Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns Harry Potter.

Chapter Ten: Feelings Revealed

Hermione woke up the next morning and found a warm grey blanket on her bed, a blanket that was not hers. "Lavender, whose blanket is this? It isn't mine."

Lavender grinned and said in a sing-song voice. "It's Oliver's. I guess you were tired from yesterday's Hogsmeade visit, so he carried you in here and tucked you into bed. Then you were shivering, so he covered you with his blanket and then he kissed your forehead. It was so sweet, Hermione! You should've seen the love he had for you in his eyes."

Hermione shook her head. "Lavender, Oliver doesn't love me. He's just trying to be a good friend. That's it."

Lavender rolled her eyes. "You're blind Hermione. Believe whatever you want to believe. I'll see you at breakfast." Lavender grabbed her cloak and rushed out of the room, leaving Hermione to her thoughts.

Weeks passed as Hermione and Oliver got to know each other better. Although Hermione was still grieving over the loss of her parents, she was crying less. Harry and Ron owled her every day as they had promised, with each letter detailing their various shenanigans, which always made Hermione laugh.

Although Hermione and Oliver quickly became friends, Hermione always kept a barrier between them, especially lately. She couldn't help noticing that her feelings for Oliver for were quickly becoming more than platonic, and this scared her, but at the same time she felt giddy with happiness. He was always so sweet and understanding. It was the simple things he did that made her fall in love with him with each passing day.

He would bribe other students in the common room with gifts from Zonko's to keep them quiet while Hermione studied. When Hermione was in the hospital wing after Snape "asked" her to drink one of Neville's potions, Oliver showed up with a bouquet of flowers and a get-well card. Hermione was beginning to think that maybe Lavender and Parvati were right about Oliver. Maybe Oliver really did love her.

Her suspicions grew stronger when Oliver cancelled one of his nightly Quidditch matches after Hermione mentioned earlier that day that she had been having nightmares. He had spent the rest of night bringing Hermione warm milk to calm her down. She even remembered he had said with such determination," Those nightmares won't return if I can help it!"

Even though Oliver was the sweetest guy she had ever known (next to Harry and Ron, of course), she was scared of falling in love with him. It wasn't that she didn't trust him. In fact, she believed she could fall off a cliff, and Oliver would be right on the ground below, ready to catch her.

The problem involved the dream (or rather, nightmare) of her parents' deaths. At the end, Voldemort had said," I will kill the one you love!" So if Hermione loved Oliver, Voldemort would surely kill him, and Hermione would have to deal with the loss of yet another loved one. She couldn't even handle the deaths of two people. A third one would surely kill her.

"Good morning, Hermione!" Oliver cheerfully greeted her one Monday morning.

Hermione smiled. "Good morning, Oliver. No Potions class today?"

Oliver grabbed an apple. "Yeah, how did you know?"

"A day without Snape would put a smile on anyone's face," Hermione grinned.

"You got that right. Anyway, Hermione, there's something I need to tell you. Can we meet by the lake after you finish Arithmancy?" Oliver asked.

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Um, sure. There's nothing wrong, is there?"

Oliver shook his head and wore a huge grin on his face. "Not at all. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. At least, I hope you'll be." He glanced at his watch. "Oh, I have to go. I have a grueling Charms exam to take right now. Wish me luck."

"Good luck. You'll do great," Hermione replied.

Oliver smiled. "And I will have you to thank. Have a great day, Hermione. Don't forget about our little meeting, okay?"

"I won't. Now go ace that exam!"

Oliver smiled. "Yes, ma'am." (A/N: Hey, these two sentences rhyme! Ok, I'll shut up now)

Later that day, Hermione left Arithmancy and walked towards the lake, wondering what Oliver was going to tell her. Relax, Hermione. He said it wasn't anything bad. What's there to worry about?

"There you are, Hermione! I was wondering when you were going to show up." Oliver handed her a flower and kissed her hand. (A/N: Why can't all guys be this sweet and charming?)

Hermione was touched by this gesture. She had a feeling about what Oliver would say, but she was praying that she was wrong.

Oliver took Hermione's hand in his and wore an unreadable expression, showing absolutely no emotion. Hermione was puzzled by this and began to wonder what he was thinking about. Okay, at least it looks like he won't say he's in love with me. Maybe he's going to tell me that he plans to do something drastic like quit Quidditch or tell me that he's going to stay awake in History of Magic. No, that couldn't be it. That wouldn't make much sense. Wait, I know the reason! Marsh must be picking on him again! That little- (A/N: I can't finish this sentence otherwise this story would be rated "R" due to excessive swearing.)

Hermione continued to study his eyes for a moment longer. "Are you all right, Oliver? Did Marsh hurt you again? If he did, let me know, and I'll hex him to eternity!"

Oliver chuckled at Hermione's sudden demonstration of being overprotective. Hermione blushed at what she had just said. "Hermione, I-I like you. I mean I really like you. No, I take that back. I love you Hermione Granger."

Hermione had predicted that something like this would happen, but she sure did not predict how she would feel when he said it. She wanted to believe that he wanted to discuss something trivial, so she wouldn't be placed in such an awkward position, but Oliver had done the one thing she had hoped he wouldn't do- he revealed his feelings.

She was surprised by the effect Oliver's declaration of love had on her. She saw all of her worries and troubles vanish within a second. Hermione began to feel lightheaded, and had the urge to tell him she loved him, too. Wait! I...love...Oliver?! No, I can't love him for his sake and mine. Don't deny it Hermione. You are head over heels in love with him. Oh, shut up brain. What in the world am I going to do?

Noticing the surprised expression on Hermione's face, Oliver quickly added," You don't have to say anything now. I-I just wanted you to know how I feel about you. Um... I'll just go now. I'll see you at dinner, Hermione."

Oliver's face reddened with embarrassment. It was awkward expressing his feelings and not receiving any response in return. He began walking back to the castle, when he heard Hermione shout," Wait!"

A/N: I know. I know. That was incredibly cruel of me. It's an annoying cliffhanger, but the next chapter will be up very soon. There will be another fight scene near the end, but I won't tell you who is involved...

I give a huge thanks to all of my amazing reviewers.

Valentines-hater: MWAHAHAHA. I won't hurt Oliver...much. :) Anyway, I did find some other Hermione/Oliver stories that are fantastic:

All Things Fall Into Place

Gravity is Holding Onto Me

On the Way to Infinity

These three stories are written by Gness and are absolutely amazing! You should read them in the order listed since the last two are sequels to "All Things Fall Into Place."

"Popularity for Hermione" and "Proceeding Popularity" (both by Oliver's Quidditch Crazy) are incredible as well. These 5 stories are the only other ones I know of.

Troublegirls: I know sometimes guys are really clueless. I'm no relationship expert, but if you want Luke to understand your feelings, you'll probably have to be blunt and as straightforward as possible until he's better at perceiving your feelings. Hope this helps. Thanks so much for your review!

Lia06: Thanks for saying my story is unique. I try not to write stories that are identical to all of the other HG/OW fanfics out there. Although mine is certainly not the best.

CrazyVoices22: Thanks for the compliments! I thought that Hermione needed to kick some butt and take a break from crying. Punching jerks is actually quite therapeutic. :)