Disclaimer: Own nothing. If I did, I don't think this story would be up here.

A/N: Here's the small climax… I hope you like! R&R, No flames please.

Chapter 3

Harry

Any guy my age usually enjoys attention from girls of any kind. But me? I think Hermione could give me a little space. I mean, she sees that I don't want her near me… or does she?

Well, I was wrong about 6th year. We were still in a lot of the same classes, despite our different career desires. And she didn't sit near me anymore, so I had to really work hard.

Ron didn't want to be an Auror or whatever Hermione wanted to be, just whatever was easiest and didn't require Potions, so he couldn't save me from Ms. Know-It-All in Potions, just Transfiguration.

Ron sat groggily next to me during Transfiguration, and today, I must say, he was not doing too well. Now, Ron and I have developed a knack for Transfiguring and do it very well, but today he was less than satisfactory.

"Mr. Weasley!" barked Professor McGonagall. "Will you please pay attention!"

"I'm sorry, Professor," Ron protested, "but at 7:00 this morning, Hermione yelled, 'Good morning, Hogwarts!' and woke me up and I couldn't fall back asleep!" Hermione blushed.

It was true. Hermione had a passion for the old oak outside the dormitory windows and climbed it early in the morning. When 7:00 came, she'd yell, "GOOD MORNING, HOGWARTS!" For me, it was just a bother because I woke up at 7:00 anyways, and her voice just wasn't pleasant. But Ron…. Ron's first class wasn't until noon, so he liked to party late and wake up at 10:00, along with a lot of other Gryffindor guys. So when Hermione woke everyone up, they got no sleep.

"Surely you needed her wake-up call?" asked McGonagall with raised eyebrows.

"No! My first class is this one!" Ron exclaimed.

McGonagall just clicked her tongue disapprovingly instead of lecturing him on early rising and out of pity for Her-whiny. After all, she was obsessed with that tree. If someone's broom got caught up there, she'd shimmy right up its enormous trunk and get it down in a flash. If the sunset was particularly beautiful one night, you'd see her up in that tree, ruining the sight. I should know. I wanted to go watch it with Cho one time last year, but Hermione just had to be up there, making sure we didn't have any privacy.

"Please see me after class, Mr. Weasley. And, no, you're not in trouble," she added when he opened his mouth to protest.

I waited for Ron after Transfiguration. He came out a lot less tired with a flask the size of your basic water bottle.

"She gave me this," he said cheerfully. "It's a caffeine Potion. Now I can stay awake in class. Oh, and these magical earplugs. I can tell them to block out Hermione's morning crow with a special spell. Watch." Ron drew out his wand, moved it in a circular motion, and muttered, "Blockout Hermione!" and stuffed them in his ears. Just then, as if on cue, Hermione walked up to us. Ron was staring at the portraits.

"Hi, Harry," she said. "Hi, Ron." Ron, of course, didn't hear her, but, as you probably would have guessed, she was too busy being absorbed in me to notice. Ugh.

"Harry, would you like to study together tonight?" she asked excitedly. We usually studied together at least once a week because she asked me every night and, hey, she was pretty smart.

"Oh, sorry, I can't," I replied. "Ron and I are studying together."
"Yup," said Ron.

"Oh," said a put-down Hermione. "Well, tell your mom I say hi, Ron…. Ron! I'M TALKING TO----" Hermione's eyes fell on Ron's ears. Comprehension dawned on her face, as well as a tiny smile as she withdrew her wand. She waved it in a small circle and cried "Blockout All!" Almost immediately, Ron shook his head and whipped around. When he saw Hermione, he tried to yell, but the words wouldn't come out right because he couldn't hear himself. As he struggled to take them out, Hermione grinned at me, turned, and ran away.

"I swear," Ron spluttered angrily, "if any more smartasses toy with my earplugs…" He then made a rather rude gesture with one of his fingers.

"Oh, come off it," I said. "You're the one who told me we had to hang with her back in first year."
Ron scowled, but didn't say anything back. I'd got him.

Suddenly, we heard a shriek of "I won't get down from here, no matter how hard you try!"

I groaned. Today they were to perform a Severing Charm on the oak and cut it down forever, but Miss Loner just wouldn't come down.

Ron and I rushed outside to where the tree stood seven stories tall.

"Harry!" yelled Hermione. "Parvati! Seamus! Lavender! Ron! Don't let them cut it down!"

"Harry, Parvati, Seamus, Lavender Ron, I think you're my friends but I'm really the Lone Granger!" I heard a voice behind me say in a mimicking way. I whipped around to see none other than Draco Malfoy and his Slytherin posse.

"Poor Potty," sneered Malfoy with false pity. "His girlfriend's probably going to die up there."

I simply rolled my eyes and turned around. I learned to not let that drawling doofus bother me.

"Ooh, someone's an unfaithful partner," he drawled.

"Oh, really?" I said coolly, my back still turned to him. "I didn't know you were so honest about yourself, Dragon-Breath."

There was silence for a moment, and then I saw a rather tall finger in my face, followed by a voice that said, "Let's go, guys. I don't want to be around any losers."

"Then ditch your friends and die, Malfoy!" I yelled.

No sooner had I realized that Hermione was pushing past me and running to her dorm as the cry of "Diffindo!" rang out morbidly.

And to tell you the truth, I felt sorry for Hermione Granger that day.

And finally learned her last name.

Hermione

Well, I was wrong about 6th year. Though we were still in a lot of classes together despite our career differences, he didn't sit next to me anymore and I didn't get my kiss.

Ron didn't want to be an Auror, like Harry, or a Curer, like me, but he was still in Transfiguration with us, so I didn't get to escape the burden of sharing homework just yet.

Along with these differences, the spot in my heart for Harry had to make more room for the old oak outside the Gryffindor Common Room window. Every morning, I'd climb up and watch the last bit of the sunrise. When 7:00 AM came, which is the time Harry is usually in the Common Room, I crowed, "Good morning, Hogwarts!" Sometimes I got "Shut up, Pennington!" from those who came from muggle families, or bunches of groans from the I-party-all-night-because-my-first-class-is-at-noon people like Ron. But that didn't stop me.

Sometimes I'd see couples who thought they were alone on the edge of the riverbank holding hands or kissing. I even saw Cho and Harry making out there last year. Ugh. I think she may have rushed him too much back then.

It was one day after Ron embarrassed me and I made his own Magiplugs backfire that I saw Professor Flitwick and a bunch of other Professors around the tree. Suddenly, I understood that they were to sever it, so I climbed up as fast as I could.

"I won't get down from here, no matter how hard you try!" I yelled.

Suddenly, I saw Harry amongst a crowd of fellow Gryffindors. "Harry!" I yelled. "Parvati! Seamus! Lavender! Ron! Don't let them cut it down!"

I could see Malfoy and Harry getting into a dis-fight, probably because Malfoy taunted me. He deserved that punch I gave him in third year.

Soon, the crowd left and I hung on until Snape tricked me down by saying that I could remain up there if I swallowed Veritaserum daily and yelled my innermost secrets for the entire school to hear. I did not want that to happen, so I reluctantly came down, pushed past the remains of the crowd, and ran to my dormitory.

When I got there, I flung myself on the bed and burst into tears.

A/N: You like? Pleeease review!