Chapter Six

"Well, bye then," said Ron sheepishly.
"I'll send loads of owls," grinned Harry.
"It's so stupid, though," Ron burst out pleadingly.
"Yeah, I know."

And then everyone was gone, and the school was empty, and any footstep on the stairs echoed in the Common Room. Harry was still in his room, cringing in bitter realisation of what he wanted, and what he couldn't have. He felt as though his bones had turned into snakes; he was flushed and sweating a little; he wanted to hit something but he didn't know why.
And he was angry, very angry.

He was still sitting on his bed, staring at the floor, twisting the bedcover very hard when Hermione came in.

"Harry?" she said timidly.
Harry glanced up in horror. He dropped the duvet corner; it had torn a little.
"Hello," he said, his voice oddly strangled. He dropped his chin into his hand, covering some of the area scarlet skin she could see.
"What's wrong?" she asked. "You didn't come down to the Common Room to see everyone off."
"Not really in the mood for it." Harry gazed out the window, over the forest.
"You're still upset about being left behind." But the way she said it, it could have been a question.
"Sorry I keep going on about it."

There was an awkward moment. They'd never had one before, Harry mused. Why did he have to ruin everything? Why couldn't that voice in his head have stayed silent?

"Well, it could be worse," said Hermione. "You could be stuck here with Malfoy."
They laughed. "That would be pretty awful, wouldn't it?" said Harry.

What was he on about? This was Hermione. They'd always got on well. How hard could it be to hide feelings he'd only had for an hour? Maybe at some point he'd be able to ask how long Ron and Hermione had been a couple.

"Very."
Hermione sat down on the bed beside him. And then an opportunity reared its head.
"It'll be weird with Ron gone."

Harry knew it was now or never. He choked the words, reluctantly forcing them out in a stab at the casual, "So, how long have you two been..." he made a odd, vague gesture, somewhere between a shrug and a wave.

"Me- and Ron?" Hermione frowned.
"Er... going out, sort of thing?"
Harry was sickened with himself. He should never have opened his mouth. He could practically feel the heat radiating from his face.
And then Hermione's expression cleared.
"Me and Ron? Harry - we're only friends. You know we're only friends." Harry couldn't help noticing what a nice laugh she had. "What would put that into your head?"
"Oh – er – I don't know... I just thought... Sorry," he finished lamely.
The silence was awkward again.
"Well, if you two ever do-"
"We won't," said Hermione. "Definitely not, I can promise you."
"But... if you do..."
"You'll be the first to know."

Hermione laughed again and headed for the door.
"I'm going to go get changed."
"Right. See you."

AN: I thought I'd better mention the very cool thing that happened to me yesterday and made me cut the chappie short: I had posted a theory of mine on a Discworld site and the actual Terry Pratchett came on and said it was right.

Thanks again to everyone who reviewed, it's much appreciated. Keep it up and I'll keep it longer!