Harry arrived back at the cottage at 11pm. His face had several large bruises on it, and his clothes were torn and muddy. He tried to let himself in quietly, hoping not to disturb anyone that was sleeping. Every step he took seemed to make his body scream in pain. He walked through the dark hallway and made his way quietly to the living room. He sighed deeply and flopped onto the couch gratefully.

"OW!" shouted Ron, leaping up from underneath Harry and sending him flying across the coffee table. The lights immediately went on and Luna's laughter filled the air. Ron looked quite startled.

"You could have turned the light on mate, what is it with you and waking me up in weird ways, I'm starting to think you have a problem…" he continued. Harry grinned and threw a cushion at him. He stood up and looked around to see everyone's blankets piled on couches and chairs.

"Having a sleepover?" asked Harry grinning.

"Actually, Hermione wanted to wait up for you, then Ron did too. So we all decided to sleep down here so that we'd all be able to make sure you got home ok," said Susan.

"Although it doesn't look as if you're alright at all Harry." said Luna, "In fact, you look quite awful." Harry laughed at Luna and sat heavily down on the chair with her, shoving her playfully aside. Hermione stood up from the couch she was sitting on and walked away. Harry was wondering what he had done wrong when she came back carrying a large and very old brown book. It landed with a thud on the table and she began to read it anxiously. They all looked at her strangely. For someone who had been so intent upon seeing Harry return home safely, she certainly wasn't acting that way. She raised her wand, pointed it at Harry and muttered a few things under her breath. To Harry's surprise and relief the aches and pains that he had come home with vanished instantly. He glass on the coffee table showed his reflection clearly, and he was happy to see that his bruises and scrapes had also gone. Actually, he felt much better now than he had before he left the meeting!

"Thanks Hermione." said Harry smiling at her. She smiled back quietly and resumed her position on the couch.

"Right!" said Ron, "This calls for some butterbeer!" They all sat and talked late into the night, Harry telling them the tale with the two death eaters and how Neville had been quite extraordinary. Eventually Luna and Susan went to bed, which was what Ron and Hermione had been hoping for. They wanted to know what Snape had told Harry. Harry contemplated not telling them at first, but decided that he couldn't keep something like this from his best friends. He made them pledge their secrecy, and spent the next ten minutes telling them everything that had happened in the kitchen at Grimmauld place.

"That's disgusting!" said Ron, outraged "Your poor Mum Harry having a grease ball like that wanting her."

"Ron!" said Hermione crossly "Don't be so unsympathetic! So that's the reason Dumbledore trusted him then Harry? He loved your mum so much that there was no way he would have ever thought of betraying her to Voldemort?"

"It seems so," said Harry. They were all silent other than the odd word from Ron, usually consisting of 'weird!' or 'wrong!'

"I sort of have pity for Snape now though. Not that I like him or anything, I hate him for the way he's treated me…all because he's a jealous tosser." said Harry. The word tosser earned a small smack on the arm from Hermione, but Ron raised his butterbeer and drank to it.

"Tell me you still have the Horcrux Harry," said Ron suddenly. Harry looked surprised. He had completely forgotten about the locket he had put deep in his robes. It was obvious how tired he was when he forgot something like that. He dug into his robes, hoping that he hadn't lost it during the fight. His hand found the solid lump of cold metal, and he pulled it out and held it up to the light.

"So it's Hermione's turn to activate it right?" asked Ron. Harry looked at Hermione in horror until he remembered he had agreed to let her and Ron activate one Horcrux each.

"I'm the one that's supposed to do that, remember? I'm the chosen one for this wonderful task…" said Harry.

"You're too tired after everything that's happened tonight. Besides, with you and Ron here nothing too terrible can happen to me." said Hermione, and reached for the locket.

"NO!" shouted Harry. Ron spat out a little butterbeer and looked at Harry with a very odd look on his face, something a lot like suspicion.

"Lets deal with it tomorrow Hermione. It can wait, we all need to get some rest." Harry continued. They sat in silence for a while longer, Hermione not looking nearly as upset as she should be at Harry's outburst. They talked for a while longer until Ron fell asleep on the couch.

Harry stood up and motioned Hermione to follow him. They walked quietly down the hallway, put on warm jackets, and left the cottage as quietly as they could. They walked up the dark country road in silence. He was trying to resist the urge to grab and kiss her. He tried thinking of other things, but his mind kept flitting back to her. He thought of her in danger when Greyback attacked them. He thought of how she had been in danger in the room of requirement. The idea of her even trying to put on that locket made him want to be sick. He couldn't stand the thought of her well being in jeopardy. He watched her walking out of the corner of his eye; he loved the way she held her head up high. He watched her eyes shining in the moonlight; he loved how the moon struck her skin and made her look like a beautiful mythical creature. He loved the way she spoke; he loved how her mind worked. He loved how she always did what was right, he loved that she was loyal no matter what it cost her. He loved…

"Harry," said Hermione, interrupting the dangerous path his mind had been taking. "Do you have any idea how worried I was about you tonight?" He stopped and looked into her face and saw that tears were falling once again. This didn't seem to bother him as much as it had with Cho. In fact, all he felt when he saw Hermione cry was the urge to make it better, to stop her pain. These thoughts confused and scared him quite a lot.

"What was even worse, was trying to act like I was worried about you the way the rest of them were. I can't do this Harry! I can't pretend I don't feel this way about you anymore, I feel like I'm going crazy! Do you feel even the tiniest bit of what I feel like? I feel like you're attracted to me, but I'm the one who has the feelings. I just don't know if I can handle this anymore…I feel like you're playing seesaw with my head! One minute you want me and the next you don't. I can't give you the time you want Harry. I'm going crazy waiting to see if you want me or not. Make your decision now. Do you want me as your girlfriend or do you want me as your friend?" said Hermione, her tears falling quickly. She waited with herheart in her throat, hoping that this was the push Harry needed. In truth she would wait for Harry for as long as he wanted, but she wouldn't put herself through that torment. Harry staredhard at her and she felt like he was looking into her soul.

Harry's mind was reeling, he had to make up his mind now, for better or worse. He looked into her eyes desperately trying to find the answer he needed. He saw longing, lust and maybe a little love flash across her eyes like he were reading a book. He knew he could get lost in those eyes forever, and he knew that there really wasn't a decision to be made. When had there been? He seemed to have been captivated by her and it was only getting worse. He loved Ron dearly, but he knew he couldn't give this up. It broke his heart and made him feel deliriously happy all at once.

"Hermione…" said Harry, "If you need a decision now then so be it. You know I want you to be with me. I don't know how this happened but I know that it feels right. I'm sorry if I've hurt you, but you have me now. I don't want anyone else, just you Hermione, just you...Don't think I haven't been feeling what you have. You're in all of this because of me. You could have been killed easily the last couple of days, and why? Because you want to help me. Whenever I think of what could happen to you because of me I feel so guilty. You are the only thing I have now that's worth fighting for. I have Ron and his family, some friends at school…But you…you're what's driving me right now. I need and want you more than you could know."

Hermione stared at Harry shocked. These were the kind of words that she had wanted to hear from him since her summer in Italy, was she dreaming? Did he really feel that deeply about her? Harry was equally as surprised by what he had said. He didn't know where that had come from, and he was feeling a little anxious at what that might mean for the two of them. But he also couldn't lie to himself. He didn't know where these feelings had come from, or if they had always been there and he just didn't know it. What he did know is that what he had just told her felt true and right. His whole life was a complete mess right now, but he was glad that he had kissed Hermione. He was glad she wanted him, because he wanted her just as much. He didn't really care if next month she decided she didn't want to be with him, because at this moment in time it felt right to want to be with her. He suddenly laughed at how light his heart felt, lighter than it had in weeks.

"What are you laughing at Harry?" said Hermione in a small tearful voice.

"Us," said Harry, "How did we get here? You've seen me agonise over Cho and Ginny. I've seen you with Krum and being lovesick over Ron. We were the last two people that should have romantic feelings for each other. Hermione Granger, my best friend…what have you done to me?"

A/N- remember that there is a reason this story is rated M, as you will see in the next chapter. If you're not comfortable with this but still enjoy the story then drop me a review to let me know and I'll email you one without the, er, intimate details! Thanks for taking the time to read and review!

Islanzadi :)

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