Chapter 18- Continuing with Classes

"Hey mate, how is it going?" asked Ron as he caught up to Harry.  They had to go to their transfiguration class next, and neither one of them were looking forward to it.

"Alright, but I am a little nervous about turning in all this homework. It's not my best work, and I know the professor is not going to be pleased," he replied sadly.

"Oh, I am sure that it is fine. McGonagall is sure to give you a break," Ron said brushing Harry's worries away. He was never one to dwell on academics for very long.  "You know, Quidditch tryouts are at the end of this week. Do you still want to go see Dumbledore later?" Ron asked changing the subject.

"Yeah, I probably should. I really would like to be able to play Quidditch again, and I am not sure if the ban on me has been lifted." 

"Okay, we will go after dinner," said Ron encouragingly. Professor Umbridge had been horrible to Harry last year. Not only had she kicked Harry off the team, but she had also placed a life long ban on him for getting into a fight with Malfoy, of all people.  She had also given him numerous detentions in which Harry had to write lines with an enchanted quill that carved what he was writing on the back of his hand.  She had since been pulled from her position, but they wanted to make sure that Dumbledore had revoked all of her ridiculous decrees.

They walked into their Transfiguration classroom and took their seats.  Their first couple of weeks was always lectures about their homework assignment and what they would be learning this year. This meant that they wouldn't be doing any actual transfiguring until next week. He tried to focus on what the professor was saying, but he found that his mind kept drifting to other things. Ron sat back bored out of his mind, and thought about life in general.

Ron was certainly glad to be back at Hogwarts once again. Maybe now they could all get their lives back to normal. Harry seemed to be adjusting to being back as well as could be expected.  He was still somewhat reserved around his classmates, which Ron understood perfectly well.  After all he went through; his friend was still learning how to trust everyone again.

Ron still worried about his best friend nonetheless. He decided after much deliberation to betray Harry's trust once again and tell Hermione about the cutting. He convinced himself that it would be easier to see the signs if there was more than one person in their dorm that knew about it.   However, Ron decided to withhold the information about his uncle molesting and raping him because it was much too personal, and it would only send Hermione into a hysterical state. It took a lot of convincing on Ron's part to keep her from telling Dumbledore, and she swore that she would keep what she knew a secret from Harry. Together they watched him carefully, but they had yet to see any evidence that the cutting had continued.  They still worried about him endlessly. He had gone through too much for him to be completely stable.  They both agreed that if Harry had any more problems that they would intervene and force him to seek counseling.  Thankfully, Draco had a calming affect on Harry whenever he was around, and it appeared as if Harry was learning to trust again through his relationship with him.

Unfortunately, they didn't have as many classes together this year as they usually did.  They had to select classes based on how they had performed on last year's OWLS.  The classes they would take this year would prepare them for their NEWTS in their seventh year and also for the careers they were interested in pursuing after they had graduated.  Hermione and Draco had both done extremely well last year, so they were able to pick almost any class they wanted. 

Ron and Harry had both completely bombed the astronomy and divination exams, but amazingly did fairly well in the rest of their classes. In fact, they each got an 'Exceeds Expectations' on their transfiguration exams and an "Outstanding" on their potions exams. Apparently they were capable of being successful in potions when they didn't have Snape constantly berating them and looking for inadequacies.  Since they were both interested in becoming aurors they decided to take those classes that would possibly aid them in that pursuit.  Regrettably, this meant having to take potions with Snape again. Thankfully, Harry had at least one of his friends in each of his classes so they all could take turns looking out for their friend.  Not that he really needed it. 

Classes were a little more bearable this year because they would not need to take their NEWTS until their final year. This took some pressure off some of the studying, but there was as much homework as last year, if not more. Hermione had kept bugging them about taking their academics more seriously this year and had somehow convinced them all to follow her studying time table. 

Since Draco was not allowed in the Gryffindor common room, they studied in the library most evenings.  This made Hermione happy and gave Draco and Harry a chance to be together.  Although they had grown close to Neville as well, he preferred to hang out with Ginny in the Common.

Sometimes, late at night, they would take a break from studying and sneak down to the kitchen for a bite to eat. It was an unspoken rule to make Harry snack as much as possible since he never seemed to eat enough.

After their transfiguration class, Ron and Harry met up with the others in the Great Hall for lunch. They mainly discussed how they their classes were going so far. Neville was enthusiastically talking with Ginny about some independent projects that he and Professor Sprout were collaborating on.  Neville had quite a knack for herbology, and everyone agreed that he should become the next professor to teach the course.

After lunch, Ron, Hermione, Harry, Neville, and Draco made their way to their next class.  It was by far one of their favorites. Everyone was excited to see Remus Lupin return as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. He and Harry had gotten together a few times to discuss what Harry had taught to Dumbledore's Army last year so that Remus had a basis to begin teaching. 

Harry had decided to discontinue the club because he felt that they finally had a competent professor to teach them how to defend themselves properly. 

Although they were required to do some reading, many of their classes involved dueling with magical creatures or with each other. It was exciting to say the least, and they were all learning quite a lot.  Professor Lupin seemed to have some overwhelming need to teach everyone how to defend themselves properly against the Dark Arts.  With recent events concerning the death eaters in the back of everyone's mind, all the students were learning at a fevered pace.

Sometimes, Remus would ask Harry to stick around after class. They would often just sit quietly with one another and make small talk.  Harry had mentioned that occasionally the topic of Sirius would come up, and things would get really awkward. Harry still blames himself over his godfather's passing.  Rather than dwelling on his death, they discuss what Harry was reading in Sirius's journal.  Apparently Remus loved reminiscing about the old days despite the fact that all of his friends are now gone in one way or another.

That night after dinner, Ron accompanied Harry to Professor Dumbledore's office to discuss the possibility him being able to play Quidditch.  They stopped in front of the guardian statue in front of the office and entrance, and tried various passwords. Harry had remembered Dumbledore's obsession with sweets.

"Bubblegum…. licorice sticks…. chocolate frog….lemon drops…."

"We are never going to get in, Harry. Maybe we should approach the headmaster during one of our meals," Ron began to complain.  He hated waiting and was growing impatient.

Harry then began to try some more muggle candies. "Jolly Rancher…. Airheads….Snickers… Reese's Peanut Butter Cups…"

Suddenly, the stone guardian slid aside, revealing a winding stone staircase. They climbed the stairs, and knocked on the large wooden doors at the top.

"Enter," said Dumbledore's tired voice from the other side of the door.

The two boys pushed upon the doors and entered Dumbledore's amazing office.  Ron had only been in there a handful of times, and he was awed each time by all the marvelous things that his headmaster kept in his private quarters.

"Take a seat. I suspect that you have come to ask something of me," said the old man sitting across from them.

"Yes, headmaster, Harry and I were wondering if the life long ban had been lifted when Professor Umbridge left. You see Quidditch tryouts are at the end of this week, and Harry would like to rejoin the team if possible," said Ron.  Both Harry and Professor Dumbledore looked over at the red-haired boy curiously. Why had he spoken for Harry?

"Ahh…I see… is this what you want Harry?" said Dumbledore looking over at Harry with a twinkle in his eye.

"Yes, sir. I love playing," said Harry.

"Very well then, I will inform the Ministry that the ban has been lifted. I hope that you are reinstated as the house seeker as I enjoy watching you play. And I see no reason why I should uphold any of the silly decrees that blasted women set in place last year in my absence.  Consider all of them null and void."

"Thank you, sir," said Harry.  The two boys began to rise from their seat to leave the office, when their headmaster spoke again.

"Harry, would you remain behind for a few moments please?" he asked kindly.

"Alright. Hey Ron, I will see you later," said his friend sitting back done.

"Sure, no problem." Ron left the office and made his way down the staircase and towards his dormitory.  He suspected that Dumbledore wanted to see how Harry was doing after this summer. Ron wondered if the old man new about all the awful things Harry's uncle had done to him.  He was positive that Harry intended to hide his awful secret from everyone.

When he arrived in the common room, he found Hermione sitting beside the fireplace in one of the love seats.  She was doing some "light" reading again. Smiling, he decided to sit down beside her. Ron was glad that he had Hermione to lean on for support.  They had grown closer than he even imagined in the couple weeks since term started.  She smiled sweetly at Ron, and resumed reading her enormous library book.

Sitting quietly beside her, his thoughts traveled back to last term when they had gone to the Department of Mysteries.  He had felt so useless that he had not been able to protect her that night, and he knew now that he had always loved her. He was just too blind to see it. The image of Hermione helplessly lying in the hospital ward unconscious after the attack was enough to compel Ron to finally proclaim his lover for her.

"Hermione, there is something I need to tell you," said Ron.  Hearing the seriousness in his voice, she set aside her large book and turned her body to face him.

"What is it Ron? Is something the matter?" she asked worriedly.

"You know that I like you, right?" he asked.

"Yes, I like you too Ron," Hermione said smiling at him encouragingly.

"Well, I have been thinking about everything that has happened, and there is something that you should know. I couldn't bear it if something ever happened to one of us and I never told you this. Hermione…I…I lov….I love you," Ron mumbled.

"Oh, Ron, is that all. I knew that all along. I have just been waiting for you to say it. I love you too," she said laughing a little.

"Really, how did you know?" Ron asked astonished.

"A girl always knows Ron. What took you so long?"

"I don't know. I was scared I guess. So you love me too?" he asked sweetly.

"Yes," she said smiling.

Ron grinned and leaned forward, kissing Hermione deeply. They began to wrap their arms around one another when they heard someone step into the common room.

"Ahem," said a voice clearing their throat.  Ron looked up at saw Harry smiling at them sheepishly.

"Harry….you are kind of interrupting something here," Ron whined, irritated with his friend for the interruption. That was the second time he had spoiled the moment, and he seemed to be enjoying it.

"Sorry...sorry… I will just be on my way. I wouldn't want to disturb the happy couple," said Harry smiling as he proceeded upstairs.

"Now where were we," said Hermione leaning back in for a kiss.

Ron tried to answer but all that came out was an inaudible mumble as he succumbed to her soft lips.  This felt so right. He knew in his heart that he would love Hermione forever.

A/N: I hated this chapter, but I needed to explain everything that is going on. You know, the everyday stuff that goes on at Hogwarts that may be necessary to the story later.  It felt that chapter was too broken up and scattered, and there wasn't enough dialogue. *deep sigh* I just don't know how to rewrite so I am going to leave it how it is. Sorry.

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