A/N: Hey everyone! Hope you guys all had a wonderful new year! Hope it was as fun as mine. Though I could have done without my friends getting "drunk" off of sparkling grape juice…sigh oh well. It was fun. Glad you all like Ron and Destany. I really wanted to test the waters to see if anyone would hate it and it seems you all like the idea as much as I do! :D OK, onto other news:

TheDarkOne: Here's the more that I've already written that you want me to type and post so you can read it, as I won't part with my notebook. Sorry.

Writingjustforfun: Glad you liked the last chapter. :D There's a reason I didn't want Harry to remember right away. You'll see why. ;D I have no problem updating. Though I hope to post this chapter tonight and hopefully another tomorrow…crosses fingers all depends on what my family's doing.

Stella Blu: lol! I knew what you meant. Glad you liked the last couple of chapters.

And now…for chapter 29… Hope you all enjoy. It was fun to write. :D

Chapter 29

Same Day

"…so, the three-headed dog, fluffy,"

"Whoa, wait wait wait. The three headed dogs name was fluffy?!" Harry asked, looking astounded. Hermione nodded and Harry chuckled. "Why would you name a three-headed dog, Fluffy?"

"Ask Hagrid." Hermione said simply. Harry shook his head and was seriously amused by this.

There was a knock at the door and Harry glanced over to see a red-haired boy standing there.

"Ron!" Hermione said and got up to greet her friend. Harry watched the two, feeling his heart sink. He really liked Hermione. She was pretty and not only that, she was smart, kind, and he loved the sound of her laugh and her smile made his troubles disappear. She didn't act differently around him because he could not remember. She treated him like the friend she remembered and that meant a lot to him. He was sure it could not be easy for her.

He saw the two turn and look back over at Harry.

"I guess you're Ron." Harry said with an amused smile, trying desperately to not show how upset he was. Ron nodded and walked into the room with Hermione. She re-took her seat at the edge of his bed and Ron stood beside her.

"How are you feeling Harry?" Ron asked.

"I feel fine. But mum wants me to stay up here 'and rest,'" Harry said, rolling his eyes.

"Mum's know best." Ron said, hoping to be helpful. Harry looked at Ron in false horror.

"No, not you too!" He said very dramatically with a dead-pan expression. Hermione huffed beside him. Ron laughed.

"She'd curse me if I didn't say it." He said, and pointed his thumb over at Hermione.

"Would not!" Hermione said, irritated.

"I'd believe it." Harry commented, smiling at Hermione. She glared at them.

"You two are impossible! Harry doesn't even remember you and here you two go and team up against me." She said, pouting slightly. Ron grinned and walked to the other side of the bed. He sat down for a second and put an arm around Harry's shoulders. Harry watched him out of the corner of his eye.

"That's right, us men-folk need to stick together. And, Mate, for the record since you probably don't remember.." Ron said, and stage-whispered to Harry "that girl's crazy." Harry laughed amusedly and Hermione huffed again.

"I am not crazy!" She argued.

"Uh, Hermione? How many times have you read Hogwarts: A History?" Ron asked. Before she could answer, and another voice answered.

"I think that's being ambitious. I mean, if you're going to be living somewhere, it might be a good idea to know some history."

The group looked up to see Destany standing in the doorway.

"No, Destany, you don't understand. She's read it like…at least five times. At least once a year. Probably more." Ron said, looking at Harry and Destany.

"OK, that's a bit obsessive." Destany agreed.

"And you are…?" Hermione asked, studying the girl.

"Destany Spray…well I guess it's actually Ravin…or Ravenclaw, for that matter. Take your pick." She said, with a shrug. Destany looked over at Harry and stepped timidly into the room. "How are you feeling?" She asked, with an uncertain look. She was sure he was probably tired of hearing and answering the question, but she was genuinely concerned for her first real friend.

"I'm doing ok. Thanks." Harry said, and noted how Ron looked at his new friend. He likes her. Harry thought, with a small smile. He noticed the same look on Destany's face as she glanced over at Ron. He made a mental note to ask Destany…or Ron about it later.

"Hey! How come you didn't bite her head off?" Ron asked, taking false offence.

"Because she's special." Harry said, winking at Destany. She grinned. Hermione glared at Destany and studied her. Harry leaned over to Hermione upon seeing her look and whispered to her "We're just friends. Now Ron on the other hand…" He trailed off and glanced over at his friends. Hermione followed his gaze and saw what he meant. Destany and Ron had somehow moved closer together. Ron seemed to be standing protectively beside her. Harry studied the two, wondering what the cause of Ron's actions was. He noticed as slight…sadness in Destany that wasn't usually present.

"I guess the real question would be, are you ok Des?" Harry asked her, wondering if she'd tell him what was wrong.

"It's nothing." She said, and Harry knew it was something big. Destany wasn't much of one to talk about her problems. Harry noted as Ron touched her arm in a gesture of comfort and Destany looked at him with a small smile on her face. Yup, Ronnikins and Destany are…wait a minute? Ronnikins? Where did that come from? He pondered, and mentally shook himself. Destany and Ron fell into a small conversation and Harry looked at Hermione.

"See what I mean?" He asked, keeping his voice low so Ron or Destany would not notice. Hermione watched them and nodded. She was frowning slightly. "What's wrong?"

"It's just..I can't believe how much Ron has grown up this year. I just now realized it." She said, and looked into his eyes. His emerald eyes that she thought she would never see again. She wanted to lean over and kiss him; wanted to say "Harry, I love you" but she knew it wasn't the time. She couldn't lay all of this on him now.

"OK, I know I'm starting to sound repetitive, but are you ok?" He asked. She sighed.

"I just," She paused. She wanted to tell him the truth, wanted to tell him how much he really meant to her. When will the right time be here? She wondered in frustration. "I didn't think I'd ever see you again." She answered truthfully, looking into his eyes to gage his reaction.

She watched as he looked down from her, almost as if he blamed himself for the accident.

"I'm sorry. If I would have known.."

"How could you have?" She demanded, trying to catch his eyes again, but failing miserable as he would look away from her every time she managed to succeed. "We didn't know it was going to happen. If anything, I should be sorry. I knew you were alive. I didn't do enough to find you." She admitted. She bit her bottom lip uncertainly and Harry raised his eyes to her, a puzzled look on his face.

"How could you have known?" Harry asked, looking confused.

"I just knew." She said simply. Harry looked away from her, trying to make sense of what she just told him.

"You had no reason to believe I was alive. Even my parents thought I was dead." Harry pointed out. He watched her reaction and she looked back up at him, feeling more uncertain and nervous than ever. She knew she'd have to tell him. She couldn't handle his rejection.

"I could feel it; somewhere inside of me, I knew you were alive..because," She said, and lost her nerve. She looked away from him and he placed his hand under her chin and forced her to meet his gaze.

"Because…?" He inquired, desperately wanting to hear what he thought she was going to say.

"Because I-"

"Hey guys!" Both Harry and Hermione jumped slightly and turned to look at Ron. He and Destany were holding hands and Harry wondered if it was a conscious action. "Want to find out if we can bail Harry out? Go play some Quiddich or something?" Ron asked. Harry grinned at Ron.

"Though I don't know what Quiddich is, it sounds better than being stuck in this stuffy room," Harry said brightly, and looked over at Hermione, Ron, and Destany and added "Though the company's not that bad." Ron grinned.

"Well of course. I'm here." Destany joked. The group chuckled.

"Come on, let's go and bug the crap out of Lily!" Ron said to Destany and they ran out of the room to try and bail their friend out. At the same time, Destany worked out in her mind a good escape plan, just in case plan A did not work.

Once they left the room, Harry looked over at Hermione. She looked away from him and stood up.

"I should go and make sure they don't go and do something stupid." She said and got up. She started to leave when Harry grabbed her hand.

"We will finish this conversation." He said, and Hermione looked down at their joined hands and wondered if there would be a time they would be joined out of a show of love; not just friendship. She swallowed nervously and nodded before leaving the room.