A/N: Again thank you so much to everyone who reviewed – Grace in the Heavens (there's lots more GL/HG coming up I promise), taylorangel72, indiegurl2000, Victoria Winters, Xx-psyho-xX, Dr Huff Puff (Hemione is feeling bad about the bet cause she really likes Lockhart – that's why she didn't want to tell Ron/Harry.....)

Chapter Nine

A Talk and An Unexpected Encounter

Hermione sat in the library at one of the long tables where she had spent so much time over the past six years. Her charms books were spread out in front of her but she was having difficulty in concentrating on revising. Her mind was full of thoughts of the previous night. She kept replaying the kisses from Lockhart and shivering with pleasure at the memory. She pulled one of her books closer and tried to read a paragraph about awakening charms, but it was no good – thoughts of Lockhart seemed to be occupying every comer of her brain, not even leaving the tiniest bit left for study. Sighing she leaned back and closed her eyes.

"I should feel worried," she thought "I've GOT to study for my NEWTS, this is ridiculous, I've got SO much work to do...". But somehow she didn't feel worried at all. In fact she felt superbly happy.

"Hermione?" a quiet voice said behind her.

Her eyes sprang open and she turned quickly in her seat to see Harry standing a little way behind her.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," he said.

"Ah, that's ok, I was just...um...studying a bit....," Hermione fumbled.

Harry walked around the table and sat down in a chair opposite Hermione. She couldn't help noticing how tall he had become, and how much stronger he looked than the small skinny boy she had met in first year. His hair was rather long at the moment and tumbled over his eyes in a more untidy way than usual. For some reason Hermione felt a small jump in her chest when he looked over at her with his intense green eyes.

"I guess we really need to talk," he said heavily.

Hermione felt that familiar knot of anxiety in her stomach make an unwelcome reappearance.

"Yeah...I know," she replied quietly.

"I saw Malfoy before, he knows about the bet. Seems as though everyone knows about the bet actually," Harry said angrily.

"What!....Oh No. But how? Who told?" Hermione asked.

"Oh you know this place, news travels fast. Can't keep anything a secret. The problem is what are we going to do?".

"Oh Harry I'm so sorry, if it wasn't for me then we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place".

Harry looked up and said rather sharply "Don't be stupid. Lavender's an idiot, she can't keep being mean to people and getting away with it. It's my fault anyway for making the stupid bet in the first place. I can't believe I could have ever expected you to go out with that ridiculous excuse of a teacher".

"Harry....don't!" Hermione said a bit more sharply than she had intended.

"Well, Hermione, you have to admit that you have a lot more sense than to even want to talk to Lockhart. Let alone anything else. That's it, I'm going to find Lavender and tell her the bet is off. I don't care about what anyone thinks, I'm not going to put you through this Hermione, this year's too important, I know how well you want to do on your NEWTS. You need all your energy for that". And with that decisive statement Harry stood up and made to leave.

Hermione didn't know how to respond. She was slightly angry at the things Harry had said about Lockhart, but overlying that was a new feeling of surprise, and even, she realized, pleasure that Harry would care so much about her.

"Hang on wait," she called.

"What? Are you ok about everything?" he asked still looking at her with such concern that she felt that strange feeling again.

"Harry, it's ok, I can do the bet I think. It won't be that bad, I'll just ask Lockhart for a drink after school to discuss the charms study group or something, honestly it'll be fine, I'm sure he won't mind, then Lavender can see we've gone out," Hermione babbled.

"No Herm, I don't want you doing anything like that, it's really unfair. I'm going to talk to Lavender and fix things. So don't worry," Harry replied and gave Hermione a wide smile over his shoulder as he walked out of the room.

Harry's smile caused the unexpected strange feeling to leap again in Hermione's chest. He was really, well really cute when he smiled like that she found herself thinking. She gave a small laugh and shook her head.

"Wow I'm so not myself at the moment," she thought. "Thinking stuff like that about Harry, I'm being utterly ridiculous lately".

The smile vanished off her face as the realization about the conversation she had just had sunk in. The thought of the bet made her feel sick inside. What if Lockhart found out about it? What would he think of someone that tried to make him like them because it was just a bet.

"Except it isn't," she thought "It's nothing to do with the bet. I think I love him, I can't let anything stuff things up now".

But everyone apparently knew about it now, she thought sickly. Why couldn't Harry just have gone along with her plan of asking Lockhart for a drink after school – that would have been easy enough to arrange and then maybe this whole stupid bet thing would be over and no one would think anything more about her and Lockhart. Especially if she made it clear to everyone else that she had no interest in him at all.

Damn Harry for being so worried about it all. "Worried about you, you mean," said an annoying little voice in her head. "And you liked it," added the voice.

Gilderoy sat at his desk trying to prepare a lesson for his fourth formers for the next day but Hermione's face kept swimming into his mind. It was astonishing, he thought, the power she had over him. He couldn't stop thinking about seeing and holding her again.

"I've never felt like this about anyone," he thought "except myself," came an unbidden addition. Lockhart laughed softly.

"Well I was pretty gorgeous back I those days," he said aloud, and then shook his head. "That's enough Gilderoy, old chap, your days of turquoise robes are over," he told himself sternly getting out of his seat and walking over to his wardrobe. Strangely he found himself standing in front of the full length mirror set into his wardrobe door. Unlike in the past when his mirror had been his best friend he rarely looked into one these days. He glanced quickly up at his reflection, but was then unable to look away. Slowly he reached up a hand and ran his fingers through his hair, expertly ruffling it into place. He smiled at himself, revealing his gleaming white teeth and saw his dimple appear in his right cheek. He turned slightly to the side to admire his profile, and then realizing what he was doing, pulled his gaze away. He felt his heart beating faster, whether at the sight of his own (wonderful) reflection, or because he knew he shouldn't be doing this, he wasn't sure, and that made it all the worse. He closed his eyes tight and without willing it Hermione's face once again came into his mind.

"I really need to see her," he thought. Lockhart had no idea where Hermione might be, and it was a crazy idea anyway seeing as it was the middle of the school day, but he found himself walking out his door and into the corridor in search of her.

Hermione couldn't concentrate on anything after Harry's appearance, let alone charms revision. Why were some things in life just so difficult?, she wondered. She gathered up her books and left the library. There was an hour before her Arithmancy class started, but she had no idea what she was going to do. The Gryffindor common room was definitely not the place to be now it seemed as though everyone knew about the bet. (At that thought she felt sick again). No, it was much better to avoid anyone if she could. She started walking randomly through the corridors, not really caring where she was going, instead thinking about how to arrange another meeting with Lockhart. She passed a tapestry of Barnaby the Barmy and then as though in a dream,

"Hermione!" Lockhart's voice said in her mind. Even his voice was beautiful she thought smiling down at the ground and not looking where she was going. Suddenly she felt herself run into someone and strong arms wrap around her.

A loud and not very dignified "Oomph," escaped her as she looked up into Lockhart's dazzling blue eyes. Her heart hammered in her chest

"Gilderoy!" she said breathlessly, not even aware that she had called him by his first name."What are you doing here?" she asked, still holding him tightly.

"Looking for you of course," he said smiling his amazing smile down at her.

Hermione pulled back and looked up into his eyes.

"I wanted to see you so much as well, I can't believe you're here".

Gilderoy pulled her back close to him and she pressed herself even closer, feeling her body melt into his. Suddenly they heard footsteps and Hermione pushed him away.

"Oh no we can't let anyone see us together!" she said looking around wildly.

"It's ok, no one will think anything," Lockhart said. "Don't worry, I'm a teacher, it's ok for you to be here talking to me".

"No! No, we can't let people see....," Hermione gasped, an irrational fear possessing her. She couldn't allow people anymore gossip about her and Lockhart than what had been made up already. The more people talked the more Lockhart was likely to find out about the bet, and she couldn't let that happen. Damn that bet, and this school and everyone in it she thought desperately, still looking around for somewhere to disappear into. Suddenly she saw a door in the wall opposite the tapestry and without wondering where it went, she grabbed Lockhart' robes with one hand and seized the brass handle of the door with the other, pulling them both inside.

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief and looked around the room. A cheerful fire blazed in the fireplace and in the centre of the room stood an extremely comfortable looking four poster bed heaped with large satin pillows. Hermione felt a blush creep into her cheeks as she realized where she was. She should have known she was in that section of the castle when she had passed that tapestry of Barnaby the Barmy, she thought as her eyes looked around the Room of Requirement. Although she realized, she hadn't been here since fifth year when they had all been practicing defense against the dark arts. So this is what I require, she thought looking again at the bed, and feeling embarrassed. She didn't want to turn and see Gilderoy's expression. Hopefully he had no idea about what this room was.