Chapter Six: Ghosts Can't Cry

Jack hated this. He couldn't even believe that any of this was happening. Everything had been so perfect at the beginning of the school year. He'd had the perfect girlfriend, two great best friends, a loyal Quidditch team, and all he'd had to worry about was how quickly he could get his hands on the Golden Snitch.

Then everything changed.

And he blamed Harry Potter for all of it.

Everything was just falling apart around him. Hermione should not have been standing further up the corridor talking to his half-brother and Neville. She should have been standing here with him and Ginny. Like she was supposed to; like she'd always done.

"Are you even listening to me?" Ginny asked him, trying to get his attention. "Jack? Hello? Earth to Jack?"

He looked at her, suddenly annoyed. "What now?"

Ginny sighed. "Oh, I'm sorry if I'm trying to have a conversation with my boyfriend, but he's too busy ogling my best friend."

Jack glared at her. "That's low," he said tensely. "Even for you."

"Well, what else am I supposed to think?" she asked, returning his glare. "You haven't looked away from them since they arrived."

"This isn't the way it's supposed to be."

Ginny took a deep, calming breath. It wouldn't do to lose her temper with him, but there was only so much of his obsessiveness that she could handle at any one time, and it was up to new levels this year. "Why can't you just leave it alone?"

Jack glared at her again. Why didn't she understand? "What kind of question is that? Look at them, Ginny! It's like she enjoys their company more than she does ours."

"Well, maybe she does," Ginny said, her eyes narrowing. "All you do is talk about Harry anyway. I mean, right now, do you think they're talking about the two of us the way that you're constantly on her case when she dares to spend time with us?"

"So this is my fault then? Hermione's the one cavorting with the enemy, and you're blaming me?"

Ginny took another calming breath, though it did little to calm her. "What are you so worried about, really? That Hermione is actually going to like him better? Can't be without your Hermione, can you?"

Jack shook his head. "She's your best friend too, Ginny. Aren't you even a little worried that you're going to lose her to them?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I'm just not."

"Well, I am," he huffed. "And I think you should be worried too."

"Hermione is her own person, Jack, and you're definitely not her keeper."

Jack chose not to reply, as he returned his attention to the trio further down the corridor. It bothered him to no end, and the fact that Hermione looked so relaxed irked him, which was why he had to look away again. She was his friend first. Harry could not take her away from him. Hadn't he taken enough already?

Jack needed a plan. He needed to get to Harry the way that Harry was getting to him because, as it stood, Harry looked undisturbed by anything to do with Jack. What was he made of? It was as if he didn't exist to him, and it really should have been the other way around. The way it'd always been.

"Oh look, they're headed this way," Ginny said, faking enthusiasm.

Jack looked up to see all three of them headed down the corridor towards them.

Only Hermione came to a stop, looking over her shoulder as she said, "Later, boys," she said happily. "Say hello to Luna for me."

Jack blinked. Luna?

Of course.

Jack's idea was so obvious; he was surprised he hadn't thought of it sooner. He would go for Harry's best friend the way that Harry had gone for his. Both of them wouldn't even know what hit them. That would definitely put a thorn in the side of James Potter's other son.

"What are you smiling at?" Hermione asked Jack, looking up at him.

He shook his head. "Oh, nothing," he said easily, slipping an arm around Ginny's shoulders. "Ready to go?"

The girls exchanged a worried look. They both knew that facial expression a little too well and it normally didn't bode well for all those involved.

Jack Potter tended to turn into a raging lunatic whenever his younger half-brother was involved.

For what he had planned, Jack needed Ron's help. He didn't trust anyone else with his plans. Hermione definitely wouldn't approve of them, and he doubted that he would need to do much convincing when it came to Ron Weasley. The boy would do just about anything that Jack asked.

It helped that Hermione was splitting her time between the two Potter brothers, so it was easy for Jack to get Ron alone. They had to shake Ginny, Dean and Seamus, but it wasn't anything new for the two male members of the fledgling Golden Trio to seek some time to discuss things. Quidditch, mainly, but also girls. And this conversation was no different.

"What do you think of Harry's friend?" Jack asked Ron, cutting straight to the chase.

"He has friends?" Ron automatically joked, but quickly sobered up when Jack didn't look amused. He cleared his throat. "Umm, which one?"

"The girl."

"Loony?"

Jack frowned. "Is that her name?"

Ron laughed. "Of course not," he said; "but that's just what people call her."

"Why?"

"Because she's loony," he replied, shaking his head. "Why else?"

"What's her real name?"

"Luna Lovegood," he informed his friend. "She lives with her crazy father in Ottery St Catchpole. She's in Ginny's year, though they don't really get along anymore."

"Why's that?"

"Because she's loony."

Jack sighed. He was sure there was more to it. There usually was, whenever Ginevra Weasley was involved. "Does she have a boyfriend?"

Ron shifted his weight, suddenly uncomfortable. "Why are you asking?"

"I'm not interested in her, if that's what you're wondering," Jack said, picking up on the redhead's hesitation. "I'm not about to dump your sister and go after her." Though he'd considered. That was bound to piss Harry off more than Ron would but, alas, he was with Ginny, and he was - well, sometimes - happy with her.

"Then why are you asking?"

"For you."

Ron frowned. "You're going to have to explain that one, mate."

"Well, it seems to me that anything we do to Harry just isn't getting enough of a rise out of him," he said. "We need him to retaliate, so we can get the git kicked off my team, or even expelled." He waited for Ron's nod. "So, I was thinking that the way to do that is if we go after his best friend. The way he's going after ours."

"Let me get this straight: you want me to, what, date Luna just to get under Harry's skin?"

Jack didn't reply.

Ron just stared at him for a moment, thinking back to the type of friend he'd been during the Tri-Wizard Tournament. He made a vow then to stick with Jack through everything. "That's brilliant," Ron eventually said. "That'll really tick him off."

Jack nodded. "I'm counting on it."

Of course, being who she was, Hermione found out about Ron's sudden interest in Luna almost immediately. It came from Luna herself, of course, and Hermione suspected that she asked the question to make Hermione ask her own questions of her boys. They were such idiots sometimes. Did they really think that she wouldn't find out?

Well. Hermione had to acknowledge that it appeared that they'd got away with a lot in the past years that she hadn't been privy to. But this year was different, for so many reasons, and she still wasn't sure how she felt about it all.

Why would Ron Weasley stop calling her 'Loony' all of a sudden?

It was a very good question. Hermione guessed that Luna already knew the reason, and it didn't take Hermione long to figure it out as well, once she went looking.

Jack.

It was half a step forward and seven steps back with that boy, and Hermione was losing her patience. It was easy to see that the boys were hiding something from her, and from Ginny. Hermione would even go so far as to say that, if he wasn't already dating Ginny, Jack would have pursued Luna himself. For a moment, Hermione allowed herself to wonder what kind of couple they would make.

But no. Luna didn't deserve what Jack and Ron had planned, and Hermione was going to put an end to it. She had to curb her anger though, as she went through the day, plotting for a way to get Jack alone long enough to give him a piece of her mind.

She needn't have waited very long. She sometimes got the feeling that Jack actually missed her, or the way that their friendship used to be before Jack believed that Harry became a thorn in his side. Was that why he kept thinking up ways to hurt Harry?

Hermione suspected that Jack was considering asking her to choose between the two brothers and, really, if it did come down to it; she wouldn't know what she would say or do. Jack was her best friend, even though he was an idiot. He'd saved her life back in their first year, and that created a bond that couldn't be altered.

But Harry. She knew that he would never ask her to choose. Maybe he was terrified of what her answer would be, but she didn't think that was the case. He rather respected her decisions, her boundaries and opinions. It was definitely a change of pace, given who her best friends were. They had tendencies for being snarky and mean, and maybe that was why Luna and Neville had been skeptical about her.

It had taken them quite some time to warm up to her, but she was glad that they eventually had. It also helped that she fit into their study group quite well. She was able to contribute her expertise in Potions and Arithmancy. She sat with them on Wednesdays, and some Fridays, depending on how much work that they had. Other days, she sat solely with Harry, or she was with Jack and Ron. Ginny was another story at this point, and she was trying not to think about it too much.

Hermione sometimes had the terrifying thought that Ginny had noticed Harry's staring and she was, what, mad that it'd stopped? Relieved? Worried for her best friend? Trying to figure out the redhead sometimes gave her a headache.

"There she is."

Hermione snapped towards Jack's smiling face as he walked towards where she was standing in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady. She couldn't even remember coming to a stop.

"The prodigal best friend returns."

For a moment, Hermione's anger fell away. This was her best friend, light smile and shining eyes. He looked younger somehow. But then he smirked knowingly, and Hermione snapped back. She started towards him, and violently poked him in the chest. "Just what do you think you're doing?"

He looked confused for a moment, surprised by the bite in her tone. But then he noticed the twitch of her upper lip - a clear indicator of both her anger and her nervousness - and he knew that she knew.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said, faking innocence.

"Like hell you don't," she snapped, surprising him. She shook her head. "I thought you were doing better, Jack. I thought you were getting over it, but this… This is... She isn't Harry, Jack. The same way that I'm not you!"

He turned on the defensive. "I'm not doing anything wrong."

"Of course you're not," she said sarcastically. "You're having Ron do all your dirty work!"

Jack was forced to take a step back when she poked him hard in the chest again. That one was definitely going to leave a bruise.

"You're my best friend and I love you but, if you or Ron do anything to hurt Luna, I will kill you myself," she said harshly. "Your ridiculous, misguided hatred is just going to hurt us all, if you're not careful! Understand me, Jack. Mess with me, hell, mess with Harry, but you leave Luna out of this! She's better than the both of us put together. They both are!"

Jack said nothing as he watched her eyes darken, her anger tenfold.

There were things that she could say, but she didn't think it was worth it. Not now, at least. This boy was going to need something more than words to change his ways.

Maybe Harry was right.

Harry was literally bursting with excitement when he made his way down to breakfast on a certain Thursday. After something that Hermione mentioned the night before - about his being right, and her being wrong, which he positively revelled in - he'd set up all he needed to with regards to Jack. He was even bordering on giddy, really, and he couldn't wipe the excited grin off his face.

As soon as he entered the Great Hall, Harry's eyes searched for her. If he'd been paying enough attention to himself, he might have questioned why he was looking for her first, but he paid it no mind. Hermione Granger was already looking at him, smiling a smile that he liked to think that she reserved for him. It was a mixture of disapproval, slight admiration and nervous excitement.

Harry threw her a wink and a happy grin, before he headed towards the Hufflepuff table to sit with Luna and Neville.

"I take it that everything is sorted then?" Luna asked, spying his smile.

"We are a go."

"Do you mean it this time?" Neville asked, risking a glance at the Gryffindor table where Hermione was sitting.

Harry didn't look in the direction that Neville was. "I mean it. Jack isn't going to know what hit him."

Luna laughed. "Because he really isn't," she said, her giggles infectious. "He won't actually know. Like, he'll get hit, but he won't even know what it is."

Harry matched her laughter. "We get it, Luna," he said kindly. "So, are you two set?"

"Everything is in place," Luna said. "Just waiting on the activation."

Harry was beaming by now.

The activation happened two days later. The trio arrived at the Great Hall for breakfast together, and sat down in a line, so they had a direct view of the Gryffindor table. It was going to be a long, truly fulfilling day. Maybe even the week.

It started fifteen minutes later.

Jack and Ron walked into the Hall as if nothing was different about this day. The twins were already seated at the table, though Harry had something completely different in mind for them; the sheep that they were. Still, they were all blissfully unaware of what was about to happen. Jack and Ron sat down and immediately began to dish food onto their plates.

Harry timed it. One minute and thirteen seconds.

The laughter started at Gryffindor table, but quickly spread through the Hall, as more and more people caught on to the prank. It took the two recipients a moment more, before they realised that the Hall was laughing at them.

Harry, Luna and Neville were far enough not to hear what was said, but the second that Jack noticed that he was no longer wearing his school robes, and rather a bright pink, puffy Muggle prom dress; he started to speak. And what came out of his mouth was easily recognisable as Gobbledegook. The laughter in the Hall merely increased.

Of the three of them, Luna was the first to burst out laughing, clutching at her stomach. "He's so pretty," she said sweetly, as they watched both Ron and Jack stumble to their feet and then bolt from the Great Hall. The second they stepped through the doors, the trio's other plans immediately activated.

Harry snorted the second he heard it.

"Is that...?" a girl further up the table asked, clearly confused. "The School Song?"

"Who's singing? Oh Merlin, that's terrible!"

Neville's laughter made him keel over. "If only that were the worst of it," he said between breaths.

"Bloody hell, they're dancing!" someone yelled from just beyond the doors. "This is amazing!" Then: "Merlin, Weasley, get your hands off of me!"

Harry was laughing so hard his cheeks were starting to hurt. "Oh my, this is going to be the best day ever."

He wasn't wrong.

The entire day was full of Jack and Ron acting like complete fools, whenever someone said the all-important words to activate some kind of response from the boys. It was completely priceless. Harry, Luna and Neville spent hours picking out all the activation words, and what they would activate. They sat with a dictionary, and laughed uncontrollably then, and now.

Even their professors were stumped as to how to get it all to stop. There were failsafes embedded in the charmed words, and only Harry could deactivate it all, unless he merely allowed it to wear off. He was nowhere near considering that though.

"Honestly, I don't think that I've experienced a better day in this place," Harry concluded, sounding quite chuffed with himself when he and Hermione settled down to work at his table after classes let out. Naturally, Jack and Ron disappeared into the dormitory to avoid anyone setting them off with a stray word. "I didn't know Jack was so good at ballet."

Hermione was trying her best not to smile, and he could tell. She wanted to be amused by it all but she didn't want to give him the satisfaction. He was enjoying it all a little too much. "Why aren't you working?"

"I've finished," he said happily.

She raised an eyebrow. "Everything?"

"Everything immediate." He sat back and grinned at her. "Tell me you haven't had a great day, Granger."

She set her quill down. "It's definitely been... interesting."

"Interesting, huh? So I suspect that you're rather accustomed to having Ron quack like a chicken every few minutes."

She couldn't stop her giggle and immediately moved to cover her mouth with her hand. "Madam Sprout didn't even know what to say," she said, her laughter tingeing the tops of her cheeks an adorable red. "You've really outdone yourself, Potter."

"And the best part is that Jack still thinks it's the Slytherins."

Hermione shook her head. "He's going to figure it out soon, you know?"

"I don't doubt it."

She eyed him for a moment. "You want him to know it was you?"

"Maybe." He leaned forward. "Technically, I haven't done anything," he said; "so I'm just interested in seeing how he intends to prove whatever he suspects. I want him to know how it feels to know something, and have it fall on deaf ears."

Hermione's face fell. Generally, he avoided discussing how he felt about the Wizarding World essentially forgetting that he existed. They'd been instances before when the things that the Gryffindor boys did to him had been swept under the rug by the Powers That Be, and Hermione felt a pang of guilt in her chest. Sometimes she found herself just waiting for him to ask her why she was still friends with Jack.

She didn't think that she would have a suitable answer to give him. Or one that he would actually believe.

Harry changed the subject. "Did you hear that Angelina's organised a warmup game for us against Hufflepuff?" he asked.

She hadn't heard yet. "When?"

"First Saturday after Hallowe'en," he informed her. "Hopefully the twins will have recovered by then," he said with a snicker, referring to the public tongue-lashing and utter rejection the twins received at the hands of two of Gryffindor's Chasers: Angelina and Alicia. Really, Harry had nothing to do with it, but it still felt like justifiable retribution.

"How are you feeling about it?"

"I'm not sure," he confessed. "I guess I'm nervous, and a little excited. I sometimes can't believe that all of this is happening."

"Because now you're a celebrity," she teased.

He laughed, absently rolling his eyes in a way that she found terribly endearing. "The verdict's still out on that one, Granger," he said, his voice slightly hoarse. "It's strange, isn't it? House politics and what not. There was a burst of excitement, and then... nothing. I think I'll remain somewhat of a pariah until I can actually get on the pitch and show them what I'm about."

Hermione bit at her bottom lip, contemplating whether she was going to ask the question that she wanted to. "Tell me, Harry, why did you decide that this was going to be the year that you wanted to shake things up? I mean, don't get me wrong; I think it's great that you're being all that you can be, but why now?"

Harry went still. "Why not?" he eventually said.

"That's my line."

Harry sighed. "Tell me, Granger, did you have any idea who I actually was before any of this?" he asked.

Hermione wanted to tell him yes, but the word didn't come out. "Not exactly," she said, finally deciding. "Which I'm ashamed to say." There was more she wanted to tell him; more she had to say to explain herself, but he started speaking before she could formulate the words.

"It's okay," he said kindly. "I grew used to it, and then, one day, I decided that that isn't a life I want for myself. It shouldn't matter who my parents are, or even that Voldemort has it out for my half-brother. It was never about them."

"It's about you."

"I like to think so," he admitted. "But then I think about my mother, and my own reasoning falters. James didn't want her in the end, and so he made life in the Wizarding World so unbearable for her. I can't forgive him for that. I can't forgive him for abandoning us to have his other family, and then making sure that that other family hated us, as if we are the ones who did something wrong."

Her heart was starting to hurt.

"Do you know that he didn't even tell her himself about Jack and his mother?" he asked, his eyes drifting off to the side. "There my mum was at the hospital, constantly asking for her husband-to-be, alone with this new baby, and he didn't even show up. He just - " he paused. "He didn't come, Granger, because he was with Jack. He was always with Jack."

She could hear the rush of emotion in his voice, and she desperately wanted to comfort him, but she didn't think it was what he needed right now. He needed to talk about it.

"Sirius fetched her from the hospital and took her home," he continued, his eyes glazing over. "James didn't show up for another four days. I mean, what did he think was going to happen? Did he really think that my mum wouldn't find out. I'm surprised that he kept it a secret for so long anyway! She always jokes about pregnancy brain but, really, how stupid could he be?" He scoffed. "He was surprised by my arrival, because apparently I arrived three weeks early. Sirius jokes that I was just desperate to be a July baby. I was born literally seven minutes before midnight."

Hermione didn't know why that bit of information sounded important, but she still filed it away in her mind for another time.

"I always wondered if Sirius knew, you know, about the other woman, but now I know he didn't," he said.

Hermione was burning to ask him how he knew all of this, but she didn't want to disrupt his flow. It looked like it was therapeutic for him.

"I get angry sometimes," he said. "Like, impossibly angry, about everything, and I lash out. My mum takes it for all of six seconds before she threatens me with a Cheering Charm. I hate those things. The sensation is just so foreign to me. I'm not a cheery person."

"I've noticed," she couldn't resist saying.

He grinned at her, and she noticed for the first time that it was slightly lopsided. "Oh, have you now?"

"You always look like you're caught between two sides of yourself, Harry," she said, sounding somewhat serious. "On the one side, you're devilishly charming and sickly confident, and then there's you who's determined to be a hermit and, really, a bit of a nerd. No cheer involved."

"My mum says that I brood, which she unhappily claims is a trait I must have inherited from James."

"Jack does it too," she said softly, wary of bringing up Jack. It seemed that the intensity of his revelations was now lost anyway, and she could feel the conversation moving on to something else; something less intense. She felt privileged, really, that he trusted her enough to reveal his thoughts and feelings about what happened to his mother, though she believed that they'd just scratched the surface.

Harry shook his head roughly, as if he were ridding his mind of certain thoughts. "Why are we even talking about this?" he asked, smiling widely. "Today is the greatest day ever, Granger. Don't you think?"

She thought back to the lopsided grin that he'd threw at her, and she was forced to agree. "It definitely is, Harry," she said, returning his smile.

There was a moment of comfortable silence, before his eyes lit up and leaned forward. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but did Hermione Granger just call me devilishly charming?"

Her blush was so potent, Harry thought she might actually explode. "I didn't," she managed to say.

Harry just shook his head, trying to wrap his mind around all that was happening. "Like I said: today truly is the greatest day ever."

"Please tell me you're done."

Harry couldn't help but grin at the exasperated look Hermione was giving him as she approached him in front of their Potions classroom. The Gryffindor and Slytherin students were gathered to wait for Professor Snape to unlock the door to the classroom.

"Is there more? God, I don't think I could handle any more." She practically walked into him, bumping her shoulder against his chest and resting her forehead against his collarbone. "If I have to hear Ron sing the School Song as a funeral march one more time; I think I'm going to pull out my own hair," she grumbled. "Please make it stop."

Harry chuckled lightly, though his heart rate picked up dangerously when he breathed her in. He even closed his eyes for a moment, just enjoying how close she was.

Hermione took in a sharp breath before she stood up straight and looked at his face. "How much longer?" she asked.

Just managing to recover his wondering thoughts, he checked the watch on her wrist. "It's Friday afternoon, Granger," he said. "It should wear off by the end of the day, unless he does something particularly git-worthy."

"So, Sunday then?"

He laughed, and she giggled, her forehead coming to rest on his shoulder this time. He had a fleeting thought that maybe his collarbone wasn't nearly as comfortable. It was a perfect moment, really, right until Draco Malfoy decided to ruin it.

"The famous one didn't want you, so you're sucking up to this Potter, huh, mudblood."

Harry tensed, but Hermione just looked amused as she turned to face the boy who dared to interrupt their moment. Harry suspected it was because Luna and Neville had told her about their opinion that Malfoy may or may not have had a not-so-secret crush on Harry, or Jack.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Malfoy," she said so casually that Harry felt like slinging an arm over her shoulders and tucking her into his side. "Did you want to suck up to him? I didn't mean to get in the way."

Malfoy's response was cut off by the sound of a somewhat equally obnoxious voice.

"Oi, Malfoy, what do you think you're doing?"

Harry and Hermione groaned in unison. Things tended to escalate quickly when it came to Jack Potter and Draco Malfoy. They were practically hardwired to hate each other; following in the footsteps of their respective fathers.

Harry's hatred of Draco Malfoy was because of reasons other than their fathers, and he believed that his reasons were much more justified. He hated the boy because of who he was, and not because of who his father was. In fact, sometimes Harry even felt bad for the Malfoy scion whenever Lucius Malfoy was around. At least Harry's father didn't acknowledge him.

"Jack," Hermione said, the warning clear in her tone.

"No," Jack said, ignoring her. "If he's being a git to you, then he needs to be put in his place, Hermione."

"She has it under control, Jack," Harry said through gritted teeth.

"Shut up, Black," he snapped harshly, and everyone - including Malfoy - flinched in surprise. There was so much venom in his tone, that Hermione automatically stepped towards Harry, as if she could somehow shield him from his brother.

The door to the Potions classroom suddenly burst open, and Hermione did the unthinkable and let out a sigh of relief. She didn't think that there would ever be a day in her life that she would be grateful to see Professor Snape, but there was a first time for everything.

"Inside," he said, sounding bored.

The Gryffindor and Slytherin students were quick to enter the classroom and assume their seats. It was a truly subdued lesson, with Jack, Harry and Malfoy barely saying a word as Snape tried - and failed - to get any kind of rise out of either of the Potter boys.

At a certain point, Hermione took out a fresh piece of parchment and penned a quick note to Harry. It was time for the pranks to end, before Jack's planned retaliation did end up causing Harry grievous bodily harm. From Jack's tone earlier, it sounded as if he was almost there. He sounded just about done with dealing with Harry's unprovable retaliation.

When Snape finally let them leave, Hermione slipped the note to Harry, and then followed Jack and Ron back to Gryffindor Tower. She was careful to avoid any words that would trigger a musical number or an embarrassing dance routine.

Harry didn't read the note until he arrived at the library, easily slipping into his chair. He took out his books and got himself settled before he unfolded the note, automatically smiling at the sight of her perfect handwriting.

Potter

Don't wait until Sunday. Because reasons. There was something... I know you heard it in his voice. Something violent.

I think I'll spend most of the weekend with my boys. Remember the extra-credit essay McGonagall is accepting on Tuesday. Swap on Monday?

Love, Hermione

P.S. After today, I'm on board with this whole 'Drarry' thing. He definitely wants you.

Harry snorted. Then he sighed. A whole weekend without Hermione... He didn't want that. He didn't want to have to live through that. Had they really pushed Jack too far? Did it matter? Jack had tried to kill him. Harry wasn't sorry that all he'd done was annoy him.

He sighed again. Fine. He would allow it to wear off tonight then, and see how Jack acted afterwards. If there was even so much as a comment sent his way; he would reactivate it all, and Professor Flitwick would again be stumped as to how any of it was happening, without there being anyone remotely in the vicinity. Even the magical trace was non-existent.

Luna Lovegood was a genius.

And now Harry was going to have to spend the weekend without his other genius. If he were paying even remotely attention to himself in that moment, he might have noticed the way that he let out another long sigh, folded the note, safely put it away, and then spent the next forty-eight hours doing his level best not to think about the missing brunette witch with the knowing, hazel brown eyes.

As far as Hallowe'en at Hogwarts usually went, it was a rather quiet affair. Not that Jack or Harry were complaining. Something about Hallowe'en always proved to be sinister whenever the Potter boys were involved.

They'd been that troll in their first year, which could have resulted in something fatal if Hermione hadn't been remembered, and found. Hermione didn't remember much of that night, but she did wake up in the Hospital Wing to hear that the entire school was talking about Jack and Ron facing off against the troll.

In their second year, it was the night that the Chamber of Secrets was opened for the first time. Their third year was, thankfully, more subdued. They were just dealing with the first sighting of the fugitive, Peter Pettigrew, and Ministry-appointed, roaming Dementors, but it wasn't as noteworthy as Hallowe'en in their fourth year. It was the day that Jack's name came flying out of the Goblet of Fire, and things truly went into motion for the resurrection of the Dark Lord.

Hermione made a mental note to ask Harry what truly happened in that graveyard, or even how he ended up there. She suspected that there were things that Jack left out when he retold the story to her and Ron; things that he might have been to ashamed to tell them before.

"So that's why we're skipping the Feast."

Hermione's head snapped up. She hadn't heard a word he'd said, and she could tell that he noticed from the look on his face. "Sorry," she said automatically.

Harry tilted his head to the side, eyeing her curiously. "Is everything okay?" he asked.

She nodded. "I'm just a little distracted," she confessed.

His facial expression turned to one of understanding. "Do you ever think about what happened in our first year?" he asked quietly, as if speaking too loud would spook her or something ridiculous like that.

"More often than I'd care to admit," she admitted. "Do you?" She didn't know why she asked the question, but she did.

Harry dropped his gaze. "I wish I'd done more," he said, leaning back, as if he were trying to put as much distance between them as he could. The library was practically empty, mainly because students were gearing up for Hogwarts' famous Hallowe'en Feast.

"More?"

"Maybe if we'd found you sooner, you wouldn't have been knocked unconscious."

Hermione just stared at him, her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open. She felt like she'd just been knocked unconscious right now. What did he just say?

"But, then again," he continued, completely oblivious to her disposition; "Perhaps it was better that you didn't actually see what happened to the troll. It was rather gross, to be perfectly honest."

Hermione's mouth fell open that bit more. "Harry," she eventually said. "You were there?"

"Where?"

"With the troll."

Harry couldn't stop his frown. "Um, yes."

Her frown suddenly matched his. "Tell me what happened."

He blinked. "You don't know?"

"Tell me."

He shifted in his seat, trying to figure out what she was truly asking him. "Well, I mean, after Quirrell dispensed the news about the troll, and then threw himself to the floor; there was unbridled panic..." he trailed off, not sure exactly what she wanted to hear.

"Did you see the troll?" she asked seriously.

He nodded cautiously. "I'm the one who dragged those two idiots to find you," he said, shaking his head in remembrance. "It was before, you know, when I thought that Jack and I could - " he stopped, not allowing himself to think about the little boy he'd been, who'd held onto the hope that his brother would somehow accept him. "It was a different time."

She blinked several times. "It was you?"

"It was me what? Granger, what's wrong with you? Why are you looking at me like that?"

What was wrong with her? Why was any of this even important? As much as she didn't want to think it, this bit of information was. What stemmed that night was the very foundation of her relationship with Jack and Ron. It was important. "What really happened that night?" she asked, suddenly desperate to know.

Harry frowned. "Does it matter?"

"Just tell me," she snapped, making him flinch. "Sorry," she said softly. "Please will you just tell me."

He shifted uncomfortably, sensing something desperate in her tone. "Umm, well, you weren't at the Feast that night," he said. "Lavender said you'd spent the afternoon crying in the girls' bathroom after something Ron said." He dropped his gaze. "I don't actually know what he said outside of class, but it had to be something hurtful because you always struck me as a strong person."

"I was twelve," she said. "It was hurtful."

Harry understood that more than she could ever know. "Well, I guess, umm, after Quirrell came in and fainted; they started leading us out of the Great Hall, and I was just waiting for someone to say something, you know? To remember you. When nobody did, I tried to get Percy's attention, but you remember what he was like. Didn't listen to anything that anyone else said."

Hermione nodded, remembering Percy Weasley, the fifth-year prefect from their first year. He was difficult to forget.

"So I went looking for you, and those two tried to draw attention to me, trying to get me in trouble, so I ended up having to convince them to come with me." He huffed in annoyance at the memory. "I blame them for slowing me down, and we couldn't get to you in time, because you were already unconscious when we found you. I don't actually know if you fainted - which is what I hope - or it the troll actually hurt you."

Hermione pressed her lips together, waiting for more.

Harry suddenly looked nervous, and slightly conflicted. "So, uh, we fought it, and then the teachers arrived, handed out punishments, and awarded points, I suppose. Professor Snape took you to the Infirmary, and then the day after; you were friends with Jack and Ron."

She kept her eyes on him. "You fought the troll?"

"Well, really, we dropped him by using the spell we'd learned in class that day," he said, sounding slightly amused. "The one you tried to teach to Ron."

"I didn't know you were paying attention," she whispered.

He leaned forward. "I'm always paying attention, Granger. I see things, you know. It's the perks and what not."

"The perks of what?"

"Being a wallflower."

Hermione wanted to touch him, maybe just reach across the table and take hold of his hand, just for a moment. She definitely had a lot to think about now, but she didn't want to taint this moment with her conflicted thoughts. "So you think you know things then, huh?" she asked.

He smiled at her. "I thought I knew you, Granger, but you keep surprising me."

She couldn't have stopped her blush even if she tried. This boy was rather special, and she mentally kicked herself for taking so long to get to know him. "Thank you for thinking of me," she said softly.

Harry waited a beat, and then he said: "You're welcome."

They fell into comfortable silence for almost a minute, before Hermione spoke up. "What were you saying about the Feast tonight? Sorry, I really wasn't listening."

"I noticed," he teased. "I was saying that Luna, Neville and I aren't going to be at the Feast tonight, because plans."

She raised an eyebrow. "What do you have planned?"

He grinned mischievously, and Hermione's heart skipped a beat. "Oh, Miss Granger, so many things."

Hermione forced herself not to comment, even though she wanted to. This was not something she condoned, but she wasn't going to fault him his ways. If she didn't fault Jack; how could she do that to Harry? He actually had reasons. "If you're planning to do something during the Feast, won't you need an alibi?"

"Why, Granger, who said we had anything planned for the Feast?"

Hermione didn't give his cryptic response much thought until she was walking into the Great Hall later that day. As was expected, the Hall was transformed into something truly magical. Hallowe'en was taken very seriously by Hogwarts. Nothing was remotely out of place. She hoped that it stayed that way.

She set off towards the Gryffindor table and took a seat beside Ginny, who was sitting next to Jack. She greeted them somewhat tensely, and then settled in to wait for the Headmaster to address them. Professor Dumbledore usually said the same things every year, save for their fourth year, and this year was no different. What was odd was Professor Umbridge's choosing to say a little speech. Or not that odd at all. The woman was borderline psychotic.

Hermione might have paid attention to whatever she was saying if it were not for the large banner that suddenly fell from the ceiling behind the teachers' table. It wasn't anything sinister. In fact, it was rather sweet. It was a painting of all the ghosts of the Castle, dining at a long table, with a Feast before them and jugs of beer in their hands. It looked to be a grand party.

There was a collective gasp, and then complete silence.

Hermione's eyes automatically moved to seek out Harry, but then she remembered that he wasn't here. Why wouldn't he want to be here for this?

"It's amazing," Ginny said from beside Hermione. "Even the Bloody Baron doesn't look as frightening as he usually does."

Hermione stared at the painting for a long while, even as Umbridge attempted to talk over the sudden burst of murmuring as the students began to discuss the painting. There was a small signature in the bottom right corner: The Mosstroopers. Those three.

"It's because they're all smiling," Hermione said to nobody in particular.

"Huh?"

"The ghosts, Gin," she whispered, a smile tugging at the edges of her mouth; "they're smiling."