Luna - I'm glad you like the She's All That reference. The first time I saw that movie I couldn't help but think of Draco Malfoy. Hopefully I am handling it well.

Again I will emphasize that there is nothing from HBP in this story.

Thanks for reading and thanks to Vaughn for betaing (is that a word?).

Ginny Weasley stormed into the Gryffindor common room, sweeping past her brother, who was beating Seamus at chess, right up to her room. She slammed the door, and locked it with a spell. I'm not in the mood to deal with Ron's crap right now, she thought angrily. That bloody ferret-faced git! How dare he get me detention? And on a practice night too. Ginny had just come from explaining to Warren Bishop that she had gotten detention tonight for dueling with Malfoy. The new Quidditch captain was upset, of course, and asked her if there was anyway to postpone it. Ginny doubted it. Warren decided to try, however. He was in McGonagall's office right now pleading for an exception. What a way to impress the new captain, she thought. He's almost as hard-core as Angelina. The match with Slytherin was not too far away and the team needed the practice.

There was no guarantee that Harry would be able to pull off another miracle with the Snitch. Malfoy's gotten better since last year, she thought. He's actually giving Harry a run for his money now. Ginny thought it was probably a good thing. Harry needed to be knocked down a peg. He had talked with her last year about his fears of becoming like his father, and she had to admit that he was headed in the general direction. Sirius' death was a major blow to his ego and brought home the fact that he needed to change. Ginny hated the fact that he had to learn like that, however. I was just hoping Malfoy would beat him to the Snitch for once, she thought. Since then, Harry had pushed himself to become as good as everyone expected him to be. He got permission to get a practice Snitch and was outside every day trying to catch it. He had even started getting Ron to hit bludgers at him to make it more difficult. He was driving himself to learn everything he could about the Dark Arts, having signed up for private lessons with Professor Spellsinger, in addition to running the dueling group. Hermione said she had never seen him study with such fervor before and even Snape had to admit the Gryffindor was doing better.

Ginny shared Hermione's concern that he was pushing himself too hard. She had expressed to the younger girl that she felt Harry was keeping something from them all. Perhaps something to explain his sudden need to be the best. She speculated it might be the idea that he was stung by not being a prefect, but Ginny did not think that was it at all. Harry had gotten far more serious and focused, almost as if he was preparing to fight for his life. Maybe he is, she thought. Maybe it finally hit that the day will come when he has to face off with Voldemort for the last time. She felt a chill at the thought. Her crush on Harry had ended years ago, but she still cared for him like a brother. She had no desire to see him die. Ginny sighed.

What the bloody hell happened today?

Ginny was still trying to figure that out. Malfoy wanted to talk potions with her? She found that very hard to believe. He was up to something, she knew it. She resolved to stay as far away from the Slytherin prefect as possible. After detention tonight, she thought, anger rising. A knock on her door interrupted her musing.

"Go away, Ron!" she yelled.

"It's not Ron, Ginny, it's me," Hermione called from outside. Ginny smiled, and opened the door to the brown-haired girl. "You better not be here for Ron."

Hermione shook her head. "He just mentioned that you seemed 'in a snit' about something."

Ginny laughed, letting her friend in.

"So what's this I hear about Malfoy and you getting detention together?"

"Harry's got a big mouth," Ginny observed.

Hermione smiled. "He's just concerned, Ginny. We figured it would be better for me to talk with you about it than him or Ron. Especially Ron."

Ginny chuckled. "That's for damn sure."

"Ginny!"

"What?"

"Language?"

"Oh bother that, Hermione. What am I going to do tonight? I have detention with Malfoy tonight and am going to miss practice because of it."

"So what happened?"

Ginny explained to the older girl what happened in the hallway, leaving out no details. She was curious about what Hermione thought of the whole situation.

"That's really odd. It actually sounds as if Malfoy actually wanted to talk with you."

"Yeah, right. A Malfoy coming down from his ivory tower to speak to a lowly Weasley. I don't think so, Hermione. He's up to something."

"Probably. But hexing him without provocation was probably not the wisest thing to have done."

Ginny grimaced. "I know, but he just hacked me off. He kept talking about how no one was around and he could do anything he wanted to me."

Hermione frowned. "I see. I don't know. I'd say just stay away from the little prat. He's not worth another detention."

The redhead nodded. "Definitely not. Oh, crap! I need to get going!"

"Tell me how it goes," called Hermione.

Draco Malfoy was waiting when Ginny arrived at Professor Spellsinger's classroom for detention. There had been a note on McGonagall's door directing them to report to the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. The red-haired Gryffindor sat as far away from him as possible and studiously ignored him. Draco thought she looked cute when she was angry. He started in surprise. Where did that come from, he wondered. Draco had never had problems with women, but his parents' arrangement with the Parkinsons precluded any other possibilities for him. The only time he had been with another girl was when he and Pansy had broken up for whatever reason.

He privately had to admit that Ginny Weasley had turned out to be quite stunning. Her red hair was rich and full, having a slight wave to it for character. She had twinkling brown eyes that implied she possessed a similar penchant for mischief as her older brothers. There was a light dusting of freckles over her lightly tanned skin and Quidditch had developed her figure to a very athletic one. He remembered how she had looked during the summer. She had curves in all the right places and was well proportioned. Pansy was a bit heavy on top for Draco's taste, he had to admit, but she was very skilled in bed. He idly speculated that Ginny would probably be a wildcat. Whoa! What am I thinking, he wondered, slapping himself mentally. I'm just going to get to know her well enough to pay her to go to the Spring Ball with me!

"Mr. Malfoy?" Professor Spellsinger stood in front of him, looking slightly irritated. "Would you care to join us or have I come at a bad time?"

"Uh, no, Professor!" he scrambled out of his chair. "Sorry," he muttered.

She nodded. "Now, as I was explaining to Miss Weasley, tonight we are going to take a stroll in the Forbidden Forest to eliminate a nest of brundles. It should not prove hugely difficult if you follow my instructions, and if things go well," she glanced at Ginny, "you may be out of here early enough for any other plans you may have. Now get your wands and come with me."

Draco swallowed uncomfortably as he remembered his last stroll through the Forest. He was not proud of his cowardice. Taking his courage in hand, he followed Ginny and the professor.

Right before he reached the door Ginny turned to him and smirked. "Don't worry, Malfoy. I'll protect you." She quickly escaped before he could do or say anything.

Bugger. Obviously Potter had not kept their experiences to himself.

Albus Dumbledore was waiting in the hallway when he exited the room. "Ah, Ryselle, I see you have brought two helpers. Are you sure you wish to do this, my dear?"

She nodded. "They will not harm a Gypsy, Headmaster. And I believe I can handle them if they get too rowdy."

Draco wondered who "they" was.

"Good." He handed her a small cage. "Here is the cage you requested. I find myself curious as to what you intend on doing with the brundles once you've capture them."

Ryselle smiled at the Headmaster. "I am going to let Hagrid use them for his lessons tomorrow, and then return them to where they belong."

"Very good, then. Luck to all of you. Mr. Malfoy. Miss Weasley. I anticipate tales of your glowing success." With a sharp nod, the headmaster headed back toward his office.

Ginny, Draco, and their Defense Against the Dark Arts professor exited the castle headed to the Forbidden Forest. There's a reason it's forbidden, thought Draco. As they walked, she explained what they were to do.

"Do not concern yourself with capturing them. That will be my job. All you need do is drive them toward me and the cage. They hate magic, so use spells to do it. Do not, however, try to stun them. It will only drive them berserk and then capturing them will become that much harder. Once one goes berserk, the others soon follow. Understand?"

"Yes Professor."

"Good. Now both of you know your lessons, so I have faith that you are eminently capable of handling this task."

"Professor?"

"Yes Ginny?"

"Would the Patronus count as a spell irritating enough to drive them to you?"

She laughed. "Ten points to Gryffindor. Yes, Ginny, that is the perfect spell. It has a wide range, can be directed, and is something you can maintain for a sufficient amount of time. That would be perfect. There are several others with the same qualities, Draco, if you would like to try your knowledge."

Draco suddenly drew a blank. The only thing he could think of was his spectacular failure to cast the Patronus charm. He knew the reason was his incredible lack of happy memories, but that didn't excuse him from failure. He wracked his mind for alternatives.

"The Protego Charm?"

"If you can maintain it, yes. Five points to Slytherin. Think on it some more, Draco. But try to decide before we get there."

Draco frowned; annoyed that he couldn't come up with a better answer. This is not going to be easy, he realized. If what the professor says is true, then there is no other way I can drive the brundles to her. This promises to be very embarrassing. Ginny will hate me if she misses practice because of me. Then I'll never win the bet.

Ginny wondered why Draco seemed so pensive about this task. The Patronus Charm was not terribly hard, and if they worked together they'd be done in short order. Then she remembered the Defense Against the Dark Arts class last week. He must really not be able to cast it, she realized. I guess he doesn't have a memory happy enough. She couldn't imagine what that would be like. She suddenly felt sorry for him.

The professor held up her hand at the edge of the forest. "Wait here," she said. The Gypsy quietly walked into the woods, stopping just inside the limit of their vision. Ginny almost panicked. She remembered Harry telling her what the Centaurs did to adults. High Inquisitor Umbridge was never the same after her brief sojourn into the forest. Ginny hoped the professor knew what she was doing. A few moments later, Ryselle gave a musical whistle. There was a short pause, and then a deeper whistle came from farther in. She thought she could hear the sound of hooves approaching the edge of the forest. The professor waited there patiently for the Centaurs to arrive. She was suddenly surrounded as they leaped out of the forest. Ginny grabbed Draco's arm to stop him from heading in.

"She knows what she's doing, Draco," she whispered fiercely.

"How do you know?"

"We have to trust her. She told us to stay here, and that's what we're going to do."

Draco glared at her, but she ignored him, preferring instead to watch what was going on in front of them.

"You have entered our forest unwelcome, human. The penalty for that is known," stated an angry, dark haired Centaur.

Ryselle held up her arms in entreaty. "I am Ryselle Spellsinger of the Clan Valinov. I come in peace to request your permission to enter the forest."

The centaur looked at her curiously. "You may have the accent of the Free Humans, but that is no proof of your kinship."

"Then perhaps this will help." Ryselle gazed at the centaur and raised her voice in song. The melody was exotic, unlike anything Ginny had ever heard. She felt the magic in it, but somehow knew it wasn't a spell. A few moments later, she realized the professor was singing her lineage. She quickly glanced at Draco to see him regarding their teacher in surprise and awe. She finished her song, and quietly stood before the centaurs awaiting their judgment.

The leader abruptly nodded. "Very well. You have named yourself of the Free Humans, friend to the Centaurs. You may pass. On what task do you come?"

"I seek to remove the brundles and send them back to their home," she replied.

"You have brought help, I see. They are almost grown out of the protection of youth, Ryselle."

"But not yet, Honorable Herdleader. I require their aid to capture the brundles without harm."

He nodded. "They may pass. But only you have the freedom of this forest, Ryselle, Singer of Spells."

She gave a graceful bow. "I understand, Herdleader. I am grateful for your tolerance."

"Call them forth that we may scent them."

She nodded. "Draco! Ginny! Come over here. They will not harm you."

"Is she crazy?" demanded Draco.

"No," said Ginny, grabbing his hand, "we don't want to be rude do we?" She dragged him into the forest after her. An odd sensation filled Draco at her touch.

They reached the circle of Centaurs. Draco was intimidated by their size. However, he got the idea any display of weakness would not be appreciated, so he held himself proudly. A Malfoy does not show fear, he told himself. To his disgust, Ginny seemed delighted to be there.

The leader ordered his people to get their scents so they would know they have safe passage for the night. "But you must be gone by dawn, friends of our ally."

Ginny and Draco nodded, giving him a slight bow.

The centaur looked at Ryselle. "The healer and her guardian may pass, Lady of Magic." He made a motion, and the centaurs were gone within moments, leaving a stunned group of humans behind.

Ryselle took command of herself first. "Alright, we have limited time. We can discuss things later. Ginny? Draco?"

The two students looked at her. She motioned for them to follow.

"Professor?" Ginny was the first to speak.

"Yes, Ginny."

"Wha…what did the centaurs mean by what they said?"

"I am not sure, Ginny. The centaurs, as I am sure you will remember from last year, have incredible powers of divining the future. We Gypsies know nothing compared to them. I think it is something we will have to explore further. Later."

"Yes Professor."

The continued on a few more minutes before Draco could no longer contain his question.

"Professor?"

"Yes Draco?"

"Uh, why do the centaurs refer to you as their ally?"

She smiled. "That is a long story, Draco. The short of it is that during the second Coming of Darkness, about five hundred years ago, the centaurs were hunted almost to extinction because of their ability to see the future. They alone knew of the way to banish the Evil One for all time, and that made them the greatest threat to his power. The Gypsies banded together to protect the last remaining centaurs, almost being destroyed in the process. It was a centaur stallion and a woman of the clans that ultimately defeated the Evil One and banished him forever. They were united by a bond deeper than love, and their passion became the thing of legends. Because of it, the centaurs consider Gypsies distant family. It was through their love that they were able to cast the spell banishing the Evil One."

"The Profuctus Ritual!"

"Yes, Ginny. That…" Ryselle halted, a stunned look in her eyes. "That would be correct," she muttered. Suddenly it struck her that the means to defeat Voldemort might not be as distant as she thought. She shook her head. "I am so bloody dense."

"Professor?"

Ryselle looked at Ginny, her eyes unreadable. "Never mind, Ginny. Yes, that would be the correct ritual." She continued on. "We should be reaching the nest soon. Prepare yourselves."

While they had walked, Draco had been wracking his brain trying to think of a good spell to use to herd the brundles without hurting them. Or driving them berserk. Ryselle motioned for them to stop.

"Okay, Draco, you go over by that tree and wait for my signal. Ginny, you wait over there. I shall go wake them up."

Ryselle pulled out her wand and stepped around the clearing. Draco thought he could see some slight movements coming from inside the circle of trees. The professor had described brundles as small rat-like creatures with glowing eyes and little black wings. They had small, clawed hands and were fond of shiny objects. She told them they were not very brave, and were afraid of magic. The reason they were dangerous was because a nest of brundles could grow beyond the resources of the local area rather quickly. Too many brundles killed the plant life and affected the balance of nature. They usually nested in colder climates and their population was controlled by natural predators and the winter frost. Sometimes, however, they were accidentally transported to a warmer place. It didn't become a problem unless there were no predators. Like in the Forbidden Forest. Professor Spellsinger theorized they had been brought here accidentally.

Draco focused on the task at hand, and prepared to cast his spell. Idly he wished he could cast a Patronus. It would probably be a lot easier. But he couldn't think of anything that would inspire him. A brief feeling of sadness filled him. He pushed it aside. Malfoys do not feel sorry for themselves, he thought.

A cascade of red sparks lit up the clearing. Draco and Ginny suddenly saw dozens of small creatures moving frantically in the glade. Both of them raised their wands.

"Expecto Patronum!"

"Protego!"

The wispy form of a fox flew out of Ginny's wand, driving the brundles back. At the same time, a golden shield blocked off the other side of the clearing, preventing the others from escaping. The two students could see the professor across the clearing holding a large cage. Behind her was a silvery web of magic.

"Now move forward," commanded Ryselle.

Draco and Ginny pushed forward, herding them into the cage. In less than five minutes, the brundles filled the cage and Ryselle signaled for the students to stop moving forward. She cast another series of sparks in the sky, driving the caged creatures crazy but none others appeared to move outside. Ryselle snapped the cage shut and signaled Ginny and Draco to put down their wands.

The magic inside the clearing died, and Ryselle stood there holding a cage full of brundles.

"Very good." Ryselle complemented them. "Ten points to each your houses. Let us get out of here."

They quickly left the forest, to Draco's incredible relief. Ryselle released them from detention once they were out of the forest, but first she made sure they remembered nothing about what the centaurs had said about Ginny's healing abilities. She wasn't ready to deal with the questions resulting from the casual comments. She made a mental note to speak with the young Gryffindor later, and to keep an eye on the young Mr. Malfoy.

Ginny gleefully ran off to practice and Draco went back to his room. The professor headed to Hagrid's shack with the cage in tow. Draco had a feeling tomorrow's Care of Magical Creatures lesson was going to be very interesting. He hoped the half-giant didn't release the brundles back into the forest.

When Draco back to his room, he shut his door and kicked back so he could think. After this evening, he had come to the realization that winning the bet was not going to be as easy as he thought. He got the feeling Ginny would gladly turn him down just to see him suffer no matter how much money he offered. She wasn't like the rest of her family. Fred and George had been so busy being the resident pranksters that they hadn't really had time for anything else. Ron spent all his time polishing his Prefect badge and trying not to screw up. Percy had been extremely uptight and never did anything to upset the teachers. Bill and Charlie seemed to have been almost normal, but Ginny, she was an enigma. She was smart, yet played pranks with the best of them. The teachers liked her, but she didn't spend all her time sucking up to them. And she certainly had a darker temper. He guessed it was probably due to the fact she was the only girl. She had to have grown up with a considerable strength of will to deal with all those brothers. Not to mention being around the great Harry Potter. He was impressed she stood on her own. And she obviously had it out for him.

Draco smirked at the thought. She was truly beautiful when she was angry. Stop that, he admonished himself, this is only about the bet. He pulled out a pad of paper and began running through various scenarios in his mind. He began by making a list of his goals. He needed to figure out how to get her to:

1.Talk with him (without swearing)

2.Care enough to want to help him

3.Stop Harry and Ron from beating the crap out of him

4.Actually go to the Spring Ball with him.

He figured the last would be the hardest. Except maybe persuading Harry and Ron not to try to beat him up. He had no real fear of the Gryffindor prefect, but he knew Harry could kick his arse. After what happened today, he had no doubt in his mind that Harry would be looking out for the youngest Weasley. He wondered what their relationship was. To him, it seemed Harry had more of an interest in Granger, but he was very protective of Ginny at the same time. Somehow I doubt I can ask him, he thought sardonically. Several more scenarios wandered through his mind before he was suddenly inspired. That's it, he thought. The perfect thing. With a wide smirk, the silver-haired prefect settled down to begin his plan.

The first thing was to set the scene so that it would get her attention and peak her interest. He rummaged through the neatly stacked papers on his desk until he found what he was looking for. It was a sheaf of fine grey vellum, embossed with the Pendragon crest. His mother gave it to him last Christmas as a hint for him to get better with his correspondence. She kept trying to encourage him to write her with stories of his time at school. He snorted derisively. If he had time to do that, then his letters would be rather boring indeed. He originally intended to use the vellum for letters to Pansy – he figured he should make some attempt to be romantic since they were to be married in less than two years. But she destroyed that plan with her defection to Thanos Acheron.

Draco frowned, his eyes turning cold as the deepest winter. He still didn't understand how she could bring herself to cozy up to the bloody prat. Even Hadenthor would have been a better choice. At least he had half and brain and was able to think independently. As much as he hated to admit it, he really wasn't too bothered by her leaving him. He had honestly been considering breaking things off with her as part of his new image. Unfortunately, it appeared Thanos Acheron beat him to the punch by stealing her away. It was just one more reason for him to do everything in his power to cut the ground out from under the arrogant bastard.

Which led him back to the bet. It was going to take a great deal of time and effort on his part to win over the Weasley girl. She was a proud one, and very strong willed. He was not going to be able to handle her like Pansy. However, he had an idea. Some time ago, Pansy had been babbling at him about something involving romance and all the garbage that went with it. Draco was always amazed at Pansy's capacity for self-delusion. She always tried to imply there was a greater meaning behind their relationship and imminent nuptials. Foolish girl. Everyone knew the only reason Draco was supposed to marry her was because their parents wanted to join the two families' resources. But Pansy was convinced they were destined to be together – a delusion fed by all those stupid romance novels she read. She insisted on telling him about the one she was reading at the time, which was essentially a thinly veiled hint for him to take inspiration from the book and behave in a romantic manner toward his future wife. She informed him that women always responded well to romance, and if he wanted to make things easier for them in the future, then he would learn how to romance her and how to sweep her off her feet.

Letters, she said, romantic love letters were the perfect way to win a woman's heart. It was an inherent flaw in the species. All women were vulnerable to the lure of a man who was able to write a convincingly romantic love letter. He tried his hand at it – once, not with Pansy – and it worked like a charm. The girl was willing to do anything for him by the time he was through.

Now it was time to see if Ginny Weasley had the same weakness.

With a flourish, he picked up his quill and began to write.

The next day, breakfast was a somber affair. After three months of almost total silence, Voldemort and his Death Eaters made the news again with the deaths of a highly placed member of the Wizengamot and her family. Ginny Weasley headed down to breakfast, unaware of the events. She was simply relieved Malfoy was nowhere to be found. Her instincts told her last night was not going to be the last time she saw him, and while she was curious as to what he wanted, she knew it was bound to be bad. Ron, Harry, and Hermione were already in the Great Hall. Ron looked up as she came in, curiosity evident on his face while Harry and Hermione read the paper.

She supposed her brother found out about the detention.

"Well?"

Leave it to Ron to be impatient. "Well what?"

"Well how did your detention with Malfoy go? Did you get to hex him or anything?"

Hermione looked up from reading and glared at the Gryffindor prefect in exasperation. "Ronald Weasley! It was detention, not dueling club! Of course she didn't get to hex him."

"That's not…"

"What are you reading, Hermione?"

Ron snorted. "Does it matter?"

Hermione's glare intensified before she turned her gaze to the younger Weasley. "You might want to read this."

Ginny took the paper.

Terror Strikes East Hampshire

Late last night in the small town of East Hampshire, terrible deeds were afoot as the townspeople slept unawares. It was only when the dreaded Dark Mark rose high in the night sky that the realization that war had finally made it to their humble settlement struck the peaceful residents.

Victoria Halreth, 32, honored member of the British Wizengamot and respected representative of the Ministry of Magic, was found dead with her husband and two children upon investigation of the disturbance. Mrs. Halreth was notable for her outspoken opposition for the former Minister Fudge and his policies, as well as an advocate of Albus Dumbledore. She was one of the few members of the Wizengamot to oppose his removal from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry last year, and vehemently supported the idea that Lucius Malfoy, now a confirmed Death Eater, was a tool of He Who Must Not be Named.

Norman Halreth, 34; Matthew, 9; and Stacey, 5; were victims of the Killing Curse, and had apparently been bound and silenced while the Death Eaters tortured Mrs. Halreth to death. It is unknown at this time the purpose of these killings, but officials speculate it is meant to serve as a warning to those opposing the Dark Lord and his cause.

A warning was found at the scene, written in the blood of the Dark Lord's victims.

Ginny glanced over to Harry, wondering how it was affecting him. His face was white as a sheet, and he was staring at the article in what appeared to be stunned disbelief. Bugger. He really didn't need this right now. Not with Ron being a prat about him and Hermione. Harry shook himself and looked up at the red-haired girl as if only now noticing her arrival.

"So how did it go, Ginny?" Harry's voice was unusually soft and unsure.

She shrugged. "It was alright. We cleared some brundles out of the forest. It wasn't too hard, and I did manage to get back in time for practice!"

"And you should have seen Warren's face too. I swear he gets more and more like Oliver every day."

"No kidding." Ginny glanced over at Ron and Hermione. "What's up with them?"

"Ron's been sniping at Hermione for not telling him about your detention with Malfoy. That of course let to another argument, and now it's just getting to ridiculous levels." Harry's eyes grew pained. "You know how it's been."

"Harry…"

He stood up abruptly, the move distracting Ron and Hermione from their argument. "Uh, I forgot something in my room. I'll see you in Potions." He dashed off before any of them could reply.

"What's his problem?"

Ginny felt her temper threatening to explode. "Shut it, Ron. Stop being such a prat." Following Harry's lead she left quickly, unaware that she was being watched by a pair of curious, grey eyes.

Harry ran to the Astronomy Tower, intent on doing some serious thinking. This morning's article simply served to bring home the fact that anyone near him was in great danger. Especially the woman he loved.

The Tower was deserted when he arrived, and Harry settled himself near the window overlooking the Forbidden Forest. It was the start of what promised to be a beautiful day. The sky was clear except for the morning veil of long cloudy wisps shining pink in the early sun. He shivered slightly from the pre-dawn chill and quickly cast a Warming Charm on himself to stay comfortable. He smirked slightly at the thought of how proud Hermione would be for remembering.

His face took on a serious cast as he thought of his girlfriend. He glared at the crumpled paper in his hand, willing the article to go away and things to return to what they had been. What they should be. His eyes fell to the last line of the article.

"All that you love…" whispered Harry, horrified.

He quickly skimmed the story again, hoping to get something different out of it. Unfortunately it only served to verify his feeling that the entire incident was manufactured for his benefit. He sat back to think. Last night his dreams had been particularly vivid, but he was able to block out most of it thanks to his Occlumency lessons with Professor Spellsinger. He was suddenly glad he made the decision to risk trusting her. Otherwise, last night would have no doubt been far worse. The one thing he found himself unable to stop from entering his head was the gruesome warning mentioned in the article.

It had been meant for him.

Harry abruptly stood up and began to pace. Voldemort put a lot of effort into trying to push the thoughts of last night's misdeeds into his head. Like with the trap they set for him at the Ministry, it was all far too deliberate to be coincidence. The evil wizard wanted him to know what happened and wanted him to see the scene. The image of that woman's broken body flashed in his head, her face replaced with that of Hermione.

He shivered. Up until now, he and Hermione had been trying to keep their relationship quiet so as not to make things worse with Ron. Unfortunately, it appeared their best friend was still suffering from major ego issues and was not likely to get over them any time soon. Hermione was unwilling to pander to Ron's "whims", but Harry was unwilling to alienate one of the few people in the world he considered family. Now that this happened, he was beginning to wonder if it might not be better if he and Hermione waited to be together until after Voldemort was destroyed.

It had been two weeks since he and Hermione had shared their feelings with each other under the stars. Things were going well – he was happy for the first time in his life – but it was complicated by Ron's hostility and his worry over his friends. Hermione especially. He loved her more than he ever thought possible, but he could never live with himself if something happened to her. She was in so much danger already simply by virtue of being his friend. How would his enemies react if they knew how he felt about her?

The image of her broken body flashed in his mind again.

Sirius' death had brought home to him exactly how dangerous it was for people to be close to him. Despite himself, he had begun pushing his friends away for their own protection. Until he mastered Occlumency, he felt they were all in an unreasonable amount of danger, and even afterward, they would provide targets for Voldemort. Harry's heart lurched at the thought of Hermione being targeted by the Dark Lord and his followers. It had been bad enough that she was injured at the Ministry last year.

He sighed. As much as he wanted to be with Hermione and tell the world how he felt about her, he just couldn't bring himself to expose her to that kind of danger. He cared for her too much for that. He knew he would probably lose her because of it, but he would rather she be with someone else and stay alive than be in mortal danger with him. Nodding, he made his decision. He would talk with Hermione and explain it to her. He knew she would understand. She was always the sensible one.

"Harry?"

He started, looking around to see who called him. Hermione stood hesitantly on the stairs, watching him.

"Hermione! What are you doing here?"

She smiled. "I was worried about you. You ran out so fast." She finished climbing the stairs and came over to sit next to him. "So what brings you up here?"

"Thinking."

"About the article?"

He smiled. "Partially. I was also thinking about…uh…something else."

"Oh." She took his hand. "Care to share?"

His face flushed at her touch. "Uh, well, uh…I guess so."

She looked at him curiously. "What's bothering you, Harry?"

He sighed. This is not going to be easy, he thought, knowing what he had to do. Taking her other hand in his, he gazed into her eyes. "Hermione…" he began hesitantly.

"Yes Harry?" He tried to ignore the happiness in her eyes.

"Hermione, about us…"

She frowned at his hesitation. "What about us?"

"Look, Hermione, I would give anything to stay with you," he held up his hand, forestalling anything she had to say, "however, I don't think I can."

"What do you mean?"

"Hermione, quite frankly, it's too dangerous. I care for you too much to put you in the kind of danger that would result from our having a relationship. I have…dreamed… for the past two years of being able to be with you as more than a friend. I just cast the feelings aside because I didn't want to ruin our friendship or my friendship with Ron. I tried to get with Cho in hopes of getting over my feelings for you, but you know how well that worked out. The truth is, Hermione, there is not a woman I can think of that can hold a candle to you. Maybe that's why I never really gave Cho an honest chance. I think I was just trying to deal with your relationship with Viktor. It's kinda hard to be a good friend if you're jealous of her boyfriend."

"Harry…"

"Wait, let me finish. When you got hurt in the Ministry of Magic, I couldn't forgive myself for putting you in such danger…"

"Harry, I chose to be there!"

"Yes, but you were the one cautioning me not to go charging off after Sirius and I did it anyway. He died because of my arrogance and you and Ron were injured. I should never have dragged you into it."

"Now you listen to me, Harry Potter, you didn't drag me and Ron anywhere. We chose to go with you. Because we're your friends. You can't take complete responsibility for everything that happened, Harry, because we were all responsible for our own actions."

"That may be true, but what kind of friend would I be if I didn't want to protect you?"

Hermione smiled. "Friends do that, Harry. They protect each other. As I want to protect you…"

"And I want to protect you! Hermione, Voldemort is going to target anyone he thinks is important to me. Like he did Sirius. If he knew how much I cared about you…" he hesitated, choking back a sob, "I could never forgive myself if something happened."

"Harry, what are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying, Hermione, that…" he took a deep breath, steeling himself, "…that we should just remain friends. Only friends."

Hurt filled her eyes. "Harry…" she began.

He shushed her with a gesture. "Hermione. I can barely live with the fact that I got Sirius killed. I'm not sure what I would do if something happened to you. But I know I could never live with myself. Please, don't take this as a rejection. This is for your own good."

"But Harry…"

"Please, Hermione? Let me protect you the only way I know how?"

Hermione sighed, realizing Harry had made up his mind. She nodded. "Very well, Harry. I understand." She squeezed his hand. "But I want you to understand that it does not change how I feel about you, or how I will try to protect you in return." She kissed him gently on the cheek. "I will be there beside you, Harry. Never forget that."

She got up and headed down the stairs, leaving Harry to stare sadly after her.