A/N: Okay, so I'm not at five reviews yet, but I'm posting the next chapter anyways…here we go! This is a long, event filled chapter, try and keep up! There's a little romance in this one...enjoy! ;)

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I only own the plot. So drop the print screen button and step away from the copy/paste mechanism…

Ron collapsed into a chair near the fire as Dobby and the other two House elves walked out. It was nearly two in the morning; what was Hermione doing up that late anyways? He suspected that she had been reading the books that she had requested from them. Then again, wasn't she always reading? Except for that afternoon, when he had seen her staring out the window at everyone. She had already read all the books McGonagall had provided for her.

But why had she requested books only on Animagi and birds? This puzzled him. But he shrugged it off. He was more worried about the look on Hermione's face when she looked out the window. She looked sad, hurt, and angry.

"Harry, do you think Hermione's okay? She seemed weird today."

Harry, who was staring at Ginny, replied, "Yeah, that's right."

Ron sighed, and smacked his arm. "Ow! What was that for?"

"If you're going to stare at my sister, at least do it while I'm not watching! You broke up with her, if I remember correctly. And I was asking you a question!"

"What?" Harry said, irritated.

"Do you think Hermione's okay? I mean, she looked awful when we went to see her. And now she's ordering a ton of books and staying up until two in the morning?"

Harry sighed. "I don't know, but this is Hermione we're talking about. She does this all the time, Ron. Remember in our fourth year when she spent twelve hours in her room reading about Bulgaria?"

Ron gritted his teeth together. "If I recall correctly, she had a reason to read up on Bulgaria, a reason who happens to be and international Quidittch player. She usually has a reason for everything. And now it's birds and Animagi?"

Harry stared into the fire. "Well, I guess it is sort of strange…but this is Hermione. She's not going to do anything stupid, you know. She's too smart for that."

It was Ron's turn to sigh. "Well, I guess…but still, I'm worried about her."

Harry moved his eyes towards Ginny again. "Well, we'll go and see her before breakfast, if that makes you feel any better."

"Thanks, mate. Now, I'm going to bed before you burn holes into the back of my sister's head by staring at her instead of getting up and talking to her. She's not a bloody dog, and she won't bite."

Harry shook his head, watching Ron's retreating figure, then slowly standing up to walk over to Ginny.

Later that night, Ron shook Harry's shoulders to wake him up. "Wuzat? Ron, what are you doing?"

Ron stifled a laugh. "It's before breakfast, remember? We're off to see Hermione."

Harry groaned, flipping over on his back. "You go. You woke me up from the best dream I've ever had, and I want to get back to it. Now get out of here."

Ron did laugh this time, prodding his friend with his wand. "Up and at it, Harry. Dream or no dream, we're going to see Hermione."

Harry sighed, pulling himself into a sitting position. "Why are all my friends so bloody persistent? All right, let's go. Grab my broom, will you?" Ron pulled Harry's Firebolt out from behind his four-poster. "All right then, let's get going." Harry held out the Invisibility cloak, and Ron groaned.

"Harry, you know I don't fit under that thing anymore!"

"Oh, come on, Ron, enough of you fits under here so that nobody notices us. Come on, let's go."

Ron sighed, and pulled the cloak over his head. Pulling his broom under it, Ron and Harry began walking towards the Common Room.

When the reached the bottom of the stairs, they saw Ginny sitting in front of the fireplace, a cup of hot chocolate in her hand.

"Oh Merlin, I forgot!" Harry said, hitting his head, "I was supposed to meet Ginny tonight!"

Ron sighed. "Oh, alright. I know you'd rather see Ginny. I'll go by myself."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks, mate. Here, take the cloak…" Harry passed it over to him. "I'll cover for you if anyone asks."

"Thanks. I'll be back soon." Harry slid out from under the cloak and collapsed in the seat next to her. Ron shook his head and walked out the door, careful not to disturb the couple by the fire.

The halls were dark and empty to Ron. He had done this before, of course, but then he was with Harry and Hermione, so it was different. He checked the Marauder's Map, which he had borrowed from Harry. McGonagall was pacing in her office, and the rest of the teachers were safely in their offices as well. He was the only person out of bed, except for Filch, who was patrolling the dungeons. Satisfied, he slowed the map in his clock and strode towards a window on the third floor.

The cloak whipped off his head as he took off into the cool night air. He turned his head, then, sighting the tower window, shot straight up into the sky. He stopped short as he reached the window, peering into the dimly lit room.

He climbed through the window, careful not to make a sound as he set down his broom and pulled the cloak off. He walked through the barely lit bedroom and looked around, cautious for any hidden traps that McGonagall might have set.

When he reached the sitting room, he found her. Hermione was sitting, book in hand, in a cushy armchair, eyes darting back and forth so fast that he could barely see them.

"Whoa, Mione, take it easy, you don't have to read the whole thing in five seconds!" He laughed, reaching over to take the book from her. She sighed, leaning back in her chair. "I know, but I want to finish it."

He looked at the title. "The Hunchback of Notre Dame? Isn't this a Muggle book?"

Hermione nodded. "Yes, by Victor Hugo. It's very interesting, actually. There's a Muggle children's movie based on it that I like very much."

Ron raised an eyebrow. "I won't ask. So what are you doing up this early? Or maybe it's late…I'm not sure."

Hermione smiled tiredly, yawning in between words. "It's both, and I couldn't sleep, but I'm very tired. Here, come sit with me, there's enough room on this huge thing." Ron sat down next to her, leaning back into the huge chair. "It may be huge, but it's comfortable. Merlin's beard, I'm tired." Her eyes were half-closed by now, and she was falling asleep. She leaned unconsciously into Ron's chest, settling down. "Hhhhmmmm…" In five seconds she was asleep.

Ron looked down, surprised at her behavior, but not displeased; he suspected that she secretly knew about his crush on her. He smiled slightly, leaning back and closing his eyes.

When Hermione woke up a few hours later, she was lying in Ron's arms, and he was still asleep. She blinked a few times, surprised, then smiled. No wonder she had slept so soundly! She slightly suspected that Ron knew about her crush on him. Carefully moving as not to wake him up, she brushed the hair out of his eyes, kissed him on the cheek, and slid off the chair, levitating him into the air with her wand. She quietly lifted him up, slid him out the window, and waved her wand down, causing him to fly, still sleeping, onto one of the couches in the Gryffindor Common Room. She smiled to herself, and crawled back onto the chair, picking up her book and starting where she had left off.

Ron woke up to the sound of Ginny and Harry shaking him and yelling in his ears. "Ron!" "Hello?" "Time for practice!" "Wake up, sleepyhead!"

Ron covered his ears, yelping. "Okay, okay, I'm up, I'm up!" Ron jumped off the couch, pulling on the red and gold robes that Harry offered to him, along with his broom. Blinking the sleep out of his eyes, he peered at Harry's face, noticing that his lips seemed to be extremely sparkly and slightly pink.

"Nice lip color," Ron said, amused, "Did Ginny pick that out for you?" Harry stopped and stared at Ron, wiped his lips with his sleeve, and hurried after him towards the pitch.

The sun was shining, and the clouds had either drifted away or disappeared all together, because the sky was a perfect, flawless blue. The conditions were perfect.

Since Katie Bell had left the school, Harry had been forced to choose a new Chaser, and he had selected a fourth year girl named Merrissa Sandusky. Merrissa was about as good as Katie, which, although it surprised Harry, did not make him unhappy the least bit. The rest of the team had stayed the same, and, most of them having worked together before, they were a great team, and had so far managed to get the Quidittch pitch whenever they wanted it. It was shaping up to be the best year for Quidittch that they had seen in ages.

Harry walked out to the center of the pitch, facing the team. "All right, we've got a game tomorrow afternoon. It's going to be against Slytherin. So, if we beat them, we can almost guarantee that we've got the Quidittch Cup won for us. I know that they've got a new seeker. His name's Stuart Cartels, I don't know anything about him, but he doesn't seem able to tell one end of his broom from the other…"

"I know him," Merrissa said, grimacing, "He's stupid, but he's fast. We'd better keep an eye on him. And aim a couple Bludgers at him as much as you can, he's scared to death of the things."

Harry remembered a particularly painful incident involving his arm, a Bludger, and Lockhart removing all the bones in his arm, and said grimly, "I don't blame him. All right, let's get up there and practice."

Hermione closed The Art of Animagi and smiled to herself. It was time to get out of there. Time to escape from the small, cold, dark tower that had imprisoned her for three weeks now.

She had to do it in a way that would keep everyone off her trail…the only people who could know that she was leaving were Ron and Harry. Hermione couldn't even tell Ginny; Ginny would convince Harry or Ron to tell McGonagoll that she was gone of her own accord. No, this would have to be a secret between the three of them…"The Trio," as the rest of the school called them. They were her best friends, the ones who had seen her through thick and thin…and now she was leaving them.

Hermione sighed, turning restlessly in her bed, where she had been laying all afternoon. It would have to be tonight, after she talked to each of them alone. Tonight was the night to tell them. Tommarow she would leave.

Tommarow.

Ron wasn't sure why McGonagoll was letting them go see Hermione, but he was glad. After the events of the previous night, he almost sure that she liked him, and he was going to ask her tonight. He wasn't sure how he would get Harry out of the way, though…

McGonagoll opened the door for them, her wand twisting through a dozen complex locks. "All right, you have two hours before I come to get you. If anything happens, get out of there. I think you are aware of what I mean. With Voldemort around you, Harry, there's no telling what might happen."

Harry nodded. "We'll get out of there if it happens, Professor." McGonagoll nodded to him, then opened the door.

Hermione was writing something when they entered. "Ron, Harry! I'm so glad to see you!" she ran to them, wrapping them both into a tight hug. "I've missed you both! It's so bloody boring up here!"

Harry grinned. "With all these books? How could anything ever be boring in here?" He asked sarcastically. "Why, I could be here for months and be entertained!"

"Very funny, Harry. And you, Ron, would you be amused for months?"

"Give me a break, I wouldn't last a day, you know that. So, what are we really here for?"

Hermione's face fell a bit. "I need to talk to you both, but one by one. Harry, you first. Ron, can you stay in here while I tell him something?" Seeing the serious look on her face, Ron nodded, settling himself into a large plush armchair. Relieved, Hermione pulled Harry into her bedroom, bringing the long paper with her. Ron took the chance to look around. "Migratory Flight Patterns? The Anatomy of Doves? What does she needs these for?"

Meanwhile, in Hermione's bedroom, she was breathing deeply, trying to get up her nerve. "Harry, I…I….I don't know how to explain, so I'm just going to give you this." She thrust the paper at him. "Please take it back to Gryffindor and read it, I don't want Ron to see…Please?"

Harry nodded wordlessly. He looked at her oddly, as if trying to see something in her eyes, but he found nothing, and he turned to walk away.

"Harry?"

he turned to face Hermione. She was near tears, her face puckered up. "Please, when you read it…don't be mad."

He stared at her, aware that something big was happening. "Okay, 'Mione," he said. He reached over and gave her a quick hug. "I won't be mad." She smiled weakly at him. "And tell Ron to come in here?" he nodded, and walked out the door, closing it behind him.

Ron looked up when he heard the door shut. Harry was carrying the paper Hermione had been writing on, and he nodded to Ron. "You're turn. Be careful, she's about to cry." Worried, Ron walked slowly towards the door, opened it, and walked inside.

Hermione was trying not to cry, he could tell. "What is it, 'Mione?" he asked softly, walking around to wrap her in a hug.

Hermione looked up, a tear rolling down her face. "Ron, I…I can't do this," she mumbled to herself. She looked up into his eyes, and the next thing she knew, they were kissing. Emotions rushed to her head; she was giddy and sad and confused at the same time, and it seemed that the only thing she could do was kiss Ron. When they did pull apart, he stared at her for a moment. "So I guess this means you like me back, huh?" he asked. She nodded, giggling, tears streaming down her face as their lips met again.

"I can't tell him," she told herself. "I can't tell him at all…he'll try to make me stay, and I'll let him make me stay. I can't be cooped up here forever. I have to go. Only Harry can know…"

The next day was as beautiful as the first, and perfect for a game. Three-fourths of the stands were a blaze of red and gold scarves and robes, with only one fourth in green and silver. Glad to know that they would be getting most of the cheering, the Gryffindor Quidittch team was glowing and happy, the Keeper especially.

"What's gotten in to you?" Harry asked him, but Ron just shook his head. Harry noticed something catching the light on his face and said, "Nice color. Hermione pick that out for you?" Blushing madly, he wiped his lips.

"Merlin's beard, I was joking! This is brilliant, Ron! Ginny and I always knew you two would end up together." Ron flushed an even brighter red. He looked up and saw Hermione sitting on her window ledge in red and cold robes, smiling at him. He waved, and she waved back, giving him an extra boost of self-confidence as he kicked off.

It was halfway through the game when disaster struck. Gryffindor was ahead by seventy when Cootes, one of Gryffindor's Beaters, struck a solid blow at Stuart, Slytherin's new Seeker. In the last second, though, Stuart ducked, and the Bludger kept going straight….until it solidly hit Hermione from the window, knocking her to the garden bushes below.

"HERMIONE!" Ron and Harry screamed together. Teams, the students, and the teachers all turned towards the tower, watching Ron and Harry race off.

Hermione was quicker than the Bludger; she had cast a Shield Charm, then knocked herself into the bushes. It was now or never. She dusted herself off, then, in her mind, began to chant a spell. The words twisted and curved, forming elegant sounds that were barely considered words, almost a song. Shefelt herself becomingsmaller and smaller, her arms broadening, and her shoulders becoming white…

Harry and Ron landed at the same time that McGonagoll did. Ron wasn't sure howMcGonagoll got there, nor did he care. All he cared about was making sure that Hermione was all right. "Hermione?" he said, pushing through the bushes as fast as he could, "Hermione?"

He reached the spot where she had been; he could tell from the indentions in the grass. But she wasn't there. McGonagoll, who had been following him, stopped short and gasped. "Miss Granger, if you are hiding, it is not funny."

Suddenly, there was movement in the bushes. "Hermione!" Ron yelled, relieved. Suddenly, a pure white dove shot out of the bushes. Ron's face fell. "She's gone," he gasped.

If anyone had looked closely, they would have seen that there was a tear leaking out of the dove's deep brown eye.

A/N: Oh-ho! The plot thickens! This was a long chapter, I know…eight pages on Microsoft Word! And it took me three days to write. Now, I expect seven reviews before the next chapter comes out…so review right now! xD Press Bob and tell me what you think!