All of a sudden it started raining. Harry, standing on the deck, looked upward and realised that the reason that he was gradually getting wetter and wetter was that small droplets of water were falling from the sky. He remembered something Hermione had said earlier, and dashed below decks to find her.

'You see?' he cried.

Hermione looked up from the heavy tome she was reading. 'What?'

'You see?!?!' he said again, 'I do know to come in out of the rain! Hah!'

Hermione gave him a pitying look and returned to her book. Harry sat down next to her.

'So. Whatcha reading?' he inquired.

'The Grapes of Wroth,' she replied, without looking up.

'Oh. Any good?'

'Yes.'

'What's it about?'

'Given that it's one of the greatest literary works of all time, I doubt you'd understand.'

'Oh. Ok then.'

A few moments passed.

'So,' said Harry, 'Whatcha reading?'

'Oh for heaven's sake.'

Hermione realised that she would not be able to read in peace, and gave up. She put her bookmark (a fluffy teddy one) in to the page she was on and swiveled round to face her friend.

'What do you want, anyway?'

'I don't know, I'm just bored, I suppose.'

'So that's why you interrupted me.'

'Well, there was something else.'

'What?'

'I...' he started, 'I kinda need your advice.'

'What's happened?' She asked. She could sense that there was something seriously wrong.

'I've been feeling a bit... weird.'

'In what way?'

'Well, when Ron...'

'When I what?' asked Ron, bursting into the room (and forgetting to open the door. Again.)

'Oh, nothing. Never mind. I'll talk to you later, Hermione.'

'Ok, Harry, see you.'

And he left, more worried than he had ever been.

* * * * *

Hermione and Ron sat in awkward silence for a while.

'So what were you and Harry talking about?' he asked.

'Oh, nothing. I don't know, he wanted to ask me something, but he couldn't quite get it out.'

'Ok. I think there's something I have to do.'

Ron left the room. He had decided. It was time.