Harry and Hermione glanced at each other, and as soon as they let go of
one another their senses came back to them. The world was turning once
more, and they remembered where they were.
"Hey!" Ron said climbing through the portrait hole.
"Ron!" Hermione exclaimed stand beside Harry. "Hermione!" Ron echoed to her. She ran her fingers through her hair and looked as if she was trying to settle herself. "How'd you two ge-" Ron took notice to the gold badges they both were wearing, "Oh! You're both Prefects? Is that possible?" Ron asked still looking at the shining badges.
"It is now, I guess," Harry said smiling slightly. Ron stood there feeling jealousy kick in. The thought of Harry spending more time with Hermione made him seem twitchy. But even so, he smiled back at Harry, "My boy is a Prefect!" Hermione rolled her eyes then yawned. She glanced at the stairway leading to the girls dormitories. "Well I'm off. Goodnight you two," She took one more glance at Harry then walked up. Ron fell to the soft red chair and let out a sigh. Harry sat across from him and let out a deeper longer sigh. "So tell me-" Ron said leaning in. Suddenly the rest of the Gryffindors entered and some of the first years "oohed" and "awed" at the common room. Harry remembered suddenly he was a Prefect and stood before them. A few of them pointed at his scar and whispered "Harry Potter." Harry ignored it and continued to show them their dormitories. When he was done he came back over to Ron and sat back in the chair again. It was a good feeling to finally be able to sit in something comfortable. Ron leaned in again, "Tell me," he said trying not grin but couldn't help it, "What do you think of Hermione?"
Harry stared at Ron trying to decide what to say. He put a slight grin on his face, "She looks great," Harry responded. Ron grinned back, "I think I may have a crush." Harry's heart skipped a beat, "Hermione?" he asked nervously. Ron fell deeper into his chair, "Yeah," he said unable to control his smile and looking up at the ceiling. "I hate crushes!" He laughed. Ron likes Hermione? The girl I can't believe I just kissed? Harry tried to stop his look of nervousness by smiling back at Ron. There was a drop of sadness in his eyes, and one who looked would see. He looked down trying to think, "What are you going to do?" Harry asked trying to catch every last word. "I don't really know," Ron said with a shrug of his shoulders, "If it's supposed to happen it will." Harry tried to keep himself as normal as possible, but kept feeling himself flinch. He put his hand through his mess of hair, "Yeah guess so." "Did you eye anyone Harry?" Ron asked grinning. "No, was too busy eating with the sound of giggles taking over my mind to notice." Ron snickered, "Don't you love it?" he said sarcastically. Harry gave Ron a blank expression, "Oh it makes me feel all tingely inside." He said in a sarcastic tone. "Now Harry," Ron said grinning, "Are you sure that wasn't the juice you had earlier?" Harry laughed, "I knew I was sitting with my legs crossed for a reason!" They both chatted about the next day and the thought of being stuck with the Slytherins again. That got Harry thinking of previous events. He snickered, "Hermione had no idea about Malfoy did she?" Ron snickered with him, "She has no idea why he did that!" They sat there just laughing at the thought of Malfoy unable to speak because of his embarrassment of being attracted to Hermione. "Maybe he won't make our lives as miserable," Harry said. Ron glanced at Harry, "Please Harry, that's his joy in life, you think Hermione's looks will stop him?" They finally felt themselves grow tired and both dragged their feet up to their Dorms.
Hermione was lying in her bed wide awake replaying the moment over and over again in her mind. She kept thinking about the morning and how it would effect "things" if people were to ever find out. The thought of Ron finding out what had happened made her stomach turn. I don't want him feel awkward, I don't want him to feel uncomfortable.... oh my god! She stopped herself, Do I like Ron? Do I like Harry? God of course I like Harry! I'm in love with him! She stopped again, she had just said "love" in her mind. Can I be in love with Harry? But I still like Ron! She cringed and put her face in her pillow. The moment seemed to go through her mind again. But I don't want to hurt him She felt a tear run down If I really cared for someone I wouldn't cause them pain, or cause pain to myself.
Harry was on the verge of counting sheep. He was sleeping as much as Hermione was, which was none. He stared at the ceiling for hours thinking. He thought of Hermione, he thought of the kiss they had just shared. He thought of Ron and the comment he had just said. Harry didn't want the trio to break, yet he knew that if Hermione and him were to do anything that was beyond friendship, then there would be controversy. He got annoyed by the fact that every time he tried to think Neville's booming snores interrupted his thought. He sat up and thought of going on down to the common room to get his head right. He quietly walked down the steps. But stopped when he reached the bottom and stared at her. Hermione was already there, sitting on the chair while tears trickled down her face. She was holding her hair in the back, and as she stared at Harry longer the heavier were her tears. They both knew what each other were thinking yet they could only look at each other in silence. Harry was still standing on the bottom step with his eyes beginning to cloud up. He didn't know why, but he slowly moved towards her trying to stay as calm as possible. He came closer to her and made his head even with her's. Hermione had let go of her hair and was clenching to the arms on the chair tightly. Still tears swelled up in her eyes, and Harry's seemed to cloud more, almost as if mist had taken over. Harry began to lean in, and Hermione held on tighter to the arms of the chair. It happened. Hermione's grip let go and her arms lifted around his neck. Harry now moved his hands and rested them on her waist, and they kissed harder this time, for they were both scared.....
Hermione woke up that morning wishing she had never opened her eyes. It killed her to think what she was about to do, but she and she guessed Harry knew what they had to do as well. Her eyes swelled up every time she thought of talking to him. She slowly sat up and looked outside. The sun was outlining the hills with colour as it began it's climb to the sky. And there were slender streaks of light breaking down to the grassy yet settle plains. She got ready to go downstairs slowly, and brushed her hair softly and thought of the day ahead. She was too tired and buried in her thoughts to want to deal with her hair down. The brush formed her hair into a ponytail and quickly she made it into a bun. One tear silently went down her cheek before she left her room, and she wiped it away with a swift movement of her hand. Cautiously, she closed the door. Harry was leaning against the couch. He looked up when he saw her, and began to open his mouth. Hermione had beaten him, "We need to talk," She said stepping down to the floor. Harry nodded and made sure no one was around. They both had gotten up early to talk to one another, though they did not speak about it. Harry waited for Hermione to sit. He sat across from her and slowly began to talk, "Hermione, I've been thinking," Harry said looking down. Hermione felt her eyes swell up again, "We're best friends," Harry continued, "And Ron is also our best friend." He kept stopping taking breaths and swallowing hard. He looked back up at her, "We can't do this to him." Hermione looked down and wiped her eyes. "I know," she said softly agreeing with everything he was saying. "And, Harry, I care for you," She said looking at him feeling tears streaking down. His eyes once more were clouded and dark. "And... I don't want either of us to get hurt if we... if we continued." Harry nodded. He felt horrible, everything seemed to have grown dark. His eyes locked on her, "So we forget everything that happened last night?" He asked breathing strongly, "And pretend it never happened?" Hermione's tears now were larger and dropped quicker. "Yea....." she answered staring into the gloom his eyes showed. They both had thought of the same consequences and were now agreeing that they should not go beyond the line of friendship. "We should get going," Hermione said standing up and glancing at the time. Harry stood up and looked down. They took one more look at each other then went back to their dormitories.
Ron rubbed his eyes as he sat up and looked out the clear glass window. The sun's rays seemed to gleam in and Ron had to squint his eyes to remain focused. He stood up and went and got himself ready. He brushed his hair until it was "perfect" and he spent 10 minutes practicing smiles. When he finally threw his robes on he dashed down to the common room, only to find it was Harry-and-Hermione-free. Great Hall He thought waslking out the portrait hole. Kids were walking down the hallways chattering to one another and making as much noise as possible. Or maybe it was just the echoes the walls bounced off... Ron quickly walked to the Great Hall and scanned the Gryffindor table for them. A ha! He said running towards them. They were sitting in the middle in a large conversation. "And how are you beautiful people doing?" Ron said sitting next to Hermione. Harry glanced at Ron, "Happy as a ray of sunshine!" He responded taking a swig of orange juice. Ron turned to Hermione, "Why so quiet Hermione?" She blinked at looked at him, "Tired I guess." "You went to bed earlier than any other student! How could you be tired?" Ron said. He took two pieces of toast ate rather fast. Hermione looked at his now empty plate, "Ron, how'd you do that?" "He stuffs all his food in his head to make it bigger," said George leaning against where they were sitting. Harry snickered, "Shut up Harry!" Ron said eyeing him.
The three of them walked together back to the common room joking about Snape. Ron seemed to make up most of the jokes and got Hermione to smile finally with her mouth open. Hermione enjoyed having Ron around. He was the type of person that takes everything as a joke, but strangely thinks quicker than either of him. Hermione, although she was clever, would never be able to say and think as quick as Ron did. Shame Ron doesn't put that into school use, She thought stepping up to the stairway. Their laughter carried through the halls, and caught many people's attention; not that they didn't have enough of it already. Ron and Harry still caught every girl's eye, and Hermione made boys stop everything that they were doing to stare at her. A Seventh Year turned around the corner and walked by Hermione but stopped. He then looked back at her and although she didn't notice him, Ron had. Ron's expression looked puzzled. Am I attracting guys now? Ron thought strangely. Oh that's right, Hermione is with us. "Hermione, right?" He asked smiling. He was fairly tall and seemed to be in good shape. His hair was quite short and he seemed like the "All American Boy." She smiled back, "Yeah, how'd you know?" The boy seemed a bit nervous for he kept looking at the ground, "Word travels fast here." He smiled again, then examined the floor again. Hermione smiled encouragingly, "Well, I'll see you around." He nodded and walked off. "See you around..." Ron said imitating Hermione. "Hermione, I never knew you could flirt!" She smiled and looked proud, "Just a thing I picked up on." Ron stared and felt the feelings he had for her increase.
Harry got his books ready and looked at his time table. Ron stood up and started to look at his as well. They both stopped, "Potions with Ravenclaws!" they said in unison. "Oh I like 5th year!" Ron said sitting back down on his bed. Harry and Ron groaned at the same time, "Care of Magical Creatures with Slytherins..." They both said gloomily. "We have it tomorrow," Harry said getting less and less excited. "Well, that's the only class we got with them," Ron said happily. "And that's Hagrid's class, we should be thankful..." Harry agreed but still felt a bit of excitement disappear. "Hey look, we get most of Friday off because of Defense Against the Dark Arts!" Ron exclaimed looking wide-eyed at the paper. "Oh I really like fifth year!" Harry smiled, "Thank god!" "Aww, does lil' Harry feel better now?" Ron said in a babyish tone.
To sum it all up, the week went by fast. Although Ron did spill his potion on Snape's robes. Luckily the whole class witnessed it and said it was an accident, even so, Snape did manage to take 5 points. Care of Magical Creatures went by rather harmlessly. Harry and Ron joked about it saying Hermione's looks were their only shield against Malfoy. "Hermione follow me to the toilet in case he sees me." Divination was slow. Harry had now been told for about the 50th time he would die. Yet still, he was walking with us. Strange how things happen like that. Harry and Ron seemed to be doing well with their homework and Hermione was amazed to see one night they were both working separately instead of the usual copying.
"Hey Hermione!" Ron said running towards her. She turned around. "Hey Ron," She said stopping. Ron caught his breath and looked back up. "You want to go on a walk with me tonight?" He said still a out of breath. Hermione looked at him a bit surprised but said the first thing that came to her mind, "Uh, sure." Ron smiled back, "Great, meet you in the common room!" With that he ran the other direction probably off to Divination. She smiled a bit, Did Ron just ask me to go on a walk with him? She thought about this for a moment and continued walking. Shaking her head in disbelief she almost ran in to a few people but had moved out of the way just in time. She reached her hand to the back of her neck and moved her necklace forward. I'm going on a walk with Ron? She smiled again and finally entered her class.
Class seemed to go by in a matter of seconds. And soon she stood up and packer her books up. She flung her bag over her shoulder and walked to the Gryffindor Common room. "Hermione!" Harry said coming over to her. "What?" "We got the info on Prefect bathroom!" Harry said grinning. He showed her the letter and the map. "You got one too, but it's still in your room." Hermione grinned, "I've never seen the bathroom before." She looked up, "Have you?" "Yeah, last year." Harry replied looking back into last year. He felt sadness come back to him as he thought of the person responsible for letting him use the bathroom. He suddenly grew quiet which made Hermione worried. "You alright?" She asked. "Oh yeah, sorry," Harry asked trying to come back to the normal time. They walked back to the common room in silence. Harry kept thinking of Cedric, and Hermione kept trying to find the reason why Ron wanted to go on a walk with her.
Ron sat on the couch trying to finish divination homework. The third planet from Hera? I don't know! He wrote down the first name that came to him, Uranus. The portrait door swung open and Hermione climbed through with Harry close behind. "Hey Ron," Harry said sitting down. He glanced at what Ron was working on and groaned. "I still gotta finish that." "It's actually not that bad," Ron said standing up and gathering his books. "I finished it in like 15 minutes." Harry looked up at him, "Where you going?" "Walk," Ron said looking around for Hermione. "Where'd she go?" "Where'd who go?" "Hermione." "Oh..." Harry stood up scanning the room, "Where'd she go?" "I don't know," Ron said squinting. Harry sat back down, "She must be up in her dorm." Ron shrugged it off and continued his way up to the boy's dormitories. "Hey Ron?!" Harry shouted. "Yeah?" "Can you get my bag? It should be on my bed." "Sure," Ron finally reached the door and turned the knob. It swung forward revealing five beds draped with red curtains and gold lining. Each bed had a large trunk at the foot of it filled with all the person's belongings. Ron threw his bag over to his bed and ran to the mirror to make sure his hair wasn't disagreeing with him. He quickly checked the time and grabbed Harry's bag. When he came back down Hermione had appeared again and was laughing with Harry. "Stop laughing at me!" Ron said throwing Harry his bag. "God Ron, we weren't!" She said sitting up. "We ready?" "Believe so," Ron answered smiling. Harry looked confused, "Wait where you guys going?" Ron grinned, "The moon Harry! Where do you think we're going?!" "I don't really know," Harry replied still looking clueless. "Where are you going?" "I told you already!" Ron exclaimed. "Ron! You two aren't going to the moon!" Harry said annoyingly. Ron laughed, "We're going on a walk!"
"Oh" was the only thing he could say. He frowned slightly but continued working. "Bye Harry!" Hermione said leaving. "Bye Harry!" Ron said imitating girl. The two of them climbed through the portrait hole and continued. They walked down hall after hall, and down staircase after staircase until they had finally reached the outdoors. Ron motioned Hermione to a pathway and she led the way to it. Soft breezes passed by them rustling the leaves that had fallen. It was the beginning of October after all. The only colours they could see were the colours of fall and a tinge of green every now and then from the covered grass. The sun was still out but seemed to be dropping a little down every time you glanced at it. "You tired at all?" Ron asked as they walked rather close together enjoying the setting. "Surprisingly no," She answered. Suddenly a small creature was scurrying along the ground. It looked like a cross between a squirrel and a rather tiny raccoon. It's face would have been identical to a raccoon's if it weren't for the blue stripes along its eyes. It had the body of a squirrel and a long cat-like tail. The overall color of it was a dark orange with white streaks brushed into it. "What is that thing?" Hermione asked examining it. "Oh that's just a Mika," Ron said glancing at it quickly. "They're harmless really, live on a type of fruit. Forgot the name of it though. Actually, they're pretty stupid." Right after Ron finished the word "stupid" the Mika ran into the castle wall. "Oh my god! Is it alright?" Hermione asked concerned. Ron laughed, "never gets old... Oh yeah, they do that all the time." Hermione still looked scared for the creature but continued walking along side Ron.
Hermione?" Ron asked, trying to sound as serious as possible even though he couldn't help the smile across his face. "Hermione looked up, "Yes?" Ron had a small smile on the corner of his mouth. "Do you like anyone?" Hermione grinned, "Maybe." She responded. "Yeah?" Ron said now grinning with intimidation. "Can you give me a hint?" Hermione laughed, "I can't do that!" "And why is that?" She grinned as well, "because... I... I don't even know if I really do like this person.." Ron's hopes went a little down, he had been hoping it was him. "Who is it?"
Hermione was battling with her thoughts once more trying to decide if she should even give a clue. "I can't really tell you." "Why?" Ron asked getting rather jumpy. She stopped and looked out, "I have my reasons. Do you like anyone?" Ron grinned, "Maybe.." "Are you going to tell me anything?" Hermione said putting her hands on her hips. "Oh I can't do that," Ron said sarcastically. The sun was beginning itss descent and the sky had turned into a sea of gold. "Oh come on Ron! You know you want to tell me," Hermione responded with a bit of teasing in her tone. Ron looked down at the path and grinned. There was a sudden light breeze and he put his hand around her waist and pulled her towards him. There was a soft comforting smile on his face and he kissed her lips gently.
She couldn't help but kiss back. Ron pulled away "That a big enough hint for you?" Hermione smiled, "Let me guess... is it Pansy?" she said sarcastically. "D-amn you're good!" Ron said leaning in again. They kissed again and smiled. "We should go in," Hermione looked at the purple sky, and walked back inside the castle with Ron's arm around her waist. They kept glancing at each other smiling. Now just sit and imagine one of the most popular boys in your school going out with the most popular girl... now.. imagine that all happening at Hogwarts. Right when they walked down to the Great Hall they had people whispering their little mouths off. The two of them just smiled and continued to walk to the Gryffindor table. Harry was sitting next to Lavender who kept blushing every time he smiled at her. He looked up and stopped smiling immediately. Hermione stopped. She had forgotten about Harry! Oh god! Is this going to effect Harry? Ron looked at her. "Something wrong?" He asked sitting down. "Nnn... no." Hermione said trying to sound calm. Harry stared at both of them. "Uh... what's going on?" He asked. Lavender and Parvati stopped and stared as well. To tell you the truth everyone seemed to be staring at them. Ron grinned, "Nothing." Harry glared at Ron, "Hermione what's going on?" Hermione's voice had some how disappeared and she stared at Harry with her mouth open, trying to make a sound. "No-nothing.." she said looking at Ron.
"Told you," Ron said grinning and taking a large bite of a chicken leg.
Draco Malfoy even seemed to stare at them. Speaking of Draco... lets talk about him for a bit... Draco Malfoy had seemed to buff up a bit as well and was along side Harry and Ron a very popular person. Although his attitude seemed to get the best of him most of the time he could turn the charm on. His hair was usually away from his face, except for a few strands that had fallen. He still had the white skin, but the skin seemed to make his gray blue eyes stand out more. And yes, he did find Miss Hermione attractive. He listened to a few conversations going on, and grew suddenly jealous of the thought of Ron Weasley going out with Hermione. He shoved it off by saying they were gonna split up some time or another. He had been trying to be as polite as he could be to her, by not teasing any of them and standing out of their way most of the time. He could only hope she had taken notice to it.
When dinner was finished Hermione walked close to Ron. Ron turned to face her, "So, what's going on with us?" He asked smiling. She smiled back, "I believe this is our beginning of going out." "So we're defiantly going out then?" Ron said a bit surprised and happy all at the same time. "Guess so," Hermione said taking his hand and began walking down to the common room. Girls glared at Hermione, and boys tried to get her to notice them. A few other students said the password and a group of Gryffindors entered the common room. "Hey I know what's going on now Harry!" Ron said excitedly. "Good for you Ron!" Harry said , "Always knew you had it in you!" "Hermione and I are going out."
Harry sat there silent. He put a fake smile on. "That's great!" He said eyeing Hermione. "Ron! There's an owl upstairs for you. Almost passed out when it got here." Dean Thomas said walking by them. He looked back, "Hi Hermione," he said smiling at her. Hermione gave him a quick smile and turned back to Ron. "Alright, I'll be right back," Ron said running up the stairs. Harry turned to Hermione. "So you guys are going out then?" He said nervously. Hermione tilted her head slightly, "Yeah, are going to feel awkward?" Harry shook his head. "No, not at all." He put another fake smile on, "I'm happy for you both." It was hard to get those last few words out. Hermione came over and sat next to him. "I mean I shouldn't feel awkward. It's not like anything happened between us." Hermione flinched and looked up at him, "Exactly, nothing ever happened between us that was beyond friendship." She and Harry looked at each other but got interrupted when Ron came racing back down the stairs. "What was the owl for?" Harry asked breaking his gaze from her. "Oh, I'm leaving Christmas break. I'm visiting Charlie with my mum and dad." Ron aid gloomily, "They just wanted to let me know ahead of time." "That's too bad," Hermione said standing up and walking towards him. He kissed her softly then smiled. "Please, there are children in this room." Harry said sitting up. "I'm going to bed, 'night lovebirds." "Goodnight!" They both said in unison. "You don't think this will be weird for him do you?" Ron asked. Hermione flinched, "Not at all." The common room was getting more and more empty by the minute. Soon the last two people in the room were Hermione and Ron. She rested her head on his shoulder as he watched the fire crackle and roar.
"Did you hear about Ron and Hermione?" "Oh my god, yes!" "I am so bummed!" "Oh me too!" "But Harry is twice as hot as Ron is!" "Where is Harry?!" "Lets find him!"
Harry was getting so much attention these days it was unbearable. It got his mind off things though. Even so, he still managed to get his work done and his Prefect duties as well. He had been chosen for Quidditch captain and was already planning out before Quidditch even started. He had no time for anything anymore, and hardly ever saw Hermione or Ron. Only during classes and meals did the they talk. Ron and Hermione continued to kiss every chance they got, and held hands everywhere they went together. Harry got asked out every chance a girl got, and he flirted every time. He just got use to being "single." It was nice, and he didn't have anything to really distract him off his studies. "Harry!" "Oh hey Cho!" Harry said looking up. "Hey, you want to meet me in the library later?" She asked eagerly. Harry shook his head, "Can't, got too much homework." Every time he denied an offer it made girls attracted to him more. He did seemed to be spending a lot of time with a Ravenclaw girl. She was in fifth year as well, and was quite popular. He always denied having a crush on her when girls asked though. At the moment he was trying to turn his racc-oon into a frog. He was one of the first to do it correctly as well was Hermione. Most of the students did but there was a long slender tail still hanging off the frog's butt. A note suddenly got thrown to his desk. Harry I think you're really cute!! Will you please come see me tonight? He got many lame notes like this. He wrote on the back "can't, working on a quidditch stuff." And looked up to see a Hufflepuff girl looking at him intently. He threw it to her desk and smiled to Ron.
It was the beginning of December and the air had suddenly grown cooler. Harry was using the Prefect bathroom more and more. And came back smelling clean. Which made girls go insane when they were close to him. He walked rather quickly to Potions. As to not run in to anybody. He stopped at the doorway and took a deep breath. Every time he had Potions it was an adventure. Snape had toned down a bit on him, but only a bit. Harry took a seat next to Ron and put his bags down. "Everyone take a seat!" snapped Snape. His disliking for Harry was increasing over the last two months, for he had noticed the amount of attention he had gotten. Harry took his cauldron out and sat back waiting for class to begin. "Please take out your homework from last night and I will collect it." He shot a stern glance at all the students. Everyone took their homework out except for a few Ravenclaws. "15 points from Ravenclaw! Shows how responsible you are! You will all be learning how to make a type of healing potion-" Harry suddenly felt dazed he rested his hed in his hands and felt a cold sweat come over him. He swayed a little in his chair and felt the whole room go dark... he couldn't see anything.. everything was pitch black. But he could hear echoes of cries. "Harry!" It was his mum's voice. She was crying for him. Harry tried to get up but couldn't. He no longer felt the chair but a hard cold stone floor. "Get up Harry!" It was his father calling for him. Harry couldn't, he had gone weak and his head was still spinning in the darkness. He could see nothing. He could only hear screams and people crying. Voices he had never heard before... but women, men, and children were screaming harder. There was a loud blood curling scream that hit Harry hard to the floor. He looked up slowly and saw two red blood eyes staring at him. He tried to yell, but it could not be heard. His scar hurt with pain, he could feel nothing but pain all over him. "Mr. Potter!" Snape yelled. Harry fluttered his eyes. He was lying on the floor shivering, he tried to talk but when he opened his mouth there was a slight cry. All the kids were staring at him worried. Hermione was near tears and Ron was down on the floor looking scared. His focus came into view and he looked Snape in the eye. "What happened?" Harry opened his mouth, "Two red eyes... in complete darkness..." he said quietly trying to breath. Snape's eyes widened. "Oh no... Harry get up... we're going to see Dumbledore..."
Harry felt himself being lifted off the ground. He stood up and leaned against the table to remain from falling. "Come on Potter!" Snape shouted. Snape made Harry lean against him. They both walked out the door with all the kids sitting on the edge of their seats. A few of the girls started crying and Hermione was one of them. Ron tried to comfort her but found himself worrying just as much as she was. Everyone was not only worried, for Harry, but for themselves as well. When Harry passed out, it meant He- who-must-not-be-named must be close to attack. And they all were aware of it. The classroom was in complete silence, except for a few sobs and sniffs.
Harry felt wind blow pass him as he walked rather quickly along side Snape. He was still being held up by him, making sure he wouldn't fall. Harry was still weak and felt every part of his body in pain. His head most of all. They reached the gargoyle and Snape said the password "Wobbles" and he took Harry inside. Harry felt himself circling on the staircase and climbed step after step. He shut his eyes and wished it would stop. "Come on," Snape said leading Harry to the door to the office. Snape turned the handle quickly. "Dumbledore, Harry is being visited again. But not by 'he.' But by the Volax, I think." Dumbledore stared at Snape wide-eyed. "Harry please sit down. You may go now Severus." He motioned Snape to leave and quickly turned to Harry. "Harry tell me everthing that happened, every detail you can remember and every sound you heard." Harry blinked and looked at Dumbledore swaying a bit. He had a dazed look on his face and his eyes seemed to be visiting the event again. Harry took a deep breath and told Dumbledore everything. Everything he remembered. Dumbledore's expression wasn't helping. When Harry had finished Dumbledore's eyes showed sadness, yet still twinkled. "Harry, as much as I wish to tell you my theory of what is happening, I cannot." Harry looked longingly at him. "You will be guarded at all times, and will not leave this castle. Do you understand?" Harry nodded slowly, dreading everything that was coming out of Dumbledore's mouth. "I am calling Madam Pomfrey(sp?) She will escort you down to the hospital. Try and remain calm Harry."
Harry opened his eyes to find blurry spots of colour. He reached for his glasses and groaned. His head still had a sharp pain, but he felt less weak than he had been. He laid his head on the pillow. "Harry?" He heard a voice, and it frightened him. He remembered the voices he had heard and flinched when he saw Hermione standing next to him. She looked at him as a single tear rolled down her cheek. "Are you okay?" Harry felt himself shiver slightly, "My scar burns," Hermione's lip quivered. Harry's voice was hoarse and you could hardly hear him. "How long have I been here?" "Three days. You have a table full of cards and get-well presents," Hermione said pointing to the table across from him. He tried to smile but stopped when a pain hit him again. "Everyone has calmed down a bit, Dumbledore told us that there was nothing to worry about," she shifted in her seat, "I doubt there is nothing to worry about. The whole school was so terrified." Harry turned his head to face her again, "Did Dumbledore explain anything?"
Hermione shook her head, "He just told us that Volemort would not be coming anywhere near the school and that the last thing anyone should do is worry." Harry looked up at the ceiling, "He's worried, I saw his expression when I told him. There's something going on, I just don't know what." Hermione wanted to ask what had happened but thought better of it. "Did Snape and Dumbledore speak at all about it?" Harry closed his eyes and tried to remember, "Snape said something about a Volax... whatever that is." "Volax?" Hermione said with a puzzled face, "I've never heard of that." "Where's Ron?" Hermione smiled, "We keep switching turns watching you, this is my shift." "Lucky you," Harry said turning to his side. "Oh Harry, you have no idea how worried everyone is about you," Hermione said wiping her eyes, "Wait till I tell them you're alright." Harry closed his eyes and remembered once more. "Dumbledore said I'd be needing guards or something to watch me."
Harry slowly opened his eyes to find not only Ron, but Dumbledore as well. Dumbledore smiled, "Good morning Harry, sleep well?" Harry squinted and quickly put his glasses on. He yawned and slowly sat up. "Hello." Was all he could say, still trying to get his eyes focused on the daylight. "There is good news and bad." Dumbledore said sadly. "The bad news is, you will need to be followed and be heavily secured wherever you may go." Harry looked down, "The good news is that you should be able to return to your old life. The ministry is acting very hard right now, and we believe everything will be alright." His eyes glittered and he smiled encouragingly to Harry. Ron was sitting in the chair across from Harry's bed. "Professor Dumbledore?" Harry asked surprisingly. Dumbledore turned to him, "Yes Harry?" "Can you... can you... can you give me any explanation at all on what happened?" Harry asked frowning. It would have been nice to know what was going on with him, and not just the teachers. Dumbledore looked down, "We'll need to work harder on this event, until we have more information I cannot." Harry sat back and sighed. It seemed everyone else knew exactly what was going on, except for himself. "You'll be meeting your guard tomorrow hopefully. Good day to you Harry." Dumbledore walked off silently. There was silence for awhile. The two of them sat quietly. "How are you?" Ron said nervously, not really knowing what to say. Harry smiled, "Fabulous, you?" Ron looked down, "You think you'll be alright?" "Hope so," Harry responded looking out the window. He suddenly took notice to the fact that his head no longer felt pain. "I feel better." "What's a Volax?" Ron asked suddenly. Harry laughed, "I don't know!" "We should find out." "You think?" Harry said sarcastically.
Later during the day Harry was able to leave and try to get his life on a regular schedule again. He had the rest of the day off so he could relax and get use to the dorm again. He noticed a teacher was always there watching him, making sure nothing unusual happened. He sat at the foot of his bed reading up on all the Prefect news. Most of it was on him and his condition. He sat thinking and wanting to forget everything that had happened. He still could hear the cries in the back of his head, he tried to shut them out but every time he did they seemed to grow stronger. Soon he heard voices down in the common room which freaked him out at first. The last thing he wanted to do was socialize. He read a few get-well letters and soon got his energy back up. Slowly he got up walking towards the door. He took a deep breath and let it out, as he turned the door knob slowly. The door suddenly swung open and the staircase was sitting there waiting for him to step down. Slowly he did almost dragging his feet every step he took. The room went silent and everyone stared at him. "Are you alright there Harry?" Fred asked nervously. "Yeah, I'm great," Harry responded putting a smile on. Everyone put on a welcoming smile. Harry liked it, it made him feel better. Hermione moved forward as the common room took its usual state. She hugged him and stood back smiling. "You're back!" "I'm back..." Harry said trying to understand what the big deal was. Ron stood next to Hermione grinning at Harry. "Want to go do cartwheels now?" Ron said doing his girl tone of voice. Harry sighed, "You haven't found anything by chance have you?" "No, I've looked practically everywhere... there's nothing on 'volax.' Are you sure you heard right Harry?" Hermione said gloomily. "Think so," Harry looked out, "I'm hungry." "Lets get my boy some food!" Ron said running towards the portrait hole.
Harry returned to his normal days of school and got use to his life again. His first day back was weird, for girls often came up to him and hugged him saying how worried they were. Harry didn't really know what to do so he just hugged back saying how much he missed school. Hermione and Ron continued to kiss and hug and hold hands and pass notes and be a couple but tried to spend as much time as they could with Harry. There was a rumor going around saying Quidditch would be canceled this year because of the Dark Lord coming back to power. Harry hated the thought of it, and it seemed to make the days go by slower. But the most surprising thing was getting his own "bodyguard." After all, it was wonderful to know it was someone you could trust, you knew, and was fully capable of powerful magic. Someone like... Lupin for instance. Harry was so happy having Lupin there, it was nice. There were times when Lupin had to take a day off or two to take his "potion" of course, but Harry was just watched over by other teachers. Snape hardly ever made eye contact with Harry anymore, and hadn't spoken to him for a whole lesson! He somehow was able to catch up on all the work he missed with Hermione's help of course. Harry had his life back, he was just followed all the time by Lupin. Everything was going rather well. Nothing out of the ordinary was happening, but he never heard anything from Dumbledore yet on whether it would be okay. Harry had hardly thought about the "event," for a long time. He made his mind on school work completely and it seemed to help him. Hermione was reading through every book she could find and found not a thing on "volax." Giving by the fact as though they had no idea what form or category a "volax" fell under it didn't really help. They forgot about it after a week and tried studying for the upcoming test in Transfiguration.
Christmas break was getting nearer and the sign-up sheet was out and ready. Harry and Hermione signed their names. Ron got more and more bummed as the holidays got nearer. Hermione as well. The day finally came and Ron kissed and hugged Hermione goodbye. He turned to Harry, "Would you like a kiss and hug too Harry?" Harry rolled his eyes, "Ron, as much as you would like to, I'm afraid not."
Ron smiled, "Try not to fall to the floor again!" And with that he was off.
Harry turned to Hermione, "So... you alright?" She smiled slightly, "Yeah, I'm taking a bath tonight in the Prefect bathroom." "Good idea," Harry answered yawning. "Make sure you wear a swimsuit, there's a thing on the letter to do so." Hermione nodded, "Thank you Harry!"
They were one of the few left for the holidays, the corridors and halls were eerie with the silence that flooded them. Harry and Hermione walked over to the Gryffindor table to eat and socialize with the few Gryffindors left. Harry tried to cheer Nevillie up about not going away to his Grandma's house that break. He was so used to it now it seemed as if she was sick of him suddenly. "Come on Neville, we'll have a great time!" Harry said smiling at him. Hermione looked up at him, "Neville, you'll have fun! I'll make sure of it!" Hermione said smiling at him. Neville changed colour a bit but grinned. "Thanks Hermione.." He mumbled.
Harry and her walked back down the halls. "Amazing Hermione!" Harry said in wonder, "all you have to do is smile and a guy's day is wonderful!" Hermione laughed, "Whatever Harry...."
"Ron!" Hermione exclaimed stand beside Harry. "Hermione!" Ron echoed to her. She ran her fingers through her hair and looked as if she was trying to settle herself. "How'd you two ge-" Ron took notice to the gold badges they both were wearing, "Oh! You're both Prefects? Is that possible?" Ron asked still looking at the shining badges.
"It is now, I guess," Harry said smiling slightly. Ron stood there feeling jealousy kick in. The thought of Harry spending more time with Hermione made him seem twitchy. But even so, he smiled back at Harry, "My boy is a Prefect!" Hermione rolled her eyes then yawned. She glanced at the stairway leading to the girls dormitories. "Well I'm off. Goodnight you two," She took one more glance at Harry then walked up. Ron fell to the soft red chair and let out a sigh. Harry sat across from him and let out a deeper longer sigh. "So tell me-" Ron said leaning in. Suddenly the rest of the Gryffindors entered and some of the first years "oohed" and "awed" at the common room. Harry remembered suddenly he was a Prefect and stood before them. A few of them pointed at his scar and whispered "Harry Potter." Harry ignored it and continued to show them their dormitories. When he was done he came back over to Ron and sat back in the chair again. It was a good feeling to finally be able to sit in something comfortable. Ron leaned in again, "Tell me," he said trying not grin but couldn't help it, "What do you think of Hermione?"
Harry stared at Ron trying to decide what to say. He put a slight grin on his face, "She looks great," Harry responded. Ron grinned back, "I think I may have a crush." Harry's heart skipped a beat, "Hermione?" he asked nervously. Ron fell deeper into his chair, "Yeah," he said unable to control his smile and looking up at the ceiling. "I hate crushes!" He laughed. Ron likes Hermione? The girl I can't believe I just kissed? Harry tried to stop his look of nervousness by smiling back at Ron. There was a drop of sadness in his eyes, and one who looked would see. He looked down trying to think, "What are you going to do?" Harry asked trying to catch every last word. "I don't really know," Ron said with a shrug of his shoulders, "If it's supposed to happen it will." Harry tried to keep himself as normal as possible, but kept feeling himself flinch. He put his hand through his mess of hair, "Yeah guess so." "Did you eye anyone Harry?" Ron asked grinning. "No, was too busy eating with the sound of giggles taking over my mind to notice." Ron snickered, "Don't you love it?" he said sarcastically. Harry gave Ron a blank expression, "Oh it makes me feel all tingely inside." He said in a sarcastic tone. "Now Harry," Ron said grinning, "Are you sure that wasn't the juice you had earlier?" Harry laughed, "I knew I was sitting with my legs crossed for a reason!" They both chatted about the next day and the thought of being stuck with the Slytherins again. That got Harry thinking of previous events. He snickered, "Hermione had no idea about Malfoy did she?" Ron snickered with him, "She has no idea why he did that!" They sat there just laughing at the thought of Malfoy unable to speak because of his embarrassment of being attracted to Hermione. "Maybe he won't make our lives as miserable," Harry said. Ron glanced at Harry, "Please Harry, that's his joy in life, you think Hermione's looks will stop him?" They finally felt themselves grow tired and both dragged their feet up to their Dorms.
Hermione was lying in her bed wide awake replaying the moment over and over again in her mind. She kept thinking about the morning and how it would effect "things" if people were to ever find out. The thought of Ron finding out what had happened made her stomach turn. I don't want him feel awkward, I don't want him to feel uncomfortable.... oh my god! She stopped herself, Do I like Ron? Do I like Harry? God of course I like Harry! I'm in love with him! She stopped again, she had just said "love" in her mind. Can I be in love with Harry? But I still like Ron! She cringed and put her face in her pillow. The moment seemed to go through her mind again. But I don't want to hurt him She felt a tear run down If I really cared for someone I wouldn't cause them pain, or cause pain to myself.
Harry was on the verge of counting sheep. He was sleeping as much as Hermione was, which was none. He stared at the ceiling for hours thinking. He thought of Hermione, he thought of the kiss they had just shared. He thought of Ron and the comment he had just said. Harry didn't want the trio to break, yet he knew that if Hermione and him were to do anything that was beyond friendship, then there would be controversy. He got annoyed by the fact that every time he tried to think Neville's booming snores interrupted his thought. He sat up and thought of going on down to the common room to get his head right. He quietly walked down the steps. But stopped when he reached the bottom and stared at her. Hermione was already there, sitting on the chair while tears trickled down her face. She was holding her hair in the back, and as she stared at Harry longer the heavier were her tears. They both knew what each other were thinking yet they could only look at each other in silence. Harry was still standing on the bottom step with his eyes beginning to cloud up. He didn't know why, but he slowly moved towards her trying to stay as calm as possible. He came closer to her and made his head even with her's. Hermione had let go of her hair and was clenching to the arms on the chair tightly. Still tears swelled up in her eyes, and Harry's seemed to cloud more, almost as if mist had taken over. Harry began to lean in, and Hermione held on tighter to the arms of the chair. It happened. Hermione's grip let go and her arms lifted around his neck. Harry now moved his hands and rested them on her waist, and they kissed harder this time, for they were both scared.....
Hermione woke up that morning wishing she had never opened her eyes. It killed her to think what she was about to do, but she and she guessed Harry knew what they had to do as well. Her eyes swelled up every time she thought of talking to him. She slowly sat up and looked outside. The sun was outlining the hills with colour as it began it's climb to the sky. And there were slender streaks of light breaking down to the grassy yet settle plains. She got ready to go downstairs slowly, and brushed her hair softly and thought of the day ahead. She was too tired and buried in her thoughts to want to deal with her hair down. The brush formed her hair into a ponytail and quickly she made it into a bun. One tear silently went down her cheek before she left her room, and she wiped it away with a swift movement of her hand. Cautiously, she closed the door. Harry was leaning against the couch. He looked up when he saw her, and began to open his mouth. Hermione had beaten him, "We need to talk," She said stepping down to the floor. Harry nodded and made sure no one was around. They both had gotten up early to talk to one another, though they did not speak about it. Harry waited for Hermione to sit. He sat across from her and slowly began to talk, "Hermione, I've been thinking," Harry said looking down. Hermione felt her eyes swell up again, "We're best friends," Harry continued, "And Ron is also our best friend." He kept stopping taking breaths and swallowing hard. He looked back up at her, "We can't do this to him." Hermione looked down and wiped her eyes. "I know," she said softly agreeing with everything he was saying. "And, Harry, I care for you," She said looking at him feeling tears streaking down. His eyes once more were clouded and dark. "And... I don't want either of us to get hurt if we... if we continued." Harry nodded. He felt horrible, everything seemed to have grown dark. His eyes locked on her, "So we forget everything that happened last night?" He asked breathing strongly, "And pretend it never happened?" Hermione's tears now were larger and dropped quicker. "Yea....." she answered staring into the gloom his eyes showed. They both had thought of the same consequences and were now agreeing that they should not go beyond the line of friendship. "We should get going," Hermione said standing up and glancing at the time. Harry stood up and looked down. They took one more look at each other then went back to their dormitories.
Ron rubbed his eyes as he sat up and looked out the clear glass window. The sun's rays seemed to gleam in and Ron had to squint his eyes to remain focused. He stood up and went and got himself ready. He brushed his hair until it was "perfect" and he spent 10 minutes practicing smiles. When he finally threw his robes on he dashed down to the common room, only to find it was Harry-and-Hermione-free. Great Hall He thought waslking out the portrait hole. Kids were walking down the hallways chattering to one another and making as much noise as possible. Or maybe it was just the echoes the walls bounced off... Ron quickly walked to the Great Hall and scanned the Gryffindor table for them. A ha! He said running towards them. They were sitting in the middle in a large conversation. "And how are you beautiful people doing?" Ron said sitting next to Hermione. Harry glanced at Ron, "Happy as a ray of sunshine!" He responded taking a swig of orange juice. Ron turned to Hermione, "Why so quiet Hermione?" She blinked at looked at him, "Tired I guess." "You went to bed earlier than any other student! How could you be tired?" Ron said. He took two pieces of toast ate rather fast. Hermione looked at his now empty plate, "Ron, how'd you do that?" "He stuffs all his food in his head to make it bigger," said George leaning against where they were sitting. Harry snickered, "Shut up Harry!" Ron said eyeing him.
The three of them walked together back to the common room joking about Snape. Ron seemed to make up most of the jokes and got Hermione to smile finally with her mouth open. Hermione enjoyed having Ron around. He was the type of person that takes everything as a joke, but strangely thinks quicker than either of him. Hermione, although she was clever, would never be able to say and think as quick as Ron did. Shame Ron doesn't put that into school use, She thought stepping up to the stairway. Their laughter carried through the halls, and caught many people's attention; not that they didn't have enough of it already. Ron and Harry still caught every girl's eye, and Hermione made boys stop everything that they were doing to stare at her. A Seventh Year turned around the corner and walked by Hermione but stopped. He then looked back at her and although she didn't notice him, Ron had. Ron's expression looked puzzled. Am I attracting guys now? Ron thought strangely. Oh that's right, Hermione is with us. "Hermione, right?" He asked smiling. He was fairly tall and seemed to be in good shape. His hair was quite short and he seemed like the "All American Boy." She smiled back, "Yeah, how'd you know?" The boy seemed a bit nervous for he kept looking at the ground, "Word travels fast here." He smiled again, then examined the floor again. Hermione smiled encouragingly, "Well, I'll see you around." He nodded and walked off. "See you around..." Ron said imitating Hermione. "Hermione, I never knew you could flirt!" She smiled and looked proud, "Just a thing I picked up on." Ron stared and felt the feelings he had for her increase.
Harry got his books ready and looked at his time table. Ron stood up and started to look at his as well. They both stopped, "Potions with Ravenclaws!" they said in unison. "Oh I like 5th year!" Ron said sitting back down on his bed. Harry and Ron groaned at the same time, "Care of Magical Creatures with Slytherins..." They both said gloomily. "We have it tomorrow," Harry said getting less and less excited. "Well, that's the only class we got with them," Ron said happily. "And that's Hagrid's class, we should be thankful..." Harry agreed but still felt a bit of excitement disappear. "Hey look, we get most of Friday off because of Defense Against the Dark Arts!" Ron exclaimed looking wide-eyed at the paper. "Oh I really like fifth year!" Harry smiled, "Thank god!" "Aww, does lil' Harry feel better now?" Ron said in a babyish tone.
To sum it all up, the week went by fast. Although Ron did spill his potion on Snape's robes. Luckily the whole class witnessed it and said it was an accident, even so, Snape did manage to take 5 points. Care of Magical Creatures went by rather harmlessly. Harry and Ron joked about it saying Hermione's looks were their only shield against Malfoy. "Hermione follow me to the toilet in case he sees me." Divination was slow. Harry had now been told for about the 50th time he would die. Yet still, he was walking with us. Strange how things happen like that. Harry and Ron seemed to be doing well with their homework and Hermione was amazed to see one night they were both working separately instead of the usual copying.
"Hey Hermione!" Ron said running towards her. She turned around. "Hey Ron," She said stopping. Ron caught his breath and looked back up. "You want to go on a walk with me tonight?" He said still a out of breath. Hermione looked at him a bit surprised but said the first thing that came to her mind, "Uh, sure." Ron smiled back, "Great, meet you in the common room!" With that he ran the other direction probably off to Divination. She smiled a bit, Did Ron just ask me to go on a walk with him? She thought about this for a moment and continued walking. Shaking her head in disbelief she almost ran in to a few people but had moved out of the way just in time. She reached her hand to the back of her neck and moved her necklace forward. I'm going on a walk with Ron? She smiled again and finally entered her class.
Class seemed to go by in a matter of seconds. And soon she stood up and packer her books up. She flung her bag over her shoulder and walked to the Gryffindor Common room. "Hermione!" Harry said coming over to her. "What?" "We got the info on Prefect bathroom!" Harry said grinning. He showed her the letter and the map. "You got one too, but it's still in your room." Hermione grinned, "I've never seen the bathroom before." She looked up, "Have you?" "Yeah, last year." Harry replied looking back into last year. He felt sadness come back to him as he thought of the person responsible for letting him use the bathroom. He suddenly grew quiet which made Hermione worried. "You alright?" She asked. "Oh yeah, sorry," Harry asked trying to come back to the normal time. They walked back to the common room in silence. Harry kept thinking of Cedric, and Hermione kept trying to find the reason why Ron wanted to go on a walk with her.
Ron sat on the couch trying to finish divination homework. The third planet from Hera? I don't know! He wrote down the first name that came to him, Uranus. The portrait door swung open and Hermione climbed through with Harry close behind. "Hey Ron," Harry said sitting down. He glanced at what Ron was working on and groaned. "I still gotta finish that." "It's actually not that bad," Ron said standing up and gathering his books. "I finished it in like 15 minutes." Harry looked up at him, "Where you going?" "Walk," Ron said looking around for Hermione. "Where'd she go?" "Where'd who go?" "Hermione." "Oh..." Harry stood up scanning the room, "Where'd she go?" "I don't know," Ron said squinting. Harry sat back down, "She must be up in her dorm." Ron shrugged it off and continued his way up to the boy's dormitories. "Hey Ron?!" Harry shouted. "Yeah?" "Can you get my bag? It should be on my bed." "Sure," Ron finally reached the door and turned the knob. It swung forward revealing five beds draped with red curtains and gold lining. Each bed had a large trunk at the foot of it filled with all the person's belongings. Ron threw his bag over to his bed and ran to the mirror to make sure his hair wasn't disagreeing with him. He quickly checked the time and grabbed Harry's bag. When he came back down Hermione had appeared again and was laughing with Harry. "Stop laughing at me!" Ron said throwing Harry his bag. "God Ron, we weren't!" She said sitting up. "We ready?" "Believe so," Ron answered smiling. Harry looked confused, "Wait where you guys going?" Ron grinned, "The moon Harry! Where do you think we're going?!" "I don't really know," Harry replied still looking clueless. "Where are you going?" "I told you already!" Ron exclaimed. "Ron! You two aren't going to the moon!" Harry said annoyingly. Ron laughed, "We're going on a walk!"
"Oh" was the only thing he could say. He frowned slightly but continued working. "Bye Harry!" Hermione said leaving. "Bye Harry!" Ron said imitating girl. The two of them climbed through the portrait hole and continued. They walked down hall after hall, and down staircase after staircase until they had finally reached the outdoors. Ron motioned Hermione to a pathway and she led the way to it. Soft breezes passed by them rustling the leaves that had fallen. It was the beginning of October after all. The only colours they could see were the colours of fall and a tinge of green every now and then from the covered grass. The sun was still out but seemed to be dropping a little down every time you glanced at it. "You tired at all?" Ron asked as they walked rather close together enjoying the setting. "Surprisingly no," She answered. Suddenly a small creature was scurrying along the ground. It looked like a cross between a squirrel and a rather tiny raccoon. It's face would have been identical to a raccoon's if it weren't for the blue stripes along its eyes. It had the body of a squirrel and a long cat-like tail. The overall color of it was a dark orange with white streaks brushed into it. "What is that thing?" Hermione asked examining it. "Oh that's just a Mika," Ron said glancing at it quickly. "They're harmless really, live on a type of fruit. Forgot the name of it though. Actually, they're pretty stupid." Right after Ron finished the word "stupid" the Mika ran into the castle wall. "Oh my god! Is it alright?" Hermione asked concerned. Ron laughed, "never gets old... Oh yeah, they do that all the time." Hermione still looked scared for the creature but continued walking along side Ron.
Hermione?" Ron asked, trying to sound as serious as possible even though he couldn't help the smile across his face. "Hermione looked up, "Yes?" Ron had a small smile on the corner of his mouth. "Do you like anyone?" Hermione grinned, "Maybe." She responded. "Yeah?" Ron said now grinning with intimidation. "Can you give me a hint?" Hermione laughed, "I can't do that!" "And why is that?" She grinned as well, "because... I... I don't even know if I really do like this person.." Ron's hopes went a little down, he had been hoping it was him. "Who is it?"
Hermione was battling with her thoughts once more trying to decide if she should even give a clue. "I can't really tell you." "Why?" Ron asked getting rather jumpy. She stopped and looked out, "I have my reasons. Do you like anyone?" Ron grinned, "Maybe.." "Are you going to tell me anything?" Hermione said putting her hands on her hips. "Oh I can't do that," Ron said sarcastically. The sun was beginning itss descent and the sky had turned into a sea of gold. "Oh come on Ron! You know you want to tell me," Hermione responded with a bit of teasing in her tone. Ron looked down at the path and grinned. There was a sudden light breeze and he put his hand around her waist and pulled her towards him. There was a soft comforting smile on his face and he kissed her lips gently.
She couldn't help but kiss back. Ron pulled away "That a big enough hint for you?" Hermione smiled, "Let me guess... is it Pansy?" she said sarcastically. "D-amn you're good!" Ron said leaning in again. They kissed again and smiled. "We should go in," Hermione looked at the purple sky, and walked back inside the castle with Ron's arm around her waist. They kept glancing at each other smiling. Now just sit and imagine one of the most popular boys in your school going out with the most popular girl... now.. imagine that all happening at Hogwarts. Right when they walked down to the Great Hall they had people whispering their little mouths off. The two of them just smiled and continued to walk to the Gryffindor table. Harry was sitting next to Lavender who kept blushing every time he smiled at her. He looked up and stopped smiling immediately. Hermione stopped. She had forgotten about Harry! Oh god! Is this going to effect Harry? Ron looked at her. "Something wrong?" He asked sitting down. "Nnn... no." Hermione said trying to sound calm. Harry stared at both of them. "Uh... what's going on?" He asked. Lavender and Parvati stopped and stared as well. To tell you the truth everyone seemed to be staring at them. Ron grinned, "Nothing." Harry glared at Ron, "Hermione what's going on?" Hermione's voice had some how disappeared and she stared at Harry with her mouth open, trying to make a sound. "No-nothing.." she said looking at Ron.
"Told you," Ron said grinning and taking a large bite of a chicken leg.
Draco Malfoy even seemed to stare at them. Speaking of Draco... lets talk about him for a bit... Draco Malfoy had seemed to buff up a bit as well and was along side Harry and Ron a very popular person. Although his attitude seemed to get the best of him most of the time he could turn the charm on. His hair was usually away from his face, except for a few strands that had fallen. He still had the white skin, but the skin seemed to make his gray blue eyes stand out more. And yes, he did find Miss Hermione attractive. He listened to a few conversations going on, and grew suddenly jealous of the thought of Ron Weasley going out with Hermione. He shoved it off by saying they were gonna split up some time or another. He had been trying to be as polite as he could be to her, by not teasing any of them and standing out of their way most of the time. He could only hope she had taken notice to it.
When dinner was finished Hermione walked close to Ron. Ron turned to face her, "So, what's going on with us?" He asked smiling. She smiled back, "I believe this is our beginning of going out." "So we're defiantly going out then?" Ron said a bit surprised and happy all at the same time. "Guess so," Hermione said taking his hand and began walking down to the common room. Girls glared at Hermione, and boys tried to get her to notice them. A few other students said the password and a group of Gryffindors entered the common room. "Hey I know what's going on now Harry!" Ron said excitedly. "Good for you Ron!" Harry said , "Always knew you had it in you!" "Hermione and I are going out."
Harry sat there silent. He put a fake smile on. "That's great!" He said eyeing Hermione. "Ron! There's an owl upstairs for you. Almost passed out when it got here." Dean Thomas said walking by them. He looked back, "Hi Hermione," he said smiling at her. Hermione gave him a quick smile and turned back to Ron. "Alright, I'll be right back," Ron said running up the stairs. Harry turned to Hermione. "So you guys are going out then?" He said nervously. Hermione tilted her head slightly, "Yeah, are going to feel awkward?" Harry shook his head. "No, not at all." He put another fake smile on, "I'm happy for you both." It was hard to get those last few words out. Hermione came over and sat next to him. "I mean I shouldn't feel awkward. It's not like anything happened between us." Hermione flinched and looked up at him, "Exactly, nothing ever happened between us that was beyond friendship." She and Harry looked at each other but got interrupted when Ron came racing back down the stairs. "What was the owl for?" Harry asked breaking his gaze from her. "Oh, I'm leaving Christmas break. I'm visiting Charlie with my mum and dad." Ron aid gloomily, "They just wanted to let me know ahead of time." "That's too bad," Hermione said standing up and walking towards him. He kissed her softly then smiled. "Please, there are children in this room." Harry said sitting up. "I'm going to bed, 'night lovebirds." "Goodnight!" They both said in unison. "You don't think this will be weird for him do you?" Ron asked. Hermione flinched, "Not at all." The common room was getting more and more empty by the minute. Soon the last two people in the room were Hermione and Ron. She rested her head on his shoulder as he watched the fire crackle and roar.
"Did you hear about Ron and Hermione?" "Oh my god, yes!" "I am so bummed!" "Oh me too!" "But Harry is twice as hot as Ron is!" "Where is Harry?!" "Lets find him!"
Harry was getting so much attention these days it was unbearable. It got his mind off things though. Even so, he still managed to get his work done and his Prefect duties as well. He had been chosen for Quidditch captain and was already planning out before Quidditch even started. He had no time for anything anymore, and hardly ever saw Hermione or Ron. Only during classes and meals did the they talk. Ron and Hermione continued to kiss every chance they got, and held hands everywhere they went together. Harry got asked out every chance a girl got, and he flirted every time. He just got use to being "single." It was nice, and he didn't have anything to really distract him off his studies. "Harry!" "Oh hey Cho!" Harry said looking up. "Hey, you want to meet me in the library later?" She asked eagerly. Harry shook his head, "Can't, got too much homework." Every time he denied an offer it made girls attracted to him more. He did seemed to be spending a lot of time with a Ravenclaw girl. She was in fifth year as well, and was quite popular. He always denied having a crush on her when girls asked though. At the moment he was trying to turn his racc-oon into a frog. He was one of the first to do it correctly as well was Hermione. Most of the students did but there was a long slender tail still hanging off the frog's butt. A note suddenly got thrown to his desk. Harry I think you're really cute!! Will you please come see me tonight? He got many lame notes like this. He wrote on the back "can't, working on a quidditch stuff." And looked up to see a Hufflepuff girl looking at him intently. He threw it to her desk and smiled to Ron.
It was the beginning of December and the air had suddenly grown cooler. Harry was using the Prefect bathroom more and more. And came back smelling clean. Which made girls go insane when they were close to him. He walked rather quickly to Potions. As to not run in to anybody. He stopped at the doorway and took a deep breath. Every time he had Potions it was an adventure. Snape had toned down a bit on him, but only a bit. Harry took a seat next to Ron and put his bags down. "Everyone take a seat!" snapped Snape. His disliking for Harry was increasing over the last two months, for he had noticed the amount of attention he had gotten. Harry took his cauldron out and sat back waiting for class to begin. "Please take out your homework from last night and I will collect it." He shot a stern glance at all the students. Everyone took their homework out except for a few Ravenclaws. "15 points from Ravenclaw! Shows how responsible you are! You will all be learning how to make a type of healing potion-" Harry suddenly felt dazed he rested his hed in his hands and felt a cold sweat come over him. He swayed a little in his chair and felt the whole room go dark... he couldn't see anything.. everything was pitch black. But he could hear echoes of cries. "Harry!" It was his mum's voice. She was crying for him. Harry tried to get up but couldn't. He no longer felt the chair but a hard cold stone floor. "Get up Harry!" It was his father calling for him. Harry couldn't, he had gone weak and his head was still spinning in the darkness. He could see nothing. He could only hear screams and people crying. Voices he had never heard before... but women, men, and children were screaming harder. There was a loud blood curling scream that hit Harry hard to the floor. He looked up slowly and saw two red blood eyes staring at him. He tried to yell, but it could not be heard. His scar hurt with pain, he could feel nothing but pain all over him. "Mr. Potter!" Snape yelled. Harry fluttered his eyes. He was lying on the floor shivering, he tried to talk but when he opened his mouth there was a slight cry. All the kids were staring at him worried. Hermione was near tears and Ron was down on the floor looking scared. His focus came into view and he looked Snape in the eye. "What happened?" Harry opened his mouth, "Two red eyes... in complete darkness..." he said quietly trying to breath. Snape's eyes widened. "Oh no... Harry get up... we're going to see Dumbledore..."
Harry felt himself being lifted off the ground. He stood up and leaned against the table to remain from falling. "Come on Potter!" Snape shouted. Snape made Harry lean against him. They both walked out the door with all the kids sitting on the edge of their seats. A few of the girls started crying and Hermione was one of them. Ron tried to comfort her but found himself worrying just as much as she was. Everyone was not only worried, for Harry, but for themselves as well. When Harry passed out, it meant He- who-must-not-be-named must be close to attack. And they all were aware of it. The classroom was in complete silence, except for a few sobs and sniffs.
Harry felt wind blow pass him as he walked rather quickly along side Snape. He was still being held up by him, making sure he wouldn't fall. Harry was still weak and felt every part of his body in pain. His head most of all. They reached the gargoyle and Snape said the password "Wobbles" and he took Harry inside. Harry felt himself circling on the staircase and climbed step after step. He shut his eyes and wished it would stop. "Come on," Snape said leading Harry to the door to the office. Snape turned the handle quickly. "Dumbledore, Harry is being visited again. But not by 'he.' But by the Volax, I think." Dumbledore stared at Snape wide-eyed. "Harry please sit down. You may go now Severus." He motioned Snape to leave and quickly turned to Harry. "Harry tell me everthing that happened, every detail you can remember and every sound you heard." Harry blinked and looked at Dumbledore swaying a bit. He had a dazed look on his face and his eyes seemed to be visiting the event again. Harry took a deep breath and told Dumbledore everything. Everything he remembered. Dumbledore's expression wasn't helping. When Harry had finished Dumbledore's eyes showed sadness, yet still twinkled. "Harry, as much as I wish to tell you my theory of what is happening, I cannot." Harry looked longingly at him. "You will be guarded at all times, and will not leave this castle. Do you understand?" Harry nodded slowly, dreading everything that was coming out of Dumbledore's mouth. "I am calling Madam Pomfrey(sp?) She will escort you down to the hospital. Try and remain calm Harry."
Harry opened his eyes to find blurry spots of colour. He reached for his glasses and groaned. His head still had a sharp pain, but he felt less weak than he had been. He laid his head on the pillow. "Harry?" He heard a voice, and it frightened him. He remembered the voices he had heard and flinched when he saw Hermione standing next to him. She looked at him as a single tear rolled down her cheek. "Are you okay?" Harry felt himself shiver slightly, "My scar burns," Hermione's lip quivered. Harry's voice was hoarse and you could hardly hear him. "How long have I been here?" "Three days. You have a table full of cards and get-well presents," Hermione said pointing to the table across from him. He tried to smile but stopped when a pain hit him again. "Everyone has calmed down a bit, Dumbledore told us that there was nothing to worry about," she shifted in her seat, "I doubt there is nothing to worry about. The whole school was so terrified." Harry turned his head to face her again, "Did Dumbledore explain anything?"
Hermione shook her head, "He just told us that Volemort would not be coming anywhere near the school and that the last thing anyone should do is worry." Harry looked up at the ceiling, "He's worried, I saw his expression when I told him. There's something going on, I just don't know what." Hermione wanted to ask what had happened but thought better of it. "Did Snape and Dumbledore speak at all about it?" Harry closed his eyes and tried to remember, "Snape said something about a Volax... whatever that is." "Volax?" Hermione said with a puzzled face, "I've never heard of that." "Where's Ron?" Hermione smiled, "We keep switching turns watching you, this is my shift." "Lucky you," Harry said turning to his side. "Oh Harry, you have no idea how worried everyone is about you," Hermione said wiping her eyes, "Wait till I tell them you're alright." Harry closed his eyes and remembered once more. "Dumbledore said I'd be needing guards or something to watch me."
Harry slowly opened his eyes to find not only Ron, but Dumbledore as well. Dumbledore smiled, "Good morning Harry, sleep well?" Harry squinted and quickly put his glasses on. He yawned and slowly sat up. "Hello." Was all he could say, still trying to get his eyes focused on the daylight. "There is good news and bad." Dumbledore said sadly. "The bad news is, you will need to be followed and be heavily secured wherever you may go." Harry looked down, "The good news is that you should be able to return to your old life. The ministry is acting very hard right now, and we believe everything will be alright." His eyes glittered and he smiled encouragingly to Harry. Ron was sitting in the chair across from Harry's bed. "Professor Dumbledore?" Harry asked surprisingly. Dumbledore turned to him, "Yes Harry?" "Can you... can you... can you give me any explanation at all on what happened?" Harry asked frowning. It would have been nice to know what was going on with him, and not just the teachers. Dumbledore looked down, "We'll need to work harder on this event, until we have more information I cannot." Harry sat back and sighed. It seemed everyone else knew exactly what was going on, except for himself. "You'll be meeting your guard tomorrow hopefully. Good day to you Harry." Dumbledore walked off silently. There was silence for awhile. The two of them sat quietly. "How are you?" Ron said nervously, not really knowing what to say. Harry smiled, "Fabulous, you?" Ron looked down, "You think you'll be alright?" "Hope so," Harry responded looking out the window. He suddenly took notice to the fact that his head no longer felt pain. "I feel better." "What's a Volax?" Ron asked suddenly. Harry laughed, "I don't know!" "We should find out." "You think?" Harry said sarcastically.
Later during the day Harry was able to leave and try to get his life on a regular schedule again. He had the rest of the day off so he could relax and get use to the dorm again. He noticed a teacher was always there watching him, making sure nothing unusual happened. He sat at the foot of his bed reading up on all the Prefect news. Most of it was on him and his condition. He sat thinking and wanting to forget everything that had happened. He still could hear the cries in the back of his head, he tried to shut them out but every time he did they seemed to grow stronger. Soon he heard voices down in the common room which freaked him out at first. The last thing he wanted to do was socialize. He read a few get-well letters and soon got his energy back up. Slowly he got up walking towards the door. He took a deep breath and let it out, as he turned the door knob slowly. The door suddenly swung open and the staircase was sitting there waiting for him to step down. Slowly he did almost dragging his feet every step he took. The room went silent and everyone stared at him. "Are you alright there Harry?" Fred asked nervously. "Yeah, I'm great," Harry responded putting a smile on. Everyone put on a welcoming smile. Harry liked it, it made him feel better. Hermione moved forward as the common room took its usual state. She hugged him and stood back smiling. "You're back!" "I'm back..." Harry said trying to understand what the big deal was. Ron stood next to Hermione grinning at Harry. "Want to go do cartwheels now?" Ron said doing his girl tone of voice. Harry sighed, "You haven't found anything by chance have you?" "No, I've looked practically everywhere... there's nothing on 'volax.' Are you sure you heard right Harry?" Hermione said gloomily. "Think so," Harry looked out, "I'm hungry." "Lets get my boy some food!" Ron said running towards the portrait hole.
Harry returned to his normal days of school and got use to his life again. His first day back was weird, for girls often came up to him and hugged him saying how worried they were. Harry didn't really know what to do so he just hugged back saying how much he missed school. Hermione and Ron continued to kiss and hug and hold hands and pass notes and be a couple but tried to spend as much time as they could with Harry. There was a rumor going around saying Quidditch would be canceled this year because of the Dark Lord coming back to power. Harry hated the thought of it, and it seemed to make the days go by slower. But the most surprising thing was getting his own "bodyguard." After all, it was wonderful to know it was someone you could trust, you knew, and was fully capable of powerful magic. Someone like... Lupin for instance. Harry was so happy having Lupin there, it was nice. There were times when Lupin had to take a day off or two to take his "potion" of course, but Harry was just watched over by other teachers. Snape hardly ever made eye contact with Harry anymore, and hadn't spoken to him for a whole lesson! He somehow was able to catch up on all the work he missed with Hermione's help of course. Harry had his life back, he was just followed all the time by Lupin. Everything was going rather well. Nothing out of the ordinary was happening, but he never heard anything from Dumbledore yet on whether it would be okay. Harry had hardly thought about the "event," for a long time. He made his mind on school work completely and it seemed to help him. Hermione was reading through every book she could find and found not a thing on "volax." Giving by the fact as though they had no idea what form or category a "volax" fell under it didn't really help. They forgot about it after a week and tried studying for the upcoming test in Transfiguration.
Christmas break was getting nearer and the sign-up sheet was out and ready. Harry and Hermione signed their names. Ron got more and more bummed as the holidays got nearer. Hermione as well. The day finally came and Ron kissed and hugged Hermione goodbye. He turned to Harry, "Would you like a kiss and hug too Harry?" Harry rolled his eyes, "Ron, as much as you would like to, I'm afraid not."
Ron smiled, "Try not to fall to the floor again!" And with that he was off.
Harry turned to Hermione, "So... you alright?" She smiled slightly, "Yeah, I'm taking a bath tonight in the Prefect bathroom." "Good idea," Harry answered yawning. "Make sure you wear a swimsuit, there's a thing on the letter to do so." Hermione nodded, "Thank you Harry!"
They were one of the few left for the holidays, the corridors and halls were eerie with the silence that flooded them. Harry and Hermione walked over to the Gryffindor table to eat and socialize with the few Gryffindors left. Harry tried to cheer Nevillie up about not going away to his Grandma's house that break. He was so used to it now it seemed as if she was sick of him suddenly. "Come on Neville, we'll have a great time!" Harry said smiling at him. Hermione looked up at him, "Neville, you'll have fun! I'll make sure of it!" Hermione said smiling at him. Neville changed colour a bit but grinned. "Thanks Hermione.." He mumbled.
Harry and her walked back down the halls. "Amazing Hermione!" Harry said in wonder, "all you have to do is smile and a guy's day is wonderful!" Hermione laughed, "Whatever Harry...."
