated, in a rather annoyed voice.

"What?" Harry raised an eyebrow.

Seamus pulled his sweater on over his messy, sandy-colored hair and responded, "He woke me up at about five when he opened the door to leave. He hasn't been back since."

"Have you any idea where he's gone?" Harry asked.

Seamus shook his head and glanced over at Neville Longbottom's bed. Neville was snoring loudly. "We should wake him up," Seamus suggested.

Harry nodded, and Seamus walked over to Neville to rouse him.

Harry pulled his woolen socks on and put his black shoes on over them. As he tied his shoes, he tried to think of places Ron could have gone. Perhaps to the owlery, Harry considered. But no, he decided, Ron wouldn't want to contact his parents on the first day of school. Maybe he'd gone to take a shower… but an hour and a half long shower? Then it occurred to Harry… Astronomy Tower…

"He went to snog Cho!" Harry burst out.

Neville, groggy-eyed and drowsy, and Seamus, still half-dressed, stared at Harry.

"No shit, Sherlock," Seamus said with a smile.

"That fox…" Harry murmured, grinning internally.

Guess what, Malfoy?

There was silence.

Malfoy?

Still, no response came from Slytherin dungeon.

MALFOY!

What? Draco sounded very annoyed indeed.

Where the hell are you? Why didn't you answer me?

Why do *you* think? Draco seemed to think Harry were missing the obvious.

Wait a minute, Malfoy, you're not…

Anybody *missing* from Gryffindor Tower this morning, Potter?

Ron's with you?

Yes. He's here with Cho.

Harry sighed. And you're there with Nora.

Very good, Potter.

I'll let you go, then. Harry prepared to pack up his bag with his books.

Wait!

What is it?

Well, the four of *us* have been here for ages, and we have to go to breakfast soon, obviously, but, erm…

What, Malfoy? Spit it out. Harry ran his fingers through his hair and looked into a mirror. He had accomplished absolutely nothing. Harry picked up his wand and slid it into his robes pocket.

Well, about an hour ago, Hermione came by…

Harry stopped dead. Did she think I was going to be there?

I think so…

Oh, shit…

Yeah…

Harry closed his eyes and cursed inside himself.

You'd better go find her, Potter…

All right. See you at breakfast, then.

'Bye.

"Shit," Harry said out loud again.

"What is it?" Seamus asked.

"Er… nothing, I just… just remembered we have Potions first." Harry tried to grin.

Seamus nodded glumly. "Yep," he responded, turning away from Harry and packing up his books.

Harry sighed and ambled downstairs to breakfast. Upon entering the Great Hall, he immediately scanned the rows of tables in search of Hermione's face. Just as expected, Hermione sat alone at the Gryffindor table, surrounded by one empty seat to her left, two to her right, and two across from her. These were the usual chairs of Harry, Ron, Neville, Ginny, and Seamus. Harry felt a pang of guilt as Hermione turned the page of a very large book and dolefully took a bite of an apple. She looked very forlorn, Harry thought uneasily. He walked down the long table and very quietly stepped up behind Hermione. He put his hands over her eyes and said, "Guess who?"

"Morning," Hermione mumbled inertly.

Harry frowned. He took the apple from Hermione's hand and took a bite of it. "Fanks…" he said as he chewed, hoping to make Hermione smile. Instead, Hermione merely turned another page with her left hand and reached her right hand back for the apple, wiggling her fingers expectantly.

"Look, Hermione…" Harry put the apple back in Hermione's hand, sighing sadly.

"Are you going to sit down, Harry?" Hermione said quietly.

Harry sat. "Look," he tried again. "I am *so* sorry about this morning… I didn't know! I didn't know I was supposed to meet you there… you have *no* idea how bad I feel…"

Suddenly, Hermione grinned widely.

"Wha…" Harry squinted suspiciously.

"Oh, Harry," Hermione said, turning to Harry and still smiling. "Did you honestly think I would get angry about *that*? You weren't *supposed* to meet me there, I just went on the off chance. I must say, I never expected… Ron, you know… and Cho? Very surprising of him, the things he was doing…"

"But Malfoy said…"

"Do you honestly think, just because Draco's on our side now, he's not got just a *tiny* bit of his mischievous side left in him?" Hermione was now trying not to leer.

Harry frowned again. "But you were in a bad mood when I came down here…"

"It's just," Hermione blushed. "I forgot to do some homework over the summer. That essay, you know," she mumbled, turning her focus back to the thick book in front of her.

"WHAT?!" Harry nearly screamed with laughter.

"Oh, shut up," Hermione giggled.

"Hermione Granger forgot to do some homework!" Harry yelled. "It's a miracle!" Harry stood up and reached toward the heavens in mock praise.

Hermione shook with silent laughter. "Oh, screw it," she said, closing the book loudly.

"No, screw me!" Harry whined falsely. Hermione giggled again. Her attention quickly turned to the front of the Great Hall, where Draco, Nora, Ron, and Cho had just entered. Cho had Ron's hand firmly in hers, and she was walking about two steps ahead of him. Ron looked a bit flushed and bemused.

"Well, it's not hard to see who wears the pants in *that* relationship…" Hermione chuckled. Harry nodded.

Behind Ron and Cho entered Draco and Nora. Nora walked ahead of Draco, but Draco had his hands brazenly on Nora's tiny waist. Ron, Cho, Draco, and Nora walked off to the Ravenclaw table.

Once at the Ravenclaws' domain, Cho led Ron to her seat and sat down. They spoke for a few moments before Cho stood, kissed Ron on the cheek a bit ostentatiously, and Ron strolled dreamily back to the Gryffindor table. Harry tried hard not to laugh.

"Have fun this morning, Ron?" Harry called out.

Ron waved absentmindedly to Harry and said, "Toast would be great, thanks."

Hermione snorted into her glass of milk.

"What, are you inebriated or something?" Harry laughed.

"No!" Ron said defensively. "Just… preoccupied." He sat down and put his elbow directly into a bowl of porridge. "Aw, shit!" he exclaimed. Harry grinned crookedly.

"Yes," Hermione said, looking at Ron but speaking to Harry. "Definitely drunk."

Hermione nudged Harry and gestured across the table with her eyes. Nora was sitting in her chair over at the Ravenclaw table, and Draco stood behind her, running his fingers through her hair and kissing her neck. Nora leaned her head back and she and Draco got right to making out in direct view.

"Sick," Harry mumbled. "Just plain sick…"

Hermione wrinkled her nose and gulped. After a few moments of the unwanted show of affection, she and Harry heard steps from behind them.

"Mister Malfoy!"

It was Snape. Draco whipped his head up and leapt backwards away from Nora, who stared determinedly into her cereal.

"M-m-morning, P-P-Professor!" Draco stuttered.

Nice, Malfoy. Very nice. Harry taunted Malfoy internally.

Shut up, bastard. At least I've got a girlfriend who isn't a prude.

Say that out loud, ass hole.

Temper, temper, Potter… It was only a joke.

Uh-huh… Harry scowled at Malfoy.

"Mister Malfoy, I certainly needn't tell you that such… er… antics, you might say, are not appropriate at breakfast time? In *public*?" Snape crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows. Harry was just waiting for him to say, 'With a *Ravenclaw*, no less?!"

Malfoy gulped and bit his bottom lip. "No, sir," he said quietly.

"Let this be an warning to you, then, Mister Malfoy. And *you* as well, Miss Cardeen."

Nora bowed her head in ignominy.

"Ten points each from Slytherin and Ravenclaw." Snape sauntered off angrily.

Yes, Draco… *Very* nice.

Harry received no response. He shrugged and returned to eating his breakfast.

***

Just three months earlier, Draco Malfoy would have abhorred having a class with the Gryffindors. Now, though, things were a little bit different. Now they weren't so much his enemy as his saving grace from the vice of Slytherin house. Even so, he had to keep pretending to despise Harry Potter, or things would look a little fishy.

Draco didn't have his old posse anymore; Crabbe and Goyle had flunked out of Hogwarts upon receiving bottom marks on their finals the previous year.

Draco clunked his cauldron down on his desk and began removing his Potions ingredients and books. He sighed as he opened his Potions textbook. Fifth year students at Hogwarts studied Part II of Intermediate Potions, having completed Part I the preceding year. Draco's copy of the tome was getting rather beat-up, and he was starting to resent not purchasing a new book. There were still bits of parchment stuck here and there in the text, which Draco extracted. Some had little notes on them, like "Complete pages 65-68 for Tuesday" or "Acumen Potion due next Friday" while others had letters on them. Draco found a particularly interesting one from Goyle:

"Draco,

I am board. This class is boaring. When do we have Transfiggiratin? I hate that class, to. Only maybe it's cuz I hate the teecher. I'm mad cuz there isn't no Qwidditch this year. If the girl from Bobaton wins this contest thing I'm gonna be real pissed off, cuz my dad say the other school's more good at teeching the good stuff. I dunno. I wood not no. I have never been anyplace other than where I been. Which is here and home. Oh well. Well I spose I had better go. So I guess I will talk two you at brekfist. No wait we had brekfist already. I guess lunch. I dunno. Well bye anyways.

You're friend always,

Goyle"

Draco couldn't help but chuckle at Goyle's complete and utter idiocy, along with the spelling and grammatical mistakes that occurred throughout the entire document. He tucked the paper safely away in a folder before realizing that it was very telling of the previous year.

Oh, Hello, Malfoy.

Shove off.

You don't have to pretend to hate me. We're in our minds now.

Draco frowned. Oh, yeah. Well, maybe I really *do* hate you!

Ha. You wish.

All right, all right, Potter. What do you want?

When is the Hogsmeade weekend again?

This weekend.

Fun.

Right. See you later, Potter.

Draco turned around to see Harry sitting next to Hermione at a table. Harry nodded in false dourness at Draco, who shook his head while trying not to smile.

"Silence. Now."

Snape had entered the dungeon. Total silence hung throughout the entire room. Draco shut his book quietly and looked up at the formidable man heading the class.

"Welcome back," Snape said in a voice barely perceptible. "I trust you all had, er… *pleasant* summer holidays. I know I certainly did." He smiled rather awkwardly and looked as though he had expected people to laugh as if he had told some kind of joke. Snape cleared his voice uncomfortably and continued. "Well, then, let's get right to work, shall we? You all seem bright-eyed and bushy-tailed enough. Take out your notes." Snape's voice was completely monotonous. There was a shuffling as the Slytherins and Gryffindors pulled out parchments, quills, and ink and prepared to take notes. Snape immediately launched into a lecture about the effect of banshee blood on the human mind.

Hey, Malfoy, wasn't there banshee blood in that stuff that gave us this whole thought transference thing?

Draco tried to remember. Yeah. I think so, he responded.

Hm… interesting.

"Mister Malfoy, are you paying attention?" Snape was standing directly in front of Draco and looking at his parchment. Not a single word had been written down.

"Sorry, sir," Malfoy mumbled, dipping his quill in ink and hovering it over the parchment, waiting for Snape to resume the oration.

"My, my, my, Mister Malfoy. Off to a brilliant start of the year, aren't we?" Snape was bitterly sardonic. "A chastisement in the dining hall for a public display of affection *and* not paying attention in the first class of the day. Very atypical of you, Draco."

Malfoy bit his lip. "Sorry, sir," he said again.

Snape sighed. "Anyway," he said loudly, turning back to the class and continuing his lecture. "As I was saying, banshee blood causes extreme irreversible memory loss when ingested by itself. The effects of it when mixed with other ingredients is widely unknown, with the exception of a select few ingredients. For example, when mixed with liquefied bats brains, banshee blood is essential for a potent physical strength potion. However, the effects of banshee blood on humans when mixed with most other ingredients is generally untested out of fear and concern of health consequences…"

Draco glanced edgily at the clock. Only thirty minutes of the class left.

***

Harry traipsed down the corridor with a grin on his face, greeting old acquaintances he hadn't seen since the previous year and carrying his new Quidditch robes slung over his shoulder. He'd just received permission from McGonagall to start training the Gryffindor Quidditch team on the pitch in two weeks' time, once McGonagall had found Harry a new Keeper.

"Harry!"

Harry turned around. Hermione, looking flushed, was jogging down the hallway.

"Hello, gorgeous," Harry said, extending his hand. Hermione walked up beside him. Harry wrapped his arm around Hermione's hips and the two walked together. "What's new?"

"Just came from Arithmancy. Wanted to meet up with you before DADA."

"We've got that next," Harry said, puzzled.

"I know. It's with Prinker."

"Mm hmm…" Harry murmured.

"Well, she was just in the Arithmancy classroom. Doesn't have a class second hour, you know. And she is the nicest woman I've ever met. She's got some wonderful ideas, you know. First thing we're doing, starting tomorrow, is learning how to create defense buffers."

"That's very advanced," Harry noted, his voice marked with surprise.

"I know. She thinks we can handle it, though." Hermione grinned.

"Well, at least you can. You're bloody brilliant," Harry smiled as well.

Hermione blushed, but leaned up to kiss Harry on the cheek. The two had come to the DADA classroom, and they were the last to arrive. Harry was surprised to see that upon entering the classroom, he found students relaxing in armchairs and laying on fluffy rugs, chatting happily. Professor Prinker herself was seated Indian-style in the center of the floor, lost in casual conversation with her pupils.

"Ah, Harry, Hermione," she said joyfully as the two bewildered-looking fifth years cautiously stepped into the unusual scene. "Now we can start. All right, could everybody quiet down a bit please? Harry and Hermione, you can sit anywhere, just get comfortable."

Still a bit alarmed at the stress-free environment very rarely found at Hogwarts he was beholding, Harry situated himself on a squishy lime-green beanbag chair next to Hermione, who lay on her stomach on a spongy, bubble-gum pink blanket.

"All right, then," Prinker said into the silence that had fallen. "I'm Professor Prinker, as you all know. Now, I had planned to actually do something constructive today, but as I figure you must be doing that in all of your other classes, I think we should try and have a bit of fun in here seeing as it *is* the first day and all. We'll start work tomorrow. Or maybe the day after that, we'll see how things go."

From next to him, Harry felt a nudge. Ron was grinning at him. Harry smiled back.

"She's cool," Ron whispered. Harry nodded enthusiastically.

The Gryffindors spent the rest of third hour DADA playing games and talking with Professor Prinker informally about the plans for the year. Harry decided that this was his new favorite class. After all his classes were finished and he'd eaten dinner and completed his homework, Harry decided to relax in the common room.

"Hello, Harry," Hermione sat in an fireside chair near Harry. It was around one in the morning, and everyone else had gone to sleep.

"Hi," Harry grinned.

Hermione sighed contentedly and gazed into the warm, crackling flames.

"You look so beautiful," Harry commented after a few moments' silence. Even in the dim firelight, Harry could see Hermione blush.

"Thank you, Harry." Hermione muttered.

Harry took his glasses off and lay them on the table beside him. He rubbed his tired eyes and ran his fingers impatiently through his hair, which only stood up more. He loosened his tie, took off his outer, black robe and unbuttoned the top few buttons of his white shirt.

Hermione was staring directly at him with a sly smile on her face.

Harry held out his arms expectantly. Hermione rose and walked over to Harry. She sat on his lap and turned sideways, burrowing into the couch with Harry. She kicked her Mary Jane's off and wiggled her toes like a little girl.

Harry ran his fingers through her long, sleek hair and took Hermione's hand in his. Lacing her fingers through his own, he began to hum an old English tune that he had the faintest memory of hearing as a child.

Hermione began to sing along, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Are you going to Scarborough Fair?

Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme.

Remember me to one who lives there.

She was once a true love of mine."

"I think my mother used to sing me that," Harry said quietly. Hermione smiled caringly.

"It's sweet that you can remember," she whispered.

"Just barely," Harry admitted.

Hermione smiled again. Harry leaned down and touched his lips to hers. He took her hands and placed them on his back.

Harry's nimble fingers began to loosen the knot of her red-and-gold striped tie that was part of Hermione's unsullied, innocent uniform.

***

She felt as though she could melt right into him at that moment, wanting him more than she knew it was possible to want anyone.

So this is love, Hermione thought to herself. This right here. This is what it's supposed to be like.

Hermione reached up and stroked the back of Harry's neck and felt him shiver. He began to kiss her with rhythm, never ceasing and only increasing in vim. He started to sigh very quietly, almost silently. Hermione could feel his bliss through his kisses and she only wanted to give him more of that thrill she could sense.

Hermione reached up and finished unbuttoning Harry's shirt and slipped his tie over his head. He smiled breathlessly as he reluctantly tore his lips from Hermione's.

Hermione grinned and kissed Harry again. She pulled his head towards hers and began to kiss his neck. She could hear Harry's quickening breaths as she gently caressed his neck with her lips. Harry shifted awkwardly beneath her, and Hermione grinned internally.

Good, she thought to herself devilishly. Hermione increased the velocity of her kisses.

Harry's hands abruptly flew to Hermione's shirt again, which he proceeded to unbutton. His trembling fingers began to stroke her smooth, slim stomach and Hermione shuddered under his seductive touch.

Hermione touched Harry's chest as well, feeling his rigid muscles and perceiving the rise and fall of his torso as his breathing only further increased.

Harry swiftly hoisted Hermione off of his lap and put her down again on the couch, climbing back on top of her.

Hermione smile longingly at Harry. His hands went to her shoulders as he lay down over Hermione's diminutive body. He rest his head on her heaving chest and his hands reached down to unbutton his own pants. Hermione gasped as Harry kissed her fiercely. She loved the feeling of Harry, obviously stirred up a considerable bit, caring for her as if she were the most important entity in the world. Harry kissed Hermione with even more ferocity.

Without warning, the door to the common room opened.

A gasp rang through the space. Harry leapt off Hermione, but it was too late. Hermione lay guiltily on the couch, her hair disheveled, her tie lying forgotten on the floor beside the couch, and her shoes on the carpeting. Harry looked equally as culpable. He stood, without his glasses, shirt, or pants on, wearing only his boxers and socks.

Beholding the entire thwarting, ignominious scene was none other than a very dismayed Professor McGonagall.

**************************

A/N: Uh oh!!!!! Harry and Hermione are in biiiiiig trouble!!!!! Bad Harry! Bad Hermione! Bad, bad, naughty little children! What ever shall happen to them? Expulsion? Detention? Will they get off without a punishment? Or will they suffer the wrath of McGonagall????? Stay tuned! Please review and lemme know whatcha think about this chappie and what you think should happen!