Author's Note: Sorry for taking so long to come out with this chapter. Honestly, I hated this chapter. I had pretty terrible writer's block for some reason, and I was pretty depressed due to the huge amount of people subscribing for updates (over 100) to this story, but almost no one reviewing :( Nothing pleased me with this chapter, despite re-writing it about 3 times. So, please read and review and let me know what you think!

***As a reminder, this story is being rewritten. Do not let the publish date fool you. I started this years ago, but am actively rewriting/writing it again.

***Secondly, if you are going to flame me, at least log in and let me get a chance to reply to you. Have some balls. Otherwise, your "tool" review will just be deleted. If you're going to flame me, at least make it a critical review of my writing skills, so I can learn from it. Don't just sit there and tell me what an idiot I am. Thanks.

Chapter Three: Revelations

It was a shock to Harry to witness the atmosphere once they arrived at Hogwarts. There was no gaiety, no laughter. It was solemn, almost like a funeral. The children and adults were quiet, marched quickly to the castle under wards and spells cast to the max, and the doors were immediately sealed and locked. Heads and Prefects alike were told to usher the students into the Great Hall, where they would do the typical Headmaster, or rather, Headmistress speech, and then do the sorting. During all of this, they were watched strictly by the Hogwarts staff and Ministry employees.

The hall was much quieter than Harry was used to. The first year students, normally allotted the boat ride across the lake, looked scared and intimidated. Feeling pity for them, especially the ones that had just recently found out they had magical blood, he walked over and placed a calming hand on some of their shoulders, giving them a smile and a kind word. It seemed to help, if the looks on some of their faces was any indication.

When he went to sit back down at the table reserved for the Gryffindor students, there was conveniently only one spot left open for him to sit. He had not had a chance to speak to her on the train, but had spotted her long red hair walking away from him at one point. Now, staring at the back of her head, he felt awkward and unsure of himself.

"Hey," she said, turning to face him as he sat down. Almost instantly he sucked in his breath, stunned at her appearance.

She was beautiful. Not that she hadn't always been, but it was clearly obvious summer had been good to her like it had been for Hermione.

She smiled shyly when she saw his reaction. He opened his mouth to say something, but figured he would end up sounding like an idiot like Ron had when he had first seen Hermione.

He forced something out.

"Hi."

She giggled and laid her hand on the side of his arm, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Silly. How was your summer?"

They began chatting, and his discomfort slowly faded as he observed her and talked to her. Her hair, which was always straight, was actually curled gently and layered in a way that framed her pale face and accentuated it in a lovely manner. Her clothes, which had always been of a lower quality due to the financial nature of her family, were clearly nicer and better fitting. The short skirt she had on under her robes was nearly inappropriate, but still hid everything it needed to. Her white uniform shirt was form fitting and was showing off things that he had been aware of, but had never seen so clearly.

Realizing he was staring, he looked up to see her eyes crinkled at the corners with amusement. She was wearing makeup, something he had never seen her do before. It was tasteful at least, and made her look older.

"Judging by the way you can't take your eyes off me, I assume you like what you see?" she said, trying not to laugh at the look on his face.

"Uh, you are very pretty today, if that's what you mean," he nearly stuttered, trying to get where her surge of confidence was coming from. She had always known she was pretty, but had also been shy about it and was not very flirtatious.

"Why thank you, Harry. I appreciate it."

He drew in a deep breath, trying to compose himself. He knew her; there was no reason to be acting weird around her.

"Ron said you were gone a lot this summer," he said quietly, hoping that she was gone missing him, perhaps.

Her smile faltered slightly. She turned away, and the curtain of her hair hid her face for a brief moment before she turned back to him. "Yes. Yes I was." She paused and looked away. "I met someone."

Harry felt like something slammed into his chest. He wasn't sure what the feeling was, or why it hurt, but it wasn't something he had ever felt before.

Nearly choking, he said, "Met someone? Are...are you still together?"

She was no longer smiling. "Yes. We are still together."

He suddenly felt sick. Was this new mystery man the reason for her change of appearance? Her confidence? Her slight personality change? All he knew was that he suddenly felt betrayed, which was wrong. He had no reason to feel that way, when he told her that they couldn't be together any longer.

Harry vaguely caught Headmistress McGonagall calling attention. He heard some of what she was saying, some things about the perilous times they were in, protecting each other, and no one was allowed outside without supervision, some other minor things. She addressed the loss of Dumbledore, something he entirely blocked out because he didn't want to deal with the emotions it brought. Finally, he heard her say that the new Professor for Defense Against the Dark Arts would not be finalized until classes started, which would be on Monday. They had the weekend to get settled in.

Sorting began, and he noticed many more students were being sorted into Gryffindor than any of the other houses. He figured a person would have to be brave to come to school during these times, and then felt a brief moment of amusement when only two students out of the whole group were put in Slytherin.

Once sorting was completed and everyone was still eating, he saw Hermione rise out of the corner of his eye. Almost as if on cue, all of the Prefects and Heads stood as well, and met her by the main entrance. Harry quickly excused himself from Ginny, who had not said another word after she had seen his reaction to her saying she had a boyfriend. He did, however, feel her eyes on him as he walked away.

Hermione nearly sparkled she was so vibrant in her role as Chief Head Girl. It made him happy to see her so clearly delighted. As her counterpart, he stood next to her, more or less observing since he was new to the job. She delegated tasks for the houses to make sure their common rooms and dorms were safe for the students before they went to their rooms. She then told them to go back to the hall upon completion of their inspection. After dispersing, Hermione waited until they were all gone before she turned to him.

"Are you alright, Harry?"

Puzzled, he cocked an eyebrow. She lightly slapped him on the arm before she looped her own through his, turning them both in the direction of their tower.

"I saw you sitting next to Ginny," she said, smiling as if she thought it was a good thing. He nodded, looking down. He felt her arm squeeze his tightly, and he brought his head up, catching her eyes. He felt that same odd shock he had earlier, but ignored it as he gazed down into her deep brown irises. They were close enough for him to see the lighter colored flecks complimenting her pupils, and he jolted slightly away when she blinked, almost like she had broken a spell with the tiny movement.

She leaned the side of her head into his affectionately for a moment, something that she had done several times before in the past. He felt comfort from it, oddly. He hadn't realized he needed it.

"I take it she told you something that you didn't want to hear," she murmured, holding his arm snugly against her body.

Nodding, Harry continued walking side by side with her through the hallways and up the numerous stairs. Portraits greeted them and Hermione thanked them politely. After a short distance of silence, Hermione released his arm, only to stop him from his dazed walking.

"What did she tell you?"

He looked at her, well, down at her, seeing as how he had grown an inch or two above her over the last year or so. She was watching him, in that incredibly observant way of hers, intelligence shining back at him through those eyes he knew so well. He wondered briefly if she was reading his mind, and nearly laughed aloud at the thought, for he wouldn't put something like that past her. She had literally no training in the area, but she was the brightest witch of her age after all.

Her hand fluttered out, and he closed his eyes as it rested on his cheek. Hermione was the only soul on the entire planet that he had ever allowed such liberties with his person. Even with Cho and Ginny, who he had both kissed, he had felt reservations with. He knew it was a product of his childhood and how he was raised. But with Hermione, even from a young age, he had never felt uncomfortable with her. Her warm hand against his skin was a rare occurrence, and he felt himself leaning into it.

"I don't know why I am feeling this way. I told her I couldn't be with her at the funeral last year. I told her. What was I thinking, that she would wait for me, or something? How bloody selfish..." he trailed off, feeling her hand fall. He started walking again in the direction of their tower, and heard the low patter of her feet as she caught up to his side, once against slipping her arm through his.

"She has a boyfriend?" Hermione asked, already knowing the answer. He nodded, shaking his head and sighing.

"I am really a stupid git for feeling this way. I have no right. I just feel...hurt for some reason," he whispered the end of his words, but he knew she heard them. She had sharp hearing, sometimes too sharp.

She rubbed his arm, letting him know she was there for him. She was quiet for a moment, then said, "You never know, Harry. Most relationships over the summer are only flings. They don't typically last very long once school begins. They drift apart or one of them finds another. It honestly has to be a special type of relationship for it to last through the school year."

Harry didn't feel hope as he had been expecting he would at her words. Instead, he felt an odd combination of denial for the situation and rejection. There were many other things he was feeling, but he couldn't wrap his head around them.

"Maybe if she knew you still had feelings for her, she would break up with him."

Harry frowned at her words. He honestly didn't know what he even felt for Ginny—it certainly wasn't love. It was definitely a like. He cared for her, had always gotten that gooey nervous feeling in his stomach when close to her or when they had kissed. They hadn't had much of a chance for a relationship to bloom. What time they had spent together seemed to be mostly of him listening to her talk or kissing. A little bit of clumsy groping in between her talking and kissing. But they had fun together. At least, he thought they did. He didn't really have anything to compare it with.

Why did it seem like their time together was so long ago suddenly?

"I need to think about it, I guess. I have a lot of shite on my mind, Hermione."

She gave him a concerned look at they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Taboo Voodoo."

The Fat Lady greeted them kindly and swung open, revealing the common room. It looked much the same as it had every other year. A warm fire was burning in the grate and made the room welcoming. The other Prefects must have already inspected everything and left, since the common room was empty.

Sighing in relief, Harry plopped himself down on a squashy arm chair and closed his eyes.

"So...other than Ginny, how is Harry Potter?"

Harry opened one eye to see Hermione leaning over the back of the chair and gazing down at him. Her long hair was tumbling forward, the soft curls making his fingers bizarrely twitch. She giggled and went to pretend to poke him in the eye he had opened, and he swatted at her, making her laugh.

"My summer was long and boring up until a few weeks ago. Remus spent a lot of time with me, training, studying, listening. Otherwise, lonely. You?"

Her face turned serious and he even detected a hint of guilt. Her fingers found their way to his hair, which she flicked out of his eyes and then unceremoniously began running through the strands. It was soothing motion and he felt his eyes get heavy.

"I'm sorry, Harry. I know I was...quiet this summer. It wasn't intentional. I know we had a rough year last year, but...I was—preoccupied. I did manage to get in some studying and training done as well, but I had limited resources."

He sat up from his reclined position, and she folded her hands over the back of the chair, her head resting on her arm. She was staring into the low-burning fire, as if trying to find answers there. He felt like she was hiding something, something she didn't want him to know. Preoccupied?

"Do you think it was a mistake to come back?" she asked, her eyes finding his once more. Her words were quiet, unsure. "I know Ron and I pressured you. Things aren't going to be the same this year. We aren't even really going to be students. Things are being held together by a thin string right now, and it can all collapse if we aren't careful. Hogwarts...while it is a safe haven and a place we can do what needs done, maybe...I don't know. Maybe we were wrong to come back. Maybe I was wrong."

He honestly hadn't thought about it much. He relied so heavily on what she thought that he always figured that she was right and he was wrong. She was a hundred times smarter than he was; at least that's how he felt. Maybe it was because she applied herself and he didn't, but he relied on her and her direction, and he had hesitated very little when she had prodded him to come back.

"I don't know, Hermione. We just got here. We have things we need to do, we both know that. Already I can feel things getting in the way of our mission." He didn't need to mention Ginny for her to understand. "We need to give it a chance. Who knows, a week from now Voldemort might have this place overrun and none of this matters and we end up doing what we originally had planned. We just need to be ready."

She smiled grimly. "Let's just promise each other something now, ok? Let's look out for each other. Including Ron. I know we always do, but sometimes we don't say things that need to be said. Things needed to be said last year that never were. We all could have lost each other. I could have lost you, Harry. I wasn't the friend I should have been," she whispered, and he watched as tears formed in those dark brown eyes. When she blinked, they spilled down her flushed cheeks, and he knew then that if they were going to get through this, they were going to have to do things they had never done before, push themselves harder and faster than ever imagined, and become closer than the mere word "friendship." They had to defeat Voldemort to save the world, there was no other way to say it.

He shifted on his seat to get to his knees and bring her into his arms. She held onto him tightly, and he felt her shake as silent tears came and went. He had no idea how long they held onto each other, but it felt like a release they both needed. They were scared, unsure of the future, and didn't know what they needed to do. They were too young to have the world on their shoulders, but they both knew that they were the ones who would have to find a way to prevent Voldemort and his Death Eaters from destroying human kind.

Hermione sniffed and pulled away. She wiped her face with the edge of her sleeve and ran her fingers through her hair, disheveling it and bringing out the beginnings of the wild bushy curls she was known for. He smiled, thinking she looked charming.

She gave a small laugh when she saw his face. "I must look a fright."

He shook his head as he stood, making his way to where she was standing. "I was thinking the opposite, actually. I have never seen you more beautiful than you do after you cry."

She gasped, obviously shocked at his words. "Beautiful? Don't lie, Harry. My makeup is probably smeared everywhere and who knows what else."

He frowned and grabbed her hands, which were trying to "fix" her face. "Stop. Your makeup isn't smeared. You look lovely, Hermione. The few times I've ever seen you cry I've always thought you looked pretty. You aren't like normal girls. You don't cry all the time. When you cry, it's special. It means something."

She stopped fighting the hold he had on her hands. "I...I've never had anyone say anything like that to me before."

He flicked his finger at the corner of her mouth, making her smile again. "That's because no one else is your best friend."

He saw something flicker briefly in her eyes, but couldn't define what it was. She hugged him quickly, wiping her face another moment and sniffling some more before she pointed over to a painting in the corner of the common room.

Nodding in understanding, Harry followed her across the common room to another painting almost hidden in the corner. A picture of a lion and lioness were lying on the ground in a savanna, waving their tails through the long grass. Harry had always admired this painting, for the lions never made a sound, just watched, almost like they were guardians.

"Magic stick."

Harry barked a laugh at the password.

Walking up a short flight of carpeted stairs, he felt his eyes widen at his first sight of the new Gryffindor Prefect/Head common room. Just like the main common room it was filled with crimson and gold, but there were more subtle hints of other colors here and there that made the room less stark and cozier. There were eight (even squashier than usual) arm chairs and one love seat surrounding a large coffee table with an absolutely huge fireplace which was bigger than the one in the main common room. There was even a fuzzy black blanket thrown over the back of the love seat and it looked like the perfect place to curl up and nap for the afternoon.

Looking up, Harry was dazzled by the sight of the ceiling reflecting the night sky. The stone walls were covered in huge Gryffindor banners of crimson and gold, but also held smaller versions of the other houses, to make up for the Head students that cared for the whole of Hogwarts.

"The fireplace can be used for Floo as well, but the Network is very sporadic right now because of everything going on. More than likely it is entirely shut off. But otherwise, how do you like it?"

Harry grinned and shook his head in amazement. "It's brilliant. So where are our rooms?"

Hermione laughed softly at how excited he was and pointed her hand in the direction of the doors that led to the separate rooms. Their common room was small, comfy, and as Harry just noticed, completely circular. Hermione pointed at each of the individual doors in a circle.

"My room is closest to the entrance, and then yours is next to mine. After that it is Ron, Lavender Brown, Colin Creevey, Romilda Vane, Ritchie Coote, and Natalie McDonald."

Hermione went and sat on the love seat, at which she flipped off her shoes and curled her long legs underneath her. She relaxed against the arm of the seat and sighed. Following shortly behind her, Harry sat on the opposite end of the love seat.

"I already love it in here. So calm and peaceful, and it's even better because we are Heads, and if the Prefects bother us, we can just tell them to bugger off." She giggled at the thought. "It's wonderful to think that if Ron gets on my nerves I can order him to go. So ace."

Harry chuckled at her. She seemed generally peaceful; relaxed and in charge all at the same time. He guessed that when you were as smart as she was you could handle anything, including being in charge of the whole student population.

"So, um, speaking of Ron," Harry began, hoping to maybe clear up any of the bad situation currently going on between them due to his barmy comments about her earlier.

"What about him?" she asked, sitting up slightly on the sofa to look at him. She looked tousled, with her hair fighting to go back to its natural state and it curly wildly about her face and shoulders.

He suddenly didn't know what to say. Hermione was staring at him, her eyebrows raised, full attention on him.

"Uh..."

She rolled her eyes. "Is this about his beastly comments about my looks earlier? He is completely duff sometimes, I swear. I should be used to it by now. It is who he is, but it doesn't mean it doesn't hurt any less. I guess it would hurt more if I hadn't gotten a boyfriend over the summer, but I am just going to brush it off. Honestly, I think I needed to start dating V—"

"—What? You have a boyfriend? When did this happen? Ron will be—"

"Honey, I'm home!"

Harry and Hermione jerked their attention to the sound of the voice coming up the stairs. Ron, Lavender, Colin, Romilda, Ritchie, and Natalie all came up the stairs and stared in awe at the sight of their common room, not even noticing Harry or Hermione sitting together on the sofa. Hermione immediately tugged on her shoes and went over to the group, as if she was avoiding their conversation.

"So...Hermione, I know in the main common room the males aren't allowed in the female rooms, is it the same in here?" Ron asked, trying not to look suggestive as Hermione stared at him blankly.

Hermione placed her hands on her hips when she figured out what he was getting at. "Well Ron, since you brought it up, no there isn't a preventative spell to keep males from the female rooms, but if I so much as hear a giggle coming from a girl's room or vice versa, I will not hesitate to place the spell and also fire whichever person was stupid enough to try it."

Ron gulped, then looked at Harry for backup. Harry sighed to himself and stood, coming over to the group which was pointedly staring at him except for Hermione.

Harry threw his arm around his female friend that was obviously trying to avoid him, and then tried to make the...situation...look better from a different point of view.

"I think what he means, Hermione dear, is that if we want personal study time without interruptions, will it be acceptable to have friends of the opposite sex visit us during appropriate times of the day? Isn't that right, Ron?"

Ron grinned widely, almost looking dim-witted he smiled so hard. "That's exactly what I was trying to say, Harry."

Hermione crossed her arms and tapped her right foot, looking clearly irritated. She sighed audibly when she saw how Harry was looking at her, like he was completely innocent.

"I suppose that is ok, but like I said, if I so much as hear or find out about inappropriate behavior, it will cease, and whoever does it will ruin it for everyone else."

Everyone nodded, but Harry suddenly noticed all the female Prefects giving him, Ron, Ritchie, and Colin interested looks. All friends looked at each other nervously, then swallowed. They hadn't been expecting that.

Romilda stepped forward and attached herself to Harry's free arm as if it was the most normal thing in the world. She smiled brightly at him, her black eyeliner making her eyes look big and exotic.

"So Harry, would you be able to show me my room? As Chief Head Boy I would like for you to personally inspect my room for safety measures."

Harry felt his whole body stiffen at the suggestive tones in her voice. Looking nervously towards everyone else, he noticed that only Ron seemed to have heard, and was now dealing with Lavender asking for him to inspect her room as well, along with Natalie asking Colin. The girls caught on quickly to what Romilda was doing.

Ritchie looked like a deer caught in headlights as he stared at Hermione, wondering if he should ask her or if he would be asking for it.

Oddly enough, Hermione didn't seem to catch on to what the girls were doing, and told Ritchie that she would go into his room and inspect it before he went inside.

Harry watched as the two other girls tugged Ron and Colin away, and Ron who had a naughty smile on his face as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. The girls were all giggling.

Harry reluctantly detached himself from the group and started heading towards Romilda's room, hoping to get this "inspection" over with quickly. The chance that anything was wrong with any of their rooms was so remote he had a better chance of meeting a dragon in the main common room.

Romilda chased after Harry to catch up to him, and then forcefully pushed her arm through his again and smiled at him almost stupidly (in Harry's opinion) when he looked at her. She just continued to smile as Harry pretended that she wasn't touching him and made it to her door. He still hadn't entirely forgiven her for what happened last year, especially with Ron.

Opening the portal, Harry first did a visual sweep of the room before he waved his wand across the whole room, silently saying Specialis Revelio in his head. When nothing changed or happened, Harry slightly bowed to Romilda and began to leave.

Romilda bit her lip uncertainly before she grabbed for Harry's arm again, tugging him back into her room and knocking him off balance. He nearly fell on her, which was fine with her, so she purposefully lost her balance and brought him with her.

Both hitting the floor hard, Harry grunted at the impact as his hands and knees took the brunt of his fall. Giving Romilda an irritated look, he stood and started brushing himself off, not offering to help her up.

"Is there anything else you need, Romilda? Or do you want to annoy me further?" he said uncaringly.

She pouted, her lower lip poking out. She raised her hand in the air from her position on the floor and said, "You can help me up, Harry."

Harry visibly rolled his eyes and tugged her up none too gently. Thinking how stupid that was the instant she collided with his chest, he grabbed her arms to push her away, but she mistook it as him holding her closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Trying to back away, Harry attempted to pry her arms from around him so he could escape, but she held on tight.

"I just wanted to thank you for checking my room, Harry. It was very sweet and it meant a lot to me," Romilda said softly, her eyes lowering seductively. Harry felt his own eyes widen and was helpless to prevent the kiss she placed on his cheek.

Thanking God the moment she released him, Harry was tempted to wipe his cheek off to show that he was disgusted, but he didn't because he didn't want to be 100% rude. It wasn't that Romilda was ugly, in fact it was quite the opposite, but he hardly knew her and she was being highly aggressive trying to gain his attention, something he wasn't used to from the opposite sex.

"Uh, um...you're welcome, Romilda. Any time," he said, then bashed his forehead mentally for saying any time like an idiot. At her answering grin, Harry knew that he had just invited her to try it again.

Leaving her room, Harry realized that he was the only one in the common room. Glancing fearfully back at Romilda's room, Harry sighed with relief when he saw that her door was closed.

Several minutes later Ron immerged from Lavender's room with a cheesy grin on his face. Harry gave him a look and a raised eyebrow, silently inquiring as to what had transpired.

"Well, mate. Life is good," Ron said, clapping Harry on the back as he sat next to him on the love seat. He sat back and rested his head on the back of the seat, sighing contentedly.

Harry sat for several moments, still staring at his best friend, wondering what the hell had happened and why Ron looked so silly.

He punched him in the arm to gain his attention, earning a satisfying, "Ouch! Bloody hell!" from Ron.

"Well? Finish your story. You were in Lavender's room for quite a while and you came out looking like a bloody idiot."

Ron waggled his eyebrows at Harry, making the black haired boy snort. "Oh, well, you know how it is. She was thanking me for checking out her room...and I guess she missed me."

Harry quirked his eyebrow again. "So missing you...what does that involve, exactly?" He was curious as to how far Ron had gone with other girls compared to himself.

Ron crossed his arms across his chest and gave Harry a smug look. "Ever gone to second base before?"

Harry was surprised. "You...you felt her...chest?"

Ron burst out laughing. "Chest sounds so stupid. How about boobs, or breasts, or tits? I prefer tits. Sounds manlier."

Harry shook his head, almost feeling sad for his friend. "So you felt her tits, is that it?"

Ron nodded and looked dreamy again. "It was nice. She has big ones too. Bigger than Hermione's, which is surprising, because Hermione is stacked, like I had no idea until today, with the way she was—"

Harry leaned over across the couch and punched Ron in the shoulder, yet again earning a loud "OUCH!"

"You're an idiot, Ron. There is a huge difference between Hermione and Lavender, and over half of female population at that, and it's that Hermione isn't a slut and she isn't going to let any random guy feel her up. I'm sure you've learned by now that it isn't just all tits and sex or whatever. If you're looking for someone to spend the rest of your life with, then you can't just go around saying you like Hermione and then go screwing around with another girl. That's just total rubbish."

Ron looked at Harry, and then away, feeling slightly ashamed at his best friend's words. "I know mate, but it's hard because I like getting attention from other girls, and Hermione just doesn't seem interested. Maybe I should just have fun now and worry about the whole 'soul mate' thing later?"

Harry just shook his head at him, disappointed. There wasn't even any point in bringing up that Hermione had a boyfriend. "Yeah. Maybe you should."

Author's Note: Several revelations this chapter. Ginny and Hermione have boyfriends, Harry is hurt by Ginny having a boyfriend, Ron is a git and turning into a man whore, Harry is attracting attention from other girls, and both Harry and Hermione agree that there will be potential distractions due to their return to Hogwarts, and that it might be disastrous for what they need to accomplish. Will they be able to put these points across to Ron, who seems to have other things on his mind? Find out next time!

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