A/N: Thanks to my wonderful beta Alicia. Also I'd just like to apologize for the lateness with the update, I recently moved and have only just got my internet hooked up. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 19

"I'M COMING!"

Standing she hesitated checking if she disturbed her roommates. Careful easy breathing reassured her. She raced through the door, down the stairs, across the common room, and up the stairs. Panting, she stopped at the boy's door. She slowly pushed. Her heart lodged in her throat. She peeked inside.

Nothing. She expected carnage. Danger. Enemies surrounding Harry, and George. Nothing. There was nothing wrong.

"Harry," she called softly. A muffled thump greeted her. "Harry?" Tip-toeing she eased her way to Harry's bed. She bumped into the trunk at the foot of Sirius's bed. She cursed. Instinct guided her to see if he'd heard. Her eyes adjusted. They penetrated the gloom. Sirius's curtains were open. She gasped, and jumped. Someone was in that bed.

"Harry?" she hissed.

"Hermione, where are you?"

"Harry, Sirius is in his bed."

"No, he isn't. They left hours ago."

Hermione stared a second longer. She decided her eyes played tricks on her.

"Quit messing about," Harry demanded. "And help me."

"What's wrong?"

"I can't get out of bed."

"Pardon?"

"My curtains attack me if I try to part them."

"Your curtains?" She rolled her eyes. She was leaving. A frustrated growl. A muffled thump. A loud swear word.

"This." The muffled thump again. Harry's bed curtains blew out and in. "They've spelled them, or jinxed them. The bloody things won't let me out!" he shouted.

Harry struggled against them. It earned him a fabric slap. The curtains shuddered, and settled.

"You've got to be kidding." She laughed.

"It isn't funny," he said vehemently.

The curtains billowed in constant frenzy from his thrashing.

"Calm down."

"Get me out. NOW!"

"Keep it down," George interrupted. "Some people are trying to sleep. Or were you know asleep."

"Sshh!" admonished Hermione.

"I will not shush. No one else is here. Turn the lights on, Hermione."

"Do it yourself," she countered grumpily.

"I would if I could." A whack ricocheted proving his point.

Hermione huffed. Light spilled into the room. A yelp escaped before Hermione covered her mouth.

"What?" both boys yelled.

"Hush, you fools. They're still here."

"Impossible," Harry said. He heard them leave.

"I'm looking at them," Hermione insisted.

"No," Harry disagreed. "They're outside."

"They've come back."

"Hermione, are you sure?" asked George.

"Am I sure of what exactly?" she snarked. "The three beds with three very real people in them? Is that what you're asking?"

"I'm telling you," Harry protested. "They are not in those beds."

"How can you see them?" George asked forestalling Hermione's biting retort. Their roommates slept with their curtains closed.

"The curtains are open."

"Why would they come back early?" George sat up. He rubbed a hand through his hair.

"Are they waking up?" Harry probed.

"No." Hermione studied the bed in front of her. Sirius remained asleep.

"Still asleep?" George asked. "How? The two of you have made enough noise to wake a Weasley. Hermione, that squeal —"

"I did not squeal." Hermione denied the accusation indignantly.

"It isn't them," Harry concluded.

"It is," Hermione argued.

"It's a spell, or a charm," Harry replied.

"Touch one of them," suggested George. "Or yell really LOUD!"

"Sh!"

"Did they move?" George asked.

"No."

"Try the touching thing," George instructed.

"I will not."

"Just do it!" Harry ordered.

Hermione grumbled, but she approached Sirius. He was the closest.

"Is he breathing?" Harry asked spooking Hermione. She jumped inches shy of making contact.

"Please refrain from speaking," she snapped. Taking a deep calming breath, she stretched her hand toward the sleeping figure once more. Slowly, she bent all but one finger extending it lightly to poke him in the side. Her finger went straight through the mirage on the bed.

"AH!" She backed away. Her foot caught on a rug as she turned. She tumbled into Harry's bed.

"Oh no," she whined. She sprawled across Harry in an intimate pose. Hastily, she tried to get up. The curtains heaved. She landed in the same spot.

"Ow," complained Harry as her elbow dug into his chest. "You can't get out," he reminded her.

Hermione resisted the urge to try again. "There must be something we can do."

"Perhaps, if you hadn't come diving in," Harry said. Sarcasm dripped from every syllable.

"I tripped," Hermione informed him. "It's not like I wanted to be trapped in here with you."

"Can't we wake them up?" George asked. He gestured with his arms stopping abruptly. No one could see him.

"If they were real," Hermione answered. "It's not them in their beds."

"Your wand?" Harry asked hopefully.

Hermione's shoulders slumped. "I dropped it when I fell."

Harry shifted to the bottom half of the bed. He offered Hermione the top half.

"A mirage spell?" George asked. His mind spun with possibilities. "Useful," he murmured.

"Now what?" Hermione asked.

"We go to sleep," Harry replied.

"Go to sleep?"

"Yeah, Hermione, it's what you do when it gets dark outside." George chuckled.

"I can't spend the night in here," she protested.

"You shouldn't have an aversion to it now," George remarked. "Besides you can't leave." George shuffled around until he got comfortable. "G'night."

"Night."

Harry, and Hermione arranged themselves appropriately. An unknown awkwardness crowded their senses. This was not the first time they shared a bed. It was, however, the first time without the need of symbiotic comfort.

"This wasn't supposed to happen," Harry said breaking the tension.

"I'd panic too if my curtains attacked me," she confessed. Amusement tinged her words.

#

"Think they've noticed?" Sirius yawned.

"We'll soon find out," James said. He tipped a potion bottle to his mouth. He swallowed a hefty portion. He grimaced as the pepper up potion burned his throat. He handed the bottle to Peter.

The three traversed the castle. They left Remus sleeping in the Shrieking Shack. The few hours they managed in said shack hardly qualified as a good night's rest.

"You're up early, or out very late." The Fat Lady smirked knowingly.

"Portraits. That's how you get caught," James quipped. They climbed through hearing a disgruntled, "Well, I never."

They kept their steps light. The potion took effect. The brew masked their lack of sleep. They listened outside the door for a sign of their roommates stirring. James turned the knob. Not the typical morning quiet. An eerie calmness made exotic, because they were asleep in their beds.

#

Hermione's consciousness ebbed and flowed. It drew her to the surface. It was dark inside the curtains. The events of the night slinked in. The awkwardness threatened to return.

Harry interrupted her thought process. "You can move. It won't bother me."

Sighing she rolled to face her best friend.

"Morning," she said.

"So it is," he stated dryly. He too exhibited unease.

"I can feel the tension," George sing songed. "This is not an uncommon occurrence."

"Uh-huh," Hermione agreed off-handedly.

A frown marred Harry's features. He strove to explain these feelings, but he couldn't grasp the difference.

"Um," George said. The traces of humor gone. "Did something happen last night?" The ill at ease vibes reverberated.

"No," an indignant Harry spluttered sitting up.

"Of course not," an irate Hermione shouted jerking up as well.

The chuckle floated to them. It circled the angry pair. It dissipated. The strain lessened. Hermione reclined in a relaxed pose. She stretched getting rid of the kinks. Sharing a school bed was not as cozy as one would think.

"Are they back?" she asked.

"I haven't heard them," Harry said. He gestured to the curtains. A question. Hermione shook her head. A blush stained her cheeks. Images from her last attempt played in her head. Harry cocked an eyebrow. She didn't elaborate. The door clicked. They tensed waiting for what came next.

#

A mischievous glint. A signal. James and Sirius approached their respective targets extracting their weapons of choice. Their wands banished their sleeping doubles. They snatched a curtain in their free hands. They positioned their wands. They wrenched the fabric.

#

The taut silence thinned. The tension welled in Harry. It built, and built, and built. He broke.

"I can't stay in here another second."

"Harry," Hermione begged.

He reached for the curtain. She grabbed for him. The boy was thrown on top of the girl. He grunted. She sucked in a painful breath. They landed in a tangled heap of limbs in a compromising position. But this time they were not alone. There was a witness.

The curtains ripped apart shedding light on the disgruntled couple. Harry lay on top of Hermione. His body flush with hers. He balanced his weight on his elbows looking down into her eyes. Her hands gripped his hips. Her fingertips bit into his pajama clad form. Their legs entwined.

Hermione turned her head. Her eyes widened in mortification. Sirius stood above them. His face registered a flash of hurt that transformed into utter shock. He gaped. He lurched backwards. His eyes were glued to the scene.

Harry met those penetrating blue eyes which had darkened measurably from mischief to something else.

A bang followed by a yelp broke the trance for Harry and Hermione. They looked the other way. The curtains on that side were still closed obscuring George. Sirius's gaze remained fixed on the couple in the bed.

"Time to rise and shine," teased James. He twisted in Sirius's direction. There was no second bang. The mixture of stunned disbelief and surprise had James moving. He observed the scene holding his friend's interest.

The sight of Harry, and Hermione sent him reeling. They were intimately poised with sheets and blankets askew. Harry wasn't wearing a shirt. Hermione was clad in those skimpy pajamas.

"Didn't mean to interrupt," blurted James. He clumsily closed the curtains to block the view. He reached for Sirius pushing him from the immediate vicinity.

"What the hell?" George asked. He emerged from his bed. He witnessed the odd little dance of James and Sirius. Sirius would edge around James, only to have James step into his path. They both kept looking at Harry's bed. George was on the verge of asking again, but an image filtered into his mind.

"Bloody hell."

Harry groaned. Hermione stared at him innocently confused.

"Um, Harry, can you get off me?" she asked embarrassed.

"Oh, what, yeah sure." He rolled off her.

Sirius perched on the edge of James's bed. James stood over him whispering quietly. A hand on Sirius's shoulder kept him in place. The hurried frantic words worked to diffuse the situation. Peter wore his obliviousness like a badge of honor gathering his things for the school day ahead.

Hermione eased away from Harry. This misunderstanding should be hilarious. It wasn't something they intentionally construed, nor were they tempted. George, and James should be teasing them relentlessly with a crude joke thrown in by Sirius. Hermione couldn't fathom why it wasn't funny. Where were the jokes? Why didn't Sirius finish the prank? George's earlier yelp meant there was more to it. Sirius had whipped open the curtains, his wand ready.

Was Harry avoiding eye contact? Was he sealing his mind? Now, he knew occlumency.

"We've got classes," Harry said.

"Mm," Hermione responded distractedly. His words were lost in the jumble of questions. Harry moved. This caused a panicked response.

"What are you doing?" She scooted further from him.

"Classes," he said.

"But," she gestured wildly at the fabric. "Are they still jinxed?" An elbow, or knee hitting the wrong place would hurt. She bit her lip. A misplaced blow was not the only reason she delayed him.

"I don't see why they would be," he said. A lack of concern substituted for confidence. He reached for the red drapes. He pulled his hand back.

"George," Harry said.

"Yes?"

"Open my curtains." Pathetic. He was pathetic. Afraid to get out of bed. Being thrown against Hermione eliciting more grunts, and groans was not an option though. No need to further the misinterpretation of impropriety.

George, who normally would have drug this out testing the limits of blushes, and tempers completed his task quickly. The reason he didn't offer any obnoxious remarks to the extremely amusing situation was sitting less than ten feet away. The disturbing facial expression was a mixture of feral anger, raw animosity, and predatory warning.

Sirius fixated on the opposite side of the room. Every inch of his being was tuned to Harry's bed. The image of Harry, and Hermione branded on his brain. It flashed every few seconds to torture him. Emotions attacked from several angles. Jealousy, anger, hurt, confusion, bitterness, and others bombarded his overloaded senses.

He was a ticking time bomb. James decided to remove his fellow marauder from the hazardous state of affairs. James pleaded. He cajoled. No response. A solution tried to take shape, but the room descended into a degraded silence.

Peter had yet to notice the tension. His thoughts were absorbed with breakfast. The door closing behind him echoed loudly.

"Did they leave?" Hermione asked.

"Just Peter," George said.

Hermione preferred to exit with no witnesses. The first time had been rough, the second easier, but this was excruciating. Their position claimed she, and Harry had engaged in improper activities. Embarrassment flooded her system.

"It'll be fine." Harry encouraged picking up the tenor of her thoughts.

"Sure." Lamely she agreed lacking the energy to argue.

A stray inkling worked itself into an idea. If Sirius believed he, and Hermione were in that sort of relationship, then Sirius would be discouraged in his pursuit.

"Come on, love birds, we haven't got all day," George deadpanned. He pulled aside the fabric to reveal them. He tilted his head toward Sirius. "I'd watch out today," he whispered to Harry.

"That bad?"

"Worse."

Hermione's teeth scraped her raw lip for the umpteenth time. Anxiety pulsed in her veins. It was hard to control her limbs under the weight of worry. Get through the door. That's all she had to do. Get through the door. A shaky breath. One foot touched the floor, then the other. She focused on the object of escape. The door.

She walked unsteadily to it. She felt their stares. A blush crept across her pale skin. She held her head high. She had done nothing wrong. Her hand fumbled on the knob. Escape was a turn away. Her fingers slid. They refused to grasp.

Blazing heat scored her back. She turned imperceptibly to the cause. Sirius Black. She flicked her eyes up. James. Their thoughts were easy to read. Shame engulfed her. Her fingers worked. She dashed down the stairs. Tears blurred her vision.

#

Breakfast was a subdued affair. No one talked. Lily noted the subtle differences in her friends' behavior. She contributed Sirius, and James's lackluster antics to Remus's absence.

"Has anyone seen Remus this morning?" she inquired.

"Yes," James said tersely. "We," he indicated Sirius and Peter, "went earlier. Madam Pomfrey said he would be released today, or tomorrow."

"That's good." The worry melted. She looked to her friends to take up the thread of conversation. They didn't. Lily's forehead puckered. Her eyes narrowed.

James observed the signs. "Time to go, isn't it?" He stood instigating a rippling effect in their crowd. One by one the others stood. They grabbed their bags.

Transfiguration was grueling. It required every particle of concentration. Lily was obstructed in her purpose. The next class was the same. She sighed. Not being able to speak to her friends did not hinder her ability to observe. The pieces she gathered incited her curiosity. At lunch she squirmed in her seat. It was a repeat of breakfast.

Her chatty friends were engrossed in their meal. Nothing unusual except they weren't eating. Well, Peter was. He put on a good show of disgusting table manners.

At meals Sirius maneuvered to sit as close to Hermione as possible. Today, he was a fair distance, and not as far as he wished due to his late arrival. Sirius, and James cast furtive glances at the girl. Hermione bowed her head ignoring their looks.

Harry, and George tried to engage Hermione in a whispered conversation. She resisted. She continued her melancholy examination of her plate.

"Hermione," Lily said gently, "what's wrong?"

Swallowing Hermione lifted her eyes a fraction. She glanced at the marauders before hurriedly lowering her eyes. A faint red tinted her cheeks.

"Nothing," she replied. "I need to go to the library."

Harry made to follow. George stopped him.

"Give her some space," George said.

Harry negated. He followed her. George smiled crookedly at Lily. He aimed for nonchalant. He failed.

The day passed sluggishly with barely any words exchanged between the seventh-year residents of Gryffindor. Fed up Lily devised a plan.


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