Thanks to all my wonderful reviewers! I'm so happy this fic is getting such a good response!

Now, before you start this and start ranting to me, please keep in mind that I am completely and utterly against Harry/Hermione. Okay? It disgusts me. I absolutely hate it with a passion.

Silver Ice- OMG! I didn't even think about that. But, yeah, Tabitha was Sam's daughter's name on Bewitched. LOL. The way I got the name was I couldn't think of a good one and I asked my mom, "Mama, what's a good name for a witch?" and she said Tabitha. I didn't even make the connection! I guess that's where she got it. LOL.

Chapter 6: The Sleepover

Hermione sobbed into Harry's shoulder. They were now sitting on his couch. She was shaking because she was crying so hard. Harry rubbed her back and tried to console her.

"It'll be okay," he said quietly trying to soothe her. "Ron doesn't know what he's doing." At these words Hermione cried harder. Harry hugged her tighter and patted her back.

After a while Hermione stopped crying. She pulled away and wiped her face. He looked at her apprehensively as if she were a bomb about to explode. It seemed as though he thought she may burst into tears again any moment.

"I'm being so stupid," Hermione stated through her sniffles. "I'm an adult! I shouldn't be acting like this."

"But Hermione," Harry said, "you're also human. It's okay to be sad."

She looked away from him. "Do you mind if I stay here tonight?" she asked.

"Of course not," he answered.

"Thanks," she sniffed. "I don't want to be alone tonight."

Harry nodded to show he understood.

"Do you have any firewhiskey?" she asked abruptly.

"Yeah," he said getting up and going to his kitchen not questioning her sudden request. He returned with a bottle and two glasses. He sat the glasses and the bottle on the coffee table. Hermione had slumped down to the floor and had her elbows resting on the table.

He plopped down beside her and opened the bottle. He was about to pour some of the whiskey into the glasses when Hermione yanked the bottle out of his hands and began to chug it. It was almost half empty when she pulled the bottle away from her lips. Her face was screwed up and she shook her head, her wild curly hair flying about her face.

She slammed the bottle down and cleared her throat. Harry was staring at her in amazement.

"Taken up drinking have we?" he muttered as he picked up the bottle and poured some into his glass.

She shook her head. "Gotten a bit more used to it though."

Harry shook his head and downed the liquid in his glass. He refilled it and poured some into Hermione's. He raised his glass in the air and said, "To…"

"…the inventor of alcohol," Hermione offered. Harry nodded and they both guzzled their whiskey. It wasn't long before the bottle was empty. Hermione got up and went to the kitchen. She tossed the empty container into the trash can and retrieved another from the freezer.

In only an hour she and Harry had finished off four bottles all by themselves.

"Bloody git!" Hermione yelped as she lay on her back on the floor clutching her glass and staring up at the ceiling. She hiccupped a couple times through her sentences. "He's such a bastard." Her words were slurred because of the amount of alcohol she'd consumed and she was finding it very difficult to focus.

Harry lay next to her on his stomach with his nose smashed into the carpet of his living room. He'd taken his glasses off somewhere between their second and third bottles.

"Yeah," he said in a muffled voice. "But he loves you, Hermioninie…Have you ever noticed how weird your name is? Hermionine, Hermioneeee, Hermioninny…"

"He doesn't love me," Hermione said. "If he did he'd leave that tramp. What's so wrong with me? Am I that ugly?"

"You're not ugly," Harry said sitting up slightly. "You're very pretty."

"Not compared to her," she mumbled. "You didn't see her, Harry. She's perfect."

"All I know is that Ron's been in love with you since we were kids," Harry stated before he put the whiskey bottle to his mouth and tilted his head back. When nothing came out he held it above his mouth and banged on the bottom. "And anyway, I have seen her and she's not that pretty."

Hermione snorted and sarcastically muttered, "Yeah, right!"

She rolled over on her stomach and laid her head on her folded arms. Harry sighed and tried to stand up. He wobbled as he tried to catch his balance. He went to the kitchen again and returned with a bag of chips. He sat back down on the floor next to Hermione and opened the bag. He reached his hand in the bag but before he could get any of the chips Hermione jerked the bag out of his hands. She began cramming chips in her mouth.

"Hey!" Harry grunted. He grabbed the bag and began eating some of the chips. Hermione finished her chips and scooted over to where she'd sat her wand on the couch. She picked it up and began shooting bubbles from the tip of it. The bubbles floated in the air for a few moments and began popping one by one. She watched them peacefully for a while before she felt herself getting sleepy.

She scooted back over to Harry and put her arms around him. "I love you," she said through a yawn. "You're such a great friend." She kissed him on the cheek and fell over onto her side. She instantly fell asleep.

Hermione awoke suddenly. She looked around her and realized she was still on Harry's living room floor. She rubbed the side of her face where there was a red carpet imprint. She pushed her hair out of her face and stood up. Her bladder felt like it was about to burst. She made her way to Harry's bathroom.

When she'd finished she wobbled out sleepily and saw Harry was asleep on his couch. He was on his stomach and his left arm and leg were hanging off the couch. She smiled and went over to him and pulled the throw blanket off the back of the couch. She laid it over her friend and turned around. She looked over at the clock and saw that it was already seven in the morning. She was peering out the window at the morning sun when all of a sudden a beautiful white owl flew in it. Hedwig sat on her perch beside the window and hooted softly. Hermione walked over to her.

She petted Hedwig's feathers with her index finger. She was gazing at the birds amber eyes when a thought suddenly struck her. She looked at Hedwig for a moment and then said quietly, "Will you take a letter to Ron for me, Hedwig?"

The owl hooted. Hermione ran to Harry's bedroom where she went to his desk. She opened one of the drawers and pulled out some parchment. Then she grabbed a bottle of ink and a quill. Hurrying to the kitchen table she was already running through her mind what she was going to write.

She tossed the parchment onto the table and carefully unscrewed the top of the ink bottle. She dipped the quill in it and began to scribble quickly on the parchment. She wrote continuously until she was completely done. When she'd finished she read it through quickly, rolled it up, and tied it to Hedwig's leg. She stroked Hedwig's head and whispered, "Now, don't leave until he's written an answer okay? I want him to write back as soon as he's read it."

Hedwig hooted and nipped at Hermione's finger. She soared out the window and Hermione watched her until she was out of site. Harry mumbled something in his sleep and Hermione looked up. She'd almost forgotten he was even there. She sighed and looked at the empty bottles from the night before sitting on the table. She was glad that this time she didn't have a hangover.

She picked up the bottles and threw them in the trash can. She then picked up their glasses and put them in the sink. She went to Harry's bookshelf and looked at the few books placed on it.

She chose a book about Quidditch history and sat down to read until Hedwig returned. Hedwig flew into the room not long after she'd sat down in the arm chair near the window. She closed the book and hastily got up. She untied the letter from Hedwig's leg and unrolled it hurriedly. She was slightly disappointed to see only one short sentence written on the paper:

I'll be there.

Hermione stuffed the letter in her pocket and shook Harry lightly. When he'd cracked his eyes open she smiled at him.

"I'm leaving, Harry," she said quietly. "I'll see you later, okay?"

"Mmhmm," Harry said as he rolled over.

Hermione left his apartment and ran down the stairs. When she'd walked out into the windy morning air she instantly Disapparated. She reappeared in front of her apartment building and ran all the way up to her apartment to get ready for meeting with Ron.

She ran up the stairs and entered her apartment. She slammed the door and took her shower as quickly as possible. She threw on her clothes and did a drying spell on her hair. She glanced in the mirror, grabbed her purse and wand, and jogged down the stairs and out of her apartment. She looked at her watch and saw Ron wouldn't be expecting her for another twenty minutes so she decided to walk a little of the way.

The wind felt nice against her face as she made her way down the side walk. She noticed that the sky had gotten gray within the time she'd been inside. There weren't many people out because it was still a little early. A knot was forming in her stomach. She didn't know why she was getting so nervous. But she was grateful that the knot wasn't in her throat. She took a deep breath and kept walking.

After a while she looked back down at her watch and saw that she'd been walking for ten minutes. She sighed and stopped moving. She Disapparated and reappeared in front of Honeydukes.

She unlocked the door and walked into the shop. She sighed and sat down behind the counter. She didn't have to wait long before she heard the little bell attached to the door jingle. She looked up and saw Ron enter looking apprehensive.

She swallowed hard and tried to remain calm. She swallowed several more times and continued to look at him. He walked closer to her and seemed to be waiting on her to say something. She took a deep breath, stood up and said, "Thanks for coming."

Ron nodded. He didn't move at all. He was just standing there looking like a small child about to get in trouble for taking a cookie before dinner. Hermione felt a knot in her beginning to form and she gulp. She couldn't cry. Not now. She just couldn't.

"Are you sure about this?" Ron asked suddenly. Hermione exhaled.

She nodded. She glanced out of the window and saw that a light rain had begun to fall.

"Hermione," Ron began, "please change your mind. We started this together. It won't mean anything to me if your not--"

"No," she interrupted. "I can't do it." She felt the tears brimming her brown eyes. she looked up at the ceiling to try and keep them from falling. "Ron, it's just too hard." Her voice quivered with every word and she felt hot tears sliding down from her eyes and making their way down her cheeks. She bit her upper lip and continued, "I can't keep seeing you every day when I know you're with her. This isn't easy for me. I love working here but I just can't do it any more. We will still be friends. I'd never let you go as a friend."

Ron looked truly hurt. He moved a little closer to her and stared into her tear-filled eyes. "Why, Hermione?"

She forced a fake laugh. "You've got to be kidding me!" she yelped as more tears fell. "You're not that thick, Ron! I'm in love with you! And I have been for about a million years! But I know that no matter what you will never look at me the way you look at her." She swallowed again, her voice was straining with every sentence and she sobbed. "And you will never see me like I want you to."

She sniffled and looked at him for a moment. Without another word she grabbed her wand and ran out of the shop. The rain had gotten considerably stronger and it beat against her skin as she ran down the sidewalk. She weaved in and out of the few people who'd come to Hogsmeade. She felt her hair getting soaked but she didn't care. She couldn't be near Ron. It just hurt too much. She heard her name being called out and she turned around automatically; tears were still streaming down her face.

Ron was moving around the people just as she did, yelling for her. Their eyes met for a moment. The next second Hermione Disapparated with a pop. She reappeared in front of her apartment. She ran inside and ran up the stairs. She could hear Ron following her so she ran faster. She didn't want to face him. She just couldn't bear it.

She reached her apartment and unlocked it quickly she dashed in and tried to slam the door but Ron caught it before she could and he slipped inside.

"Ron!" she yelled. "Please go! I can't talk to you right now!"

They were both soaking wet and breathing heavily from running in the rain. Hermione dropped her wand on her coffee table and sat down on her couch to catch her breath. She wasn't crying anymore because she'd been concentrating so hard on getting away from Ron.

Ron leaned against the wall clutching his side and breathing heavily. He looked at her as he ran his hand through his red hair and said, "I—Hermione—you—I've never felt—the way—I feel about you—never—anyone else—I love you."

Hermione looked at him in amazement. She stood up and said, "What?"

"I love you," he repeated a little more clearly. "It's always been you."

Hermione smiled and yet again more tears fell from her eyes. This time they were tears of happiness and not sadness. She plunged herself toward him, grabbed the sides of his face, and connected their lips.

Ron wrapped his arms around Hermione's waist and her hands found their way to the back of his neck. He hoisted her up so she was straddling his stomach and turned around so her back rested against the white wall and his hands sat against her hips. She parted her lips to give him access to her mouth. He massaged her tongue with his own and she felt the same way as she had the first time they'd kissed. She kissed him back passionately. Her hands moved up to his soaking wet hair and their kiss deepened even more.

She moaned and then she suddenly pulled away. Ron looked at her confused. "What? What is it?" he asked.

The only word Hermione could get out was, "Tabitha." Ron looked extremely disappointed. Hermione pushed Ron away slightly so she could allow her feet to fall to the floor. She looked up at him. She couldn't believe this was happening. Butterflies churned in her stomach as she took another deep breath.

"Go to her," she said simply. "Go and tell her it's over. Until you do, there's no more of this." She pointed to herself and then to Ron and back again.

Ron sighed. "Right." He took his hands and pushed her wet curly hands behind her ears, lifted her chin, and kissed her lips lightly. "I'll be back…really soon. Don't go anywhere."

Hermione nodded and smiled. Ron ran out of her apartment. She watched him leave. When he'd gone, despite herself, she fell back onto her couch and squealed like a little school girl.

God this is getting sappy. LOL. Well, I hope you like it. Please review! I love my reviews people! And don't worry, this fic is no where near over. A lot more lies ahead.