It had been Harry's idea in the first place, trying to make Ron and Ginny jealous by pretending to have a thing for each other. She'd thought it was stupid initially, because there was no way something like that would work - Ron had known both of them long enough that their suddenly being into each other would seem suspicious, even for him. But the more Harry explained it, the more convinced Hermione was that it was one of the best ideas he'd had in a while.

"Hear me out," he said over lunch. It was the day after the Quidditch match, the day after Hermione's heart was broken and she'd charmed birds to hurl themselves beak-first at Ron's face, the day after she realized that she and Harry had more in common when it came to relationships than she thought.

"Harry, it's not going to work," she attempted, but he shook his head to interrupt her, looking around to make sure they were the only ones at the section of the table before continuing, leaning in closer.

"No, it will. Ron's spending all his time with Lavender, right?"

"I'm aware."

"And Ginny's spending all her time with Dean."

"Your point is?"

"They've left us alone."

Hermione sat up a bit straighter at the implication of Harry's words. "So of course we'd grow closer during this time where everyone else is in relationships and we're just desperate for the same type of companionship."

"Exactly."

The rest of lunch had been spent creating a plan. If neither of them made headway with their respective crushes in a month, they'd outright tell them. In the meantime, they'd exchange glances across the common room or during class, maybe brushing past each other a little closer than normal or sitting close to each other on the couch, though Hermione made Harry promise that looking at her wouldn't become too distracting.

"It won't be!" he assured her with a barely audible laugh.

Hermione just raised an eyebrow. "Oh, it won't? And why's that?"

His eyes widened. "Well, I… I mean… um…"

A giggle left Hermione's lips at Harry's stutter. "I'm only teasing, Harry. It's okay. Really. You're so easy."

"Twit," he muttered over his glass, kicking her lightly under the table and holding back the urge to fling a spoonful of potatoes at her.

It had been a long time since they'd gotten to have lunch just the two of them, and Hermione realized how nice it was. Not that she didn't enjoy spending time with him, obviously, but for the past six years, it seemed like the three of them were joined at the hip, especially her and Ron in the past few years, and she found herself missing time with Harry. It felt like they couldn't talk about a lot of things with Ron around, and she'd been dying to have an intelligent conversation. Her classmates got the brunt of it, but they got tired of her after a while or just answered well enough to get her out of their hair. And after this long, Hermione had learned how to take a hint.

She'd also apparently forgotten how smart Harry was, because they'd ended up getting into a two-hour-long discussion about what was going to be on their N.E.W.T.s and how they were both grateful that at least Umbridge wasn't their professor anymore (while speculating about what happened after the centaurs took her away) that morphed into him explaining what Dumbledore had revealed in their second lesson.

"It was scary, Hermione, seeing him like that."

"I can't even imagine," she whispered. "It's so sad, really. He was destined to be like this all along. I'm… actually really surprised at how you turned out, honestly, considering who you grew up with."

"Me too." Harry leaned back a little, running a hand through his hair, over his scar. "I can't help but feel this connection with him sometimes, though. Like with my dreams I've been having."

Hermione frowned. "Dreams? Again?"

"Yeah… they're not really dreams. I mean, they are, but they're kind of like-"

"That's where you two have been! I've been looking all over the castle for you since bloody noon!" Ron interrupted, sitting down beside Harry and grabbing a glass of pumpkin juice that appeared on the table in front of him.

"Guess we lost track of time," Harry answered sheepishly, glancing over at Hermione, who was looking at Ron like she was about to either conjure the birds again or something much worse. Harry's gaze flicked over to see very clear lipstick marks all over Ron's neck, and he fought the urge to roll his eyes.

"Excuse me," Hermione whispered in a rush, grabbing her things and walking out of the Great Hall quicker than Harry had seen in a long time.

"What's wrong with her?"

"Seriously, Ron?"

"What?"

Harry half-laughed, shaking his head in disbelief. Ron really didn't know. "Let's just… get you cleaned up, alright?" He stood up and patted Ron's shoulder before escorting him to the bathroom.

Hermione was quick to school her emotions by the time she reached the common room, if for no other reason than she knew the Fat Lady wouldn't let her in until she was satisfied with Hermione's answer of why she was crying. But as soon as she got inside and saw no one else was there, her tears came back. There was no way this plan with Harry was going to work. Ron was so oblivious to her feelings, to anyone's feelings but his own, that she was mad at herself for even fancying him in the first place. It didn't make sense, but she couldn't help it. Something about him drew her in, even if she couldn't put her finger on it quite yet. She'd been crying far too much for her liking in the past couple years, though she knew it was mostly due to hormones and stupid boys. Well, one stupid boy.

"Hermione, are you okay?"

Hermione nearly jumped out of her skin at the question as she was setting her books on her bed, not thinking anyone would be in the dorms at this time of the day.

"Ginny, you scared me," she half-laughed, willing her heart to stop fluttering and quickly wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "What are you doing up here?"

"I was trying to find a quiet place to study." She bookmarked her page and moved the book off her lap, crossing her legs underneath her. "Seems like everyone's gone mad today. Must be a full moon," she teased. "Sorry. I really didn't mean to scare you. Is there… anything you want to talk about?"

"Nothing you don't already know," Hermione chuckled, quickly sliding off her robe and hanging it up. "Just how stupid your brother is."

"Oh, well that's nothing new." She smiled, but it faded quickly. "It must be hard, seeing him with Lavender."

Hermione cleared her throat quickly. "Oh, no, it's… it's not about that, honestly. I-" She couldn't say she liked Harry. Not in front of Ginny. Or could she? They hadn't talked about that part. If Ginny knew that she liked Harry, would that put the two of them against each other or would Ginny give up once she figured out that they "fancied" each other. She did some quick thinking to keep the conversation going. "We were paired up in Potions today and he did something wrong in the recipe and it made a giant smoke cloud. I still haven't gotten it all out of my lungs." She coughed for emphasis.

Ginny's brows furrowed. "Oh, well that's good then. I know they've just gotten together, but I haven't seen him alone since. I don't know how he puts up with her. I guess he's desperate or something."

"Yeah, something like that." She pushed her hair behind her ear and sighed. But this was a good segway into boy talk, no matter how much she didn't want to talk about it. "So… speaking of… how are you and Dean?" The last she'd noticed at the Slug Club dinner party, she was late and she'd been crying. Instinct told her it was a fight with Dean, which she relayed to Harry, but she couldn't tell if anything had gotten better.

Ginny looked down at the bed. "We're… alright. I mean, he's great. He's a great guy and we get on well together…"

"But?"

"I don't know, honestly. I think the newness has worn off or something. It's just not as exciting anymore."

"Are you going with him to Slughorn's Christmas party?"

"I think so," she nodded. "I mean, I think we'd stay friends even if this didn't work out, you know? I don't think he'd be weird about it. What about you? Are you going with anyone?"

Hermione settled her hands in her lap. "I was thinking about asking Harry, actually," she admitted with a smile.

"Oh?" Ginny's face was unreadable, and Hermione didn't know if that was a good sign or not.

"Well, I mean, it just makes sense. And it's easier than waiting for someone or asking someone. I… realized I don't actually know that many boys that I'd date." She played it off with a laugh, but it was something she'd really been thinking about for a while.

"I know," Ginny agreed. "I think that's the hard thing. All the boys we feel comfortable with are like brothers, you know?"

Except yours. "Just because we've grown up with all of them, yeah." Talking to Ginny really had made her feel better for some reason, except now she had to make sure Harry didn't go to the Christmas party with anyone else except her, otherwise she'd be in trouble. And she still couldn't tell how Ginny felt about Harry, but she knew she couldn't tell him about Dean. That was a secret.

"Well, there's always love potion, right?" Ginny teased. "Guess we could always get some from Fred and George if we get too desperate."

Hermione wasn't going to go into a lecture about how love potions only created an infatuation, but if it was an option, maybe it wouldn't hurt after all, just for appearances. With Harry's consent, of course. It might be fun. She smiled at the thought.

"You've got someone you'd use it on?" Ginny asked with a small smirk.

"Maybe," she found herself giggling. "But… not seriously."

"Well, either way, we've got plenty of time to figure that out, you know? It's… kind of a shame trying to find romance in this world right now."

Hermione sighed, knowing Ginny was right. With Voldemort back and her best friend being his prime target, it was selfish of her to think about boyfriends, but she couldn't help it. Everyone else seemed to be pairing off. It especially didn't help that Ginny was younger than her and she already had a boyfriend, Harry had his first kiss last year, and Ron was with Lavender. She'd kissed Viktor once, but it hadn't been at all what she'd expected her first kiss to be. It seemed like she was just… always the friend. But she couldn't think about that right now.

At dinner that night, she sat across from Harry again instead of next to him, which was a little strange, seeing as she usually sat across from Ron. He definitely noticed and frowned, trying to work out where to sit before settling next to Harry, mostly because he didn't want to walk all the way around to the other side of the table. Hermione had no idea where Lavender was, but frankly, she didn't care. Ron had washed the lipstick off his neck, thankfully, so she was able to look at him without wanting to vomit.

"So, have you started on that Potions homework yet?" Ron asked.

"What?" Hermione answered, realizing she had barely been paying attention to him.

"The Potions homework," Ron repeated, taking a bite of his dinner. "Have you started it?"

"I… no. I've… had a lot of things on my mind lately." She cleared her throat, sitting up a little straighter and sipping her drink carefully as her eyes glanced to Harry. Her talk with Ginny really had kept her thinking about taking him to Slughorn's party, but they'd have to be alone to ask him. Unless asking him in front of Ron would be the most effective. It would also be the most hurtful, though, so maybe she'd come up with something quickly. A lie. Maybe she should say she had a date, but he bailed, so Harry would step in. She couldn't count on that. A frustrated sigh escaped her lips. Now wasn't the time to worry about it.

"Wow, I started an assignment before you? Old Hermione really has gone, hasn't she?" he teased, to which Hermione couldn't help but smile. So many things had changed over the last year that she found herself caring more and more about doing what was right and helping Harry than following the rules to the letter. And sometimes that meant procrastinating on homework a little bit. She'd be able to get it done quickly, anyway.

"Not completely. I just know it won't take very long, so no need to start it before I have to," Hermione chuckled.

"Well, when you do, can I look at it? Just to… you know… double check my answers?"

Hermione rolled her eyes playfully. "Of course, Ronald. You don't even have to ask anymore." It was easy to slip back into her old ways with him, before they had things like feelings to worry about. She caught a smile from Harry out of the corner of her eyes. "You know, you're going to have to actually know things for your N.E.W.T.s."

"Not Potions." Ron shook his head. "I'm not doing anything that has to do with Potions. The only reason I'm even in Slughorn's class is because Harry dragged me into it."

"Only because McGonagall wanted to keep you out of trouble," Harry snickered, earning a huff from Ron.

"That explains it. So much for a free period this year."

"Sorry. It's… I wouldn't have wanted to either, but Dumbledore wants me to get close to him. I'm not sure why, but I think he may have some sort of answers about the dreams I'm having."

"Well what does that have to do with me? He doesn't even want me at his party."

"Oh, please, Ron, you thought I was crazy for actually wanting to go in the first place. You can't suddenly change your mind," Hermione argued. Harry had been about to respond, but Hermione beat him to it. This was a conversation they needed to have, especially if they were going to get out their true feelings for each other. Harry suspected that Ron was still upset that Hermione hadn't invited him, and memories of the Yule Ball flashed through his mind. Dances and parties were obviously not Ron's strong suit. "Do you know who you're going with, Harry?" she asked before Ron could respond, leaning her chin in her hand.

"Oh, um… I… I don't know yet. I haven't really thought about it."

"Well, I hear there are a lot of girls that want you to ask them. It's all I hear in the library. Everyone's trying to slip you a love potion so you'll go with them. Especially Romilda Vane."

Harry's eyes widened a little and a flash of a smile started to come over his face. "Really?"

"They only want to go with you because they think you're The Chosen One," she argued.

"But I am The Chosen One…"

Hermione scoffed, but rolled her eyes playfully. "You're ridiculous, is what you are. Among other things."

"Like what?"

"Like…" her gaze quickly moved to Ron, who seemed to be preoccupied with his food. "I guess you'll just have to ask all those other girls. Either way, whoever you go with will be a very lucky lady."

Ron seemed to perk up a little at that as if suddenly paying attention while trying to act like he didn't care that much, but Hermione caught it. She nudged Harry under the table with her foot.

"Oh, yeah, I guess she will be," Harry laughed.