Chapter 4: Underneath the Stars

Hermione sat their giving Harry one of the strangest looks. Harry did not seem to take notice, he just starred at the mirror.

"Harr-", she began to ask him what that was all about, but he cut her off.

"SIRIUS BLACK" he said again more assertively, still looking into the mirror. Nothing happened. Nothing. Looking as if his heart had been broken (because in a way it had) he slowly dropped the hand holding the mirror to his side and walked over to the bed where Hermione sat.

Dropping the mirror on the mattress he sat next to her and pulled his knees up to his chest wrapping his arms around his legs. He didn't speak. Hermione new that from the way he was sitting there that she shouldn't say anything even though she wanted to know what the hell just happened. Finally, after 15 long tense minutes he spoke.

"It didn't work, I… I thought if I… Maybe just one more try, but it didn't, I got my hopes up, but it didn't…. He's really gone Hermione." There were no tears, just sadness in his voice.

"Harry I really don't know what to say, I'm confused. What was that mirror?" she asked him carefully.

He sat there for a few seconds contemplating how to answer her question. "Sirius gave that mirror to me."

"Oh" she said to him still looking confused as to why he would be talking to it. So he went on to explain why he had the mirror in the first place, the note from Sirius, and the day he smashed it into pieces.

"Oh Harry I'm so sorry, If I had known what that mirror was, I would have never touched it. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have…" she trailed off not really knowing what else to say.

"It's fine", he said kind of harshly. It took him another minute to speak again, but when he spoke it was in a lighter tone. "Hermione what exactly did you have planned for us today and why did we have to get up so early?"

"Well Harry" she said with a smile, "we are getting a head start on the DA."

"HUH?"

"Well if you must know, I have been keeping in contact with most of the DA members, and we all agree that the first Friday back at classes should be our first returning lesson. So I figured we could get a start on lesson planning." Harry looked at her with a sort of strange expression.

Hermione was afraid that he would be angry with her. But when he saw her so excited about something he just couldn't help but smile too. "Okay that sounds like a good idea to pass the time. Tonight can we work on our Astronomy homework? I tried to start it but I just couldn't figure out how to align the planets according to the map."

Getting all giddy at Harry actually talking about doing homework she jumped up and down while getting her books out from her book bag.

They spent all morning and most of the afternoon working on lesson planning. After a quick lunch break they went back to work, also finishing all their Defense against the Dark Arts homework.

"Hermione how do you think you did on you're OWLS?" he asked her.

Looking really nervous at the thought of OWLS she answered, "I'm not sure, I hope I did well. I sort of froze on one part of my History of magic exam, scores should be sent out soon enough. Actually they should be here by now. OH NO! Do you think we did so badly that they didn't even send out a score? What if we failed every one? What are we going to do? I can't tell my parents that I failed all of my tests and am getting kicked out of Hogwarts." She had become frantic.

"HERMIONE! Calm down. BREATH!" he laughed at her as she nervously broke the quill she had been writing with.

"I'm sorry I asked you about OWLS. I'm sure you did amazingly enough. I'm the one that should be worried about failing." With this said she had visibly calmed down, but Harry new that her mind was racing with thoughts of being doomed to working at a fast food restaurant for the rest of her life.
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Night time came, as did the stars. Laying on side by side matching lounge chairs the duo was hard at work on their star charts.

"Hermione this is getting ridiculous! I will never be able to see Orion tonight. I can't concentrate." Harry said while throwing his quill down in a huff.

"Harry, it's simple enough if you take the time to plot the points. You have seen it before, find it again." She said while getting up from her lounge and picking up his quill.

"Slide over, I'll point it out to you." Squeezing in to the tiny space in the lounge chair meant for one person she leaned herself on her side facing him.

"Okay" she said while putting her head down as close to his as possible and using her finger to point into the sky at the area he was to be looking at.

Harry could concentrate even less, at this point all he could do was think about how her body was pressed up against his, and her face was inches from his own. Not really listening to her he put down his chart and starred at her.

"Do you see it now?" she asked looking over to him. "Harry you're not even paying attention to a word I say are you? Harry?" she finally grabbed his face to get him to snap out of what ever trance he was in.

Snapping back into reality he quickly picked up his chart and started writing down the plot points in any random spot and then hid it before she could see what he put down "Yeah I see it".

Shaking her head Hermione got up and went back to her chair. "Why was he starring at me like that? I must have just imagined it. But WOW. Those eyes!" She thought silently to herself.

After an hour of tense silent star gazing Hermione decide to be the one to speak up again. "Harry, I think I'm getting tired."

"Okay"

"Well it's just, uhhhh, I mean, am I still sleeping in your room?" she asked blushing slightly.

"Oh, that, well the only other place you could sleep is on the couch in the family room but I don't know if you want to take your chances with Dudley running around the house, and my Aunt keeps her room so clean she will know if someone breathed in it, so you can't go in their."

"Then your room is fine, but I insist on sleeping on the cot, you need to be in your own bed." she said not really looking at him.

"No your sleeping in my bed, I'll take the cot, that thing is dangerous and if you slept on it I would be awake all night afraid that you got stuck in it when it folded up."

"Harry No!" They continued this argument all the way up the stairs with Hermione finally giving in, only because Harry jumped on the cot and got under the covers before she could say anything else.

"Harry I'm going to the bathroom to change and stuff, I'll try not to wake you when I come back." Ten minutes later she came back into the silent dark room and crawled into Harry's bed.

Laying their in the silence for a few minutes she let out a large sigh, then looked over at the clock. 11:53 pm. "Harry are you asleep?"

"No"

"Okay" she said as she got up and walked over to his clock changing the time to 12:01 am.

"Hermione what are you doing?" he asked watching her.

"Cheating" she said smiling mischievously then turned around and handed him a box.

"Happy Birthday Harry."

He starred at her for a moment as she sat down on his cot.

"HUH" he asked.

"It's your Birthday silly, did you forget or something?" she asked jokingly.

"I did, I forgot" he said not really believing his own stupidity. He sat there for a moment and looked at the box in his hands.

"Aren't you going to open it?" she asked him nervously.

"Of course" he said with a smile and tore off the wrapping paper. Fingering the leather bound case he flipped open the top. The glimmer off the moonlight shinning into the room revealed a tiny golden snitch. Harry picked it up out of the box, and noticed it was engraved.

Harry James Potter
SEEKER

"Hermione I love it. Where did you find something like this? It must have cost you a fortune. I love it! Thank you!"

He leaned over and hugged her, holding her tightly. After a few seconds he released his arms partially and looked into her smiling eyes. He felt this overwhelming urge to kiss her. It felt right, like he should have been doing it all along. As he thought this he felt his body begin to lean into her.

"Oh my, it looks like, he's going to kiss me." Hermione thought to herself. As his face was only a few inches from hers he paused. There was a noise at the window.

Harry looked up to see a small fluttering midget of an owl out side his window. Groaning silently to himself he got off the cot and opened the window, not noticing Hermione let out her own silent groan.

The overzealous owl flew into his room and buzzed around crazily, then finally landed on the post at the end of Harry's bed. As Harry leaned over to take off the small package and letter another owl flew into his room followed by another and then finally Fawks.

"Wow Harry, I guess you're the ONLY one who forgot your Birthday." She laughed at the now full bedroom.

Slowly opening every gift and letter he made his way through the zoo that had become his room. He received a Home made cake from Hagrid, and Lupin sent him a letter telling him that he had his gift, but it was too big to send with an owl.

Fawks had bought Harry a letter from Dumbledore with a message saying an all too familiar phrase.

"Your father left this in my possession I believe it is time it was returned to you. Use it well." Laughing to himself as he remembered the last time he got that note he opened Dumbledore's gift. It was a necklace with a phoenix medallion on it.

"Wow, Harry is that one from Dumbledore?" Hermione asked him.

"Yeah, I guess this was my fathers." He said while hooking it around his neck.

Taking his last letter, the one from Ron, he began to read out loud. "Hey Mate, Looks like Dumbledore is going to let us break you out of that joint. Dad and the crew will be at your house in the morning at 9:30. I tried to convince him to at least let you sleep in, but he has to be in work. I may take a ride along. See you soon Mate. Happy 16th Birthday."

"So they will be here in the morning?" Hermione asked sounding kind of upset.

"Looks that way" Harry said. "I guess we should pack now, and get it over with." He began to get his things together and started to put them in his trunk.

"Harry what are you doing, just use magic to pack up." She said smiling. Then with a flick of her wand both hers and Harry's things were all put away in their trunks.

Jumping back into the bed she shouted a quick goodnight. Harry turned off the light and slowly got on the cot only to be asleep minutes later.

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Waking up in the middle of the night Harry sat up. Feeling the fresh cuts on his back he new that he could not sleep any longer. This cot had to go, the springs were popping out of it. Levitating it out of his room and into the hall closet with a bang again Harry prepared to sleep on the floor.

"Don't even think about sleeping on that floor Harry James Potter. I won't have it!" Hermione had said through her blanket of hair covering her face.

"I thought you were asleep." He smiled.

"Like I could sleep through that ruckus." She laughed. "Come on" she slid over lifting up the covers for him to get in.

"Are you sure that's such a good idea?" he asked her.

"Harry those cuts on your back are not gonna heal with you sleeping on the hard wood floor. Now get in the damn bed or suffer the consequences." With that she rolled over and put her back to him.

Taking a moment he finally decided she was right, and slowly got into his bed next to her. After laying their awkwardly for a few moments he finally began to relax enough to fall back asleep.

Morning came all too quickly, but neither Harry nor Hermione realized it. That is until the knock on the bedroom door.

"Harry, its 9:45, Moody sent me up to see if you were coming down or staying here for the rest of the school year." Ron Weasly's voice sounded through the door, as it began to open.

Harry stirred at hearing his voice but didn't move, he was in the middle of having this wonderful dream about an all to familiar girl with brown eyes sleeping in his arms.

He was about to get up and open the door for Ron when…. "HOLY SHIT! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU TWO CALL THIS?"