It was a beautiful day; the sun was shining, the few clouds that were in the sky were white and fluffy, and the temperature was just perfect. But the best thing of all was that Harry Potter was returning to Hogwarts today. He walked through the barrier to Platform 9 ¾ and was thrilled to see the Hogwarts Express waiting. He heard happy voices all around him, and scanned the crowd for his two best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. He spotted them near the last compartment of the train and rushed over. "Harry!" Ron yelled, seeing Harry first. Harry shook Ron's hand and smiled cheerfully. "It is great to see you again, Ron!" he yelled. Then Harry turned to his other best friend and fought hard not to smile too big. He took a very deep breath then said, "Hermione Granger.you look.fantastic.lovely, even!" Then, realizing what he had said, he blushed slightly. "Thanks Harry, you do not look too bad yourself!" she said, hugging him tightly. The truth was, she was also trying very hard not to smile too big. Harry looked wonderful. He looked amazing. He now had well sculpted arm and chest muscles, as well as six-pack abs (though she could not see those at the moment). His black hair was still untidy, but now the way it was messed up was.adorable. His green eyes were more gorgeous than ever. Harry noticed that Hermione was looking him up and down, and he blushed more. Hermione turned to say something to Ron, and Harry looked her over. She was stunning. She was curvaceous; and not only was her body incredible, but her face was also beautiful. Her hair was still bushy, and was a shade of medium brown. Her eyes were a dark brown color, and were absolutely shocking. They were wonderful. She turned back to Harry and smiled. Harry could not help but to return the smile. The three of them climbed into the last compartment on the train, and put their trunks on the rack. Harry sat down across from Hermione; Ron was next to her. Harry felt slightly jealous. They had been on the train about half an hour when Ginny walked into their compartment. She smiled politely at Harry and sat next to him. Ron raised his eyebrows at Harry, and Harry shook his head. Ron had hoped that Harry would become interested in Ginny, so that Ginny would quit dating others. Harry, however, was thinking of another woman. By the time the witch with the food cart came, Harry was very hungry. He bought a fair share of snacks, and ate them while staring out the window. How he wished that Ron did not like Hermione. Harry had known that his best friend liked Hermione for quite some time now. Harry had begun to develop feelings for her at the end of 5th year. Harry sighed and turned back to his two best friends. "Harry, mate, is anything wrong?" Ron asked, seeing the expression on his face. Harry nodded slowly and said, "Only one of you would understand it though, and I am not ready to tell anyone about it yet." Hermione and Ron exchanged worried glances. When Ron went to go find Ginny, Harry could not be thankful enough that he had been left with Hermione. Harry looked up at her, to find her already looking at him. She blushed when he looked up, but she held his gaze. Harry smiled, thoroughly enjoying his time alone with her. He stared into her beautiful dark brown eyes and wanted nothing more in life. She stared back at him, wishing that the moment could go on longer. Just then, Ron reentered the compartment, Ginny following behind him. Harry leaned back in his seat and looked out the window again; Hermione folded her hands in her lap and looked down. Ron noticed that neither of them were really paying attention to him and Ginny. "Umm.do you two need to talk.or something?" Ron asked awkwardly. Harry looked over and shook his head. "Not yet," he whispered. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny all exchanged glances again, but Harry continued to look out the window, oblivious to how much he was worrying his friends. Harry got up and changed into his school robes, excited that in less than an hour they would arrive at Hogwarts. Hogwarts was his home; he could think of no place on earth where he would rather be. 'Well,' he thought to himself, 'if Hermione would elsewhere, I would want to be there.' He shook his head and dismissed the thought. He would never compete with his best friend for a girl. Never. 'What if she likes you?' he thought. He smiled at this thought, so much so that Ron punched him in the arm. "Ouch!" said Harry, grabbing his arm. "What was that for?" "Well, mate, you just smiled like you became Minister of Magic. Were you thinking about Quidditch or something?" "No," said Harry quickly, "I was thinking about some.something much better than that." Ron looked at him dumbfounded, as though wondering what on earth could be better than Quidditch. Harry was thankful when the train slowed to a stop shortly thereafter. Normally, he would share a carriage with Ron and Hermione; today, however, he hurried off to find himself a carriage that was not occupied by them. He found Dean Thomas, Neville Longbottom, and Seamus Finnigan together in a carriage and joined them. He sat silently until the carriage reached the castle. He was the first person to enter Hogwarts. He hurried into the Great Hall and sat down at the Gryffindor table. He looked up at the staff table, smiled at Dumbledore, and looked down at his plate. He was still thinking about Hermione. He hoped the food would help to get her off his mind. He barely paid any attention to the Sorting, though he clapped whenever a new Gryffindor came to join the table. He looked up at Dumbledore, waiting for the start of term speech. Dumbledore made his speech and sat back down. The plates filled with food automatically, and Harry ate hurriedly. He felt someone nudge him in the side, and looked over to see Hermione. Ron was across from him. He had not even noticed that his two best friends were sitting with him. "Harry, seriously, are you ok, because if you're not, you really need to tell us, Harry, you know you can talk to us about anything," Hermione said. "Sometimes, there are things that should be kept to oneself. Especially if the something can hurt someone you hold dear," he said. Hermione and Ron exchanged frightened glances again. "No, no, I don't mean it's anything bad!" Harry said at once. "I just meant that what's on my mind might.displease one of you." "Harry, mate, you really need to tell us what's wrong." Ron said. "I told you, only one of you can know." "Somehow, I don't think it's me," Ron said. Harry nodded slowly, and Hermione looked at him. "Well, we can stay up a little late in the common room tonight, if you want to tell me then," she said. Harry shook his head. "I am not ready to tell you." Ron looked slightly confused and slightly angry, then said, "Well, do not tell us you have to tell her something if you refuse to tell her!" Hermione looked over at Ron, puzzled. "We asked him if something was wrong, he did not volunteer the information to us. Calm down." Ron left, along with most of the others in the great hall. Harry looked over at Hermione, and they stared into each others eyes again. Harry took a deep breath and said, "Ron likes you, you know." Hermione whispered, "I know. But I like someone else." Harry looked startled. "Who?" Hermione smiled and winked. "I can't tell you.yet. I'm not ready." Harry laughed, and the two walked up to the common room together, talking and laughing. Harry loved the sound of her laugh, and she loved his laugh, too. Hermione really enjoyed having spent the time alone with Harry. When they reached the Fat Lady, they said the password and entered. They bade each other goodnight and walked up to their respective dormitories. Harry lay down in his bed, thinking of Hermione. Hermione lay in her bed, thinking of Harry. Neither of them knew that they were thinking about each other.