Hey! Though I loved the cliff in the last chapter, I felt like I
should update soon since I've had such huge gaps between my updates.
Now we'll learn Matt's fate…

Hermione sat at the kitchen table, a warm cup of coffee in her hands,
still trembling from the events that had taken place last night. She
had been too shaken to sleep, too afraid someone else would return.
The night played through her mind over and over.

The first time she saw the intruder…

The way he had shouted…

The way Matt had offered his life for hers…

The state of panic she had been in that, had she stalled for one
second longer, Matts life would be over.

She had used her magic to save him, the only question was, would he
remember? She had sent him to bed, pretending like everything was a
dream to cover her use of magic.

But for some reason she wanted him to know.

Matt had always told her everything, but she was always using lies to
cover up her magic. That is when she made her decision. If he
remembered her using magic, she would tell him.

But how would he react? She and Matt had rarely discussed anything to
do with magic. Would he be afraid? Would he be angry with her for not
telling him sooner? Could he even handle it?

She'd just have to face his reaction when it came.

"Good morning, Hermione," chanted Matt as he walked out from his
bedroom. He was smiling, though he looked slightly confused.

Hermione stared into her coffee as he approached. "Good morning."

"You know," he said, taking a seat across from her. "I had the
weirdest dream last night."

"Really?" asked Hermione. Would he remember the magic?

"Yeah, it was really odd. This man broke into my apartment. He was
going to shoot me. I argued with him and when he finally shot the gun the weirdest thing happened."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it froze in midair. From the other side of the room you managed
to make the bullet freeze and then you shot something around the man
and he she fell over on the ground like he had no control over his
arms or legs."

"Matt, there's something I need to talk to you about."

He noticed the seriousness of tone. Looking concerned he stood up,
"Sure, just let me get my coffee first."

"No," Hermione shot up. "I'll get it. You just sit down."

"Alright." Matt took a seat, a little stunned. Hermione poured him a
cup of coffee and sat back down. "So what's up?"

"Ok, this may shock you and if you want me to stop talking, just tell
me and I will."

"Alright," said Matt, eyeing her rather peculiarly.

"Ok," Hermione sighed. "Last night… The dream you had," she began.
"Was real. A man really did break into your apartment and attack you,
both of us actually."

Matt's eyes grew wide. "Oh my—Hermione are you ok?"

"I'm fine, but are you ok?"

Matt just stared for a moment. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just… what part of
my dream actually did happen?"

Hermione stared into her coffee. "Everything."

"Everything?" asked Matt. "But how then—Hermione stop joking around."

"I'm not, Matt."

"So then you made the bullet freeze?" Hermione nodded. Matt just sort
of laughed, "But that's impossible! You can't have done it."

"That's the second part of what I need to tell you," Hermione said
heavily. "I…" She looked into Matt's disbelieving eyes. "You won't
freak out, will you?"

"Of course not, Hermione."

"And no matter what I say, you'll believe me, right?"

"Do I have a reason not to?"

With a slightly hirer level of confidence she continued. If he freaked
out, she could always modify his memory. "I haven't exactly been
honest with you ever," she said.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean… I'm not supposed to tell people like you, but I trust you Matt."

Matt was worried now. "Where's this going, Hermione?"

"I…" she struggled with her words. "You and I aren't alike. We… we're
different. I… I can do magic, Matt."

He looked at her disbelievingly at first. "Magic?" He repeated. He
looked into her eyes as she nodded and realized she wasn't lying.
"Show me."

"Alright," she said, pulling out her wand. With a swish and a flick
she made his coffee cup levitate. Matt stared up in awe as he watched
it circle the table.

"Hermione, that's incredible!" She smiled slightly at the way he was
taking it. When the coffee cup hit the coffee table, things took a
more serious tone again. "You said all of my dream was true," Matt
reiterated. "So then you really… the man really…"

Hermione nodded. "…Fired the gun at you," she finished for him.

"So then I really almost… if you hadn't been there…" Hermione nodded
again as tears filled her eyes.

That's when Matt froze. That's when he could no longer find the
strength to speak. Last night he had nearly died. He had comes within
inches of death. He…

For the rest of the day Matt did not say a word; he was beyond shock.
He sat around, staring, thinking over everything: his life… his
accomplishments… his failures. If he hadn't survived last night, could
he really say he lived his life to the fullest? How would he be
remembered? What did he wish he had done differently?

Hermione wasn't sure how to help him, so she too sat around, hoping
Matt would say something, anything, to let her know he was ok. Perhaps
she shouldn't have told him about magic today. The break-in was
shocking, but the added surprise of magic could have, and may have
thrown him into a terrible state of shock, one that would be difficult to
pull him out of.

It wasn't until the late evening that they spoke again. Hermione took
a seat next to him on the couch, not expecting to hear a word from his
as he stared off into the distance. When he finally spoke she jumped
slightly, as she had spent the entire day without hearing much of
anything. "Thank you," he said, still staring off. "For saving my
life."

Hermione snuggled herself into the couch. "You would do the same for me."

There was silence again.

"I've been thinking," he began, "about everything. About life."
Hermione didn't say anything, but only listened. "And maybe, maybe
everything happens for a reason."

"How so?" she asked.

"Maybe everything happens for a specific reason. You break up with
Ron, everything. Think about it. After the break up, you came here.
When he spoke with you, you felt like, for some reason, you weren't
ready to take him back. The very next day a man breaks into my
apartment. I would have… if it weren't for you I wouldn't be here
right now. There's so much more than that, but don't you see it?"

Hermione thought for a moment. He was right. "Then now what are we
supposed to do?" She asked.

Matt thought for a moment. "See where life takes us. See where we can
take it. This whole thing has made me realize I can't just sit back
and wait things to happen, you have to get out and go after what you
want."

Hermione thought back to yesterday evening when she had tried to kiss
Matt. "But what if we aren't sure of what we want?"

"Then," said Matt, "then you just follow your heart. You should
always follow your heart." He knew she was thinking about Ron. "I'm
assuming everything in my 'dream' happened." Hermione was now staring
off herself; she knew what he was referring to. She nodded ever so
slowly. "Hermione, if what we nearly did last night is what you think
is right, then I guess that's what you have to do. I just don't want
you to give up on Ron so easily. He's a good guy for you. Regardless
of what he thinks, he isn't ready just yet to be married, and I don't
think you are either." Hermione was dazed. Maybe he was right. "Some
day soon he will be though, and so will you. But you two are barely
twenty; you have time to wait."

Hermione hadn't really looked at it from that perspective before.
Matt was right. Neither of them were really ready for marriage, not
yet anyway. There was no harm in waiting. They were still very young.
They didn't need to tie themselves down right away. There was still so
much to learn about life.

"If you decide you want to give him another chance, it doesn't mean
you have to marry him. The wedding is off; you two aren't getting
married. But you can still give him another chance, and try it again."
This was exactly what Hermione needed to hear. She needed someone to
point this out to her. To her it always seemed giving Ron another
chance would mean marrying him, but it didn't. "It's just up to you
whether you want to give him that chance now." Did she want to try
again?

"You're right Matt," she said after a long thoughtful pause. "You're
absolutely right. I hadn't really thought of it like that before."

"Well, I'm glad to give you a new perspective," he said. All was
quiet as they thought everything over. "So you're magical? Does that
make you a witch then?" asked Matt with a half smile.

It was good to see Matt smile again. "Yes," said Hermione, grinning.

"So that's why I've never seen your car." Hermione laughed. "I've
always wondered where it was."

"So did you think I was mental when I told you?"

"Well it was definitely something I'd never thought you'd say, but
no, I knew you were telling me the truth, mental or not," said Matt
with a chuckle. Hermione hit him playfully. "So I'm guessing Ron's a
wizard then?"

"Yes, he is."

"And Ginny?"

"Yep."

"You're parents?"

"Nope, they're Muggles."

"Muggles?"

"Non-magic people."

"So me, basically?"

"Yes, pretty much."

They were both laughing throughout the conversation. "What about Harry?"

"Yes, he is definitely a wizard."

Matt looked at her quizzically. "Definitely a wizard?"

"Let's just say if it weren't for him, nothing would be the same as it is now."

"That's sort of scary, you know."

"It should be."

"So why did you wait so long to tell me?"

"Well, I'm not supposed to just tell people. I had to be sure I could
trust you. Actually, you aren't even supposed to know. You have to
promise me you won't tell a soul."

"Of course, I won't! I promise. It's not like anyone would believe me
anyway. You're secret's safe with me, Hermione."

"I thought so."

"Besides, you saved my life. I owe you everything."

"You don't owe me anything."

"Oh, yes I do!" Hermione didn't argue any further. "My best friend, a
witch, and I never knew it," Matt said with a sigh.

Hermione looked at the clock. "I didn't realize how late it is."

"Can you do me one more favor?" asked Matt. A serious look overtook him again.

"Yes, what is it?"

"Could you just stay with me tonight?"

Hermione looked him in the eyes. "Of course." She snuggled next to
him grabbing his left hand. Matt put his other arm around her
shoulders, holding her closely as they faced their first night since
the attack.

I had to put them through that. You'll see how it works out as the
story progresses. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it! Review and let me
know! Misty