Chapter 2: The Reluctant Stalker

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The Great Hall was buzzing alive with students from all four houses as they came inside for a bite to eat before returning to their common rooms. But there was only one person that Harry wanted to see coming thru those double oak doors, and is the one person they hadn't seen since they had left Snape's classroom.

"Ron, could you please close your mouth when you chew? You are not a pig, contrary to popular belief. And could you please not put half the table's servings on your plate? It gives people the idea that you bite more than you can chew…" Harry absently heard the redheaded Ginny Weasley scold her older brother. She was sitting next to Ron, who in turn was chewing loudly next to Harry.

His mouth still half-full, Ron replied, "I would worry more about what's on your plate, Ginny. Look at that!" Ron pointed at Ginny's plate; aside from some slices of watermelon and a few grapes, Ginny's plate looked awfully empty.

"I didn't feel like having a heavy dinner. Besides, Harry hasn't even touched his food. Go worry about his dietary habits," Ginny said, pointing at Harry's plate. At the mention of his name, Harry forced himself to look from the oak doors toward Ginny and Ron.

"What?" Harry replied absentmindedly, not having followed the siblings' petty argument. "You haven't touched your food. Are you okay, Harry?" Ginny asked worriedly. Ron, however, was smiling, for he guessed who Harry was looking for.

"I… I'm not hungry, I guess," Harry replied to Ginny, forcing a nonchalant smile. "Yeah. He's too busy looking for someone," Ron added, putting his hand over his mouth to hide the smirk that came over his face.

After the initial shock of finding out Harry had drank the love potion while looking at Hermione, Ron had decided this was a perfect opportunity to have fun with Harry's predicament rather than freaking out about it.

"Looking for who?" Ginny asked as she took a bite from her watermelon, the juice dripping lazily down her chin. "For Hermione," Harry said before he could stop himself. He already had enough on his plate with Ron making fun of him; he didn't need to have Ginny, heir apparent to Fred and George's mischief legacy, making fun of him too.

"That's right. Where's is she?" Ginny asked, scanning the Gryffindor table just in case Hermione had seated somewhere else. She winked when she caught Neville's eye. "That's what I'd like to know," Harry mumbled.

Ron cleared his throat in a not so conspicuous manner. "What? I'm just worried about her. That's all…" Harry replied unconvincingly. "Yeah, right. And I'm Merlin's heir," Ron whispered out of Ginny's earshot.

"I am! You know she usually spends all night studying, and… and… Well, the brain needs proper nutrition to work… and… and…" Harry tried to redeem himself before Ron interrupted by saying, "And you are now a love sick fool." "Who's a love sick fool?" Ginny asked.

"NOBODY!" Both Harry and Ron answered, slightly startling the smaller redhead. They were spared further interrogation by Ginny when Lavender and Parvati sat in front of them.

"I can't believe in less than a week we finally get to celebrate the Halloween Ball!" the trio caught the end of Parvati's sentence. Harry groaned. He had forgotten everything about the Halloween Ball. Truth be told, he was in no mood to celebrate, dress up, or dating for that matter… not when Voldemort and his Death Eaters were still loose.

"Bet you pretty girls already have dates," Ginny said with unconcealed girlish enthusiasm. "Of course! I'm going with Seamus," Lavender answered. "And I'm going with Dean. He's a great dancer, you know," Parvati added.

"I know," Ginny replied with a smile, not wanting to inform Parvati that she had dated Dean for more than five months and was fully aware of his dancing skills. Harry, on the other hand, was delighted by the news. If Dean was going with Parvati, it meant that he wasn't interested in Hermione and that the reason he had stood up for her during Potions was nothing but friendship.

'You git, why do you care? You shouldn't! It's the potion speaking! I am such an idiot! When has following Dobby's advise resulted in anything but trouble!''

Harry slapped his own forehead with the palm of his hand. Ron raised his eyebrow at him worriedly, but thankfully no one else had noticed.

"I didn't know you fancied Seamus," Ginny said to Lavender as she finished the last of her watermelon slices. "He's a nice guy. Although I have to admit he wasn't my dream date," Lavender added with a tinge of regret.

Ginny looked around the table to make sure Seamus wasn't nearby before whispering, "Who was?" Lavender and Parvati leaned across the table until they were less than a foot away from Ginny's face. "Roger Davies," Lavender whispered, getting an audible groan from Ron.

"What?" Lavender asked Ron, personally insulted that Ron didn't share her pick for her dream date. "It's clichéd! Of course you are going to like him… he's handsome, rich, Quidditch captain, and Head Boy. If you ask me, Seamus is much a better date than Big Head Roger," Ron said matter-of-factly.

"Oh, come off it Ron. You are just happy to know that Seamus is not taking Ginny to the ball. You are worse than a hound on a trail. Leave the girl some space to breathe!" Parvati said before she bit loudly into a very juicy apple she had been holding since she sat down. Ron glared at her, and she glared in return. Ron finally looked down. Parvati was a champion of staring contests.

"Well, that too," Ron whispered before he stole a glance at Harry, who had gone back to looking at the entrance to the Great Hall. "So, Roger has a date then?" Ginny asked nonchalantly, although the answer interested her more than she could tell Ron or Harry. She didn't know if Roger had a date, but she was sure she knew whom Roger fancied.

"I don't think so. But Padma told me that Christina told Diana that she had heard Roger telling Maxwell that he was going to ask the Head Girl to the ball," Parvati said, her voice falling into a whisper as she leaned across the table.

A loud "WHAT?" that came from Ron and a resounding "YES!" that came from Ginny brought Harry's attention back to the table. "What?" he asked densely as he looked from the two redheads to Parvati and Lavender.

"Oh, this is so exciting!" Ginny exclaimed giddily. "What is exciting?" Harry asked, even more confused by the fact that Ron was now looking at him with an expression of "sorry" written all over his freckled face.

"Oh, it's nothing that will interest YOU, Harry," Lavender said with a conspiratorial glance at Parvati, getting a giggle from both Ginny and Parvati. "Didn't you heard what Parvati said, mate?" Ron asked, his unusually serious tone carrying in his whisper.

"If I had heard I wouldn't be asking now, would I?" Harry said without much patience. "What the Gossip Twins just said was that Big Head Davies is going to ask the Head Girl to go to the ball," Ron said between clenched teeth, out of hearing range from the three Gryffindor girls around them, who were now talking about the costumes they were going to use and speculating about who the guest musical group was going to be.

"So, what's the big de…" Harry started, but the sentence trailed off before he had a chance to finish it.

He had just remembered who the Head Girl was.

"HERMIONE!?" Harry said loudly, receiving annoyed glances from the people around him. It wasn't until Ron opened his eyes wide in surprise that Harry heard the familiar feminine voice behind him ask, "What is it, Harry?" Harry looked over his shoulder. Standing less than a foot away from him was Hermione Granger.

"Hermione… err… nothing! I just… I called you to… to… to tell you to come join us!" Harry lied not so smoothly. Hermione didn't seemed to notice however as she playfully hit him on the shoulder. "Silly git. I always join you," Hermione said, going around the table and sitting next to Parvati and directly in front of Harry.

"So, what were you all chatting about?" Hermione asked casually as she started buttering a piece of freshly baked bread. "NOTHING!" the five of them replied, suddenly very interested in their corresponding food plates. Hermione raised her eyebrow at Harry, requesting more information, but he just shrugged.

However, Harry could see that the Gossip Twins were discussing between themselves if it was safe to prod for more information. Finally, Lavender nudged Parvati in the ribs. Clearing her throat unceremoniously, Parvati asked casually, "So, Hermione… have you seen Roger today?"

"Yes. He came to see me after Potions ended. Why?" Hermione said, stuffing her mouth with a giant grape. 'So, that's why she didn't wait for us,' Harry thought, his heartbeat quickening slightly. As he watched Hermione gulp half her glass of pumpkin juice, it occurred to Harry that Hermione was in a definite hurry.

"And… did he say anything?" Lavender asked nonchalantly. "Yes…" Hermione said before biting on another grape. Harry felt his insides boil suddenly and he accidentally bent the fork he had been holding onto for the last 15 minutes. Thankfully, Ron was the only one who noticed his reaction.

"AND?" Lavender, Parvati and Ginny asked at the same time, startling Hermione slightly. "You are an overexcited bunch today, aren't you? He just came to tell me that Peeves had somehow come inside our common room and had tear all the curtains," Hermione said as she shrugged toward Harry and Ron, thinking the girls' interest in the conversation was because they had heard about Peeves latest mischief.

"Oh… that's… too bad," Ginny said as she exchanged knowing glances with Lavender and Parvati. "Yes. Thankfully, Roger told the Bloody Baron about it. Peeves is not coming to our room anytime soon," Hermione finished.

Harry finally grasped that it was the second time Hermione had used the word "our". And it was just then that he remembered that Hermione, as Head Girl, shared a private common room with Hogwarts' Head Boy. He hadn't really thought about it before since Hermione still spent most of her free time in the Gryffindor common room.

But now… now it was different. Now, he couldn't stop thinking about the fact that the girl he loved was sharing a cozy common room (not to mention a private bathroom complete with tub) with a guy who was six-inches taller than him, had better hair, better face, a healthy tan, MUCH better grades, and who was …according to Parvati and Lavender… every girls' fantasy.

'Wait… "girl I love"? Oh, for Merlin's sake! Get a grip, Potter! You don't love Hermione! Well, you do love her but not like that. She's your friend, your mate! Oh, how long did Snape say the potion's effects were supposed to last? Eight hours? Damn, maybe I should just go to my room right now and don't come out until tomorrow. Yeah, I should do that. Then everything's going to be the way it's supposed to be,' Harry thought before Ron's voice brought him back to the land of the living.

"Harry, didn't you want to ask Hermione something?" Ron said, his eyes wide as if he was trying to communicate something important to Harry. Whatever it was it was lost to Harry.

"I don't…" Harry said, before getting a hard nudge on the ribs from Ron's elbow. Hermione had stopped eating and was now looking at them with curiosity.

"Yes, you do! Remember? You just told me how you were stuck in the History of Magic essay that we need to submit tomorrow… and you told me you were going to ask Hermione for help," Ron said forcefully as he awkwardly nodded his head in Hermione's direction.

"Do you have something in your neck Ron?" Hermione asked, unable from her point of view to see the look of "play along" Ron was giving Harry. Finally, Harry gathered Ron was trying to help him find an excuse to spend time with Hermione.

'Ron, you sod! You are supposed to be helping me get out of this mess, not pushing me further in!''

Harry tried to force his thoughts into his eyes so Ron could see and stop his meddling. But either Ron didn't understand or he wasn't going to be deterred as he continued nodding conspicuously at Hermione.

"Ron, are you sure you are alright?" Hermione asked worriedly. Harry was about to turn to her and scream, "He's fine. He's just being an idiot!", when he noticed how charming she looked when she was frowning, biting her bottom lip in an expression mix with both confusion and concern. And while his brain yelled, 'Don't play along!' Harry found himself saying, "Oh, right! I'd forgotten."

"Hermione, can you help me with my essay?" Harry asked quickly before he had a chance to think twice. The truth was that Hermione had already finished her plate, and that he didn't want to see her leave again.

"Harry, you know I will!" Hermione said with a soft smile as she reached across the table and patted his hand with hers. Harry had use of enough of his brains to stop himself from grabbing her hand.

"Great. Harry will go with you to get your things and I'll wait for you two in the common room," Ron said triumphantly. Harry stepped on his foot while looking at Hermione, who was oblivious to Harry's predicament, judging by how she savored the last of her dessert.

"OUCH! Watch it!" Ron complained. "Sorry," Harry apologized in his most sarcastic tone. Hermione finished the last of her pumpkin juice and quickly stood up. "Finished. See you later," Hermione said casually as she started walking away,

"Wait. Harry is going too! Harry, why don't you go with Hermione and help her with her books?" Ron said as he started the annoying head nod again. "Don't push it, Ron," Harry whispered between clenched teeth.

"Oh, I'm not going to my common room now. I have to go by the library first," Hermione said. "Again?" Harry and Ron asked simultaneously; Hermione had already spent half of her lunch hour in there.

"Yes, I promised Roger I was going to help him with his Arithmacy," Hermione continued nonchalantly. Ginny raised a curious eyebrow at the Gossip Twins, who had just found the conversation between Harry, Ron and Hermione very interesting.

Harry, on the other hand, found the noise his teeth made when they were grinding incredibly annoying.

"Oh, so Roger is going to be there too?" Parvati asked as casually as she could. "Yes," Hermione answered with a frown. What Parvati and Lavender found so interesting about Roger Davies, she didn't know.

"I'll be at the common room at around nine," Hermione said, turning her attention back to Harry. She wasn't far from them when she stopped and turned around. "Oh, and Harry… if you want to start sooner, you are welcome to come to the library with me," Hermione added.

"Thanks," Harry answered as he forced himself to smile casually. Hermione didn't notice the strain for she turned around and left the Great Hall.

"If you go there, I'm going to kill you myself!" Ginny threatened Harry, her voice half-joking, half deadly serious. "WHY?" Ron asked before Harry got a chance.

"Oh, isn't it obvious?" Lavender said, "He's going to ask her to be his date while they are the library. He's such a gentleman." "What do you mean?" Harry asked her hurriedly, his throat feeling a little more dry than it should.

It was Parvati who answered by saying, "Well, he has to ask her in a neutral ground just in case Hermione is crazy enough to say no. Since they practically live together…"

"They share a COMMON room! They do not live together," Harry corrected quickly, suddenly feeling the urge to slam the kidney pie in Parvati's face.

"Whatever! In any case, asking her in neutral ground means that even if she says: "No, thank you. I am too much of a loony to accept,"  then she won't feel out of place when they are sharing sleepless nights on their PRIVATE common room while sitting next to the cozy fire," Parvati finished.

Parvati and Lavender stood up and left before Ron could give them a piece of his mind. Ginny also stood up, but she did not leave the Great Hall immediately. Instead, she turned toward Harry and Ron and inspected them gravely.

"Now… do I have your promise you two are not going to go into the library and be Hermione's third wheel?" she asked seriously with a voice that she usually reserved to beaters of the Quidditch team she was playing against.

"We promise," Harry and Ron said simultaneously. Her eyes filled with suspicion, she looked from Harry to Ron and back.

"Relax, Ginny. You can trust us," Harry said with sincere smile. After a few seconds, Ginny sighed and said, "Well, I guess I can. I'll see you guys later." She turned around and started walking away, but she was still within sight when Ron leaned toward Harry and whispered, "You really weren't going to keep that promise, were you?"

"Hell no!"

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30 minutes later…

"Are you sure this is what we want?"

Ron hesitantly asked Harry as he watched his friend open his trunk and take out a piece of clothing from the very bottom. Ron had seen Harry use the Invisibility Cloak enough times to recognize it immediately. Harry had already hidden the Extendable Ears George and Fred had given him in his pocket. It was definitely an undercover operation.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked absently. He had formulated this plan as soon as he watched Hermione leaving the Great Hall.

'You are just concerned for your friend. Because Hermione IS your friend. You just want to make sure Roger doesn't try to… you know… get funny with her. Yes, that's it.' Harry repeated in his head over and over attempt in a lame attempt to try to convince himself of something he wasn't sure of.

"Harry, you DO know you are under the potion's effects, right? Maybe that's the reason you are jealous and you want to sneak in…" Ron managed to say before Harry closed his trunk with a loud thud and glared at him.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake, Ron! I am not under any potion's spell! I am not doing this because I am jealous… I am simply concerned for my friend! You know Hermione has never… well, she trusts people too much! I don't want Roger to take advantage of her," Harry said, feeling slightly secure by how sure he sounded in his own ears.

Ron, however, was not convinced as he muttered, "Yeah, right. Whatever." Harry pointed at him as he decided to fight fire with fire. "Hold on! You too wanted to go into the library and see what was going on! Maybe you are the one who is in love with Hermione!" he said, trying to sound accusing and failing.

"Don't be a git, Harry," Ron said calmly, "I am helping out because Roger is one of my least favorite people in this school and, if I have to go to the Davies-Granger wedding, I'm going to hang myself from the ceiling with my jock strap."

"I don't know if I should be disturbed or disgusted," Harry mumbled, shaking his head as he tried to dissipate the mental picture of Ron and his jock strap. "Anyway, Harry," Ron continued unabated,  "One thing is to go to the library and, you know, interrupt them by sitting next to Hermione and asking her for pointers every few seconds, but to sneak in? That's stalking!"

"We promised Ginny, we weren't going to be third wheels," Harry said. He was getting angry with Ron for making him stall.

'Oh, if Roger has her hands on her, I am going to…'

Ron's voice snapped him from his reverie. "Oh, yes, breaking a stupid promise to Ginny is bad. But spying on our best friend isn't?" Harry sighed. He was going to try one more thing to convince Ron, but if Ron didn't agree, then he would just have to knock his best friend's lights out and beg for forgiveness later.

"Ron, think about this. We both dislike Roger. We both think Hermione can do much better than him," Harry started saying. "And will that much better person be you, mate?" Ron interrupted.

"No, you idiot. It's not me. I told you! This is not about me being in love with Hermione! This is about two mates looking out for their best friend! Agreed?" Harry replied with certainty.

Ron thought about it for a few seconds before answering, "Agreed." "It's settled then. Let's go," Harry said as he tucked the invisibility cloak under his sweater and left their dormitory with determination. Ron reluctantly followed him as they walked thought the Hogwart's halls, occasionally encountering some of their fellow students, but walking briskly before anyone could engage them in conversation.

When they were standing in front of the boy's bathroom that was a hallway away from the library, Harry quickly pulled Ron inside and threw the Invisibility Cloak over them. Ron had grown so much during the summer that the cloak barely reached their mid-calves.

"You'll have to bend your knees a bit, mate," Harry instructed, shifting nervously. He loved Ron like a brother, but being pressed against him was not one of Harry's favorite ways of passing the time. "Why me?" Ron hissed. "Because you are the one who's freakishly tall!" Harry snapped.

Ron adjusted himself until the cloak finally touched the floor. "Done. And by the way, girls think tall men are sexy," Ron whispered as they slowly walked out of the bathroom. "I'll call you 'sexy' everyday if you just shut up now," Harry pleaded as they silently stepped inside the library.

The library was a huge room with at least 30 pairs of tall bookshelves surrounding multiple study tables. Madam Prince was sitting on her desk pretending to read a book about Mythological and Magical Creatures of Romania, but Harry knew better. That woman watched over her library like a hawk watches over her newborns.

"Do you see her?" Ron whispered behind him. Harry was going to answer "no", when he suddenly spotted Hermione's brown hair sitting by the far corner's table. There was another head next to hers, with blond hair and maybe a foot taller than hers. Holding up the blond head, he could see pair of broad shoulders and a confident stance Harry had always wanted to posses.

Harry felt his stomach drop a few notches when he saw Roger putting his arm around Hermione and patting her on the shoulder. If he hadn't taken his hand off a second later, Harry was sure he would have walked toward them and twisted Roger's arm off.

"Closer," Harry whispered as he made Ron follow him closer to where Hermione and Roger were sitting. "Harry, I can't stand this much longer. My back is killing me," Ron mumbled painfully. Harry found a perfect hiding spot on the high bookshelf a few feet away from Hermione. Moving a few Muggle studies books out of the way, Harry and Ron could partially see Hermione and Roger's face more closely.

Ron sighed with relief as soon as he was able to stretch. If anyone had walked by the last bookshelf on the library, they would have seen Ron's old sneakers and the bottom of his maroon trousers.

Harry noticed that Hermione indeed was working on an assignment for she had in her hand a blotched piece of parchment with a confusing numbered chart. Roger, however, didn't seem to be that interested in the homework, since he looked at Hermione the whole time she was trying to explain something in the chart. Harry suddenly fought the urge to poke Roger's eyes.

'They're talking… but what are they talking about? I mean, Hermione is trying to show him something in the chart, but now he's saying something and… she's laughing. What is it? Did he ask her to the prom yet? Wait… is he trying to rub his elbow against her breast? If he is, in I'm going to cut off his di… '

"Harry. That's enough." Ron whispered urgently. Harry had been so concentrated on spying on Hermione that he jumped at the sound of Ron's voice. He watched as Hermione turned her head sharply around and looked at the other side of the bookshelf Harry and Ron were standing behind.  "Did you hear something, Rog?" Hermione asked, frowning.

'Rog? Why the hell is she calling him Rog? She never calls me Har or Arry…'

"I didn't hear anything. Now, what was it you were saying about 91 divided by a prime?" Roger said smoothly as he tried to focus Hermione's attention back on him.

"Chill, mate. Let's go," Ron urged. "Not yet," Harry disagreed, "let me get a bit closer. I can't really hear what they are saying under this thing." "Any closer and we are going to step on Hermione's foot!" Ron hissed.

Before Ron could protest, Harry carefully took off the Invisibility Cloak so it only covered Ron. He had an urgent need to see everything that was going on. He was afraid that behind the bookshelf, he was going to miss something as important as Hermione holding Roger's hand or Roger softly tracing circles with his fingers on Hermione's leg under the table.

So Harry did the only thing his distrustful brain thought of at the moment. He started climbing the bookshelf, using each shelf to go higher and higher until he reached the top shelf and on it. Harry looked down; he was at least 10 feet from the floor.  Although he had a bird's eye view of Roger and Hermione ('At least I can now see where their hands are') Harry still couldn't figure out what they were talking about.

Just then he remembered the Extendable Ears he had in his pocket. 'Reminder: tell George and Fred what a couple of geniuses they are' Harry thought as he pulled them out of his pocket. Slowly, he lowered one of the ears until he could make out Hermione's voice coming thru the device.

"So you see? When you divide 91 by any prime, you get what's called a vortex epsilon, a powerful number that can be used for good or dark purposes. The higher the number you get, the more powerful the base spell is going to be," Hermione was saying, making Harry scratch his head compulsively as he tried to make sense of her explanation.

"I get it now! Finally!" Roger said, flashing a smile that reminded Harry of Gilderoy Lockhart. "You are a great teacher, Mione," Roger added, giving Hermione a quick hug.

'Mione? MIONE? That's how I CALL… I mean, how Ron and I call her! What is this intruder doing calling her by our pet name' Harry clenched his fist until his knuckles were white.

"I'm glad to help, Rog," Hermione said coolly and stood up. "I promised Harry I was going to help him with his essay," she said as she started gathering her thing, "so, I'll see you later?"

'That's it, Hermione! Be a good girl and run from the slimy son of a b…'

"Wait! There's something I want to ask you," Roger said, his voicing sounding a little less casual than before. Harry leaned even further, until he had to use his free hand to grasp the shelf for fear of falling. He didn't like where this was going.

"What is it, Roger?" Hermione asked without a hint that she knew where this was going. Roger stood up and faced her. "I was wondering if… well, if you'd like to be my date for the Halloween Ball," he said, again flashing one of those smiles that will surely get him nominated for Witch's Weekly Best Smile Award.

Harry was as irritated as Hermione was shock. Harry would have enjoyed seeing Hermione at such a loss for words if one of his hands hadn't started to hurt and if his other hand wasn't dreaming of wrapping itself around Roger's throat.

"I… um… I… well… I'm flattered… I… em… don't know… don't know what to… what to say," Hermione stuttered for what may have been the first time in her life. "Then say 'YES'," Roger said confidently, taking Hermione's hand in his. Harry leaned even further, willing his mind to suddenly start transmitting extra-sensorial messages to Hermione.

'Tell him to go screw himself! Tell him you are going with your two best friends because you don't want to spend the evening with a self-centered, egotistical, ambitious, slimy motherfu…'

"Yes! I'll go with you!" Hermione said, smiling up at Roger.

'SHIT! NO! WHY!?'

No sooner had the words come out her mouth that Harry heard a loud creaking sound. And with a mixture of shock and alarm, he found himself rapidly moving closer and closer toward the floor.

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A/N: Hey everyone. Hope you enjoyed the chapter! As a side note, I want to ask if anyone is reading this to leave me a comment in the review section, cause I think if no one reads it then… well, it is sort of a waste of time to post it. So if you are reading this and wish to continue reading this, I appreciate if you drop me a line.


PEACE!