Author's Notes:
japanese-jew wrote: funny. book 4, barty casts the imperio on Ron, and he's STILL SHAKING after the lesson.
Actually, Ron wasn't shaking at all. He was, and I quote, "skipping on every alternate step." I did in fact review that chapter before I wrote my own, and my interpretation of the fact that he 'skipped' out of class, was that it was sorta like a post hypnotic suggestion that hadn't worn off yet. Moody informed him it would wear off by lunch, however. I do understand what you are saying though.... that it was a little too easy for Ron to throw the curse off in my chapter when he couldn't do it in 4th year. However, there are several factors to take into consideration.
1. The first time the curse was put on the class, no one (not even Harry) threw it off entirely. In fact it took Harry 4 additional tries to do it all on his own. Ron in my story never did it on his own. He had help.
2. They hadn't read up on or studied the unforgivables very much yet so they didn't even know how to go about throwing it off when Barty in Moody form put it on them.
3. And most importantly, there is a vast difference between skipping around class like a little girl, or imitating a squirrel (which just make you look silly) and being told to do something that is fundamentally against your nature (like hit a girl or kill your best friend) Those type of demands you question because they are something you would never ever do under normal circumstances. Think of the Imperious sorta like you would hypnosis. First you have to be suggestible, if your not (as Harry clearly isn't) you're going to be hard to control. If your stubborn/headstrong (as Hermione clearly is) or tend to question authority ( Ron & Harry both are guilty of this) you should also be able to throw it off with a little training.
Well here it is. The chapter in which poor, suspicious Harry discover the truth about his best friends relationship. Enjoy :-)
Chapter 39
"Let me get this straight," Ginny asked as she landed on the Quidditch pitch beside her brother and his best friend and the three of them dismounted their broom. "Hermione admitted you were after your chess set and then lied to him about me?"
"Pretty much," Ron stated, slinging his broom over his shoulder and marching off the pitch, anxious to get back to the castle before they missed lunch entirely. They'd been out practicing most of the morning and he was famished. Even so, he'd been reluctant to abandon his broom until the last possible moment. It had been far too long since he'd been flying and he definitely needed to bone up on his Keeper skills. Tryouts for the House teams were slated to take place the following Saturday and while he didn't need to try out himself, he was going to have to face off against everyone that went out for the two available Chaser positions. Fortunately one of those people happened to be his sister, which meant they could help out one another. They'd already agreed to spend the next week practicing together whenever they could both find the time.
"But why?" Ginny asked.
"Because she could," her brother chuckled.
"No I'm serious, Ron," she insisted. "Why tell the truth about you and then lie to him about me? Why not just lie about both of us?"
"How am I supposed to know?"
"It was obvious that Ron was after something," Harry chimed in. "He all but admitted it himself when Moody asked him if he needed to use the loo. So really, what would be the point? He would have known that she was lying about Ron. But he wasn't sure when it came to you."
"You think she was toying with him?" Ginny asked with a slight smirk.
"No. Well, maybe a little," Harry admitted. "But I suspect it had more to do with testing herself. You know how she is," he continued, running his fingers through his wind swept hair hoping to get it to flatten out a bit, "Moody puts her under to see whether or not she could throw the blasted thing off, only she had a plan of her own..."
"Yeah, there's a surprise," Ron chuckled. "Who'd ever suspect that?"
"...and she stayed under to see if she could lie and be convincingly enough to fool him. So what do you think?" Harry asked, turning to question Ron. "Do you think he would have bought it if you hadn't started laughing?"
"I didn't laugh," Ron shot back defensively. "I just snorted a bit."
"But you did give her away."
"Not intentionally."
"So what did she do when you 'snorted'?" Ginny asked, as they slowly made their way to back to the castle.
"Nothing," Ron replied. "She just stood there with that blank look on her face and lied about lying," he continued, using a hushed tone despite the fact they were still out on the grounds and no one else was close enough to overhear them.
"What did Moody do?" Ginny pressed.
"What could he do?" Ron chortled. "He studied her face really close for a minute, then he muttered something about bloody partitions, and lifted it off her himself."
"Remind me to ask her to teach me that trick."
"You don't need any lessons," Ron came back quickly. "You can lie like a rug. I've seen you."
"Me?" Ginny asked innocently.
"Yeah, just like that," her brother replied, pointing at her as he did so. "She's a right little actress, this one," he said to Harry. " First she puts on that innocent act, then she looks all shocked, and the next thing you know she's giving Mum some song and dance about how it wasn't her fault, and just like that... I'm the one out de-gnoming the garden."
"I don't blame things on you," Ginny replied, sounding seriously affronted. "That's what Fred and George are for."
"Taught you well, didn't they?"
"Better then they did you, obviously. You can always tell when you've been up to something. It's written all over your face. You're just like Dad. Maybe you and Harry ought to ask Hermione for lessons."
"Me?" Harry said, turning his stunned face to Ginny's.
"What?" she asked, "You're just as pathetic as he is," she said, pointing at her brother.
"Excuse me!" Ron cried resentfully. "Maybe we just don't want to be great dirty liars."
"My ears don't turn red do they?"
"HEY!" Ron yelped, covering his ears with his hands as he stared at his best friend. "Whose side are you on anyway?"
"Well, they do give you away."
"Oh, shut up."
"Don't you tell him to shut up," Ginny shot back.
"He's my friend. I'll tell him whatever I want."
"He's my friend too so you'd be wise to watch what you say."
"I'm still standing here you know?" Harry cut in, trying unsuccessfully to suppress his smile. He just couldn't help but find their petty bickering amusing. It was different than the rows Ron had with Hermione. There was no true venom behind their words; they were said with humor. There wouldn't be any hurt feelings this time. Ginny wasn't going to storm off and refuse to speak to them. If anything, she seemed to be enjoying their little game. And it only took Harry a few moments to realize that it truly was a game. Must be one of those sibling things.
"He was my friend first," Ron argued.
"Big damn deal," his sister retorted, causing Harry to laugh.
"Go get your own ruddy friends."
"I'd rather steal yours."
"Oh so you admit it then? Not only are you a liar, you're a thief as well. Won't Mum be proud?"
"Like Dad always says, 'what Mum doesn't know won't hurt her.'"
"Or you."
"Yup. But seriously Harry," Ginny said, becoming sober with record speed. "You ought to see if Hermione can teach you how to do that thing with the partitions. It might help you with your Occulmency."
"How the hell do you know about that?" Ron asked, becoming serious himself and eyeing his sister suspiciously.
"Well there is this ingenious little gadget our brother's invented called Extendable Ears," she shot back sarcastically.
"So we can add spying and eavesdropping to your list."
"As if you don't."
"That's different."
"Why?"
"Because it's me."
"Well in that case, since it is me, I reckon I'm allowed to do it as well."
"Ginny," Ron groaned as the three of them strode up the stairs and through the huge oak doors leading into the Entrance Hall. "Seriously, how did you find out?"
"I heard Harry telling you and Hermione about it at Grimmauld Place," she admitted in a hushed voice.
"Wait... you... what? When?"
"That night at dinner, right after Snape's visit during Christmas break. Just because you forgot I was sitting at the table," she told to her brother, "doesn't mean I had vanished or anything."
"We were whispering."
"Yeah and I was sitting directly across from you. Did you think I wasn't going to notice you three whispering?"
"You didn't tell anyone did you?" Ron asked as they approached the nearly deserted Gryffindor table and sat down to have their lunch.
"Of course not. What kind of idiot do you take me for? I know how to keep a secret," Ginny said pointedly.
"Yeah, alright," her brother relented. "I reckon you do. Just don't nag him about it ok. He gets enough of that from Hermione."
"Speaking of which," Harry muttered. "We're in for it you know? She's not going to be happy that we spent the entire morning playing Quidditch."
"Don't remind me," Ron groaned as he piled his plate full. "At least you worked on your D.A.D.A. paper last night while I was stuck in detention," he added just before attacking a piece of chicken. "I haven't even started it yet."
...................
"Hermione?" Ron said as he shoved his completed Transfigurations homework into his book, rose up off the couch, and gingerly sat down on the arm of the overstuffed chair she was curled up in.
"No," she replied firmly, cutting him off before he could finish.
"But..."
"No!"
"You don't even know what I'm going to ask."
"Oh please," Hermione sighed, not even bothering to look up from her book. "You want help with your Defense Against the Dark Arts essay."
"No," Ron shot back, despite the fact she was right. "I was going to ask what you were reading."
"Uh huh."
"I was."
"Well in that case, I'm reading a book."
"I can see that. But why? You are finished with all your homework, right?"
"Yes. Unlike some people."
"Well since you brought it up, will you help me?"
"No."
"Please," he begged, rising up off her chair and kneeling on the floor in front of her.
"Absolutely not," she replied, determined not to look at him because she knew the instant she did she'd give in.
"Come on, Mione," Ron pleaded softly. It was late and the common room was nearly empty, but he still didn't want anyone, like Harry, who was working at a nearby table, to catch him using a pet name.
"Don't you Mione me," she whispered back sternly. "You're the one that spent all day on your broom," she added in an irritated tone of voice.
"We were helping Ginny," Ron protested sounding rather insulted. "What kind of brother would I be if I refused to help my sister?" HA! Let's see you get around that.
"Did she specifically ask you to help her practice?"
DAMN!
"Or was it your idea?"
"I think it was Harry's idea actually."
"Oh thanks," Harry muttered under his breath as he continued to scribble on the sheet of parchment spread out on in front of him.
"Yes well, Harry was practically finished with his essay. You hadn't even started."
"It's not my fault we had detention," Ron whined. "Well it wasn't," he insisted when he got no reply. "I only need a little help," he pressed. "Just tell me what spell you used."
"I'm not giving you any answers," Hermione replied tersely, snapping her book shut and finally meeting his gaze. "The assignment was to write about the spell you think is most useful in a fight, not what spell I think is the most useful."
"Just pick anything," Harry advised from across the room. "I don't think there is a right or wrong answer as long as you explain why you feel it is effective."
"What spell did you choose?" Ron asked Harry, rising up off the ground, only to throw himself back on the couch.
"Here," Harry said, swiping the parchment he'd just been writing on off the table, leaning back in his chair, and holding his essay out in the air for Ron to take. "I'm finished. You can read mine."
"He will not!" Hermione screeched. "He needs to come up with his own spell and use his own experiences to back it up. Tonks will know straight away if he copies you."
"How am I supposed to choose just one?" Ron railed. "There are too bloody many of them and it depends on the situation. Aw to hell with it. It's not due until Wednesday. I'll do it tomorrow," he said, snatching his bag up off the floor so he could pack up his things.
"We have a prefect meetings tomorrow night," Hermione informed him.
"Fine, I'll do it on Tuesday then."
"Except you agreed to help Ginny practice again on Tuesday," Harry reminded him.
"Thanks a lot, Potter," Ron groaned when Hermione bristled and narrowed her eyes at him. "She asked me," he said the instant he saw her lips purse together.
"She did," Harry agreed, withdrawing his essay and shoving it in his book before stowing it away in his bag. "I heard her."
Bloody hell, Ron groaned to himself. The second week of school hasn't even started yet and I'm already behind. "Hermione," he whined miserably, "I really need your help here. You're not seriously going to sit there and watch me struggle are you?"
"It would serve you right," she shot back, waging an internal battle within her own mind. The irritated, rational side of her kept insisting that she do just that. Letting him struggle was the only way he'd ever learn to take responsibility for his own decisions.
If you bail him out now, the little voice persisted; he'll just do it again. And he'll keep doing it as long as he knows that you'll help him pick up the slack.
"Aw come on. I'm begging here. What more do you want?" Ron asked.
He'll do it again anyway, a different voice chimed in. And you want to help him pick up the slack. You know that you do. Look at him, the voice demanded. He's so cute when he begs. Help him.
"No wait," Ron cut in before Hermione had a chance to respond to his question, "don't answer that, because I can't do what you want. Not this week. I need the practice as much as Ginny does. But it's just this one week, I swear. Once tryouts are over we'll be back to regular, scheduled practices once a week and things will be back to normal."
"Well I think I am going to call it a night," Harry said, jumping out of his chair and making for the stairwell leading up to the boy's dormitories before Hermione could launch into her Quidditch lecture. "See you two in the morning
"Night, mate."
"Goodnight, Harry," Hermione replied, crossing her arms in front of her chest and pretending to be more annoyed then she was as she gave into Ron's request. "Fine," she said, refocusing her attention on him.
"Seriously?" he cried in surprise. " You'll help me? Thanks, love. You're the best. "
"What did you just say?" Harry cried from the middle of the staircase as he froze in mid step and spun around to gape down at his friends.
"What?" Ron asked, twisting around on the couch and wrinkling his brow in confusion as he encountered his best friends disbelieving stare.
"What did you just say?" Harry repeated, gawking at Ron as if he'd just admitted that he was secretly in love with Draco Malfoy.
"You're the best" Ron responded, arching one eyebrow at Harry before glancing over at Hermione to see what she made of Harry's odd behavior. Unfortunately her deadpan expression was no help whatsoever.
"No, before that?" Harry demanded.
"Thanks," Ron replied somewhat sarcastically. "Are you all right, Harry?"
"What did he just say to you?" Harry asked Hermione, who was sitting in her chair, quietly watching the exchange taking place between the two boys.
"Just that," she replied calmly. "Thanks and then you're the best."
"Are you sure?" Harry asked, narrowing his eyes and looking at Ron suspiciously.
"Seeing as how I'm the one that said it," Ron shot back, without the slightest sign of embarrassment. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure. What did you think I said?" he asked.
"Never mind," Harry replied, studying Ron's ears closely. I must have imagined it. If he'd said what I thought he said, he'd be blushing up a storm right about now.
"No, seriously," Ron persisted, curiosity getting the better of him. "What did you think I said?"
"Nothing," Harry answered with a sigh. "For a second there I just thought you called Hermione a name, is all."
"Why would I call Hermione names?" Ron wondered out loud. "Especially after she's just agreed to help me? That would sorta defeat the purpose wouldn't it?"
"I must just be tired," Harry replied as he spun around and started up the stairs again.
"Are you sure you'll all right, mate?" Ron shouted as he disappeared from view.
"Fine," Harry's voice sounded back.
"What?" Ron asked when Hermione started to shake her head and leaned forward to cover her eyes with one hand. "You don't think something's wrong with him do you? Maybe I ought to go check on him," he added, shifting his position on the couch again and staring at the empty staircase. "I mean if he's hearing things..."
"He's not," she said softly.
"What?"
"He's not hearing things," she whispered. "You did call me a name."
"No I didn't," Ron insisted.
"Yes you..." Hermione started to argue, then stopped short, and glancing over at the staircase. "Forget it," she said softly, deciding it might be better if Ron didn't know what he'd said. At least that way if Harry questioned him about it again later he wouldn't be able to give himself way. "Let's just get started on your essay."
"No, what did I call you."
"Not now," she hissed softly, glancing at the staircase again before refocusing her attention on Ron. "We can talk about that later," she whispered. "After you paper is finished."
"You're acting like you think he's skulking around in the stairwell spying on us or something. Don't be ridiculous," Ron added when Hermione subtly nodded her head. "He is not."
"We'll discuss it later," she insisted. "So what spell are you going to use for your essay?"
"I already told you that I don't know," Ron replied, more then a little frustrated at being put off.
"Well I can't help you until you pick one."
"But you're supposed to help me pick one."
"I told you that I wasn't going to do that," Hermione scolded. "This is your essay, Ron. Not mine. You choose the spell you feel is the most useful in a fight and once you've done that I'll help you with the supporting evidence."
"Just tell me what spell you used first."
"No."
"Hermione," he whined.
"No!"
"Please."
"NO!"
"This is going to take all bloody night," Ron sighed, throwing his hands up into the air and letting his head fall against the back of the couch.
"Not if you'd just chose a spell already."
....................
Harry spent the next couple days watching his best friends very closely, searching for signs of anything out of the ordinary, but as far as he could tell they were treating each other the same way they always had. In fact, the only truly odd thing that happened didn't even involve Hermione. At least not directly. It involved a letter that Ron received from George over breakfast, or more precisely Ron's reaction to the letter. He didn't scowl, swear, or blush once while he read it. If anything, he looked downright pleased by whatever his brother had to say.
Being curious, and bored out of his skull due to the very tedious double History of Magic lesson they had first that morning, Harry asked about the letter in the notes he and Ron were passing back and forth to while away the time. And it was a good thing too, because it wasn't until Ron explained that his brothers had agreed to pick up Hermione's birthday gift and forward it to him, that Harry realized he hadn't had a chance to get her anything either. Fortunately Hermione's birthday was a little more then a week away, which meant he still had time to send Hedwig to Flourish and Blotts with a rush order, once he figured out what to get her that is.
"What book did you get?" Harry asked Ron the next day during lunch, when he realized Hermione was caught up in her conversation with Ginny and not paying any attention to them.
"What?" Ron asked, clearly confused by the question.
"For Hermione," Harry whispered. "You know, for her birthday? I don't want to accidentally get the same one."
"Oh," Ron said, finally cottoning on and lowering his own voice. "Er... I didn't exactly get her a book."
"What did you get her?"
"Um...," Ron whispered, turning his head and glancing at Hermione uncomfortably. "Can we talk about this later?"
"She's not going to hear us. She's not even paying any attention."
"What makes you so sure? She can read, write, and nag all at the same time. I wouldn't put it past her to be able to listen to two separate conversations."
"Ron?"
"What?" he cried in alarm, spinning around and staring into Hermione's deep brown eyes.
"What were you doing?" Ginny asked when she saw the guilty expression plastered on her brother's face.
"Nothing," he protested.
"Uh huh."
"Are you finished?" Hermione asked.
"Finished what?" Ron replied.
"Finished stuffing you face," retorted Ginny. "What is that, your third helping? How do you expect to dodge curses if you're so bloated you can't move?"
"That just shows what you know," Ron shot back. "We're not dodging curses, we're blocking them. There's a difference. What's it to you anyway?"
"This is going to be fun," Ginny said rising up from the table and turning to Hermione. "I call dibs on Ron."
"What are you talking about?" Ron asked his sister who blatantly ignored the question.
"Well we better get going," Hermione said, standing up herself and retrieving her book bag off the floor. "We need to get there early if we want to gets seats up front."
"Right," Harry agreed as he and Ron followed Hermione's lead and stood up.
"Where do you think you're going?" Ron asked his sister when they exited the Great Hall and it became obvious that Ginny was following them.
"To class," she replied lightly.
"What class?"
"Defense Against the Dark Arts."
"You don't have that now," Ron informed her. "We do."
"Yes, I know," his sister replied as she pushed past him and marched up the marble steps leading up to the first floor. "And so do I."
"Tonks has reshuffled the classes a bit," Hermione explained to boys as they followed Ginny up the stairs and down the corridor that lead to the D.A.D.A. classroom.
"And you're just telling us this now?" Ron asked, looking at Hermione accusingly.
"I just found out about it," she replied. "Ginny only told me about it at lunch."
"Reshuffled how?" Harry inquired.
"She took me aside last week and told me she was going to combine the 6th year Ravenclaws and the 6th year Hufflepuffs together and then separate them into two different classes based on their skills rather than their Houses."
"What for?" Ron asked.
"Because the D.A. members are ahead of the rest of their classmates and this way she won't have to hold them back while the others catch up. All the 6th year Gryffindors were in the D.A. so you don't need to be separated into intermediate or advanced classes," Ginny explained. "She just separated the other Houses and offered to bump Luna and me up into her advanced courses."
"What about Seamus?" Ron questioned. "He only came to one meeting."
"How am I supposed to know?" Ginny shot back.
"So that's why you spent all weekend reading your D.A.D.A. text book?" Harry said, more to himself than to Ginny.
"Yeah" she admitted, "it was one of the conditions. I had to finish reading the fifth year book and pass a test of sorts, but it was fairly easy."
"And the Slytherins?" Ron muttered. "We aren't going to be paired with them are we?"
"No, Tonks mentioned something about them staying at the intermediate level," Ginny laughed, as she pushed the door open and entered the D.A.D.A. classroom. "I wish I could see Malfoy's face when he find out."
"It looked something like this," Tonks chuckled from behind her desk as she scrunched her heart shaped face up in concentration, causing it to elongate and sharpen into a perfect duplicate of her cousin, complete with white blond hair and a very prominent scowl.
"Merlin's Beard, Tonks," Ron cried, squeezing his eyes shut and quickly covering them with his hand, "I hope you're happy. You've just scared me for life." Malfoy with breasts, he groaned inside his own head, his entire body shuddering at he tried to force the image out of his mind. "EEEWWW! That's just... wrong."
"It could have been worse," Tonks chuckled, morphing back into herself. "I was going to show you Goyle with his Neanderthal brow creased in confusion next. But I don't suppose that's such a good idea, is it? Not with class about to start."
"So what are we doing today?" Harry asked as he and his friends took the desks in the front row. "Ginny mentioned something about curses."
"Funny you should ask," Tonks replied, "because I'm going to need your help with this lesson. You up for it?" she asked as the bell rang signaling the end of the lunch period.
"What exactly is it you want me to do?" Harry asked warily.
"Relax. I'm not going to curse you or anything," she explained. "I just want you to work with Finnigan and Longbottom. I'm hoping a little one on one attention will help them catch up with everyone else."
"Sure," Harry agreed, more then a little relieved. "Er.. work with them on what exactly?"
"Their Patronus Charms."
"We're doing Patronuses today?" Ron asked, clearly pleased by this news. "Cool."
"All 6th and 7th year students will be required to learn how to produce a full born, corporeal Patronus. They might be shiny and pretty, but there's nothing cool about what they are used for," Tonks reminded him as Seamus and Neville entered the room. "Somewhere down the line that Patronus may very well be the only thing standing between you and Voldemort's Dementors. Get used to it Longbottom," Tonks added when Neville sucked in a huge breath. "Because I guarantee you're going to hear me say that name again in this class and I don't want to see you flinch every time I do it."
"Y..yes, Professor," Neville replied unevenly as he took his seat.
....................
The rest of the lesson progressed fairly smoothly. Harry had barely begun working with Seamus and Neville when Hermione's shout drew their attention away from him.
"Expecto Patronum!"
The two boys immediately turned away from Harry and watched the iridescent silver otter spring to life in the center of the room and bound it's mistress.
"Wonder what mine will be," Neville whispered to Seamus.
"You need to focus on coming up with a good strong memory first Neville," Harry instructed. "Whatever you've been using isn't strong enough."
"What memory do you use?" Seamus asked, either not realizing or not caring that it was a rather personal question.
"I've tried loads of different ones," Harry replied. "The day I found out I was a wizard; the first time I played Quidditch; winning the house cup first year. Maybe you could try that one," Harry suggested to Neville. "Your points were the ones that pushed us into the lead. That must be a happy memory for you."
"Yeah," Neville agreed with a broad smile. "That was brilliant."
"Well try that one then," Harry instructed. "What about you Seamus? Have you got a memory picked out?"
"Yeah, I think so."
"Well let's give it a try then," Harry instructed. "Just remember to focus on the memory and the way it made you feel as you utter the incantation."
....................
"What is that?" Parvati asked nearly a half hour later when Professor Tonks dragged a large leather suitcase out from under her desk and deposited it in the center of the classroom, where it immediately started to wobble and shake.
"That," Tonks replied as everyone in the room eyed the suitcase apprehensively, "is a Boggart."
"We've already done Boggarts," Lavender informed the Professor, breathing a silent sigh of relief.
"Yes I know," Tonks responded, "but other than Mr. Potter here, none of you has actually had to repel a real Dementor. Mastering the charm is one thing. Using it effectively and successfully while you are under attack is quite another."
"You're going to have that thing attack us?" Seamus asked, his attention now focused completely on the rattling suitcase.
"Yes, Mr. Finnigan, I am," Professor Tonks replied straightforwardly. "I can't exactly bring a real Dementor into the classroom for you to practice on, but this Boggart should do the trick. All we'll need is a little help from Mr. Potter."
"You going to have Harry to open the suitcase so the Boggart inside will become a Dementor?" Ginny asked.
"Exactly," Tonks agreed. "What do you say Granger? Your Patronus looked pretty solid to me. Do you think you're ready to give it a try against something that will fight back?"
"NO!" Hermione replied much louder then she meant to. "I... I can't," she admitted, her heart hammering so hard in her chest she was sure everyone in the class could hear it. All her happy thoughts were gone. Replaced with the image of Ron's lifeless body lying on the ground. That's what that thing will turn into if I get anywhere near it, she reminded herself. Watching him die once had been bad enough; she couldn't bare the idea of watching it happen again. There was no way she was going anywhere near that suitcase.
"All right," Tonks acquiesced when she saw the panic in Hermione's eyes, "But you are going to have to face it eventually. All of you will," she added, looking around at the rest of the students assembled in the room. "But not today. Class dismissed. You may leave your essays on my desk as you go," she added, turning her back on her students and shoving the suitcase back out of sight.
"It'll be all right," Ron said to Hermione quietly as he snatched his bag up off the floor, plopped it down on his desk and rummaged through it until he found his homework.
"Ron's right," Ginny chimed in as she watched her brother grab Hermione's bag and retrieve her homework as well. "It'll react to Harry, not you."
"I can't," Hermione said softly.
"Sure you can," Harry insisted, following closely behind Ginny as she led Hermione out of the room and into the hallway. "It might take one or two tries, but I'm sure you can do it. You just have to be confident about it and stay focused on your memory," he continued. "What?" he asked when he noticed the looks Ginny and Ron were giving each other.
"Er...," Ron muttered, glancing over at Hermione and avoiding Harry's stare.
"It's nothing really," Hermione stated quickly. "It's just... I had an unpleasant encounter with a Boggart this summer," she admitted with a sigh as she reached out and took her bag from Ron, " and I guess I'm still a little gun-shy."
"Gun-shy?" Ginny asked, glancing at her brother who seemed to be just as baffled as she was.
"It's a muggle term," Harry explained. "It means she's..."
"Apprehensive," Hermione said before he had a chance to say afraid. "It's really not a big deal."
"Then why didn't you tell me about it?" Harry shot back, clearly irritated by the fact Ron and Ginny both knew about it and they hadn't bothered to tell him either.
"You had more than enough to deal with this summer," Hermione explained. "And I didn't want to add to it. Besides, it's not like you could have done anything anyway. It happened before you joined us. "
"You still should have told me," Harry said, not completely buying her excuse. He didn't doubt that she hadn't wanted to burden him, but he suspected there was a good deal more to it than just that. He couldn't help but wonder what shape her Boggart had taken. It must have had something to do with him. Why else would she hide what happened from him, unless she was afraid he'd feel guilty about it? "What was it? What did you see?"
"I'm going to be late to class," Hermione said, glancing over at Ron as she sidestepped Harry's questions. "I'm sorry Harry," she added. "I'll tell you anything you want to know when I get back from my Runes class," she assured him, "but I can't get into it right now. Ron and Ginny can tell you what happened if you can't wait. Sorry," she said again, only this time to Ron as she pushed past him and started down to the corridor alone.
....................
"Hermione?" Ron asked, his voice thick and groggy as he opened his eyes and discovered his girlfriend kneeling on his bed tugging the curtains closed so none of his roommates would see her. "What is it? What's wrong?"
"Nothing...," she whispered after pointing her wand at the draperies surrounding the bed and casting an Imperturbable Charm on them so they wouldn't be overheard or interrupted. "I just needed to...be with you for a little while," she admitted and she lay down and snuggled up beside him. "I didn't mean to wake you. I'm sorry. I won't stay long, I promise."
"You can stay... as long as you want," Ron said, trying and failing to stifle a yawn as she placed her head on his chest. "Did you have a bad dream?" he asked, snaking his arm around her shoulders and gently moving his hand up and down her back.
"Yes," she admitted weakly, closing her eyes and listening to the rhythmic beat of his heart.
"They're just dreams," he muttered after a few moments of silence.
"I love you, Ron," Hermione whispered, tightening her hold on him. "I don't know what I'll do if..."
"Shush," he said, trying to soothe her when he felt her warm tears soak into his shirt. "They're just dreams, love. They aren't real."
"Aren't you afraid?" she asked.
"Sometimes," he answered, knowing full well that it was a lie. He'd spent the last three months terrified something was going to happen to her. He wasn't going to admit it though. "I won't let anything happen to you," Ron whispered, as much to reassure himself as her. "I promise."
"Sometimes I just feel like... like I'm living on borrowed time; like it's just a matter of time before something terrible happens and I loose you. But I can't... I can't do this without you."
"It was just a Boggart, love," Ron said sympathetically. "It isn't real. That's not going to happen."
"Promise me that it won't," Hermione beseeched even though she knew it was beyond his control. "Please."
"Shush," he replied, rolling them both on their side so they were facing one another and reaching up to wipe the tears from her eyes. "It'll be all right," he whispered as he caressed her cheek. "You'll feel better once we take the potion," he assured her. "And so will I," he admitted. "It won't be long now. I looked over that passageway on the fourth floor that George mentioned today while you were in your Runes class. Part of it has collapsed just like he said, but there is still a good sized space between the rubble and the mirror. It's perfect. If anyone else does know about it, they're bound to know that it has caved in, so there is no point trying to use it to get to Hogsmeade. No one will bother us there. You can start on the potion tomorrow night when we have rounds. I'll do them by myself and that will give you three whole hours to work on it."
"I won't need that long," Hermione replied with a yawn. "Not to get started anyway. There is only so much I can do until the next full moon. The hardest part will be sneaking a cauldron in there before we have rounds."
"Harry and I are supposed to practice with Ginny tomorrow afternoon when we get done with Care of Magical Creatures. You can do it while we're out on the pitch."
"All right," Hermione agreed. "Ron?"
"Hum?"
"Don't let me fall asleep."
"Right."
....................
When Hermione opened her eyes again, she found that the room around her was no longer dark. The curtains surrounding the bed she slept in were closed, but even they weren't enough to keep the sunlight at bay any longer. All they did was dilute it down to a deep crimson haze.
It only took her a moment to realize the precarious situation she was in. She had fallen asleep in Ron's bed. She had spent the entire night in the boys' dormitory. It was light outside. It was morning. That meant Ron's roommates would be waking up. Her own roommates would be waking up. They'd see that she wasn't in her bed. Worse, they might actually see her exit the boys' dorm in her dressing gown.
"Not yet," Ron mumbled, tightening his grip when she tried to slip out from under his arm. "Just five more minutes," he added, pulling her body back against his and drifting off to sleep again almost instantly.
"What time is it?" Hermione asked, shoving his arm off her side before whirling around to shove his pillow, and his head, out of the way in an attempt to see his wristwatch.
"Mione?" Ron groaned, opening one eye and looking at her for just a moment before closing it again and rolling over so he was lying flat on his back. "Whatimeizit?"
"That's what I was trying to figure out."
"Huh?" he asked, opening his tired eyes and blinking a few times, before lifting his arm and squinting at his wrist. "BLOODY HELL!" Ron shouted, sitting bolt upright and turning his now wide eyes on Hermione. "It's 8:13."
"I told you not to let me fall asleep," Hermione reproached him. "Classes start in 45 minutes. That means everyone is up. What are we going to do?"
"I'm sure Neville and Seamus have gone down to breakfast by now," Ron said, parting the curtain just enough to peek out and confirm that the room was indeed empty. "It's all right," he said with a sigh of relief. "We're alone."
"And what about Harry?" Hermione asked as she lifted his sheets and started looking for her wand. "Do you think he went to breakfast too," she asked, scooping her wand up and lifting the shield that had been surrounding his bed.
"Either that or he's waiting in the Common Room," Ron said, climbing out of bed, walking over to the door, and opening it to peer down the hall. "Come on," he said, when he turned around and saw she was still hiding behind his curtains. "There's no one around."
"Just because there is no one up here," Hermione said as she pushed the curtains back and stepped down onto the floor, "doesn't mean that there aren't people in the common room. Oh god," she moaned. "I'm a prefect. I can't be seen leaving the boys' dorm first thing in the morning."
"Just borrow Harry's invisibility cloak," Ron suggested, glancing over at the trunk under his best friend's abandoned bed. "I'm sure he won't mind."
"It would probably be better if I just wait until classes start and nip back over to the girls' side when no one else is around."
"Am I hearing things?" Ron chuckled, "or did Hermione Granger just suggest skiving off a class? I think I'm a bad influence on you. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. It's a ruddy brilliant idea actually," he added with a smile. "I'll stay and keep you company."
"Oh no you won't," Hermione shot back quickly. "You can't afford to miss Charms. If I stay, I'll only be late. If you stay with me we'll miss class altogether."
"That's the general idea."
"Harry will be worried if neither of us shows up."
"Fine," Ron sighed as he walked over to Harry's bed. "I'll go to class then," he said, surrendering to the inevitable. "But I'm not going to suffer alone. You have to go too," he insisted, popping the lid on Harry's trunk and dropping on his knees to dig through it. "Which means you get to borrow the... hey it's not in here."
"Looking for this?" a disembodied voice asked off to Ron's left. He barely had time to jerk his head in that direction when there was a swooshing sound and Harry appeared out of thin air, his invisibility cloak clenched in his hand and an angry scowl etched across his face.