Charming
Disclaimer: I don't own HP or any of these characters. That belongs to JKR, Scholastic Books, Warner Brothers, etc.

Chapter Nineteen : Naked Mind

Ron knew something was up. For one, he hadn't expected to see Harry and Hermione apart so soon after they finally got together. He had expected the two of them to be joined at the hip. For them to be out of sight of each other when they weren't working was very suspicious indeed. Merlin knew that despite her well-known fear of Quidditch, she had shown up unexpectedly at Harry's latest practice, if you believed everything you heard on Wizarding Wireless (and he was inclined to believe that bit of news). From all reports, that had been one steamy snog session indeed.

Though perhaps it would be a good idea to confirm that with a reliable source. "So I heard Hermione dropped by to see you this afternoon?" Ron asked in between bites of fish and chips.

A goofy look spread across Harry's face. "Yeah. She did."

Okay, evidently it had been more than a snog session, if Harry's reaction was anything to go by. Ron cringed at that mental image. He didn't want to think of his best friends going at it like that. There were some things that he was happier not knowing. "Okay," said Ron. "That's enough of an answer for me."

"I wasn't going to go into any detail," Harry said. He crossed his arms. "Some things are meant to be private."

"That is exactly my point." Ron looked around. "So where is Hermione? I thought she'd be here with you, especially if she's even visiting you at work." The shifty eyed look on Harry only confirmed Ron's suspicions.

"She's visiting her parents," Harry said.

"She is?" Ron hadn't thought she would be doing that. And if she was, what was Harry doing here with him? Wouldn't it be better for her to try to play peacemaker between Harry and her dad? Though her dad was probably not inclined to see reason on this point. "So why are you here?" Ron asked. "I thought you'd be with her if she went to see her parents."

"She told me not to. Said that she needs to have a talk with her dad before she lets me visit them again, because last Saturday was damn uncomfortable. I could tell he was thinking of the most painful way to kill me the whole time I was there." Harry shuddered. "I was never so glad to leave that house behind, and I'd be happy to not have to go there again for at least another year."

"I doubt that will happen, mate."

"Yeah. It won't. So that's why I think it's good that Hermione's going by herself this time to see if she can get her dad to promise not to kill me on sight."

"Did she really use those words?"

"Not exactly. I don't think she realizes how much he has it out for us."

"I agree with you there." Ron took a bite of his food. Still chewing, he added, "Well, I'm glad to hear that you've that reason for not being together. For a moment there, I thought you only invited me here because there was something you wanted from me." Ron inwardly cheered in victory as a look of contrition came over Harry. Taking them by surprise was always the best way to go.

"Actually . . ." Harry started. "I do have one, small favor to ask."

"Imagine that." Ron finished off the last of his chips, licking his fingers clean. "Well, go on. No need to beat around the bush. Tell me."

"I . . . that is, we were wondering if you'd come with us Saturday night."

"And the catch is?" Ron asked.

"How do you know there's a catch?"

"Because if there wasn't, you two would have no problem asking your best friend to do something with them on the weekend. But since you've been so secretive about it, there must be a catch," Ron said.

"Yeah, there is one," Harry admitted. "Hermione invited Malfoy to come spend a bit of time with all three of us on Saturday," he said frankly.

"She did? That's a bloody excellent idea!" Ron exclaimed. "Tell me, did you plan that one or did it just fall into your lap?" Harry gaped at Ron, as though he couldn't believe his reaction. That meant that this particular opportunity must have be presented to Harry, that lucky bastard. He didn't know a good thing when he saw one.

"I . . . you think this is a good idea?" Harry finally managed to say.

"I didn't say good, I said excellent. Look.." Ron motioned towards Harry, bending his head closer so he could speak in a lower voice. "You've been thinking that prat Malfoy is interested in Hermione, right?"

"Yeah."

"So this is a perfect chance to see whether or not your suspicions are right. And you don't have to sneak around, hiding behind potted plants, to see if he's after Hermione. Hermione wants you to be there. Like I said, it's brilliant."

"And here I thought I'd have a hard time convincing you to come along," said Harry.

"Not at all," Ron said airily. "Two sets of eyes are better than one, and you might spend too much time looking at Hermione instead." He glanced sternly at his friend. "And I hope looking is all you're going to do because I don't want to see a repeat performance of last weekend."

"Take that up with Hermione. She jumped me, not the other way around, and I'm not the type of bloke to refuse his girlfriend's affections."

"Don't worry, I will. I'll say something along the lines that if I have to get dragged along, then at least I shouldn't have to deal with the two of you acting like . . . actually, no." Ron grimaced. "I will deal with that. Because we can see how Malfoy reacts to that as well. Or rather, I will see as I'd rather be watching his ugly mug than you two when you're snogging."

"What will we do if I'm right?" Harry asked, but not unexpectedly. Ron knew that question would come up.

"First off, there's a good chance that you're wrong. Hermione is a bright witch, so she probably knows when someone is interested in her. Now I admit she might be in denial, because she can't believe it, but I think she could tell," said Ron. "Also, think of the type of git Malfoy is. Do you think he wouldn't try to kiss Hermione if he was really interested in her? Especially if he's had several dinner dates with her before?" Harry shook his head no at that question. "Right. And if he tried, Hermione couldn't deny that he wants her and she still is and therefore, he must not have tried snogging her. Which can be construed as a sign that he doesn't fancy her."

"But what if all that . . . what if on Saturday night, it appears he does fancy her?"

"Then you know for sure that he does," said Ron.

"I don't see how that helps."

"It helps to know what you're up against. Trust me on this one, Harry. At least you'll know that he fancies her, and you can figure out from there where to go. I can tell you this. If he does, you can't go and tell Hermione that you don't want her to see him anymore. Do that and she's liable to break up with you."

"I know," said Harry. He slumped down, looking defeated already. "I wish . . . I wish that she would stop being friendly with him for my sake, but she's likely to take that sentiment the wrong way." He sighed. "Maybe one day, she'll understand but . . . "

"She will, mate. She's a bright witch, like I said. And she won't do as you want, but she'll do everything else in her power to let you know that you are the one." When his friend didn't perk up from that reassurance, he continued. "The fact that she visited you at practice today should tell you something about how much she loves you. She hates having to watch Quidditch. She used to go nutters watching matches at Hogwarts, or so I hear."

"I know." A smile was back on Harry's face. "She came this afternoon because she said she couldn't stand the idea of not being able to see me until much later this afternoon."

Ron mentally winced at that double-entendre, but repressed his urge to gag. "See? She loves you. You need to believe it more. Malfoy doesn't have a chance against you."

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it." Ron reached for his mug of Butterbeer and took a swig out of it. "By the way, where are we going? You never told me that."

"Oh. I told Hermione that I got to pick where we went, and I chose karaoke."

"Great! I've wanted to try that for awhile now, mate!" Ron was beginning to get excited about Saturday's expedition. He had wanted to try that out since Harry had whinged one summer about having to listen non-stop to Dudley's horrendous renditions of Spice Girls' songs. Ron had asked what Harry had meant and had been fascinated with the whole concept from then on.

"I knew that. That's why I chose that. I thought it'd be easier to get you to come along." He grinned ruefully. "Though I guess you didn't need it."

"No, you didn't, but I appreciate the sentiment all the same." He couldn't wait until Saturday. Being able to see Malfoy and Hermione together without Hermione getting made AND getting to finally try out karaoke made it seem like Saturday was going to be one fun-filled day.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"So where's Harry this time?" Hermione's dad asked by way of greeting.

Hermione raised an eyebrow at him. "Nice to see you too, Dad," she replied, dropping a kiss on his cheek. "What's for dinner?"

"Paella. And is Harry coming along later?" He rubbed his hands together in anticipation. Hermione winced. She was glad Harry had went with Ron instead, as her dad was probably looking at ways to get back at him, even though her dad didn't know the whole story behind them.

"No, it's just me tonight." Hermione walked through the hallway and into her parents' kitchen, leaving her father no choice but to follow. She wondered how she would manage to bring her father around to giving Harry another chance. "Hi Mum," Hermione said upon seeing her mother in the kitchen. "How are you?"

"I'm fine." Her mother examined her critically. "And you look to be more than fine, dear."

"I am," she replied. "Though I confess to being famished."

"That's your cue, love," her mum told her dad.

"I know, I know. Give me a second." He headed towards the counter, where Hermione could see that the food was already ready for consumption. That was good. She really was starving, especially after all the energy she had consumed when she had visited Harry earlier that day. "Here you are," said her dad, setting a plate in front of her. "Go on. Dig in. I can continue to grill you while you're eating."

"Thanks." Hermione stuffed a fork into the food and brought it to her mouth. It was delicious as always. "And that was subtle. Though you lost all hope of being subtle with the way you greeted me," she told her dad.

He shrugged. "I saw no point in trying to be tactful—"

"Or rather, I told him there was no point in him being tactful because he wasn't that last weekend," her mother put in. She bit her lip, and Hermione knew that her mum was trying to find the right way to say what she wanted to say. "Hermione, I know you're now an adult and all – and a very responsible one at that – but I have to agree with your father here. I think that you don't know what you're getting yourself into, being with Harry like that." She paused to take a breath. "There's a line between friendship and love, and trying to stay right on the edge of it isn't healthy."

Hermione quickly finished swallowing her food. "No, Mum, it's not like that. We're not just . . ." she stuttered. Damn, this was embarrassing. How could Mum think such a thing? "We aren't just together for kicks," she finally said. "We love each other, we really do. And I think it's going to be forever."

"In my experience forever isn't very long for someone as young as you," her dad countered sharply. He motioned her to silence as he noticed her opening her mouth to protest. "And how do you know that Harry feels the same way?"

"Because he's said as much," Hermione said. "And he wouldn't lie to me about that, so don't even suggest that."

Her parents exchanged a speaking glance, and her dad waved her mother on. "Of course not," her mum. "I always thought that Harry was a lovely boy, and a very honest one to boot. But even . . . even if he's said that and meant that, how do you know he really means that? You both are so young. You have no concept of what it means to be together for always. And your heart may stay constant but that's no guarantee that his will do the same."

Hermione glowered at both her parents. They weren't saying anything she didn't already know. However, she had decided to put her trust in Harry, and she wasn't going to doubt him until he proved her wrong. "Are you suggesting that I break up with Harry now simply because he might break up with me later?" she asked. "Because if you are, that is the stupidest idea I've ever heard from you!"

"No, we're not saying that," her dad said. "Actually, I can't speak for your Mum, but I think you should break up with him because he has already broken your heart. No . . . don't lie to me. I left you alone when you arrived here suddenly, but we both could hear you crying your heart out. And it doesn't take a genius to figure out who had done the damage."

"I have to agree with your father here. How can you trust this boy when he has already hurt you so much?"

"This isn't just some boy we're talking about. This is Harry. And yes, he has hurt me in the past – for which he has apologized – but then I've done the same. I've done some incredibly stupid things myself. And I apologized for that."

"This doesn't seem to be leading anywhere," her dad said. "If anything you're proving my point that the two of you aren't good for each other."

"I wasn't finished," Hermione said, glaring at her father. "My point is that we've decided to put that behind us, to try to work things out together so our relationship will last. And I think it will. No, that's not right – I believe it will. And he does too. We've been through too much together – he's saved my life several times, and he says I've done the same for him – that there's no way that we'll fail. Especially if we trust one another, believe in one another and what we share." She lifted her chin stubbornly. "And there is nothing that you can say to make me not believe."

Her mum placed a hand on her dad's arm, as if restraining him. "If that's the case, then all we can do is support you . . . and promise to be here for you in case your wrong. Right, dear?" Her father nodded as her mother squeezed his arm.

"And how about giving him another chance?" Hermione boldly asked. "Which means you don't look as if you're looking for an excuse to try out your new set of knives out on him," she said directly to her dad.

"Hermione!" Her dad looked insulted. "I am not a violent man!" Hermione merely glared at him. "Besides, I wouldn't do that. You can tell Harry he's safe from any of all my knives." He paused. "Your mother would kill me if I destroyed the carpeting like that."

"Dad!"

"Robert!"

"It's true," he said. "She would."

Her mum sighed. "Your father is immensely stubborn, much like yourself. But he will try, won't you dear?" The stare she leveled at him was truly frightening. Her dad nodded vigorously, and Hermione knew that her task had been accomplished.

Now perhaps she could begin to enjoy her dinner.

Author's note: That's all for this week. I hope you liked it, and I'd be very happy if you'd let me know what you think by leaving a review. Finally, thank you to Shawn Pickett, danielerin, Rebeca, Carolyn, Leah6 (currently, I have no plans to break them up), lee74, Duke-of-Argyle, ExcalibursZone, LeslieGlady, Sheilalein, SilverFoot (who says Harry will get the time to show Hermione that?), myman-harry526, Wytil (I think they'll all be bad, but someone will deny it), Fire Lily, Fatima, sweetheart87, thekidwonder*ladymistress, Pickels, lil-frankie14, elvenprincess17-imladris, Sarmi, xxbabysparklesxx, EuphoniumGurl0, Amynoelle, juliet's rose, hpfanmelissa (I do? *cough* Haven't noticed. Though I must admit I think the ending for the next chapter is loads of fun. ^_~ ), Jen/Irish Dancing Girl, Kage Miko, spacey-me90, malu (of course, Ron might look at it differently than Harry. Though if Draco tried to hit on Hermione, he might beat Harry to the hex), Anna Morgan, ears91, luvingRON*182hp, Joe, SquorpionLady, telmie, Izabel, RoqueBHS, PoTtErSPaYnE, Ramy, harry_lover_29, Bulma Queen of Saiya-jin, Dizzy2381, sally, and Tiffie101 for their reviews of the last chapter. ^_^ I had fun reading what everyone wrote. Thanks once again!