Author's Disclaimer : This story is a work of fiction based on the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling. No infringement of any copyright is intended and no profit is being made.

Chapter 4

News and Views

Ginny looked at him and softly said "It's Hermione."

Harry quickly went outside, not noticing Ginny's sigh. Hermione was hefting a big bag from the back seat. She had received the same escort as Harry. Tonks and Prof.Lupin were helping Ron with her heavy trunk.

Hermione looked up and saw Harry. She immediately dropped her bag and rushed up and hugged him.

"Harry. Harry." was all that she could say.

Harry held on to her for a while and suddenly felt his stomach flutter. He realized that they had an audience and gently pushed Hermione away. She seemed disappointed.

"Hello Hermione. It's great that you could come." said Harry.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." replied a grinning Hermione.

She moved forward to hug Ginny and followed her into the house.

Harry helped Ron half-pull, half-drag Hermione's trunk into Ginny's room. Both boys were exhausted and collapsed on Ginny's bed.

"WHAT do you have in your trunk, Hermione? Gold bars or something." gasped Ron.

"No Ronald. Just some light reading material." replied Hermione, clearly annoyed.

The boys snickered and avoided making eye contact with her. They returned to their own rooms as the girls got ready for dinner.

Prof.Lupin and Tonks stayed for dinner and were engaged in a hushed conversation with Mr.Weasley. Harry helped Ron set the table as Hermione came down from her room.

"So Hermione. I thought that you were spending summer with your parents this year and couldn't make it to the Burrow. What happened?" asked Ron.

Harry noticed that Hermione had turned bright red and was staring at her hands.

"Well...Erm...My parents wanted to do their own thingy and well........Can't a lady change her mind? I had my own reasons." huffed Hermione not sounding anything like her usual confident self. She appeared to be looking at Harry for some reason as she completed her sentence.

"I'm absolutely thrilled that you changed your mind. We're going to have an amazing time. This is going to be the greatest summer ever." said Harry.

Both Ron and Hermione were staring at him.

"What? I can't live my life normally with my greatest friends."

"Oi. Mate. It's not that. It just great to see you happy for once." replied Ron.

They were joined by the others and started dinner. Harry gobbled his food as fast as he could because he had a million questions for Tonks and Prof.Lupin. He patiently waited for them to finish and they all moved to the living room.

"Harry. I can see that you are very anxious to talk to us. We'll try to tell you as much as we can without compromising the Order." said Tonks.

"I've been reading the Daily Prophet but there seems to be no mention of any new Deatheater activity. I thought that Voldemort would have made some moves by now." said Harry.

Prof.Lupin sighed and looked up at him. Harry noticed that he looked very tired and wondered what the current moon phase was.

"We think that Voldemort is trying to strengthen his forces. The loss of Lucius Malfoy and the other Deatheaters last month has created a major void in his power structure. The loss of Malfoy especially creates a big problem as he was a major source of information and funds. The Dark Lords two main remaining deatheaters are Bellatrix Lestrange and Wormtail, neither of whom can be seen in public. We believe that he is trying to find someone in the ministry to exploit. We also think that he may be planning to break into Azkaban to release his followers. With the Dementors gone we have some of the best aurors guarding the prisons right now. The Order also has someone monitoring the Deatheaters inside the prison. But we are spread very thin in a lot of places." said Lupin.

"Is the Order still working from Grimmauld place?" whispered Harry.

"Well....Umm....No. The moment Sirius left, the house locked itself. Nobody can enter. With no proof of his demise, the ministry is still looking for him as if he was alive and in hiding." said Lupin.

"Oh. Okay."

Harry felt everybody looking at him.

"You're all wondering what I'm going to do or say now, aren't you?. You're wondering if I going to cry or throw a fit." said Harry. He stood up and walked around the room. "Don't worry. I'm not going to get depressed every time Sirius is mentioned. I'm moving on in the only way that I can. I have to prepare myself for the final battle. In the end Wormtail, Bellatrix and Voldemort will get what they deserve and I want to be the one that gives it to them. It IS my Destiny."

Mrs.Weasley and Tonks were openly weeping. Ginny was trying her best not to. Hermione was giving him a strange look. Ron walked up to him and clapped him on his shoulder.

"What's with all the ' I ' stuff? We're all in it with you, mate. All the way to the very end." said Ron.

Harry smiled awkwardly and felt an urgent need to be alone. He got up, excused himself and walked into the garden. He walked away from the Burrow, sat down under a large willow tree and closed his eyes.

He heard soft footsteps approach and looked up to see Hermione.

She sat down beside him and stared right into his eyes.

"You're hiding something from us, aren't you?" she said.

"What...Nothing...Err..." He knew he had to tell her and Ron about the prophecy but this did not seem to be the proper time.

"How did you know?"

She had a small smile on her face and quietly said "I just know."

"I'm not ready yet. Don't get mad. I promise I'll tell you soon but not now." he said.

She didn't look happy with his answer but nodded her head. She lay back on the grass and stared up at the starlit sky. He leaned back next to her.

"Harry. You're not mad that I didn't write to you, are you? We were at my grandparents house and I didn't want them to see any strange Owls. They don't know that I'm a witch."

"You did manage to write to Ron." grumbled Harry.

Hermione sighed but did not reply.

He felt guilty and turned to look at her. Her face was bathed in soft moonlight, her features almost perfect. She was breathtakingly beautiful. Her lips were so....kissable.

Harry jerked up. Hermione...kissable. What in Merlin's name was he thinking? Was he falling for her? No. He decided he had just turned into a randy teenager. She was his very best friend. She meant more to him than anyone else. One good kiss from Ginny and he was thinking of snogging everybody. Would Ron be next? Ugh..

He looked back to see her again. There was no doubt that she was attractive but they could never be anything other than friends. Besides she could never like him that way.

They lay there in silence until Ginny came to get them.

Harry's head was pounding and throbbing. A lot had happened that day. He said his good nights and went to bed early.

He couldn't sleep and decided to read something from the twins bookshelf. There seemed to be lot of books on charms. Probably the main requirement for their jokes he guessed. As he pulled out a copy of 'Charms for all occasions' he saw something hidden behind the books. It looked like a pair of extendable ears except that one end was sharp and pointed. He held it to his ear but couldn't hear anything.

"It must be broken." he thought and tried to throw it into the trash. He missed and it got stuck in the wall. He went over to remove it when he heard voices.

It was Ginny and she sounded strangled "You mean you like him or you like like him?"

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