Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all related names and places are the legal property of J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury, and AOL Time Warner, and have been used without permission.  No copyright infringement is intended.

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Harry stared at he man who was smiling down at him.

"Hello Harry, I'm Reed Evans.  And you are definitely Lily's son."  He laughed slightly as Harry continued to stare at him.  "The eyes give it away."

"Not to be rude, but how do you know my mother?"  Hermione and the Weasleys had closed in around Harry. 

 "Lily was my cousin.  Our fathers were brothers."  Mr. Evans looked up as Mrs. Weasley inhaled sharply.  "Do you have a few moments?" 

Harry looked around at the clock.  He still had fifteen minutes before the train left.  "Um, sure."

Mr. Evans led them over to a couple of benches off to the side.  "Our dads were twin brothers actually."  He laughed and pointed at his hair.  "They were the redheads.  Lily and I took after them.  We both got the eyes from them, too.  We lived across the street from one another.  Lily was always at our house; I think she was trying desperately to get away from Petunia. When I was nine, my father got transferred to a job in Australia.  We moved, but Lily wrote to me all the time.  Just a bit after her eleventh birthday, she sent me a letter telling me that she had been accepted at this really amazing private school. She said that she couldn't tell me where it was or anything, but she sounded very excited.  Slowly, the letters became fewer and far between.  We grew up and I rarely heard from her.

"Aunt Elaine and Uncle Richard died when we were twenty.  I came back with my parents for the funeral.  It was the first time I had seen Lily in over ten years.  I couldn't believe it was her when I saw her. She wasn't the carefree, pretty cousin I remembered.  She looked much older than merely twenty. She looked as if she'd already lived a lifetime. We talked for awhile, and them she introduced me to her fiancĂ©."  Mr. Evans smiled as Harry's eyes widened.  "Yep, it was your dad.  Then she introduced me to a couple of her friends. I can't remember their names, but there were three other boys and another girl..."  He broke off as if trying to remember names and faces.  "Anyway, Lily acted so strange over the next few days.  She was always huddled in corners whispering with her friends. It was like something was going on that she didn't want anyone else to know about."

Harry had a pretty good idea what that was.

"I left just after the funeral. I wrote one letter to Lily after that.  I had sent it to Petunia, because I had no idea where Lily was living.  Petunia promptly sent it back saying that Lily didn't live their anymore, so please don't send anything else for her.  And so I didn't.   I never knew what happened to her.  Eventually I got married and Mark was born.  Two years ago, we moved back here.  I was a bit more than surprised when I found out Petunia was living in the area.  I went to see her one day.  I had never really liked Petunia, but family is family after all.  Something was strange though.  As soon as she saw me, she barked at me to turn around, go home, and never ever try to talk to her again.  I had no idea what had come over her.

"The summer before last, I came to the house after that ridiculous son of hers attacked Mark.  She was furious until I asked about Lily.  She went pale and told me that Lily and her husband had died, now please go away."  Mr. Evans looked sadly at his shoes.  "And that was it; the only explanation I got. Then last May, Mark got his Hogwart's letter.  When Mark came home for the holidays, he told me about meeting you.  I never realized just who you were until Mark said your last name was Potter.  The name sounded familiar, so I asked Mark more about you.  He told me the story about what happened when you were a baby.  I started looking through a few books that Mark had brought home, and that's when I found out who you really were.  I never even knew anything about you.  I knew of you living with the Dursleys' from neighborhood gossip, of course."

Harry snorted.  "I guess you thought I was some mad delinquent, too?  That seems to be the story everyone believes..."

"Well, I figured if you weren't mad before you went to live with Petunia, you would be soon enough."  Everyone laughed.  "Well, I suppose you'd better head for the train; it'll be leaving soon. It was good to meet you Harry.  It's always nice to have family who'll actually acknowledge you in public."  Mr. Evans waved goodbye and then hugged Mark.  "Have a good term, son."

Everyone pushed their way towards the barrier together.  Harry's heart felt unbelievably light.  He had family...real family.  Better yet he had family on his mother's side; family that didn't hate him for being a wizard!

"So, does this make us cousins or something?"  Mark said from behind him.

"I think so.  Our parents were cousins, so that makes sense."

Hermione spoke up.  "You're second cousins, actually."

Harry and Mark looked at each other, smiling slightly.  Harry was thinking it, but Mark spoke up first.  "You know, I'll bet we could really cause some damage to Dudley with this."

"Not just that, but Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon.  Imagine how horrified they would be if they knew their was another wizard in the family tree."  Harry pushed through the barrier, thinking of the expressions on his aunt and uncle's face when they heard the news.

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The train ride was the worst one yet.  Ron didn't sit with Harry, Hermione, and Ginny.  He had decided to stay in the prefects' car up front.

"I can't understand why he's avoiding us. My brother can be such a pain in the..."  Ginny stopped as she looked up at Hermione.

Hermione was holding her chin in her hand and gazing out the window.  She hadn't really spoken to either of them since they boarded the train.  Ginny and Harry exchanged worried glances.

"Er, Hermione...do you want something to eat?"  Ginny tried.

Hermione simply shook her head, and continued staring out the window.  Ginny shrugged and sighed. Harry felt bad, he had no idea what to do.  He didn't want to push Hermione to talk, but he knew it wasn't the best thing to just let her be.  In the end, he and Ginny played a few games of chess, hoping to catch Hermione's interest.  It didn't work, of course.

Hermione fell asleep halfway to Hogwarts.  Harry motioned to Ginny and they both went out into the corridor.

"Well, what are we going to do?"  Harry asked.

"I don't know.  What's going on with Ron?  I wanted to ask you earlier, but I didn't want to do it in front of Hermione."

"I don't have any idea.  I've seen him angry at me and Hermione before, but he's never acted like this.  It's like he's afraid to be around Hermione, but I can't think of why he's angry with me.  Surely he isn't still mad about what happened before the holidays."

Ginny furrowed her brow.  "No, I don't think that's it."  Harry looked at her and raised an eyebrow.  "Well, when we were still in Romania, Ron and I had a little talk."  She looked up sheepishly, as Harry glared at her.

"What did you say?"

 "I just reminded the idiot that you and Hermione were his best friends! I told him that he was being silly over the whole thing, and that you were only trying to help. And I reminded him about that idiotic fight the two of you had during the Tournament.  Of course, he agreed in the end and said that he was going to apologize when we got back to school.  So I don't think he could be angry about that still."

"So what's his problem now?"

Ginny shook her head.  "No idea..."

Their arrival at the school was very strange.  As Harry and Ginny walked along side Hermione, people stared openly.  Some gave quiet greetings to Hermione that she returned with a small wave.  She had managed to avoid nearly everyone on the train by shutting herself in the compartment.  Now, though, it wouldn't be so easy.  Harry and Ginny had agreed to stick with Hermione as much as possible.  They didn't want people to start harassing her about details of what happened.  Mainly, though, their biggest concern was the Slytherins.  People like Malfoy and Parkinson would no doubt take great enjoyment from bothering Hermione now.

The evening found Harry sitting in the common room.  Hermione had gone up to bed and Ron was nowhere to be found. 

"Hi Harry."  It was Neville.

"Hey, Neville.  How was your holiday?"

Neville shrugged.  "Not bad I guess.  My Gran is still angry about my dad's wand.  She keeps going on and on about what happened..." Neville broke off as he remembered what he was talking about.  "So, how's Hermione doing?"

"Not bad, I guess.  Actually I don't have a clue; she hasn't really talked much since it happened.  How come so many people know about it?"

"Well it was in the Daily Prophet the day after Christmas.   And Professor McGonagall sent a letter to everyone one in Gryffindor, just before we came back.  She said to not badger Hermione, just talk to her and be nice."

"Well good luck at doing that.  She won't really talk to anyone."

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 The first few days of term hardly seemed different from the last days before the Christmas holidays.  The trio remained distant to one another, but the air between them was different.  In December, the three were furious with one another, but now it felt as if they were strangers.  Harry felt he hardly knew the two people he called his best friends.  He could understand Hermione's quiet nature; it was Ron's that was really bothering him.  Finally one day of Defense Against the Dark Arts was enough to push Harry over the edge.

Harry had stayed back to arrange his continuing Legilimency sessions with Professor Bombeck.  As he was about to walk out the door of the classroom, voices caused him to stop.

"Ron, I don't see what the big deal is.  Harry's her friend, too."

"You just don't get it, Neville.  You weren't there, you didn't see it."  Ron said, sounding exasperated.

"Well, maybe you should talk to them about it.  Listen, I'm meeting Luna in the library, see you later."

Harry saw Neville walk past the door.  He had had enough; he was confronting Ron...now.  He walked out the door to find Ron starting off in the opposite direction.  Harry hurried forward and caught the back of his bag.  He started pulling him back towards the Defense classroom, which was empty now.

"Harry, what are you doing?  Let go of me!"

"No, you and I are going to have a talk.  If this is the only way I can get you to speak to me, then fine!"

Harry pulled Ron in the room and slammed the door behind him.  He turned and glared at Ron.  "Now, what is the matter with you lately?  You're ignoring Hermione and me.  If you're mad at me, just tell me what I've done."

Ron didn't speak, but made to open the door.  Harry stepped in front of the handle, blocking Ron's path.

"Are you still mad at me for interfering with you and Hermione? If you are, I've told you I was sorry."

Ron looked at Harry for a moment and then looked quickly away.  "No, it's not that."

"Then what, Ron?"

Ron's ears reddened and he opened his mouth several times before words actually came out. "Well...it's...just..."

"What?"  Harry shouted even though he hadn't meant to.

"Fine!  It's you!  You've beaten me at something else!  You've beaten me to the one thing I..."  He stopped.

"What are you talking about?  I haven't beaten you at anything!"

"HERMIONE! I'm talking about Hermione!"  Ron's face couldn't have been any redder than it was at this moment.

Harry was shocked. He stepped back from Ron until his back was pressed flat against the door.  "What's Hermione got to do with this?  Ron..."

"You took her!  You know I always had this idea about us..."  Ron threw down his bag and advanced on Harry.  "And never, even in my most horrible dream did I ever imagine the two of you..."

Realization swept over Harry in cold waves.  "Ron, you don't think...I mean...me...and...Hermione?"

"Of course you and Hermione!  I saw you at her parents' funeral!  You were standing there holding hands with her!"   Harry opened his mouth to explain, but Ron cut him off.  "I guess you really took what Dumbledore said to heart, didn't you?  'She's going to need you.'  I guess you figured it was your time to make your move on her, eh?"  Ron smiled.  It was the same smile he had worn after Harry had been named fourth champion during the Tournament.

"Ron, you've got this all wrong..."

"No, I think I've gotten it all perfectly right.  I should have seen it before, but I never thought my own best friend would do something like this.   You've been planning all this haven't you?  All you had to do was sit back and wait for me and Hermione to fight so you could jump in and be the one she ran to.  Worked out nicely for you, didn't it Potter?"  Ron made to push Harry aside and leave.

Harry pushed him back.  "Alright, you're going to listen to me now!  First of all, if I had wanted to steal Hermione away while you were fighting I could have done it years before now!  Secondly, at the funeral, Hermione took my hand and asked me to stay!  If you hadn't run off and acted like a prat you would have heard her asking for you!"  Harry stopped for a moment to enjoy the effect of these words on Ron.  "Lastly, Hermione is like a sister to me!  I could never...I would never..."  Harry gave an involuntary shudder.  "Ron, it would be like you and Ginny...ugh...the idea gives me the creeps.  She is my best friend and she could never be anything more that that."

Ron stared at Harry, obviously unsure of whether or not to believe him.  "So, you never..."

Harry simply shook his head.  Ron's face went redder. (And here we didn't think it was possible...) "C'mon Ron, I know how you really feel about her.  I would never try to do anything, even if I wanted to."

Ron's eyes widened.  "How do you know...?"

Harry couldn't help but laugh.  "What sort of idiot do you take me for?"

"Is it that obvious?"  Ron was speaking to the floor. 

"Pretty much.  Ron, you need to talk to her."  Ron looked up sharply.  "Not about that, not yet anyway.  Just talk to her, she needs her friends now...all of them."

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Harry felt much better as he made his way to Potions that afternoon.  He found Hermione sitting just outside Snape's door, reading a letter.  He settled next to her; they still had ten minutes before class.

"Who's the letter from?"

She didn't look up.  "Viktor.  He heard what happened and wrote to see how I'm doing."

"Oh, that's nice of him." A sudden thought occurred to Harry.  "Er, Hermione...can I ask you something?"

She nodded and kept on reading.

"Are you and Viktor...well...?

Hermione looked up and studied Harry for a moment.  "We are friends.  He would like more and I am dealing with that."

Harry couldn't help but give her a small grin, which to his greatest surprise she returned.

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That night in the common room, Harry sat in a corner whispering to Ginny.

"He really thought that you and Hermione were..." Ginny burst into a fit of giggles.

"And just why is that idea so funny?"  Harry said, feigning hurt.

"Well, you two are just...no, it would never work.  She'd drive you mad!"

"And you don't think she'd do the same with Ron?"  Harry laughed.

"Well, she's going to drive him mad of course.  But, Ron will drive her mad in return.  See, they will cancel each other out; their perfect together!"  Ginny laughed harder than before.  "Where are they anyway?"

"Oh, Ron's got patrol duty tonight and Hermione's in a meeting with Professor McGonagall.  I think McGonagall wants to keep a close watch on her, so Hermione's got weekly meetings with her."

"Oh, well she's doing much better lately.  I'm really surprised the Slytherins have left her alone.  Maybe they grew a heart over Christmas."

"Doubtful. What are you reading?"  Ginny had just pulled her legs up into the chair and opened a large leather book.

"Oh, Hermione gave this to me for Christmas.  It's a play called Romeo and Juliet.  I read it at her house over the summer and I really liked it.  I'd never heard of it before, with it being a muggle thing.  It's really great though."  She fell silent as she read.

Harry didn't know why, but he watched her read.  He had found himself doing this a lot lately.  He would end up watching her from across a room, sometimes without even realizing he was doing it.  She intrigued him for some reason.  It was like a mystery he wanted to figure out.  He watched her tuck a stray piece of hair behind her ear and then bite her lower lip.  Smiling to himself, he realized he liked the way her hair looked in the firelight.  He liked the way she wrinkled her nose when she laughed.  He definitely liked the way her eyes sparkled when she was planning something.  He very much liked...

Harry suddenly came to his senses.  What was he doing?  He couldn't think this way about Ginny!  For Merlin's sake, she was his friend!  A friend with six very large, overprotective brothers.  One who happened to be his best friend! He swallowed hard and jumped up from his seat.  He had to get out of here!

"Harry, are you okay?  You look funny."  Ginny said, looking up at him.

"Yeah, I'm fine.  I'm going to bed." 

If he had been able to listen, he would have heard Ginny call after him.  "But it's only seven o'clock!"

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Dave the L's gal: I'm glad you like it! And I'll read it soon.

Spaci Ireth: I know he has to be related...it can't be coincidence that JK put him in there with that name.  I don't think he'll be closely related, so I went with the cousin aspect.  And look, no cliff hanger this time!

hermionegreen: You got one thing right, but as to the other...well you'll just have to wait and see. I know I'm evil...Poor Ron, he didn't really have much basis for his accusations, but he's so self conscious.  He doesn't think he's nearly good enough for her, and here's Harry with all this fame and wealth...he was just reading a bit to much between the lines.