Chapter 49

"Aw, come on Hermione," Ron whined, as she dragged him out of the Room of Requirement and along the corridor Harry had just retreated down. "We don't have to go back yet."

"It's a school night," she reminded him, keeping a firm grip on his hand to ensure that he followed her back to Gryffindor Tower.

"It's also our wedding night," Ron protested.

"Technically we're only betrothed to one another until we consummate the union," she shot back, "And we've already agreed that we aren't going to do that until the potion is ready."

"I know," Ron sighed, "but that doesn't mean we have to go back to the Tower straight away. I thought we might..."

"Fool around a bit?" Hermione finished for him.

"Well, yeah," he replied. "We were alone and in the perfect place. Why not take advantage of it?"

Because once we get started, neither one of us will want to stop, she thought. And I don't have the strength to resist you tonight. Not after what we've just done.

"How about the fact that we're out after curfew?" she said, hiding behind the rules so she wouldn't have to admit that she didn't trust herself to be alone with him at that particular moment.

"So? We're prefects," Ron countered, as she dragged him down the dimly lit corridor. "We're supposed to be out after curfew."

"Our round ended over an hour ago," she argued.

"That's never stopped us before. We always go back late."

"Not this late," Hermione protested. "We have double Defense Against the Dark Arts first thing in the morning. We'll need to be awake and functioning for that. And what about Harry?"

"What about him?" Ron asked. "He's going to have to find his own girl to fool around with," he joked.

"He all but ran away as soon as we were finished," Hermione said, halting in front of the Fat Lady's portrait and looking at him suspiciously. "Oh Ron, you didn't?"

"Didn't what?" he asked, furrowing his brow in confusion. Watch it, Weasley, he warned himself, as he stared into Hermione's deep brown eyes. She's got that I'm about to pitch a fit and stomp off in a rage look about her. What the hell is going on here? Why is she trying to pick a fight now?

"You didn't ask him to clear off as soon as we were finished, did you?" Hermione said accusingly.

"Of course I didn't," Ron replied honestly. "Why would I do something like that?"

"Then why did he leave?" Hermione asked, after uttering the password and entering the Common Room.

"Well, I could be wrong," Ron said, as he followed her over the threshold and did a quick scan of the room to make sure they were alone, "but I think it probably had something to do with the fact it's our wedding night," he continued, going out of his way to stress the last two words as he spoke them. "It's only natural that we'd want some alone time. I'm not saying that he had to run off like he did, but still, it was a logical conclusion for him to make. So the question isn't why Harry ran off," he informed her, "it's why you did? What's going on? Why don't you want to be alone with me?" Ron asked, but instead of responding as he expected, Hermione simply stood there looking at him.

Even if she hadn't heard the uncertainty and disappointment in his voice, she still would have known that his ego had been wounded, because the doubt he was feeling was clearly visible on his face. So rather than reassure him with words, she did the first thing that popped into her head and without so much as a warning, she launched herself at him, slamming her body against his, as she shoved both of her hands in his hair, pulled his face forward, and kissed him.

To say Ron was staggered by the ferocity of her attack would have been an understatement. In fact, it took him a good thirty seconds before he gathered enough wits to respond. It wasn't just that he hadn't expected Hermione to kiss him just then, although that was part of it. But the truth was he'd never expected her to kiss him like that in the middle of the Common Room. Behind closed doors was one thing, but they were in plain sight. True, the room was empty, but if anyone came downstairs, they were bound to notice the two 6th year prefects attempting to ravage one another. And yet here she was, rubbing herself against him in a way that quite literally left him feeling week in the knees as she all but devoured him when he stood.

"That's why," Hermione panted a few minutes later, when they were forced to separate for some much needed air.

"Huh?" Ron mumbled, opening his lust filled eyes and allowing them to roam freely down her body. At that particular moment he had no idea what they had been talking about before the kissing started, nor did he care. "Come here," he said, tightening his grip on her waist and pulling her back when she tried to disengage herself and separate her body from his.

"See, this is what I was talking about," Hermione said, placing both of her hands on his chest and pushing against him. "You can't control yourself anymore than I can," she informed him, as his mouth descended to her neck, eliciting a moan of pleasure that only seemed to spur him on. "We... we have to stop," Hermione said weakly, allowing her eyes to flutter shut as she let her head fall back even further to give him better access.

"Why?" Ron whispered against her ear, his sultry breath tickling Hermione's neck and causing her entire body to break out in goosebumps. "Why should we stop?" he asked, nuzzling against her neck as his hands slid down her back and one of them cupped her arse.

"Oh god!" Hermione moaned loudly, when Ron pulled her forward and ground his lower body against hers. "Please," she whimpered quietly, as she teetered on the edge of reason.

"Just tell me what you want, love," he prompted, bringing her hand up between them and leaning forward to kiss the spot on her palm where he'd cut her earlier.

"I... I want...," she panted. Oh to hell with it, she thought, giving in to temptation and seeking out his lips once more. We have to stop, she told herself as she kissed him. Before we get too carried away. But it feels so good, she argued, after Ron's tongue darted over her lower lip and dip into her mouth. No. No, we have to stop. I have to stop! she shouted in her head. While I still can. STOP NOW! JUST STOP! PULL AWAY!

"Ron," Hermione mumbled against his lips, when he started steering her back towards one of the sofas. "Ron... please," she said a little louder, prying her mouth away from his. "We can't."

"What?" Ron asked, groaning loudly. "Why the hell not?"

"We're in the middle of the Common Room."

"You're killing me here," he growled out in frustration.

"I'm sorry."

"Hermione?" Ron whined. "All right. Not down here," he sighed, running one hand through his already tousled hair. "Why don't we go to my room?

"I don't think that's a very good idea," Hermione informed him. "It's a school night and if I go up there with you, I'm not liable to come back down. Lavender and Parvati are bound to notice if my bed hasn't been slept in and then they'll know that I never made it back from rounds. And what if one of your roommates catches me this time? It's just too risky."

"I can set my alarm and wake you up early," Ron suggested, hoping that would be enough to appease her.

"I'd love to come up with you," Hermione said, "but that'll never work. You're not exactly the easiest person to wake up in the morning. We'll both be tired and you'll most likely sleep right through an alarm, but I can't say the same about your roommates."

"Ok, I'm out of ideas then," Ron admitted, "but you must have some sorta plan worked out, so what is it? Just tell me where you want to go and..."

"Ron," Hermione said, shaking her head back and forth as she cut him off. "I...um... I think it would probably be best if we just went to bed.

"Alone?" he asked, goggling at her in disbelief. "You can't be serious?" he said, when she bit her lower lip and nodded her head silently. "No way," he said, taking a step forward and wrapping his arms around her lower back. "I'm not letting you go," he informed her. "Not tonight. We can sleep right here for all I care," he said, glancing at the sofa quickly before refocusing his attention on her, "but you're staying with me."

"You know as well as I do that we won't sleep," Hermione sighed.

"But Hermione it's...," he began to protest, but he stopped when her index finger covered his lips.

"Not tonight," she said softly.

"Tomorrow then," Ron insisted, after pulling her hand away from his mouth and linking his fingers with hers. "Tomorrow isn't a school night, so you can stay in my room. I'll let you go now, but only if you promise that we can spend tomorrow night together."

"All right," Hermione replied with a slight smile, after mulling it over for a moment.

"The whole night? No fair sneaking off once I fall asleep."

"The whole night," she agreed.

"And Saturday night too."

"We'll see," Hermione said, dropping her eyes to the ground and shaking her head as if she were slightly annoyed, when in fact she was trying to hide her amusement from him.

He was just so adorable standing there pouting like a petulant child as he negotiated the terms of her release. If he had any idea how hard she was fighting herself and how close she was to giving in and going up with him now, she'd definitely be in trouble.

"Not good enough," he stated, tightening his grip on her so she wouldn't be able to escape. "Saturday night too."

"If you get your Transfigurations homework done before Sunday," Hermione countered.

"Oy! That's blackmail, that is," Ron cried in mock outrage.

"Takes one to know one," Hermione shot back quickly. "That's the deal, take it or leave it."

"If I agree do we get to seal the deal with a kiss?" he said with a chuckle.

Uh oh, Hermione thought, knowing full well where that would take them. "I think you've had more than enough kisses for tonight," she replied, squirming in his arms in an effort to free herself.

"Just one more and I'll let you go," Ron stated with a smirk.

"Deal," Hermione said quickly, leaning forward, pecking him on the lips, then pulling back and regarding him with a cheeky smile of her own before he even had time to register what had just happened.

"HEY! You cheated," Ron cried, but even as he said it, he released his hold on her and allowed her to step away from him. "Well?" he said, after she'd taken a few steps backwards and then halted beside the sofa. "Aren't you going to go up to bed?"

"I don't want to," she admitted, as she studied him intently. "Ron I... I don't want you to think that tonight didn't mean anything to me, because it did," she said, as she sat down on the couch and motioned for him to join her. "It meant everything," she continued, reaching out for the chain that was hidden beneath his shirt as soon as he sat down beside her, then pulling the charm out, bringing it up to her lips, and kissing it softly. "I still can't believe that you'd do this for me," she said, letting the charm fall back against his chest as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him just as tenderly.

"Why wouldn't I? I love you," Ron said quietly, once she'd pulled back and was looking at him again.

"I love you too," she replied, as her eyes glassed over. "I... I'm sorry if I've ruined things. I'm sorry that you have to wait, but it won't be much longer now and..."

"Hermione," Ron said, cutting her off. "You don't have to apologize for that. I mean sure, it's frustrating and it's hard to wait sometimes, but it's not your fault. The potion is the most important thing right now. But, it's almost done, right?"

"It'll be finished next week."

"Thank Merlin," Ron sighed loudly.

"I was thinking about that though," Hermione said hesitantly. "About ... you know, when it's finished," she clarified, "and I was thinking that maybe ... well, it's not something I want to rush."

"What?" Ron asked, some of the color draining out of his face. "But I thought you were ready."

"I am," she assured him. "At least I think I am. When we're together I know that I am, it's only when we're not together that I get nervous about it. But that's not what I meant. I don't want to rush it. It will be our first time and we only get one of those so it's special, you know? And it means even more now," she continued, as she subconsciously fingered the chain hanging around her own neck, "because..."

"...we'll really be married," Ron finished, and Hermione nodded her head.

"So it won't just be our first time," she said quietly. "It'll really be our wedding night and I don't want to fumble through that in some mad rush in a broom cupboard, or a classroom, or a secret tunnel, and then come back here like nothing has happened."

"You think that's what I want?" Ron asked, sounding more than a little insulted.

"No, I don't," she replied quickly. "I know that's not what you want either, which is why I think we ought to wait, even after the potion is finished. Not long," she said, when Ron looked like he was about to protest. "Just until Halloween."

"Halloween?" Ron asked, as his mind started racing with all the things that would mean. "Everyone will be at the feast."

"Exactly," she said, the weight lifting off her shoulders when Ron responded in a positive manner. "We'll have the Tower to ourselves for hours and we won't have to sneak around or worry about getting caught or rush through it all. But it's more than that. Halloween... it's just... it...feels like the right time. It has a lot of significance, you know?

"Harry's parents were killed on Halloween," Ron said, more to himself than to Hermione.

"And Voldemort was defeated, but that's not what I was referring to," she stated. "Halloween is important to us. All three of us," she clarified. "It's the anniversary of the day we all became friends, so it seems fitting for it to also be the day that we become more than that."

"We're already more than friends," Ron reminded her.

"I know," Hermione replied. "But I'd still like Halloween to be our official wedding day. The one we celebrate and remember every year. I know that it's just another day and it shouldn't really matter, but I feel like it does."

"Works for me," Ron replied with a soft chuckle. "And I'll never have to worry about forgetting our Anniversary, will I? Because who could forget Halloween? Best damn holiday of the year, with the possible exception of Christmas."

"Just because you can have a meal comprised of nothing but sweets," Hermione said, shaking her head back and forth sadly.

"You reckon Harry will bring some back for me?"

"I'm sure he will, if you ask nicely. So that means you'll be the one telling him why we're not going to be there with him."

"ME!" Ron yelped. "You already made me explain the Lànain to him. Why can't you do it this time? It's only fair."

"Fair or not, you're the one that has to do it.

"Aw, come on."

"I can't talk to Harry about our sex life. "

"But I'm a bloke, therefore I automatically can?"

"All right, fine," Hermione retorted. "I'll talk to Harry, but that means you get to tell Ginny."

"Who said we were going to tell Ginny anything?" Ron countered.

"Do you honestly think that she won't notice that we're missing from the feast? I don't particularly want her to come looking for us, do you? Because that's what's liable to happen if we don't explain it to her before hand. "

"Harry can tell her then."

"It's not Harry's responsibility, it's our. So I'll talk to Harry and you can explain it all to your sister," Hermione said, knowing full well that Ron would never go for that.

"All right, you win," he sighed. "I'll take Harry."

"I thought you might."

"I'm never going to win another argument against you for the rest of our lives, am I?"

"Did you ever win any before?"

"Oh shut up," Ron groaned. "I must have won at least one somewhere."

"I'm sure it's more than one actually," she chuckled, as she leaned forward and kissed him quickly. "Although I'm not keeping score."

"Hermione, three hundred and seventy five. Ron, four. Does that sound about right to you?" he asked, his voice taking on a disgruntled timbre.

"I adore you," Hermione laughed softly, throwing her arms around his neck again and kissing him soundly, before pulling away and standing up. "Well, we better go to bed, before it becomes three hundred and seventy six. I'll see you in the morning," she added, as she started walking towards the girls' stairs. "Goodnight, Ron."

"Night," he grumbled, as he watched her ascend and only after she had disappeared did he stand up himself.

"What are you doing?" Harry asked, popping his head out of his bed after hearing movement in the room and spotting Ron riffling through the bureau his clothes were in.

"You don't really expect me to sleep in my robes do you?" Ron said sarcastically, as he dropped a pair of pajamas on his bed and started removing his clothes.

"I meant what are you doing back here?" Harry asked quietly. "I thought you two were going to... well, I just assumed that you'd both be staying in the Room of Requirement tonight."

"Nope," Ron replied, spinning around to face his own bed, before removing his shirt and replacing it with his pajama top.

"So you two didn't..."

"Nope," Ron said again, before Harry got any further.

"You sly dog," Seamus cried, as he wrenched the curtains surrounding his bed open and grinned up at Ron like a Cheshire cat. "You've been holding out on us. Ok, you've been holding out on me," he amended, as his gaze settled on Harry, who obviously knew much more than he did about Ron's love life. "OY! Longbottom," Seamus shouted, hurling his pillow at the boy sleeping in the bed next to his. "Wake up. You'll never guess who's gone and got himself a girlfriend."

"Bloody Hell," Ron groaned, his entire face flooding with color. "Will you shut up."

"So?" Seamus asked, rubbing his hands together with an expression of glee that was reminiscent of Ron's twin brothers. "Who is she? I'm assuming that it isn't Lavender," he said, before the embarrassed redhead even had a chance to open his mouth and respond. "All right, so it's not her," Seamus continued, once he saw the look of revulsion that crossed his roommates crimson face "Must be someone from one of the other houses, because if it were a Gryffindor you two would be going at it in the Common Room instead of that Room of Requirement. Being a Prefect finally coming in handy, is it? Makes it real easy for you, doesn't it? All you have to do is ditch Granger after your rounds and then hook up with your bird for a little slap and tickle," he sniggered, arching his eyebrows suggestively. "Do you think she'll give you detention or deduct house points when she figures out what you've been doing? Hermione, I mean."

"Neither," Harry said with a soft chuckle, but didn't elaborate any further, because his best friend spun around with a horrified expression on his face and shot him a look that all but screamed, "Are you mental? Shut up!"

"So who is it, Weasley?" Seamus asked again. "Please tell me that it wasn't that Loony Lovegood bird."

"Don't call her that," a new voice chimed in loudly.

"What's it to you what I call her?" Seamus asked Neville, who was blushing slightly now that all eyes were locked on him.

"There's nothing wrong with Luna," Neville said, rising up off his elbow and sitting up in his bed. "So what if she's a little eccentric? I happen to think she's nice, so don't go putting her down just because you don't know her."

"Good for you Neville," Harry said, giving his friend and encouraging smile.

"What is this, the Loony Lovegood fan club?"

"I warned you," Neville cried, snatching the pillow Seamus had thrown at him off his bed and heaving it back as hard as he could.

"All right," Seamus laughed. "But maybe you ought to save some of that for Weasley, seeing as how he's the one out bonking her."

"He's full of shit, Neville," Ron said, as he slipped his pajama bottoms on and climbed into his own bed. "Just ignore him."

"Full of shite, am I?" Seamus chuckled. "You might want to take a look in the mirror before you try denying it again. Unless you expect me to believe that you did that to yourself."

"Did what?" Ron asked, his hands going to his neck automatically. No way, he thought, Hermione would never leave a visible mark and she never even touched my neck. He's just fucking with me. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said, trying to play it cool, despite the fact his bright red ears were a dead giveaway.

"I'm talking about your hair," Seamus sniggered, "There's only one way I know of to wind up looking that disheveled and that's to have yourself a good tumble. There's no point denying it. Especially since Potter already gave you away. Aren't you going to say anything?" he asked, when Ron remained silent.

"Hadn't planned on it, no," Ron finally replied, flopping down and burrowing under his covers. "Night Harry."

"Aw, come on," Seamus moaned, as he watched Harry settled down as well. "Just tell me who it is."

"Sod off, Finnigan," Ron grumbled. "Can't you see I'm trying to sleep here?"

"All shagged out are you?" he asked jovially. "Bit more work than you thought it would be, teaching a greenhorn how to slob your knob properly?"

"You'll shut it right now if you know what's good for you," Ron warned, as he sat up in his bed and glared at the sandy haired Irishman ominously.

"Touch a nerve, did I?" Seamus continued, intentionally baiting him just to see if he could get Ron riled up to the point he'd forget himself and let something incriminating slip. "What's the matter Weasley? Pashing a prude not all you thought it would be? You're wasting your time, mate. You know that, don't you? That's the problem with those inexperienced girls. You have to put so much time and effort into it and even when they do finally spread their legs for you, it's a lackluster ride at best."

"SHUT YOUR BLOODY MOUTH!" Ron roared, as his entire face became red, not with embarrassment, but anger. "One more word about Her...." he started to say, but managed to catch himself just in time and cover his mistake. "Just one more word about her and I swear to god you'll regret it."

"You are so predictable, Weasley," he chortle.

"As are you," Harry piped in from his own bed. "And since you're little fishing expedition netted you nothing, will you kindly shut the hell up so the rest of us can get some sleep?"

"Fine," Seamus grumbled, as he crawled back into his own bed. "But I don't see why you two are going out of your way to keep it such a bloody secret. I mean, obviously you don't want Granger to know, because she'll go all Prefect on you and spoil all his fun, but it's not like I was going to tell her or anything."

"No, you'll just tell everyone else," Harry replied.

"Contrary to what you might think, I am actually capable of keeping a secret, Potter."

"For how long?" Harry asked, as he settled back down. "A week?" But even as he said it, he was wondering why Ron hadn't just fessed up. It certainly would have shut Seamus up, because even he wasn't stupid enough to knowingly talk about Hermione like that in front of either of them.

"Aw, piss off," the young Irishman groaned from behind his curtains.

"Well?" Hermione said, the instant Harry joined his friends at the Gryffindor table for lunch. "What did she say?" she asked, knowing that he'd remained behind once their Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson had ended so he could talk to Tonks about continuing his Occlumency training. "Is she going to help you? You did actually ask her, right?" she added, when she noted Harry's blank stare. "You better not have chickened out, because if you did I'll march right up to the staff table when she comes in and ask her myself."

"Hermione, take a breath and give him a chance to answer before you get your knickers in a twist," Ron sighed. "Don't worry, mate," he said to Harry, "she won't actually do that."

"And what makes you think I'm wearing any knickers?" Hermione leaned forward and whispered in Ron's ear.

The effect on him was instantaneous. Not only did Ron's ears flood with color as he snapped his head to the left to stare at her, but the fork he'd been holding fell out of his hand and landed with a clatter in the center of his plate. "Are you serious?" Ron hissed softly, his meal now completely forgotten.

"No," Hermione admitted with a smirk, "I was just trying to make a point. You shouldn't be making assumptions."

"Bloody Hell," Ron groaned. "You shouldn't be saying things like that. What if Seamus had heard you?" he asked.

"Shouldn't be saying things like what?" Ginny asked casually, glancing at Harry, who shrugged his shoulders, before she sat down beside him and stared across the table at her brother.

"Shove off Ginny," Ron retorted, his ears becoming even darker. "Don't you have friends of your own to sit with?"

"RON!" Hermione cried, digging her elbow into his side.

"OW! What?" he asked, twisting in his seat in an attempt to get away from her. "She's the one shoving her nose into other people's business. She's damn near as bad as Finnigan."

"Is that so?" Ginny replied calmly. "And to think, I came over here to warn you."

"Warn me about what?" Ron asked, his deep blue eyes narrowing with suspicion.

"Sod off, you great prat," his sister said, as she began loading her plate full of food. "As if I'm going tell you anything now."

"Ginny?"

"So Harry," she said, purposely ignoring her brother's attempt to get her attention. "What happened with Tonks?"

"Um, not all that much, " Harry replied, sounding as if he'd rather not discuss it.

"You did talk to her though, right?" Hermione pressed him.

"Er... yeah," he admitted.

"And?" Hermione asked.

"It's a no go," he replied with a heavy sigh.

"She doesn't know how to do it?" Ron asked in surprise. "But I thought they trained Aurors how to..."

"They do," Harry cut him off, "but apparently it's not that easy. Occlumency is purely defensive and doesn't effect anyone but the person using it, so it's something all Aurors are trained in."

"So what's the problem then?" Ron questioned.

"The problem is that Legilimency is invasive and according to Tonks, there are strict Ministry guidelines that have to be followed in order to be trained in it. And unfortunately it takes a Legilimens to train an Occulmens well enough that he can lie without... Aw hell, I don't remember the term she used, but what it boils down to is that she can help me with the basics and my technique and all. She said she could even show me how to do some relaxation exercises, but eventually I'm going to have to train with a Legilimens if I wanted to reach a level where I can look someone right in the eye and lie without giving anything away."

"So sooner or later you are going to have to talk to Snape?" Hermione said flatly.

"Not necessarily," Harry replied almost instantly. "Dumbledore is a Legilimens as well. I was hoping that if Tonks were to help me get started again and I got those relaxation exercises down and all, he might be willing to train me instead."

"Professor Dumbledore is awful busy, Harry," Hermione warned. "He has a lot of responsibilities to deal with right now and he might not be able to..."

"And I don't?" Harry shot back, the resentment in his voice taking Hermione completely by surprise.

"I'm sure that isn't what she meant," Ginny said, suspecting that Harry was referring to the Prophesy hanging over his head, which he still hadn't told his friends about.

"So you are going to work with Tonks then?" Ron asked cautiously.

"Just a bit," Harry replied, sounding normal once more. "Now that you two are finally finished with your detentions she said she'd try and make some time for me on Saturdays."

"Well that's something, isn't it?" Ron asked. "I mean you've already had some training right, so maybe a bit of a brush up is all you need."

"Yeah, right," Harry mumbled. Since when has my life ever been that easy?

"Hermione," Ginny said, when her brother and his friends stood up to leave the table. "I have Charms next and I can't seem to get my Silencing Charm down right. I was wondering if you could maybe take a minute and talk me through it so I know what I'm doing wrong."

"Of course," she replied, motioning for Ron and Harry to go on without her. "I'll meet you two in class."

"But we have Potions next," Ron objected, uncomfortable with the idea of her walking through a dungeon full of Slytherins by herself, but unwilling to admit it.

"So?" Hermione replied.

"So you can't be late," he replied, glaring at Malfoy who was still seated at his own table.

"I won't be late," she assured him. "This will only take a minute. But, go on if you're worried. I'll catch up."

"Are you sure?" Harry asked, knowing that Hermione didn't like to walk around dark or secluded places by herself.

"Fine, stay then. You can help actually. Which one of you wants to volunteer?" she asked, refocusing her attention on Ginny.

"For what?" Ron asked.

"Come on, mate," Harry hissed in his ear, as he grabbed Ron by the arm and started dragging him away. "Let's go," he added, because he had a fairly good idea what Hermione was about to suggest.

"But I need one of you to stay so Ginny can show me what she's doing wrong."

"Are you mental?" Ron asked, as his mouth fell open. "We're not letting Ginny practice a spells she doesn't even know how to do on us."

"Oh, let them go," Ginny said quietly.

"All right then," Hermione sighed, "I suppose you better start by telling me what happens when you try and cast the charm."

"Nothing," Ginny replied as she watched her brother and Harry walk away.

"Nothing at all?"

"No, I mean nothing unexpected. It works fine," she admitted. "I was just using that as an excuse to talk to you alone for a minute."

"Ginny," Hermione said disapprovingly.

"Ron told you about Seamus, right?" the young redhead asked, before Hermione managed to say anything else.

"Of course he did," she stated. Ron had told her all about Seamus first thing that morning and he'd been none too happy about it. Mostly because his roommates sudden interest in his love life meant that she wasn't going to be able to stay with him in his room over the weekend as they'd planned. "I'm surprised he told you though."

"He didn't. Seamus did," Ginny admitted. "Well, in a round about way. When we were leaving Defense Against the Dark Arts earlier, he sorta fell back and asked me if I knew who Ron was seeing," she informed her friend. "I played dumb of course, but he wasn't buying it. The thing is, when he told me what he overheard Harry and Ron discussing, well... Parvati was close enough to hear him and of course she told Lavender," Ginny whispered. "It was an accident," she insisted. "I really don't think he meant for either of them to find out, but they did and Lavender asked me point blank if Ron had a girlfriend."

"And what did you say?"

"Er.. well I didn't know what to say," Ginny admitted quietly. "I mean, I know that you want to keep it quiet and all, so I didn't really say anything, but Seamus did. He ... um... sorta told her that she was wasting her time trying to chat Ron up because it was never going to happen. He told her if Ron was anything, it was loyal, only.... um... I don't think it had the desired effect."

"What do you mean, desired effect?" Hermione asked, her brow knit in confusion.

"Well, some girls like a challenge, don't they?" Ginny asked rhetorically. "And by telling Lavender that she didn't have a snowballs chance in hell, I think he might have unwittingly motivated her to make another play for him."

"Oh, for heaven sakes," Hermione cried out loudly.

"I'm sure Seamus didn't mean for this to happen," Ginny reiterated. "He really was trying to help. He was telling her that she'd have to be out of her mind to go after him again, after the way he shot her down the last time she tried when I left them in the hallway, but the thing is, I think she might just be stupid enough to try it and I thought you ought to know. I doubt Seamus will tell Ron. I sure as hell wouldn't if I were him."

"Is this what you were going to warn him about when you sat down?"

"Until he decided to be such a git," Ginny admitted. "It would serve him right if I sat back and let him be blindsided, but I definitely wanted you to know what was going on, because this effects you too. So ... er... what are you going to do?"

"I don't know," Hermione admitted.

"Are you going to tell Ron?"

"I suppose I'll have to," Hermione replied, "Only I can't do it in class, and I should probably wait until we're alone. I'll definitely have to wait until Seamus isn't around," she mumbled to herself. Ron was already angry with him for butting into their business and unwittingly ruining their plans, if he found out about this, he was liable to overreact and go after him. I'll tell him later tonight, and then I'll just have to keep him away from Seamus tomorrow, she decided. "Thanks Ginny."

"If you want any help deal with Lavender," the fiery redhead replied with a mischievous gleam in her eye, "just let me know. I'd be only too happy to help you out."

"That won't be necessary," Hermione replied, grabbing her bag off the floor so she could head down to her Potions class, "but thanks."

I should probably tell Harry first, Hermione thought to herself, as her last class of the day let out and she left her Ancient Runes classroom. Maybe he'll have some advice on how to go about telling Ron and if nothing else, he'll be able to help me calm him down. Besides, she continued in her head, as she made her way back up to Gryffindor Tower alone, he's going to need some time to figure out how to keep Ron from going after Seamus once they all go to bed. Maybe I ought to just wait and tell Ron tomorrow, Hermione thought. I can tell Harry tonight and then the two of us can tell Ron tomorrow and that will give him a whole day to calm down. That could work, she decided. Unless he wants to start a fight, in which case he'll fume about it all day and work himself up even further, she added with a sigh. So I'm right back where I started, which is to talk to Harry first and see what he thinks.

Unfortunately, the minute the Portrait of the Fat Lady swung open and Hermione stepped over the threshold into the Common Room, talking to Harry was no longer important. It all happened so fast that even after the fact, Hermione wasn't quite sure how she did it. One second she was looking at Ron, who was sitting in one of the oversized chairs by the fireplace, where he'd obviously been playing a game a chess with Harry, and then her eyes darted up to Lavender Brown, who was perched on the arm of Ron's chair.

Time seemed to stop, as Hermione froze in the doorway, her book bag still slung over her shoulder, and took in her roommates attire, or lack of attire, seeing as how her robes, jumper and school tie had been discarded, leaving her in a skirt that was far to short and a tight fitting, white, button up shirt, that left very little to the imagination. And as if that weren't bad enough, the top three buttons of her blouse were undone, exposing enough cleavage to have captured the attention of every boy in the immediate area, all of whom were staring at her like a herd of deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car.

THAT'S IT! Hermione thought, the instant Lavender leaned forward, affording Ron a perfect view down her shirt, which he took full advantage of.

"Has anyone ever told you how beautiful your hair is," the sultry blond cooed, as she reached forward and ran her fingers over one of Ron's ginger locks. "The way it shimmers in the firelight."

GET YOUR BLOODY HANDS OFF OF HIM YOU CHEAP TART! Hermione screeched in her head and no sooner had the words formed in her mind, than Lavender did just that, although not of her own volition.

At first, Hermione didn't notice the spark of red light that sputtered to life where Lavender's fingers were touching Ron, and just as she did, there was a blinding flash and the young blond was literally hurled across the room, much like a pesky bug that had been flicked off a tabletop. She landed with a loud thump, several feet away, on the cold stone floor, looking even more stunned than everyone else.

"LAVENDER!" Parvati cried, as she jumped out of her chair and hurried over to her friend, who was gasping for breath as if she'd had the wind knocked out of her.

"What the hell?" Seamus asked no one in particular, as he jumped off the couch, followed by Harry, Neville and Ron who were just as startled by the unexpected attack.

"Is she all rig...," Harry started to ask Parvati, but stopped as he noticed all the color drain out of Ron's face. "What is it?" he asked Ron instead, whipping his wand out, spinning around to see what had his best mate so spooked, and finally noticing Hermione, who was positively seething in the doorway. "Oh shit," he muttered under his breath.

"HERMIONE!" Ron cried in horror, before saying the first thing that popped into his head. "It's not what it looks like."

"IT'S NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE!" she screamed, dropping her book bag to the floor and swooping down on the tall redhead with a look that was so menacing everyone else stepped away from him without thinking. "Not what it looks like?" she snapped, placing both hands on her hips. "It looked like you were staring down her shirt, that's what it looked like," she hissed.

"HOLY SHITE!" Seamus cried loudly, as he realized what was going on. "He didn't... they're not... are they?" he asked Harry.

"Go ahead, tell me that you weren't," Hermione demanded, completely ignoring the fact that everyone in the room was now staring at her. "Oh, shut up," she cried, the instant Ron opened his mouth. "Just sit down and shut the hell up. I'll deal with you in a minute."

"THEY ARE!" Seamus yelled triumphantly.

"Are what?" Neville asked timidly.

"Together," Seamus replied.

"Huh?"

"She's his girlfriend," Seamus said to Neville, pointing his finger at Hermione as he explained the obvious. "The one he was with last night."

"Get your finger out of my face before I break it off," Hermione snapped, as she pushed Seamus aside and started walking over to Lavender and Parvati.

"OOoooh, catfight," the young Irishman said excitedly, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

"Will you shut up," Harry said, smacking Seamus in the back of the head as he chased after his bushy haired friend, hoping that he could head her off before she did anything she might regret. "Hermione, wait."

"Stay out of this, Harry. It's between me and her," she warned, as she stomped up to both of her roommates.

"How dare you," Parvati screeched, maneuvering between Hermione and her best friend.

"Me? I'm not the one trying to steal other girl's boyfriends."

"You didn't have to curse her," Parvati shot back.

"How was I supposed to know you two were together?" Lavender said defensively.

"You should have told us," Parvati added.

"I already told you that my personal life is none of your business. You were just so worried about those ridiculous stories about me and Harry, that you never even considered Ron as a possibility."

"Why would you possibly want Ron, if you could have Harry?" Parvati said without thinking.

For a moment all Hermione could do was gape at the two girls standing in front of her in utter disbelief as Parvati's words sunk in, then she exploded. "EXCUSE ME!!"she bellowed at the top of her lungs, clearly offended on her boyfriend's behalf. "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN!"

"No, don't," Harry said behind Hermione, wrapping his arms around her shoulders to prevent her from lunging forward. "You're a Prefect, remember," he added in a quiet voice. "You supposed to set the example."

All set an example all right, Hermione thought, twisting her shoulder in an attempt to break free. "Let go," she hissed. "I'm fine."

"All right," Harry said, loosening his hold on her but staying close just in case. "You've said what needed to be said, so why don't we just go back over to..."

"I'm not finished yet," Hermione cut him off. "Not hardly."

"This never would have happened if you had told me the truth," Lavender insisted. "But instead you just sat back and ...and you listened to everything we said and you never said a word. Not one word."

"Like it would have mattered," Hermione shot back. "You knew perfectly well that he was seeing someone, and yet you still came down here dressed like that and tried to entice him."

"Hermione, stop," Ron said, coming up behind her and Harry. "It wasn't like that."

"Let me guess, she was sitting a little too close to the fire and got hot?" Hermione asked, rolling her eyes when she saw the truth of her statement flash across Ron's face. "I can't believe you'd actually fall for something that obvious."

"Well, it was kinda hot over there," Ron said weakly.

"You're an idiot," Hermione cried, throwing both of her arms up in the air in exasperation. "But he's my idiot," she snapped, after turning around to glare at Lavender once more, "so keep your shirt on and your grubby paws off of him. And you," she said, turning on Ron again.

"Are you going to kill me now?"

"No."

"You're not?" Ron asked, his voice ringing with hope. "Really?" he added somewhat skeptically.

"Do you want to be with Lavender," Hermione asked point blank.

"Hell no," Ron replied loudly without even bothering to think about it.

"Then that's that," Hermione said, grabbing his hand and dragging him away from the two girls she'd been arguing with.

"Damn," she heard Seamus mumble as she led Ron and Harry back to their seats by the fire. "I was hoping we'd see some carnage."

"Carnage?" Hermione huffed. "I'll show you carnage. He's the one that told Lavender that you had a girlfriend," she informed Ron, as she pointed at Seamus. "And then he talked her into go after you again."

"I did not," Seamus cried indignantly.

"Did too," she countered. "Ginny was standing right there and she told me everything that happened."

"I was only trying to help," Seamus said, taking a step back when he saw Ron's feature's harden and he began to scowl.

"Oh really?" Hermione retorted. "And how much help were you offering when she sauntered over here and started shedding her clothes?"

"DAMN!" Ginny cried, as she hurried through the portrait hole and into the Common Room, immediately noting how agitated everybody was. "It's true, isn't it?" she asked, scanning the room for Lavender or Parvati, both of whom were missing. "Did you really send her flying across the room?" she asked Hermione excitedly. "Oh, why couldn't you have waited until I was here to see it," she moaned. "Instead I had to hear about it from a couple second years that you sent running for the hills. I can't believe I missed it."

"Well, you're just in time for round two," her brother said angrily.

"Where Ron kills Seamus," Harry added, when Ginny looked at him blankly.

"Any last words, Finnigan?"

"Aw, she told him then?" Ginny said to Harry with a smirk. "Excellent."

"Oh my god," Harry mumbled, just before he started laughing. How could it take me so long to notice? he wondered. She's got a mischievous streak, just like the twins.