Harry was smirking at her. She was so nervous she would begin biting her fingernails, but as soon as she realized she was doing this, her arm would fly down to her side. Harry smirked even more. It was interesting to watch her squirm. He knew she was looking at every single possibility.

            "Knight to f4" she said. The piece moved itself.

            "Bishop to g7, check" Harry said without hesitation. The game was over.

            "Queen to g7," she responded.

            "Rook to g7," Harry said. Her king was on f8 and couldn't take his rook. It was protected by a well placed pawn. She had nowhere to move her king and advanced a pawn.

            "Rook to b8, checkmate," Harry said. His other rook moved to the position, and her king exploded in a shower of sparks. He felt victorious inside but tried very hard not to let it show. "You'll get better with time. Don't fuss over it," Harry attempted.

            "That's easy for you to say. And what happened to having fun? I don't call losing three times fun," she remarked. Harry was going to respond, suggesting they play exploding snap or something, but before he could speak his thoughts were interrupted.

            "So you must be good, to have beaten a know-it-all in chess. It seems like she isn't very good. Why not give a real chess player a chance?" came the stinging voice of Ronald Weasley.

            "Do you know every single thing to know about every single thing in the universe?" Harry asked Hermione. She shook her head. "Well then, Weasley, why do you label her as such, when it is not only a false insult, but a meaningless one? Calling someone a know-it-all only labels yourself as a fool for knowing less then they do. And I would rather eat a Snout-fish pie then have to sit through a chess game with you," Harry said.

            "You're just scared you'll loose," Ron said.

            "Yeah, Harry. Why don't you play him? I may not be so good at it, but it would be fun to watch you two go at it," Hermione said. This caught Harry's attention.

            "You would really enjoy it?" Harry asked her.

            "What does it matter if she enjoys it or not?" Weasley asked.

            "Shut up! Hermione, would you really want to see it?" Harry asked again. She nodded, just to see what would happen. She didn't tell Harry, but she had seen Ron beat all of his siblings and then a few other older students the day before. She was sure Harry would be walloped.

            "Alright Weasley, Black or White?" Harry asked as Hermione got up, giving her seat to Ron.

            "Black. You can have the first move" Ron responded.

            "Fine. Pawn at e2, to e3" Harry stated simply. Hermione caught a glimmer in his eye. He was thinking something not entirely pure.

            "Knight at b8 to c6" Ron said. Ron smiled as a group of spectators came around. He was going to have witnesses to his victory.

            "Bishop at f1 to c4" Harry said.

            "Knight at c6 to e5" Ron responded. Harry hadn't thought that was going to happen, but he didn't think it would change his plans.

            "Bishop at c4 to b3" Harry said, seeing his bishop threatened.

            "Scared of a sacrifice, Mutton? Knight at e5 to g6" said Ron. He pulled his piece back and out from the middle of the board where it could be threatened from far away.

            "Queen to f3" Harry said. He only had one move to make. He was gambling on the self-conscious Weasley to not see it in his efforts to get attention.

            "Bringing out the strong pieces so soon? It's not advised, but it's your decision. Pawn at e7 to e5" Ron said. It was still clear. It was still available. It was begging to be said.

            "Queen, love, being at f3. Please proceed to f7. Checkmate" Harry said, a queer smile crossing his face. Sirius had taught him that one.

            "Let's no get too ahead of ourselves. You can't win at chess by just…" The queen stopped as it rested at the spot Harry had designated. There was a flash of light as Ron's king exploded, as well as all of his pieces. Ron fell silent with a dumb expression across his face. People started laughing. Harry saw Hermione was trying to hold down the giggles.

            "By the way, Weasley, I am not very good at chess. And what I did is simple to defend against. The only reason I won was because you were snotty, and you didn't pay attention. What was that, five moves? I'll let you think about it." Harry got up and went with Hermione towards an empty couch. It was in a darker corner of the common room, but it was the only available seats, and they had no where else to go. "Was I entertaining enough for you?" Harry asked.

            "Not at all. Ronald was funny, though. You made the game too short for anyone to enjoy, except yourself." Hermione quipped. "You know he would have beaten you anyway," she said. They were sitting next to each other.

            "I don't think so. The odds were definitely in his favor, but he plays the chess game well. I play the mind game well. It would have been a good fight. Once you give him something to focus on, it's all he thinks about. He can't see the entire board, like you were trying to do when you took twenty minutes to make one move ("It wasn't nearly that long" she retorted). He simply cannot see more than he wants to, and I can manipulate that fault in his game. Tonight was just an extreme example" Harry finished matter-of-factly. Hermione smiled mischievously at him and leaned back in the chair.

            "If you claim to be so good at knowing about people's minds, tell me about mine" Hermione said. She meant it as a joke, to make him bluff with this entire mind game concept.

            "Well, to start you, love reading, that much is clear as day. But you do not enjoy doing the work nearly as much as you let on. You don't mind reading the textbooks, but when it comes to writing the essays, you exaggerate your interest. You fear being the center of attention, or being in the center of a group. You can talk to anyone fearlessly, but when there's an audience you falter and stay quiet. You started hanging around me because we met by chance and you were fascinated by my knowledge of the wizarding world, and I feel that you like to be around me not only as a distraction from work and boredom and being lonely, but you're curious as to what I'll come up with next. When you start something, you absolutely cannot stop doing it or start anything else for fear of loosing your focus or not returning. That, and if there's one thing you can't stand, it's being humiliated or blatant and obvious stupidity, whether intended or not." Harry turned his head to see that she was shaking and her face had turned beet red, despite being hidden in the shadows. "What?" Harry asked. He thought he was right. He had to at least be close.

            "You read my diary," she hissed with fury above any other.

            "You have a diary? I didn't think of that, but I suppose it fits. I mean, you probably need a place to put your feelings that you don't want to talk to me about. I noticed you aren't buddy-buddy with your dorm-mates," Harry said nonplused.

            "How could you know all that? You can't have figured it out in less than a week. It isn't possible. Not that, but it isn't right. No one can read people that way. This is too strange. It makes me feel like you're a stalker or something…but I know your not," she finished quickly. She didn't want to insult him.

            "I know you feel weird about it. I had to learn how to read people. My-" Harry began.

            "Godfather," Hermione stated plainly. Harry looked at her with a brief smile.

            "He was very protective of me, and when anything happened he always acted the same way. It could be he was happy or sad. He always acted the same way. It took me a long time to read his emotions, because after he got me, he had years to practice putting on the happy face so people wouldn't feel bad for him. It's not a gift or anything, it's a learned thing, but I did it out of need, and it helps me understand the people that I meet. That way I can get along better with everyone," Harry explained. Hermione just looked at him in silence. "It's true, I swear on my parents' graves," Harry said.

            "I believe you, Harry. It's just so hard sometimes, because you really are an extraordinary person. It's like…I'm only saying this because I can't think of anything else. It's like you're too good to be true, like you know so much more than everyone else. Like you're a lot older than us," Hermione said. She kept moving closer to him as she tried to explain it.

            "I suppose I did have to get mature pretty early. It happens. I don't suppose you expect me to start crying about losing my childhood and all of that. I more than make for it in pranks," Harry smiled at her. He realized how close they had gotten. There was a lot of free space of the couch not being used. He saw that Hermione seemed to notice as well and scooted away a little.

            "It's getting late. Perhaps we should get ready for bed," Hermione stated. Harry glanced outside, and saw that the sun was half set.

            "I would, but I have to meet Oliver on the pitch. You go to sleep though, you look tired," Harry said as he gave her a little nudge of encouragement.

            "Wait, you're going to play that game. Quid. Quidrachet. Quidpatch…"

            "Quidditch," Harry corrected her.

            "That's it. Quidditch. I'd like to watch if you wouldn't mind. I know that it's supposed to be a secret and all-" Hermione began.

            "Not at all. You can come if you feel up to it. I know you can be trusted," Harry said.

            "I think you're too trusting. You've only known me a few days," Hermione said. Harry could tell she was being too modest.

            "You never told on us about the shaving cream. That proved I could trust you," Harry said, looking at her eyes with sincerity. She couldn't meet the gaze and turned to look into the common room. "I have to get my broom. I'll be back in a few minutes, and then may I have the honor of accompanying you down to the Quidditch pitch?" Harry asked. He was getting dramatic again, and a smile crossed her face.

            "You forget, it'll be me accompanying you," she said as he stood up. He rolled his eyes and nodded his head before jogging up the stairs to the boy's dormitories. He came down only a minute later, with an anxious smile on his face.

            "Here we go" Harry said as they started out. From the time he went up to get his broom, he had been getting more and more excited. They walked in silence, but she could feel the tension inside of him. He was nervous about his training, that was for sure. As they passed through the main entrance, Hermione swore she saw Harry's eyes look out over the lake, ad then flash quickly back to the quidditch pitch where they were heading. She saw it happen a few more times. In the glow from the sky, his green eyes took a bluish twinge as he kept glancing at the lake.

            "Expecting someone?" she asked. She had originally felt that his mysteriousness was fine and that he didn't say things for a reason, but now it was just getting annoying.

            "Um, no. I'm just looking for the squid. She thought she saw him blush a little, and noted that he never glanced back in that direction. They approached the pitch in silence. Awe appeared in Harry's eyes as he looked around. There was a parchment on the ground which Hermione picked up. She read it for a second, and handed it to Harry. He looked down and read it.

                        Sorry Harry,

                                    Small problem will make me late. Feel free to fly around and get used to the broom. I left the best school broom I could find for you under the Ravenclaw section of the stands. I should be there soon.

                                    Wood

            Harry shrugged it off and pulled something out of his pocket. He enlarged it. Hermione remembered the brooms they had used for flying lessons, and compared it with his. His was newer, it was smooth and shiny, and the twigs in the back were streamlined and aerodynamic.

            "Nimbus 2000?" Hermione read from the handle.

            "Yup, best in the world. The official broom of the Irish National Team," Harry responded.

            "So this game is played on broomsticks? What if you fall off, won't you get hurt?" Hermione stated worriedly.

            "Yes, but you don't fall off. That's why you need skill to play. They want me to play seeker. My dad was a chaser, and my godfather was a beater. There are 3 chasers, two beaters, one keeper and one seeker. There is this big red ball, the quaffle, kind of like a football. The chasers pass it between themselves and try to throw it through one of those three hoops up there. The keeper on the other team tries to stop them. The beaters have these clubs which they use to hit these balls called bludgers. Bludgers fly around and try to knock the nearest person off their broom. Then there is the snitch. It's a very small golden ball with wings. It flies around like a hummingbird and is very difficult to catch. That's the seeker's job. Each time you get the quaffle through the hoops, your team gets ten points, but whichever team catches the snitch first gets one hundred and fifty points, and when the snitch is caught, the game ends, so the team that gets the snitch usually wins," Harry said with a strange euphoria. Hermione began to understand why this was such an important game. It sounded like it was incredibly entertaining.

            "Is it dangerous?" she asked. She had to know if she was handing her only friend into death's hands.

            "People get injured all of the time, but you rarely if ever die," Harry said.

            "Rarely die? I was under the impression that once you die, that was it," Hermione stated with growing anxiety. It helped that Harry chuckled at her.

            "Don't worry about it. I mean that it is very rare for someone to die in quidditch. There has been only a few deaths in the last few years, so you have nothing to worry about." Harry turned his attention back out to the pitch. It was getting quite dark by now, and the crickets started chirping, making a very relaxing environment.

            "Why don't you fly up there and have a go on your broom. I'd like to see how it's supposed to be done," Hermione said. She didn't expect Harry's guilty look.

            "I don't want to leave you alone, here on the ground by yourself. It's ungentlemanly," Harry argued. Hermione could tell immediately that it was forced. He was going against what he wanted to do because he felt it would be at her expense.

            "Stop being such a fool and get out there, Mutton," Hermione said.

            "If you insist…" Harry said slowly, looking back out over the empty pitch. She gave him a strong push and he stumbled into the arena.

            "I'm going to go up into the stands to watch. Don't hurt yourself too badly. I don't know enough magic to save you," She joked. Harry shook his head and mounted his broom. He rose slowly off the ground, and just seemed to hover a few feet above the ground. As if that was all he was expected to do. Hermione turned to her left to go to the stands. But she heard a voice and stopped.

            "Hey, hey girly, over here," she heard from behind her. She turned around and wished she had brought her wand. She walked slowly to where the sound was coming from, ready to scream if anything happened. As she neared the tower of stairs, which went up to the stands, two boys came out of it. It was the twins from Gryffindor house. She thought they said they were in third year.

            "What do you want?" she asked as they presented themselves. They approached her, holding out their hands in a friendly manner.

            "Fred and George Weasley, at your service," said one.

            "We're the beaters for Gryffindor team. Actually the entire team is sitting up this way. We found the best seat to watch Mutton from," said the other.

            "And we are extending an invitation for you to join us," said the other. Hermione nodded in agreement, but she was still suspicious of them. Her mother told her to be suspicious of men who wanted to lead her into isolated places. As they were walking up the stairs up to the stands, the one just in front of her started talking.

            "Just be very quite. We don't want him to know we're here," he said. She nodded as they made it out onto the platform. She was relieved to see four other people sitting on the front bench, watching as Harry flew in circles around in the air.

            "These are our chasers, Katie Bell, Angelina Johnson, and Alicia Spinnet," one said. All three girls offered Hermione a smile. She smiled back nervously.

            "And this is Oliver Wood, our captain," the other said. The captain glanced at her, and went immediately back to watching Harry fly around.

            "We miss anything?" said one of the twins.

            "No, he's only been warming up," said Angelina.

            "I thought you were going to be late?" Hermione said to Oliver.

            "And I will be. I just want to see how he flies, first. I'm a bit doubtful of the skill Professor McGonagal says he has. I want to see how good he is before I start training him. Then I still have the ability to find someone else. I doubt we'll ever find anyone to replace Charlie Weasley. Man, was he fast," Oliver stated. Hermione heard a few murmurs of agreement. "We're already a young team. I'm the oldest and I'm a fourth year. I was almost hoping to find someone older as the seeker," he said to no one in particular and no one responded. They just watched Harry. Hermione let out an audible gasp as Harry performed a lazy loop. The others looked at her.

            "You've never seen a quidditch match, have you?" asked the girl named Alicia.

            "No, My parents are muggles-" Hermione began.

            "Bloody Christ," George Weasley said, "when is this going to get interesting?" he asked. Hermione had no idea what he was talking about. The fast moves Harry was doing were scaring the life out of her and they thought he wasn't doing anything? She decided to ignore the comment and keep watching.

            "Give him time. When he becomes bored and needs to be excited, he'll do it. Some of us don't get bored so easily," said Oliver, eyeing the twins with a certain accusing glare. After a few more minutes, Hermione shifted uneasily as Harry began to circle the field going faster and faster.

            "Alright, let the games begin. Angelina, take these notes," Oliver said. Harry was soon going very fast. "His speed is sufficient, although not incredible for a Nimbus 2000. I didn't know he had a broom, but supposing that he did, the one he has is well chosen." There were a few more seconds as Harry increased speed. "Up that to good speed, Angelina. Good control in turns at high speed. He hasn't even attempted any sharp turns yet." As if on cue, Harry did a sudden dive at high speeds, he rolled over in the broom as he faced the ground and pulled up, leveling out in the opposite direction from which he came. He lifted the nose of his broom and shot into the sky, before turning it downwards and diving down at the ground. Hermione shrieked as Harry pulled up, coming so close to the ground that Hermione was sure he would crash, she covered her eyes with her hands. Harry was still at a very high speed as he started doing loops and corkscrews, and barrel rolls. He was flying over the stands, low enough that if Hermione dared to lift her hand, she was positive he would hit it. Harry made another sharp turn into the field and pointed up straight into the air. He was going slow as he gained height, and stopped at a great altitude, silhouetting himself against the dying light of the sky. He suddenly dove towards the ground.

            "Hey, Harry, CATCH THIS!" yelled Oliver. Hermione watched as Oliver stood and tossed a golf ball a few feet into the air. As it came down in front of them, one of the twins struck it with a bat, and the white ball flew into the field, staying visible despite the failing light. She watched as Harry changed his direction towards the ball. Hermione began biting her fingernails as Harry kept diving despite its close proximity to the ground. As he neared it, she saw the golf ball suddenly disappear into the shadows. She couldn't see Harry, his dark shape hiding in the darkness of the trees behind him. She heard the wind blowing against something, and in seconds Harry was hovering above the group of them. He hopped off his broom with an odd expression on his face. Hermione felt it looked like betrayal.

            "I didn't know I had an audience," he said harshly.

            "Bloody brilliant, Harry," said the twin who had hit the ball with his club.

            "Truly amazing," said the other twin.

            "Angelina, read off what I told you to write down," Oliver said, Hermione noticed his greatly improved mood.

            "Yes, well. His speed is good for being on a Nimbus 2000, not incredible. Good control in turns at high speed, no sharp turns," Angelina said.

            "That's it?" Oliver asked, baffled.

            "Yup. I can only take the notes when you say them. If little Harry over here stuns you into silence, than I can't very well write down your thoughts now, can I?" she retorted. Harry got and approving look from Angelina, and Katie seemed to be looking over him too. She placed her hands on his shoulders and squeezed. Then his upper arms, and his wrists. She placed her hands on his sides and Harry squirmed out of her grip.

            "Get your hands off me!" Harry said as he turned to face her. He wasn't accustomed to being molested.

            "He's a bit scrawny. Small and light may be good for a seeker, but I don't think this small is healthy. He's skin and bones, he is. I could almost fit my hands around his midsection. I wish I was that thin," she said with a wink to Harry. He stepped back again, and eyed the crowd.

            "Who are these people?" Harry asked.

            "Why, you don't recognize your own quidditch team?" said one of the twins.

            "The three girls, Alicia, Angelina, and Katie are the chasers, the Weasleys are the beaters, and I am your captain and keeper. Is that clear?" Oliver said. Harry nodded. "Good. We practice everyday after classes, rain or shine (there were moans from the twins), and you will probably have to train the hardest, considering that you have no experience. As of now you can consider yourself on the team. You also need to eat. Your being thin is an asset, but if you are too thin, the other seekers will push you around. I want you, and everyone else for that matter, to be here at four o'clock tomorrow. I was lucky enough to get to Madame Hooch first, and with much pushing I was able to secure the pitch for us for every day from four to seven minus Hogsmeade days. I want to win this year, and I will do everything to do so." With those words, he turned and left.

            Angelina, Alicia, and Katie, all congratulated him and followed Oliver. Fred and George handed Harry a blank parchment, winking at him, before pulling out a small bag of dung bombs and headed towards the castle with evil grins. Harry shrunk his broom and slipped it in his pocket. He would place it back in the secret compartment of his trunk. He turned to Hermione, who in the growing moonlight, appeared very pale. He attributed it to the light of the moon.

            "So I guess I did alright," Harry said plainly to her as he led her down the stairs.

            "You scared the living daylights out of me," she said. She examined the two fingers on which she effectively shortened the nails.

            "You'll grow to love it. I know you will," reassured Harry. As they were walking up to the castle, Hermione gasped and abruptly stopped. Just in front of them was the huge man who had taken them across the lake upon their arrival to Hogwarts.

            "Firs' years ain't teh be outside when it's dark. Yeh could be hurt, or worse, eaten by the creatures in the forbidden forest. Go on, git in teh the castle. I won't tell nobody. Jus' get in there," he said.

            "What's your name?" Harry asked. Hermione stopped as she had resumed walking towards the castle.

            "Oh, um. Hagrid. Rubeus Hagrid, the keeper of the keys." He said in his deep, rumbling voice.

            "I thought I had heard of you somewhere. My godfather talked about you a few times. He said that you always had some sort of rare or powerful creature in storage. He said that you knew more about magical creatures than anyone he ever knew," Harry said. He was surprised to see the man wipe a tear away from his hairy face.

            "Oh, well, I don' really know so much abou' creatures. I jus' really… really like 'em, and they like me in return," the man said with pride and kindness filling his eyes. "Yeh really should git back to the castle, but if yeh ever want to have a cuppa tea, yeh can always come to me hut, 'ts over there, near the fores'," He said. Harry nodded.

            "Okay. I will come by and see you. Thank you for not getting us in trouble," Harry said. He walked around the man and he and Hermione continued towards the entrance to the school. The giant of a man walked towards his hut muttering about "sweet little lads."

            "Why would you go and have tea with him? He's so scary!" Hermione said.

            "He was awfully nice to us. To refuse his offer would be insulting after such kindness. Plus, my godfather told me about him. He had his wand snapped when he was a student for something he didn't do, that's why Dumbledore had him remain as the keeper of the keys. Dumbledore really has his heart in the right place," Harry said.

            "Why, thank you for such a deep compliment," said a voice from behind them. Harry turned to face the headmaster.

            "Don't look so scared, my boy. You haven't done anything wrong. I won't take away points for being only a few minutes late, especially when the reason for your lateness is so important to your house. You have taken a key position Harry. One your parents would have been proud of." Harry looked at the ground when he said this. "I am sure they are proud of you Harry. Many of us are proud of you," the Headmaster said. He walked to another corridor and left Hermione and Harry to their own path. Hermione sensed that Harry didn't want to talk about his parents.

            "So you really are going to have tea with the keeper of the keys?" Hermione asked, trying to get Harry back on topic. He nodded in response.

            "In that case…can I come along?" she asked. He only smiled.

Goodness, all of these reviews. I like this. Okay, here's how it goes. This is an update, and I hope you like it, and I wish that you would be nice enough to leave a review so I can improve any way conceivable. Just say what you think.

great marauder- Ron isn't going to be a wimp, he's going to be a prat. In fact, he's going to be a great big prat. Perhaps even bigger than Malfoy. Harry and Hermione romance? I'm just curious, how many romantic escapades did you have at eleven?

Muirnin- Don't we all love Harry and Hermione together…at least we all should. Thanks for all the reviews, and I don't think I will make Hermione a prankster…directly. Maybe she'll help out behind the scenes.

cyberfrogX- I hope so. Otherwise I don't think it would be worth it.

MerlinHalliwell- McGonagal is going to absolutely adore being made crazy. Oh, the humanity…or lack thereof.

DaBear- Libido. It's not what you're thinking. Your libido is your internal energy which drives you to do certain things. Including, but not limited to eating, getting out of bed, consorting with members of the opposite sex…My libido was off for a while, don't take that the wrong way. And why use dungbombs when you can use filibuster fireworks to create not only a distraction, but a smokescreen. I would prefer the fireworks.

Thanks to Blinky, and GunSmoke as well. Hope you liked it.