Disclaimer:  I own nothing.  Still.  It's pathetic, really.

*** Thank you to: Claire, I'm so glad you were going "Aw!" through the last two chapters!  It really means a lot to me that you did because I wanted to make you go "Aw!"  Shans, I'm really glad you like Harry/Parvati…I've already said this I know but I had no idea how people would respond to them but so far everyone's been really accepting of them which I greatly appreciate!  Thank you so much!  HogwartsHoe, great!  Another Harry/Parvati supporter!  I'm so glad you're OK with it!  I kind of like them too…and I'm not a huge Harry/Ginny fan either so…anyhow, you're new!  Thank you so much for reviewing and I hope you enjoy this chapter!  Vanilla Baby let me tell you: you guys are awesome!  Every last one of you!  It means so much when you tell me what you think of what I've done…thank you!  Jenny, here's some more Ron and Hermione!  It's a cute little interaction between them this chapter and I hope you will like it!  AND thank you for supporting Harry/Parvati even though you're a Harry/Ginny fan.  It really does mean a lot to me!  Marjojo, I cannot express my deepest gratitude that you Harry/Ginny supporters are OK with the pairing I completely made up.  It means so much to me. AND also, it was my pleasure to read and review your story (Hermione's Confession—EVERYONE GO OUT AND READ IT NOW)!  It really is great!  Dkscully, thank you so much for reviewing!  I'm so happy you think it's a believable romance!  (Everyone should read HERS too!)  Hermiones-Twin, I hope you enjoy this chapter!  And might I add you've been a great reviewer and I appreciate it greatly!  Ronaldrose…you're a new reviewer!  Cool!  Well, here's the chapter I've promised you guys!  Maddy Leigh, another new reviewer!  You guys are awesome!  Thanks so much for your input!  Slap me silly, hey there!  Here's the chapter I've promised you guys!  I'm sure you'll like this one…as its got R/H and they figure something out!  Yeah!  Mela, oof!  I'm so glad you all are taking a liking to the way I've portrayed Parvati…I really don't think she's this huge ditz because, well, I've been thinking about it for a while now and (this goes for Lavender too) why, if they were such complete ditzes (OK, I just made up a word, but OH WELL) would they have been put in Gryffindor?  You know what I mean?  Well, so that's where my inspiration for this has come!  Nichole, thank you so much for your review!  They really do mean a lot to me especially since now I know how you all feel about certain things…thanks!  Thank you Cupid for reviewing.  It means so much to me that you call me an inspiration!  You guys are great! Thank you everyone!  You guys are great and I love you all dearly!

Chapter 25:  Back to the Library

Parvati ran out of the room immediately, presumably to the Infirmary.  Actually, Harry knew she was going to the Infirmary.  He watched after her.

"Harry what's going on between you and Parvati?" Hermione inquired.  She was staring at him openly and he could nearly see the wheels turning in her head. 

"Nothing," he mumbled.

She didn't look convinced, but then again why should she have been?  He had just outright lied to her.  Harry sighed and took off his glasses.  They were dusty.  "I suppose this is back to library then?"

Ron glanced in Hermione's direction.  "You know it mate," he murmured.

It was then Harry noticed both of his friends were flushed in the cheeks.  And they should be, they just ran the entire way here…or snogged each other senseless.  The thought made me want to be sick even after he reminded himself he had wanted to snog Parvati senseless.  It was just more appealing to his imagination, and upchucking reflex, to picture him snogging Parvati than it was to picture those two doing the same thing.

Ron and Hermione turned to go to the library, leaving Harry behind.  Ron was the one to stop and turn around.  A strange blush was covering his face.  He ran a hand through his messy hair.  "By the way mate, you won the bet."

"You knew!" Harry threw back; surprised they, or at least Ron, had known and not said anything.

Hermione huffed and turned around.  "Yes we knew!"

"You knew?" Ron's question was quite pointedly at Hermione.

"Yes I knew!  Why didn't you tell me you knew?" she asked.  Her tone was telling; they were going to fight.  Well at least Harry knew now what they were going to be like as a couple…the same as they were when they weren't a couple.

"Well what?  Was I supposed think 'oh hey!  Our friends have a bet going on how long it will take us to get together; I'd better go tell Hermione!'?" he threw back angrily.

"Yes!" she said, stomping her foot for emphasis.

"Well sorry!" he shouted.

Harry rubbed his temples.  This was beginning to sound a lot like last year's ball.  Would they never give him peace?  "Guys," his voice was a groan, "I think we should go to the library now…"

They stared at him like he was the stupidest thing they'd ever seen.

"What?" they asked in unison.

What really scared Harry is how used to their fighting he truly was.  "The library?"

"Oh yeah…" Hermione looked slightly ashamed with herself…or with Ron's behavior.  "Oh yeah, we should get to the library, shouldn't we?"

She was the first to leave, leaving Ron and Harry behind.  "Thanks Harry," he said quietly.

"For what?" Harry asked.  He was confused.  As far as he knew, Ron didn't have anything to thank him for.

"For well, for you know…for interrupting her…us, I guess."  Ron's smile was grateful.  "I mean, Padma and the others are more important than a stupid bet, right?"

"Right," Harry echoed.  He was slightly miffed about what was going on…

"Well then, I s'pose we should get down to the library then," Ron said before turning to leave the Common Room.

Harry shook his head and followed Ron and Hermione slowly to the library.

***

Harry kept an eye on his friends' bantering.  It seemed that for tonight at least the storm had passed; they were once again two people working together for a same cause. 

He thought about telling them about him and Parvati but found he really didn't want to.  They were his best friends and all but well, he wanted to keep Parvati a secret.  Not because he was embarrassed or anything but because he wanted it (their relationship) all to himself for a time.

Ron leaned over and whispered something into Hermione's ear.  She giggled and Harry rolled his eyes disgustedly.  It was mid-roll when he realized they were all in their dress robes still.

They had snuck into the library and not easily.

Hermione had ripped her robes upon entering the library and she cursed under her breath but not softly enough for Ron to not hear.  Ron then insisted on teasing her and Harry couldn't help but laugh.  Hermione threatened to hex both of them and they shut up pretty quick.

Then they couldn't get one of the books off of its shelf.  Well, they did eventually but Ron, who had been the one to find it, went flying backwards into Harry when the book finally decided to dislodge itself. 

And now they were seated at the corner table where they always sat.  Their appearances were considerably more ragged than they were when they first decided to come to the library but their moods, or at least Ron and Hermione's, were considerably better.  Hermione was giggling, after all.

"I found something!" she announced upon glancing back down at the page.

"What?"

"Well, it says here that if both people fall under the Umbra Visius, also known as the blessing-curse, that to cure them there are multiple things one can do for them.  None are easy—

"Oh that's real great!  Even the book doesn't think it will be easy to uncurse them!" Ron interjected.

"Ron, first of all, uncurse is not a word, and secondly of course the books make it sound difficult to cure them…they want to discourage people from curing each other…or at least from doing something so dangerous they'll hurt themselves and then both will be in the hospital," she explained.

From the tone of her voice, Harry could guess that he and Ron were supposed to know that. 

"Well whatever…what does it say?" he asked impatiently.

She smiled affectionately at Ron and Harry was pretty sure Ron was blushing but once again, the flickering candle, their only light, wasn't light enough for Harry to actually see his friend's red face.

"It says 'two people who are known to have deep feelings for each other are only awakened from the blessing curse when another two people, who take care of them, are willing to find deep feelings within themselves.  This has never been proven to work.'"

"Once again, a great lot of help that bloody book is!" Ron cried out, frustrated.

Hermione laughed and attempted to place a finger over his lips.  "Shh," she demanded although she was laughing.  "You'll get us caught!"

Ron grinned and Harry had the distinct feeling they had forgotten about him.

She giggled some more.  "Oh, and don't swear!" she chastised.  It was hard to take Hermione seriously when she was giggling, Harry observed.

He cleared his throat, effectively breaking the moment.  Hermione sobered up immediately and Harry was sure Ron had turned a dark shade of red.

"What are the other things we can do?" Harry inquired.  Anything to keep them from looking at each other like that some more.

Hermione immediately looked back down at the page.  "Well, it says here there's a potion that we can make and that that is proven to work…guys…the ingredients aren't found in England.  They are found in Mediterranean weather."

"So?  Doesn't Snape have a whole closet filled with weird potions and ingredients?" Ron asked.

She bit her lip and nodded.  "Yes, but it calls for a lot of everything and well…we can't afford to get caught by Snape.  We'd sure get expelled."

Leave Hermione to be worried about expulsion at a time like this, Harry thought fondly.

"Besides, the other way is much more romantic, isn't it?"

Hermione a romantic?  This was just getting sickening.

"But the other way doesn't work, Hermione!" Ron pointed out.

"It doesn't say it doesn't work Ron…it says it's never been proven to work!" she argued.

Harry rolled his eyes. 

Ron sighed.  "Fine.  We'll do it the romantic way," he conceded.  He was too tired to argue with her anymore and what was the use since she would win anyway?

Hermione smiled triumphantly.

"So…who are we going to get to fall in love with them?  This is going to be difficult, isn't it?" Harry mused thoughtfully.  "Isn't it impossible to fall in love with someone without regular interaction?" he asked.  He leveled his gaze on his two friends, both of who looked away uncomfortably.

"That's what I thought," he said triumphantly before settling back into his chair.  That's what I thought.

Well, how was that?  I know, I know…I promised a chapter last night but instead I wrote a songfic, just a one shot one…so…you can read that too!  (OK, sorry about the shameless plug…I never wanted to do that…)  Anyhow, I hope you liked it!  Thanks for reading!  Please review!

*** As a side note, please pray/light a candle/meditate/whatever-it-is-you-do for the Allied forces in light of the war…and not only for the Allied soldiers but also the innocent Iraqi lives that will be lost. Remember, it is not Iraq we are against, but Saddam Hussein. I apologize if this request has offended you.

America was not built on fear.  America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand.

~ Former President Harry Truman, 1947