A/N: Thanks again go to Missybewitched for her much needed help on this Chapter. Sometimes, what is clear to you is confusing to another person.

Thanks to those who have commented, I really appreciate it.

To Eimme: yes, I don't think Hermione would act that way either. I have to remind myself though that they are getting older, so some things they may get up to may seem strange at first - but the reasons will present themselves later :)

To BlackWiltedRose: thanks so much for your words of encouragement. I always think my descriptions are not up to scratch. I hope you enjoy the chapters that follow, as much as you enjoyed the first. I have enjoyed writing them.

Chapter 2: Mistakes

A rumble of noise erupted from behind the portrait hole as Ron and Harry stepped through it.

"Two cheers for Harry and Ron!" Lee Jordan bellowed, as he made his way towards their grinning faces at the entrance to Gryffindor Tower. "Our two saviours!"

All the Gryffindors laughed at Lee's comments, and as the pair made their way through the pulsing crowd, they received many pats on the back and cauldron cakes, pastry puffs and fizzing whizzbees, were being shoved into their arms.

As they approached the fireplace, Harry received a hard pinch on his bottom. For a nanosecond, he, although unwanted, experienced pleasure at the thought that it was Hermione who had pinched him there. He turned around to face his attacker and saw that it was a young first year girl who had turned a deep crimson shade.

"Sorry," she muttered meekly to him as she turned away quickly and hurried away to a group of madly giggling first year girls.

Harry felt his face begin to grow hot, so he grabbled a bottle of butterbeer and began to gulp it down. He was again listening to another recount of his masterful play on the Slytherin Seeker, and began to zone out. Hermione's pretty face with her pink flushed cheeks had entered his mind. He sank back into a nearby chair, butterbeer in hand and began to mull over the problem that was Hermione.

She hadn't been a problem before, of course; he hadn't been attracted to her. She was one of his best friends after all, and therefore, he had never taken it within his right to notice her womanly charms. But her blatant playfulness and forthrightness with her actions today had begun to make him think otherwise of her.

He didn't know how Ron managed so well. Ron liked Hermione too, it was obvious to just about everyone except the young lady, and he managed to talk to her and look her in the eye without giving away his own feelings. For Harry, to talk to a girl he liked, resulted in a blush creeping up his cheeks and his throat closing up so he couldn't make a sound.

Sighing contentedly as he recalled the feeling of Hermione's hand in his pants, Harry took another swig from his bottle. He smiled sadly, he was under her spell now - she was a clever witch after all. It just pained him that he would never be able to be with her unless she made the first move, because that way, it wouldn't be so hard on Ron.

But then again, being with her wasn't an option. He knew he couldn't live without Ron by his side, after all, he had experienced last year what it felt like to be with Hermione all the time. He didn't think he could handle spending most of his spare time in the library. Especially when Madame Pince didn't tolerate students sneaking a snog behind one of her ancient tomes.

He scanned the room looking for Ron's lanky frame and found it standing in a circle of girls. Yes, he would give up on the idea of Hermione. He supposed he only had taken a fancy towards her, as she was someone he could always count on for a good hug when he needed one, and one even if he didn't need it.

He smiled wickedly to himself and turned his head towards the ceiling to capture the last of the butterbeer from its bottle. When he turned back down he almost dropped the bottle on the floor. Hermione was standing right in front of his chair, an angry look drawn across her face.

Harry opened his mouth to ask what was wrong, but Hermione quickly bent down and covered his mouth with her hand.

"Shhh," she whispered to him, "not here."

He looked at her, puzzled. Grabbing his free hand, Hermione pulled him over to the far window of the common room and placed her head against the window to look outside. It was dark now; the stars could be seen in the distance and they could barely make out the muted lights from Hagrid's cabin far belowin the grounds.

Harry watched as her warm breath fogged up the window, there was still a tell tale twinkle in her eye.

"Hermione, what is it?" He said quietly to her reflection on the window. His heart skipped a beat when her reflected eyes looked into his.

Hermione looked over his shoulder, and taking her hint, Harry turned his head. Ginny Weasley was approaching them, a tray laden with cakes balanced on her elegant hand, and a mischievous glint to her eye that Harry missed.

"Here," she offered the platter to the two teenagers, "take one of these."

Hermione refused politely, but Harry took one, hoping that Ginny would go away and he could listen to what Hermione had to say. Ginny looked like she was about to say something, but stopped when she noticed the look Harry gave her. She then turned on her heel and disappeared into the crowd.

Harry turned back to face Hermione, intent on hearing the answer to his question, and took in a sharp intake of breath when he realised that she was right up close to him, mere centimetres away. His eyes flicked to her lips, which were shiny and smooth, parted slightly, beckoning to him.

The last time a girl had been this close; she had kissed him. Harry began to feel a pleasant tingle throughout his body, as his commonsense and restraint started to trickle away; Hermione wanted to kiss him just like Cho did.

He took Hermione's hand and pulled her closer, his butterbeer bottle had mysteriously disappeared, and ran his fingers through Hermione's tousled hair as he leaned down to kiss her.

Hermione remained still in his arms; her hand went up to fetch Harry's hand from her hair. She held it and broke their kiss, stepping away from Harry slightly. Her cheeks had turned red and she looked at Harry with a look of surprise and confusion forming on her pretty face as she let go of his hands.

Harry was breathing quickly, he couldn't believe what he had just done. He had kissed Hermione Granger, his best friend, in front of the whole of Gryffindor House. What was he thinking? He looked at Hermione more closely and his stomach clenched into a knot. She didn't look pleased; instead she looked taken aback and embarrassed. It was not the look he was expecting to see on her face. Why did every girl he had ever kissed have to have some adverse reaction to what was supposed to be a pleasurable experience?

He turned to look out the window and picked up the cake from the windowsill that he had grabbed from Ginny's platter. He needed something to distract him from the awkward feelings that were radiating from Hermione. He needed to collect his thoughts before he could look at her again.

He was about to take his first bite of the cake when he noticed Hermione looking over his shoulder again. He snapped his head around quickly as his teeth bit down into the cake. He saw a flash of red hair and knew it was Ron; the knot in his stomach tightened and sank. Ron looked furious as he came to stand right in front of him.

Harry, who was stunned and had cake hanging from his mouth, looked at Ron. He felt like he had been caught committing some awful crime. How could he have kissed the girl his best friend had fancied for years?

Ron brought his hand around quickly and slapped Harry hard across the face. The cake that had been in Harry's mouth went flying towards the floor. Harry's hand reached up to rub the red raw pain from his face. His eyes that had begun to emit tears from the smarting pain, noticed the look of disgust that Ron was wearing as he looked at him.