Authors note: I know it's been a while since the other 3 chapters were posted so close together. But, I know excuses are cheap, but I'll share anyway. I didn't have any ideas, and as it is I haven't a clue where this chapter came from, but it's good nonetheless. My sister came back up for 2 weeks and during that time I also went on vacation, so its been a bit of a busy month plus. Hopefully chapter 5 will come must sooner than 4 did. As I've mentioned in previous notes I don't have an outline as to where this is going; it just is. I hope you all enjoyed reading Half-Blooded Prince, I know I did and will probably read it again once more before I go back to school at the end of next month. But enough of my rambling, you wanted to find out where this is going!

Muzic

Chapter 4: Unexpected

Hermione drew her wand and her smile faltered. She entered her chambers slowly and quietly. She was thankful she was alone, because she had remained rather quiet while she had been entering her rooms, it would most certainly not have gone so quietly had she had company. She might still be able to have the element of surprise on her uninvited visitor. Moving with precision and calculation she circled around the back of her sitting room without so much as a clack of shoe on wood. She approached her couch with the utmost of care. Once she had reached the back of the couch and peered gingerly over the top of it she drew her hand back and smacked the owner of it upside the head.

"Harry James Potter!" Hermione began to scold him "I nearly hexed you into oblivion! Sneaking into my rooms uninvited and unannounced!"

Harry smiled gently before he replied. "Sorry I wanted to see you and make sure you were ok." He teased her mildly.

A friendly smile came back onto Hermione's face.

"By the way, a herd of elephants moves more quietly than you do. I heard you coming down the hallway…" Harry smirked at her but flinched reflexively when Hermione grabbed a pillow off the end of the couch and threw it at his head.

Hermione and Harry sat on the couch laughing and plotting for the next several hours. Before a loud rumble interrupted them as they were recovering from an especially hard laughing fit over old memories.

Hermione looked over Harry in a concerned motherly sort of way. She always had a soft spot for Harry in her heart. She always worried more about him than he would ever know. Harry thought he noticed something different in her look as she was appraising him.

"When's the last time you ate?" Hermione asked him now noticing him being a bit thinner than usual. She had simply figured it was from hard work on the quidditch team and that he had just lost a bit of weight and gained some more muscle. But now that she was examining him she new this couldn't be the case.

"I had a small snack before I headed over here to visit you." Harry successfully made this statement sound like it was no big deal. But Hermione had seen through his veil of indifference and knew that there was something wrong.

Hermione didn't even need to say anything in return. He glanced at his watch and looked back at his friend, "Its nearly dinner time, perhaps you should go downstairs."

"Don't be silly, you're always welcome here, you know that. Join me, there is always plenty of food, and I'm certain there is room for another at our table." Hermione wouldn't take no for an answer and Harry knew it. He nodded in agreement and stood, he offered Hermione a hand and they walked down to the great hall arms linked as they trotted happily together.

The evening had dwindled into nothingness. It had gotten exceptionally late; Hermione and Harry didn't know where the time went. He told Hermione that he came to see her to make sure she was ok, which was true. But what he left out was that he's been a complete wreck as of late. He couldn't focus, even on quidditch, he hadn't been sleeping or eating. He came to see her more for himself than for her. He knew that she would have pulled herself together and was doing great, and if she wasn't yet she would be soon, He, on the other hand, found her presence oddly comforting. He had never realized it until recently. He grew used to her over the past thirteen years. He spent the better part of seven inseparable years together with her and Ron, they kept in contact and saw each other frequently enough during her days at university and they still spoke at least once a week for the past 2 years while she was back at Hogwarts. They hadn't been able to see each other as much as they used to while she was at university and even less since Harry has been playing quidditch and she being back at Hogwarts.

Glancing at his watch again for the first time since dinner Harry's eyes widened as he noted that it was well past one in the morning. When he looked back at Hermione he realized how tired she looked. He stumbled over his thoughts as he struggled internally to force himself to get up or say that he should go home because it was far too late. Hermione was either oblivious to his internal battle, or didn't wish for him to depart so she wasn't going to help him find the words to dismiss himself.

They had been sitting on the couch together again; they had played games, and talked and had just been having fun. As the night progressed they seemed to become physically closer all the time. They were now sitting right next to each other, Harry's arm was on the back of the couch as he was lost in his thoughts. He was nudged back into reality when he realized that there was a head leaning against his chest and he heard a small sigh escape his ex-housemates lips. He rapidly drifted back into his own thoughts though and when he was roused from them he realized that one Miss Hermione Granger had fallen asleep. He looked down at her, she looked so innocent and happy laying on him as she was. He wanted to wake her, but he couldn't make himself go through the motions of waking her. He instead, moved himself slowly into a laying position and Hermione followed him every step of the way. Once he was comfortable he tried to resituate her gently so they were more comfortable on the couch together.

Harry fell asleep long after he was comfortable, but he slept better than he had in what seemed like years. It may very well have been the best sleep he had ever gotten. But that didn't matter now. He had dreams to have…