Chapter Five – Late Night Meeting

Harry sat in the armchair, staring aimlessly at the fire burning before him. What was supposed to be a great day turned out to be a disaster. He was supposed to win his girlfriend back, but only managed to push her further away. And it was all Neville's fault. And Ron's. If he hadn't started it, he and Hermione never would have fought about it. Sighing he thought back to what caused the whole thing…

Ron had just come in through the library doors looking rather exhausted. He flopped himself down on the chair in front of Harry and Hermione who were studying.

"Oh, so I'm just not important anymore since you two are dating, is that right," Ron said sulkily.

Hermione looked up and offered him a smile. "You're still important. Where were you?"

"Doing detention. Honestly, don't you two do anything else other than study?"

"Yes, of course, but lessons are more important," Harry said indignantly.

Ron rolled his eyes. "Right, okay. And just what else do you do?"

Harry smirked. "You know, read about potions and how to transform objects and such."

Ron sniggered. "You poor bloke. How'd you ever manage to end up with a book worm like her anyway?"

"Funny isn't it, she's so smart, yet she couldn't save herself from a troll."

At that statement Ron and Harry laughed. Hermione, however, scowled. "Go on, laugh it up," she said.

"Did you know, that even as we're snogging, she makes me recite all the things I've learned? That's how much of a nerd she is," Harry continued to laugh, not noticing the look of hurt on Hermione's face. "I don't even know why I started to date such a boring intelligent person."

They continued to laugh though it wasn't really funny. Fuming, Hermione stood up and gathered her books. She glared at Harry before storming off.

Harry sighed again. Just then, Neville entered cautiously, followed by Ginny and Ron. They took their seats on the sofa and waited for him to speak. Finally, Harry turned to them. He looked at their illuminated faces. They all looked very tired.

"Where're the others?" he asked.

"Malfoy's got himself detention, and Lavender won't wake up." Ginny piped up. "Seamus is studying in the library and Luna… Well I haven't got a clue where she's gone."

"Oh, " Harry mumbled. "All right, let's start then… Any one have any other ideas as to what I can do to win back Hermione?"

"Just say you're sorry damn it," Ron snapped grudgingly. He was very cranky from the lack of sleep. "I mean, honestly Harry, it's all that needs to be done!"

"Not after the disaster today! In fact, if it weren't for you two, I wouldn't even be here in this stupid situation!"

"Well if it's our fault, why do you want our help so badly?" Ron retorted.

Harry sighed. He really wasn't in any mood to fight with Ron right now. He sat back down on his armchair and gave Ron an apologetic look. As the night wore on, they discussed what else could've been done to win back Hermione.

"Well, you could always do Luna's suggestion," Ginny said tiredly. "You could just serenade her."

At this, Ron made gagging noises, which made Neville laugh. Harry rolled his eyes. He wasn't going to do that at all. No matter what.

"No! Do you know how bad that'll make me look?" Harry said. "I mean, come on!"

"Well… You could always go and… save her," Neville suggested feebly. "It's worth a shot."

"Save her…" Harry thought about it. It wasn't such a bad idea. All he had to do was borrow some cronies and ask them to scare her. Then, he could come to her rescue and they'd all be happy again. "Neville, that's perfect!"

"It is?" Ron asked.

"It is?" Neville asked in astonishment.

"Yes! It is! I'm sure this is going to work." Harry said confidently. "This is foolproof. I know it. Okay, meet me here tomorrow afternoon. Tell everyone. I've got just the plan." He smiled. This was going to be perfect. Absolutely perfect.