She could feel Harry's eyes on her after lunch. It had been quiet now since they'd kind of run out of things to talk about unless they were discussing horcruxes or practicing spells, filling it with the radio again. Usually, it was news, which didn't make them feel any better, but it was good for background noise. Luckily, none of their friends or anyone from the Order had been mentioned today. She'd picked up a couple books - for reading, not for research for once - but found herself unable to concentrate on the words. She shifted a little in her seat, wishing they were more comfortable. Or maybe it was the gaze she could feel on the back of her head.

She tried to nonchalantly look over, feigning a stretch, and when her eyes met Harry's, she gasped. They were dark, and there was a look in his eyes she couldn't name, but a small part of her didn't hate it. Hermione quickly looked back to the book, but her breath caught when Harry appeared in her peripheral, standing a little too close.

"What are you reading?" There was something different about his voice, too.

She swallowed, not looking up at him. "It's uh… it's called Far From the Madding Crowd. A, er, Muggle book."

"Really? Because you've been looking at the same page for the last ten minutes."

"Y-Yeah, well…" There was a rustling across the tent - Ron had moved in his bunk. "I can feel you staring at me. It's... distracting."

"Is it?"

"Yes." She took a deep breath, hoping he would say something else, but he didn't. "I think you need a break from the locket, Harry."

"How do you know I'm still wearing it?"

Hermione's eyes narrowed a little bit. What was that supposed to mean? She could look up, but she was worried that he had that look still, and she wasn't keen on seeing it again. Her heart rate picked up. "Because you wouldn't be making me uncomfortable if you weren't."

"Mate." Ron had stood, and Hermione could tell he was carefully thinking about his words in order to avoid another conflict. But she was relieved he was sticking up for her.

"I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, Hermione," Harry said honestly, stepping back a little. "I just… you looked…"

"What?"

Harry paused. "Nothing." He moved back away from her, to the table, and Hermione felt herself flush, suddenly getting very hot.

She let out a slow breath, placed a bookmark on the page, and rose to her feet. "I think I need some air." Her eyes flicked to Ron before she left the tent.

"What was that all about, mate?" he asked as soon as she was gone.

Harry shook his head. "I don't know. I really didn't mean to… she just… I wasn't meaning to stare. At least… not in a way that made her feel weird. She just looked relaxed and… and attractive, and something came over me. I forgot you were there, honestly." He pulled the chain off and set the locket on the table, running his hands over his face. "I've never spoken to her like that before."

"Look… I know it's hard to talk about all of this, but… I think you should at least tell her how you think you feel. Or what's going on. So that if something like that happens again, she'll know the place it's coming from and not be scared of it."

"But I don't even know what it is, Ron." Ron laughed. He actually laughed. And Harry was taken aback.

"There's no way you're serious."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Ron's laugh turned into a smirk. "Never thought we'd be having this talk, but… that's lust, mate. A lot of it."

And it clicked. Of course he'd had those feelings before, but never towards Hermione. And honestly, he'd never gotten to act on any of those feelings because he never got alone time with anyone. And his mind was always on other things. Even Voldemort had interrupted his dreams before. But prolonged isolation with an admittedly (and increasingly) attractive best friend as the only thing to look at was new. And the horcrux amplified all of it.

"Do you feel like that, too?"

"Yeah. But you're into her, so yours are going to be stronger and still be there after you've taken that thing off."

"And you think that me telling her I'm full of lust for her would make her feel better?" Harry asked sarcastically.

"Well, not when you put it like that. But I think if you tell her you're attracted to her and that it's coming from somewhere… genuine, you won't come off so creepy."

"Wouldn't telling her that I find her attractive come off as creepy considering… you know…" He gestured vaguely to the tent around them.

Ron laughed again, grabbing the locket and shoving it into his pocket before throwing an arm around Harry's shoulders as he led him out of the tent.

Hermione had redone her ponytail, hoisting it higher on her head to get hair off her neck, and was slowly pacing a few yards from the tent, hands on her hips as she looked down at the ground.

"Ron, no," Harry muttered. "I don't want you to be here for this conversation!"

Hermione turned quickly at Harry's voice, but laughed a little nervously as Ron pushed Harry towards her. "What are you doing, Ron?"

"Harry needs to explain himself and he doesn't want to."

"No, that's not-" Harry argued, pushing Ron's arm off him and stepping away with a huff. "I just don't understand what good it'll do."

"A conversation that needs to be had. He thinks you're attractive!" he called to Hermione, who quickly turned away with a blush.

"Ron!"

"Enjoy your alone time!" He was already halfway back into the tent.

"You don't have to say anything you don't want to say," Hermione assured him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"No, I just don't want to make you uncomfortable. We live together for the time being and… in close quarters. A-And you know I've been… confused for a little bit about… how I feel about…" Hermione raised her eyebrows, waiting for an answer. "Things."

"Things?"

"Us?"

"Us. And… and when did you realize...?"

"At Grimmauld Place. When… Ron mentioned the chocolate pancakes and I remembered you brought them to me-"

"Third year. After Lupin's lessons, though I can't even remember having time to spare, even with the Time Turner," Hermione finished. Harry nodded. "I was worried in Potions when you said that with the Amortentia, was that…?"

"All real."

Hermione sighed, looking around a little. "I've been confused as well. Since… I can't even think of when it started, but… this horcrux is... "

"Yeah… I just… wanted to say I'm sorry about what happened in the tent. I… when I put that on… the… attraction I feel towards you is…"

"Magnified."

"E-Exactly."

"The same thing happens to me. And I know it happens with Ron when he puts it on and I know that's where his jealousy comes from, so I try not to take it seriously, but it's hard to tell where my feelings stop and the horcrux starts, Harry, so…"

"What we feel. Right now. When it's not on. That's real. And this morning, in the barn… were you really thinking about kissing me?"

Hermione bit her lip, averting his eyes. "Yes. You were just so close and I felt so safe, that it felt right. And I like when we sit close and make jokes and have fun with each other. It's always been like that with you. You're my best friend, Harry. I don't want to do anything to jeopardize that. But like I said this morning, all of this makes me feel like we're more vulnerable. I don't think I could kiss you and then… not get more worried about you. It would just get worse."

"But they're going to get worse with the horcrux too, Hermione."

"Is that you trying to persuade me to kiss you right now?"

"No, no…" Harry laughed. "I'm just trying to let you know that I'm struggling with this, too. And when I look at you when I've been wearing that locket for a long time, it's like none of my reservations matter. Like whatever I value about our friendship doesn't matter because I just want to-" He cut off, not wanting to ramble and not wanting Hermione to hear his exact thought process.

Hermione suddenly felt hot again, and she averted her eyes to the ground. "Yeah. So… where does that put us?"

"I think we've got a good baseline as to where we stand, yeah? Normally?"

"Attracted to each other, but not wanting to make anything weird while we're traveling and not wanting to make it easier for You Know Who to take advantage of us. Plus, I'm still kind of confused about Ron. I mean, it's not like my feelings are just going to go away instantly, you know, but… knowing that he doesn't feel the same way has kind of… made me shift gears."

"To me?"

"Apparently," Hermione smirked.

"Well, if I ever make you uncomfortable again, I give you full permission to hex me," he grinned.

"I might take you up on that."

"Can I hug you?" Hermione's lips curled into a smile and she nodded, moving closer and wrapping her arms around his neck. He hugged her tightly, resting his cheek on her shoulder. They stayed like that for a few minutes before Hermione pulled away first, eyes flickering all over his face. "I thought you didn't want to kiss me," he teased, making her push his chest a little.

"I said I wasn't going to," she corrected. "So you can tell Ron we had our conversation and he can leave us alone."

The next few weeks were uneventful. Harry had taken to checking on their friends with the Marauder's Map any chance he could, and they decided more frequent locket changes would be beneficial, so they'd switch every two hours, with every three days one of them getting it all day. It was a confusing schedule, but it worked for the most part. Harry made sure to not get too close to Hermione, and they made no conversation about their attraction. It was as if that one conversation was enough, and most of the time, they had no issues sitting close again or touching every once in a while when one would walk past the other. And being back to normal made Ron less stressed and annoyed at the two of them.

Most of the days were spent dueling and learning, and they had even started doing regular exercises like jumping jacks, push-ups, and jogging a little bit to increase their stamina while fighting. They were in the best shape of their lives, and Harry and Hermione had found they'd become incredibly competitive, constantly trying to outrun and outlast each other. She knew she'd probably never be able to do as many push-ups as him, but when it came to cardio, she was determined. And the fun of competition took their mind off things when they got hard. Ron had gotten to the point where he was rooting for Hermione, which frustrated Harry to no end, with the horcrux or not. But it made Hermione feel good, so he supposed it was worth it.

If the internal calendar he'd been keeping was correct, her birthday was next week. He'd been trying to think about what to do. He knew she wouldn't accept a lot, since it definitely wasn't important, but he wanted to do something, if for no other reason than to thank her for everything she did for them. He knew how to make a cake - he'd made plenty for the Dursleys so they didn't have to make anything themselves, but it had been a while. Surely he could find a simple recipe in one of Hermione's books. He made a mental note to check next time she was out keeping watch, which she volunteered for shortly after they set up their tent and enchantments in their most recent location, which only took about an hour with the three of them being able to work now.

As soon as she was out of the tent, Harry made a beeline for the bag. It had been a while since he looked through it - Hermione rarely let it leave her side - and as tempted as he was to see what else she had in there, but he only had so much time and he was on a mission.

"Accio cookbook," he whispered, and Ron laughed.

"Cookbook?"

"I want to make Hermione a cake for her birthday since she made one for me. And I figured she'd have to have something in here." A rather thick book came flying out of the bag and into Harry's hands. "Yes!"

"It's coming up, isn't it?"

"Next week, I think. I honestly have no idea what day we're on, but… I know she's not going to forget. I'm sure she's keeping somewhat of a calendar."

"You know… I've actually kind of been having fun these past couple weeks. I mean, I know we're not making much headway but without wearing that horcrux all the time, it's been nice. Like we're just friends again."

Harry nodded as he flipped through the pages. "Me too. And I think we've accomplished a lot. We've gotten stronger, faster, smarter. So this won't be for nothing, no matter how long it takes."

"Yeah, that's true. I don't think I've ever looked this good," Ron laughed.

"Too bad Lavender couldn't see you now, huh?" Harry teased, grabbing a piece of parchment to write down the recipe. "Where are we going to get strawberries? Did you ever actually break up with her?"

"I did, yeah. I do kind of miss snogging her, though."

"That desperate, huh?" A smirk crawled over Harry's face as he put the cookbook back in Hermione's bag.

"I don't know how you're managing, mate. I mean, I know you two talked it out and you don't want to get involved and I get it. But I've been thinking about snogging her a lot lately… No offense," he added at the look on Harry's face.

Harry rolled his eyes. "I'd appreciate if you didn't talk about that in front of me, Ron."

"Sorry."

Thunder sounded suddenly outside, and a few minutes later, Hermione ran back into the tent, soaked.

"Looks like we won't be practicing our dueling today," she panted, shedding off her jacket and hanging it on a hook. "I almost wish it was snowing instead." Hermione pulled her wand out and cast a quick drying spell on herself. It was only then that she sensed the strange aura in the tent. "What were you two talking about?"

"Nothing," Ron answered with a shrug. "Just trying to figure something out."

"Well, I was thinking," Hermione started, "we're kind of close to town and we have all the ingredients to finish our Polyjuice Potion. We could… go to some Muggle shops and maybe pick up a couple things? Clothes and food… maybe some games for days like this?"

Ron raised an eyebrow. "Games?"

"Yeah, like… Muggle games. Board games?"

"You brought wizard's chess! We've played that a couple times!"

"And I'm terrible at it," Hermione laughed. "I want to get a game you're bad at, like Scrabble." Harry snorted at that. "I don't know, I hate feeling like a kid, but I'm getting… bored. I've almost run out of books. I need some crossword puzzles or something."

"I'd be up for it if you think it's a good idea," Harry agreed. "A change of scenery from nature to… civilization might be nice."

"As much as I hate Polyjuice Potion, I agree," Ron chimed in. "Do you have money?"

"Yes. I brought Muggle money from a few different countries just in case. I, uh… got it out of my parents' account and had it converted before I left. I'm not proud of it, but I knew it might come in handy if we had to be on the move anywhere other than England."

A silence fell over the tent with only the rain outside. They tried not to think of everything they were risking, everything they were losing or had already lost, but they'd have to at some point. It was inevitable. She ran a hand through her hair, settling down in one of the chairs. "I'll have to do some preparations, but we should be able to go tomorrow as long as I have enough potion to make sure we can last more than an hour."

"I can help make it," Harry offered. "If you need it, of course."

"Thanks."

She started setting up after breakfast, clearing out space in the kitchen for the potions setup. It was a little cramped, and she knew if they were going to make this a regular thing, they'd need to find somewhere else to put it. She took the time to keep track of all their medicinal supplies as well - luckily, they had a decent shelf life and they'd barely used any of their supply. Dittany was the lowest only because they'd been using that a little when they'd slip on duels and accidentally hurt each other or themselves, so she'd have to figure out how to get more soon.

"Ron, we need to get in touch with your dad. We're going to need some magical supplies. Do you know if he has any way to contact him other than owl?"

"I'm not sure. We can't Apparate somewhere?"

"I think it might be too far," Hermione sighed. "And we'd still need to be able to let him know where we're going to meet. We can't go to the Burrow, even within range. It'll put the whole Order in danger."

"I'm sure he's got something with all the magical stuff he has. If not at the house, the Ministry will be keeping it, though I'm not sure he'd be able to bring anything home."

"Well, just think about it," Hermione said simply. "The sooner we figure it out, the better. Harry, I never thought I'd say this, but I wish I had your potions book right about now."

Harry scoffed, but smiled. "Somehow I don't believe that. You hated that thing."

"Even I have to admit it was… useful when it came to potions. Especially complicated ones. They've never been my strong suit," she admitted as she pulled her hair up into a ponytail. They'd definitely have to move this somewhere or spread it out - it was quickly getting incredibly hot with multiple burners going at once.

"Well, we'll do what we can with what we've got. That's really the only choice we have, isn't it?"

Hermione raised her eyebrows in agreement, but it was clear she wasn't happy with that fact. She had known this wouldn't be easy, but with the manipulation of the locket, the emotional toll it was taking on her (and she was sure Harry, too) to not give into her feelings and focus on their task, the boredom, and the tent seeming to get smaller and smaller with each day, it made her wish they were done.