Only tomorrow left, thank goodness.
I fall into the armchair and soak my hand in the tentacle solution. I sigh with relief as the pain recedes. Hermione's brilliant of course, but scar-preventing potion or not, another few days of this and my hand would have scarred. I won't be the one to tell him, but I've seen Harry's injuries, and I know that hand's never going to be the same again.
Hermione comes in. "How was it?"
"All right," I say. What else can I say? "This concoction you've made is amazing."
She comes and kneels on the floor beside my chair, peering at my hand beneath the murky solution. "It was – oh!"
As the door swings open, she flings her arms around my neck and buries her face in my shoulder. Not that I mind, but what's going on? The penny drops as two voices, a girl's and a boy's, mutter, "Sorry," and I hear the door close again.
Hermione pulls away from me, flushed. "Sorry about that," she says, "but what you said gave me an idea, about keeping unwanted visitors out – you can't exactly lock the Room of Requirement, and if it looked as if we were, you know–"
I cut her off. "What are you so embarrassed about? It's a brilliant idea!" She smiles shyly. "What are you doing out of the Common Room, anyway? I thought you'd stay till Harry got back."
"I was on my way back from the library, and I thought I'd stop by," she says. She gives me that smile again, which is not helping me concentrate. "Ron," she says, then laughs, "it feels funny to know you're Ron with you looking like this – but Ron, I just wanted to say, I think what you're doing is magnificent."
Magnificent, eh? "Oh, it's nothing, really." I try not to let my grin show, or my blush; I'd like it to appear as if I get compliments like this from pretty girls all the time – and where did that thought come from? Hermione's just a friend, just a friend, just a— The door opens and she throws her arms round me again.
"Oh, sorry, Hermione, Harry," says a girl. That soft tone is Padma's.
"Yeah, we'll just find somewh—" I recognize Dean's voice as the door swings shut again.
Hermione pulls back. "I knew it was a bad idea letting the entire DA know about this place," I grumble, but there's no irritation in it, and she giggles.
She sits back. "Yes, whoever thought it would—" Her eyes widen as she looks over my shoulder. The door swings open again.
"This is the END!" I blow up, jumping to my feet. "Where do all these bloody couples come from, anyway? Are we the only people who didn't know about the Room of Requirement?" I glare furiously at the new intruders. "Can't one have a moment in peace?"
But Marcus Flint, with a pretty Slytherin I don't know, is standing his ground.
"You've been getting plenty of moments, from what I've heard," he says, and I see Hermione steal an agonized glance at me: the time is getting shorter.
"Out," I say, pulling out my wand.
"Make me," says Flint.
"I will, if he won't." Hermione's shoulder-to-shoulder with me now, and that tips the balance decidedly in our favour: her skill with a wand is legendary. Marcus flinches. "We were here first, and unless you want to spend the rest of the night quacking like a duck, you might as well go now."
"Look, Flint old mate," I try to appear like the reasonable one, "women are mad. Just give us today – and tomorrow," I add hastily, "and I promise you won't see us in here again."
Marcus' eyes flicker, but I seem to have given him the face-saving excuse he needs. "I'll hold you to that, Potter," he blusters, and storms from the room. Thank goodness for Slytherin survival instincts.
I turn to Hermione. "What the flaming hell is going on tonight? Who turned the school into Hogwarts Lonely Hearts Club for effing Lovelorn Witches and Wizards?"
"The fifth-year Ravenclaws are giving somebody's birthday party," said Hermione, "and a lot of people are invited, from lots of different Houses. Luna was telling me this afternoon."
"What are they serving at that party, Firewhisky?" I fume. "With all the people waltzing in and out of here, it's as though someone sent out engraved invitations. 'Dear Sir or Madam. Snogging Tonight in the Room of Requirement. DA Members Welcome.'"
Hermione smiles. "Tell you what," she says. "Why don't I go to the end of the corridor and stave the couples off?"
"That's a great idea," I sigh with relief. I'm starting to feel as if I'm inside one of those stupid paperbacks Mum's so fond of reading. "This Bewitched Romance parading through the Room on a nightly basis is starting to get to me. I had no idea that so many of our fellow-students were in a state of… Requirement."
Hermione giggles, and I feel stupidly happy as she vanishes through the door.
Finally, I flop back into the chair, hand soaking in the healing essence. Alone and relaxed at last. It's just a few more moments until the transformation. I hope I can stay awake till th…
The door opens and Cho Chang bursts in, sobbing and wailing.
"AAARGH!" I open my mouth to say something reasonable, but all that comes out is a roar. "This isn't the Room of Requirement, it's Lake Windermere on a bloody Bank Holiday!" I growl at her without a shred of sympathy. "What are you whinging on about now, anyway?"
"Harry!" Cho turns stricken eyes on me, and too late I remember that I'm supposed to be Harry, her doting boyfriend.
I feel the queasiness of the impending remorphing and panic grips me. Oh well. In for a penny, in for a pound. "Get out!" I yell. I rack my brains for any insult that will get her out before she sees. "I'm sick of your weeping and wailing! All you ever do is cry!"
She stops crying immediately, which would be interesting if I had any space left in my mind for anything besides blind, screaming panic. "But Harry-"
"Get out of my sight!" There, that should be enough. Oh, please let her leave please let her leave please let her—
"But—"
"OUT!" I grab one of Hermione's books and throw it at her, aiming to miss. It has the required effect anyway. She streaks out as though the hounds of Hades were after her.
I zoom to the door and slam my back against it as the queasiness of the remorphing ripples through me.
Shock is an understatement.
There we were, Harry and Ron and I in the Great Hall, having breakfast. As we got up to go, suddenly Cho was standing in Harry's way, for all the world as if she had Apparated into his path..
"Hi, Cho," said Harry uncertainly.
"You – you cad! You brute!" she cried. Her hand flashed out and she slapped him in the face. Then she stalked off, leaving the entire Great Hall gaping at us.
If I wasn't confident that Ron's a gentleman, I would almost have suspected that something had happened which oughtn't to have happened – well – that he hadn't kept his hands to himself, I mean. I'd get the whole story out of him later, but for now, Harry was just standing there, goggling after Cho, the imprint of a small hand pink on his cheek. He turned to me. "What on earth—"
Ron picked up Harry's glasses from where they had fallen, polished them on his robe with what I felt was entirely too practiced a motion, and put them back on Harry's face. This was easy because Harry was still doing his impression of a human statue. "All girls are mental," Ron said. "I keep telling you that."
"I resent that," I said half-heartedly. Then I put a hand over my eyes.
Padma, Lee, and Susan had all come up to show their support.
"Don't mind her, Harry," said Susan.
"It's just that her feelings are hurt," said Padma.
"I'd say you've done much better," said Lee with a man-to-man leer that made me want to jinx him. "Congratulations, mate," He clapped him on the shoulder and they all hurried off.
"…?" Harry turned to me. If he had been an Animagus, his Animagus form at that moment would have been one huge question mark.
No good looking to Ron for help – if he turned any redder, he might undergo spontaneous combustion. "Er," I said helplessly, and then I thought a modified version of the truth would be safest. "Some of the gossips have been putting it about that you've thrown Cho over for me. So she's jealous."
"Oh, I see!" His face cleared. Then he looked at me. "But that's ridiculous!"
"Oh, charming, Harry." I pretended to be insulted.
He rolled his eyes. "Hermione, I didn't mean it like that, it's just that…"
"I know," I said impatiently. "But given that this is the same crowd who thought you were the Heir of Slytherin in second year, and that a lot of them still think you're a raving lunatic this year, since when has logic come into it?"
"Yeah, I s'pose you're right," Harry said dispiritedly as we headed off to double Transfiguration.
I feel really, really, really guilty. "What a tangled web we weave when we practice deceit!"