AN- Hey everyone! I know I said I would get chapters out sooner but it turned out to take longer..lol. Sorry! I'm gonna put the rest of my random thoughts/excuses at the end of the chapter now! Haha..so..onto chapter 6!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Recap:

"You're Herman?!?" said a flabbergasted voice, that certainly wasn't Ginny.

I turned around in horror.

"I can explain, Luna!" I stuttered.

I'm screwed.

Thirty Minutes Later

"…So that's the story," I concluded, biting my lip, hoping she wouldn't run off like a mad woman telling everyone.

"So let me get this straight," Luna said slowly, "First, you wanted to leave Beauxbatons because you were sick of the girls there. Then there was no more room at Hogwarts for girls, so you decided to disguise a boy. And then you befriend Ron, Harry, and Ginny. But you were already friends with Ginny cause Ginny knew you were girl, but you were disguising as a boy. But then you met Ron and Harry and Hogsmeade, so now they know the girl you and the boy you, but they don't know that you're the same person. And you don't wanna tell Ron and Harry cause you don't want them to be mad at you when you tell them you're actually Herman….or..err..Hermione. And now you're also really confused because you like Harry but you're a guy half the time you're with him and it'd be kinda weird."

"Yup," I said, "Except for the part with me liking Harry," I added at the end quickly. "Now that I think about it, I don't think I ever mentioned anything about that…"

"Oh, sorry," Luna said sheepishly, "I was thinking about your snogging session with Harry downstairs!"

"Ow!" Luna yelped, when I threw my pillow at her.

"You won't tell anyone will you?" I asked desperately.

"Well, it could make a great story for The Quibbler. I can imagine it on the headlines, "A Young Girl Sneaks Into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry In Hopes of Finding Her True Love, Harry Potter."

"Ow!" Luna yelped when I threw my pillow at her.

"First of all," I replied calmly, "That headline is rubbish. It sounds bad, no one would want to read that," Luna threw me deadly glared, "And it's not true. I wanted to go to Hogwarts for education, you know, to learn things," I said slowly.

"I know what education is!" Luna said, highly offended.

I ignored her, "And second of all, I only asked if you would tell anyone to give you a choice. You're not telling anyone either way. You can either choose not to tell anymore, or I can erase your memory with this new charm I learned," I replied simply.

"Heh-heh," Luna laughed nervously, "You're joking, right?"

"Uhmm..no. Not really," I said bluntly, desperately trying not to laugh. I wasn't really going to erase her memory….I'd be in so much trouble if I did.

Luna glanced nervously at the door, probably wondering if she could make a run for the door. I continued to stare at her expectantly.

"I promise I won't tell anyone," Luna finally said.

"You better not!" I said, trying to make my voice sound intimidating.

Then all of a sudden, I heard a sharp tapping on my window. It was Hedwig.

"Oh no," I whispered. The letter! I forgot to give it to Harry. So Hedwig does know I'm Herman!

"What's wrong?" Luna asked curiously, all fear erased, "It's just Hedwig."

"Long story," I said shortly, running over to the window, and motioning Hedwig in.

"Tell me!" Luna said anxiously.

"Next time!" I said hurriedly, detaching the letter from Hedwig's outstretched foot.

I skimmed through the letter quickly, just a bunch of 'Hope you had a nice Christmas' and what not. Before I could finish, I heard a gentle knock on my door.

"Err…Hermione?" Harry asked timidly, "Uhmm…I was wondering if you've seen Hedwig. I was sending a letter off to my friend, and when I let Hedwig out the window, she flew right up to your window! Weird, huh? It seems like he's confused you for Herman!" he laughed nervously.

What am I gonna do? Think, Hermione, think!

"Luna!" I whispered, urgently, "Can you stall him for like two seconds? I need to put the letter back on Hedwig!"

Luna nodded, and opened the door a crack.

"Oh, sorry, Harry! Hermione's having an emotional meltdown right now, cause of the kiss you gave her, and she never wants to see you again!" Luna said confidently.

You know what? That memory charm idea sounds really appealing now. Good thing I tied the letter back on Hedwig quickly, before Luna could say anything else.

I quickly motioned Hedwig onto my shoulder. I think she's taking a liking to me. She usually never listens to anyone, especially Ron. (Maybe because he ate her owl food one time. Moron.) I ran over to the door and flung it open.

"Sorry, Harry! Luna's a little confused right now. We were trying out my new memory charm, and she volunteered to try it out," I said, glaring at her menacingly. She shrank away, and pushed past me and Harry, and quickly made her way down the stairs. Yeah, she better run.

"Well here, Harry" I said cheerfully, nudging my shoulder so Hedwig would get off.

"Thanks," he replied nervously, looking down at the floor.

"Oh, and by the way," I slipped out the letter I wrote to give Harry, "An owl delivered this to me this morning. I wonder why so many owls are making mistakes these days?" I chuckled nervously, realizing that I was alone with Harry. Hedwig gave an angered hoot.

"Yeah, well, it's getting late," I mumbled, desperate to leave this awkward conversation, "I'm gonna go to bed now. Goodnight!" Yeah, right. It's only 8:45.

I turned on my heel, and was about to close the door when Harry stuck out his hand, blocking the door.

"What Luna said…" Harry muttered, "She was joking, right? You're not mad at me, or anything?..."

"No, no, no, no! Of course not!" I said, relieved, I thought he was trying to figure out why Hedwig made the mistake of sending me the letter.

"So, about the kiss…." Harry mumbled.

"Yeah, it was nothing!" I said, trying to keep my voice from stuttering. It was bad enough that my cheeks were flaming red, "We're just friends and we just so happened to have kissed. We can forget it ever happened."

"But I don't want to forg-" Harry stopped himself, "Yeah, we're best friends! It was nothing! I'll see you tomorrow then?" he asked, his voice unusually dull.

"Yeah, of course!" I replied, and gently closed the door.

I leaned against the closed door, letting out a sigh. I felt strangely disappointed. Did I really want to forget that kiss? Did I really want Harry to?

One Week After Winter Break
Back at Hogwarts
Dinner-Great Hall

Well, we're back at Hogwarts again. Nothing happened after Christmas, except for a few rather embarrassing situations. But I'll live.

"So, you guys going to Hogsmeade tomorrow?" Harry asked all of a sudden, to nobody in particular.

"Of course!" Ginny replied curtly, "Where else would we be going?"

"Just asking!" Harry added, "I'm not."

"Why," Ron paused to swallow his food, "not?"

"I'm not allowed," Harry said, downcast, "Got in a fight with Malfoy yesterday. He's in the hospital wing right now, you know? Madam Pomfrey trying to shrink his nose back to its 'normal size.'"

"Great job, Harry," Ginny replied sarcastically, "You decide to get in a fight with Malfoy right before a Hogsmeade trip."

"Hey! It's not my fault!" Harry snapped, "He was asking for it!"

"Why don't you just sneak out?" Ron asked.

A look of dawning crossed Harry's face, "You're right! I haven't used the secret passageway for awhile...no one will suspect a thing!"

"What secret passageway?" I inquired.

"You don't remember? I asked you if you wanted to use it, and you said you didn't. Do you want to come with me then? I could use some company…it's kinda creepy down there by yourself…" Harry trailed off.

"Wimp," Ginny mumbled.

Harry scowled at her, then directed his attention back to me, "So? What do you say?"

"Uhmm…I'll pass," I responded quickly, "I have this meeting with McGonagall that morning…" I wasn't lying completely that time…I really was going to see Aunt Minerva in the morning. But then again, I was going to Hogsmeade afterwards…but whatever. Either way I'll be there. I just prefer to be there as Hermione.

"Whatever you say," Harry taunted, "I guess we'll be drinking butterbeer by ourselves. And we'll be stuffing our faces with delicious acid pop without you…."

"Don't bother trying to convince me, Harry," I chuckled, "I really can't."

"Why not?" Ron asked, joining in on the conversation.

"Because…err.." I paused, trying to think of an excuse, "My grades are dropping?" I concluded uncertainly.

"Dropping?" Harry asked flabbergasted, "You're the brightest wizard in our year!"

"You mean witch…" I began, until Ginny nudged me, "I mean, I got a T on my essay...and so my grades took a dive."

"Yeah, yeah," Ron and Harry said together, clearly not believing my lame excuse.

"Well, I'm full," Ron said finally.

"About time!" I replied, exasperated. It never fails to amuse me every time we eat dinner when Ron manages to clear all the plates on the Gryffindor table, "Can we go back to the common room now? I've got a Snape paper to finish!"

I quickly pulled them off their seats, despite their many complaints.

"Come on," I urged, walking briskly up the moving stairs.

Once we got back to the tower, I walked over to my favorite chair and situated myself comfortably, grabbing my quill, ink, and a half finished essay.

"Has anyone ever told you that you sit like a girl?" Ron asked randomly as he and Harry made their way to the couch.

I looked down at my position. My legs were crossed and my back was straight, whereas Harry and Ron were practically sprawled across the couch.

I quickly spread my legs apart and slouched down in a very manly way, "No, never," I replied quickly.

Ron shook his head, then asked Harry, "You up for a game of Wizard's chess?"

Harry nodded his head in agreement and the got up and sat on either side of the table, where the board was already set up.

I began on essay once again, until after about 5 minutes, I ran out of ink.

"Do you guys have any ink?" I asked urgently.

"Nope," They replied quickly, not even taking their eyes off the board.

"Yeah, right…" I said, annoyed, "Where's Ginny? I'll ask her."

"She went up to the dormitory after dinner," Harry replied simply.

"Fine, I'll go get her!" I said, ticked off. I stomped across the common room, careful to step on their feet when I walked past. They glared at me, but I ignored them.

I was about halfway up the stairs, until I heard Harry and Ron call for me.

"What now?" I yelled.

"Herman! How'd you get up there?!?" Ron yelled, "It's impossible for boys to go up the girls' staircase! You're supposed to slide back down!"

"Well, I didn't!" I snapped, despite the situation.

He looked taken aback, but continued to interrogate me, "Well?"

"Uhmmm….." I mumbled. What am I supposed to say? For once, I couldn't think of anything.

"Mister Gardner! (AN-Herman's last name)," yelled a strict voice, "I see you're getting up the staircase just fine."

"Uhmm, yeah," I answered Aunt Minerva, uncertainly.

"Good. It took the best of me to charm that staircase to let you up there! Now don't take this privilege for granted! You may only go up to ask for schoolwork help!" Aunt Minerva said confidently, winking at me, without Ron and Harry's knowing.

"What are you talking about?" Ron asked, suspiciously.

"Well, as you know, Mister Gardner here is taking many subjects this year. Subjects that no other Gryffindor boy managed to get into, to my dismay," Aunt Minerva sighed, "But there are a few Gryffindor girls that are taking it, so I've decided to give him permission to go up to the girls' dormitory, for help, if he so needs it."

I nodded in agreement, hoping Harry and Ron would accept this excuse. They looked unsure, but they just shrugged their shoulders and returned their attention to the game. I let out a loud sigh, mouthing a 'thank you' to Aunt Minerva. She nodded her head in acknowledgment, then made her way out of the portrait hole.

I walked down the stairs, completely forgetting the ink I was going to ask Ginny for. All that trouble for some ink!

Once Aunt Minerva was out of sight, Ron zoomed out his seat and raced towards the stairs. He got up about three steps before he slipped down, landing on his bottom.

Everyone in the common room burst out laughing, leaving a very red-faced Ron trying to regain his composure.

"Just checking to see if it was working again, you know? Wouldn't want some crazed lunatic to get up to the girls' dormitory! Heh-heh…" Ron mumbled nervously.

Typical Ron.

Later in the week
Hogsmeade.Quill Shop.

"Thank you, and come again," I said, unenthusiastically, as the young Ravenclaw first year scurried out the door, carrying her new set of quills.

I sighed loudly, bored beyond my dreams. I still have a little more than an hour and a half before I could leave and join Ron, Ginny, and Harry at the Shrieking Shack. Ron and Ginny were probably in Honeydukes, or something. And I'm not sure where Harry is…with his invisibility cloak he could be anywhere.

'Ding.' I heard the door jangle open, yet no one walked in…

"Hello?" I called out nervously.

Nothing. My imagination…I think….

I laid my head back down on the counter, listening for any unusual sounds.

"EEKKK!" I shrieked, when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Jeez! Calm down!" yelped Harry, who was pulling his invisibility cloak off, "I think I'm deaf!"

"So-rry," I said stubbornly, "You shouldn't sneak up on people like that…"

"I didn't know you'd get so scared," said Harry, raising his hands in innocence.

"It's fine.." I grumbled, "Why are you here anyways?"

"Turns out, you actually can't go that many places in an invisibility cloak. People hear you, or bump into you, then they get all freaked out. Not fun."

"What about Ron and Ginny?"

"Can't find them."

"Well," I paused, looking over at the grandfather clock, "I've still got one and a half hours till I'm done..and that's about the time when I'm supposed to meet Ron and Ginny at the Shrieking Shack….You can wait with me if you want."

"I've got nothing better to do," said a bored Harry.

"You've got to put on the invisibility cloak, though," I pointed out, "Since your so popular, everyone knows about your whole fiasco with Snape and Malfoy, and your banishment from Hogsmeade. I wouldn't risk getting caught if I were you…"

"Okay, okay," Harry mumbled, "And by the way, I'm not popular. I'm just…err..well-known."

"Yeah, yeah," I answered jokingly.

So for the next hour and a half, Harry would whisper pointless and stupid jokes in my ear, without the knowledge of the customers that is. And I would end up laughing/snorting, which would earn me weird looks from customers. By now, I wouldn't be surprised if all of Hogsmeade though I was mental! One customer even asked if I needed to go to St. Mungo! How rude.

Finally, time was up, and me and Harry hurried out of the store.

Once I was on the main street, I could see many eyes upon me, most of which were customers.

"Thanks a bunch, Harry," I said sarcastically, "Everyone thinks I have a loose screw!"

"Well, who wouldn't? To them, you're talking to yourself!" Harry whispered jokingly.

"True," I replied curtly.

I made a point not to talk the whole time we walked towards the Shrieking Shack. When we were finally out of the sight of the crowd, Harry slung off the cloak, and stretched his arms.

"You won't believe how cramped I was in that thing!" Harry said, stretching his back, "I had to hunch over the whole time so my feet wouldn't be exposed! I think I broke my back!"

"You're not an old man!" I laughed, and ran towards the Shrieking Shack, where I saw Luna and Ron whispering to each other in hushed tones.

"You're lying!" Ron whispered, flabbergasted.

"Shhh!" I caught Luna say, "She's coming! Don't tell anyone!"

"Tell me what?" I asked cheerfully.

"Err, nothing," Luna said nervously.

"Okay…" I replied, unsure, "Where's Ginny anyways?"

"She'll be here soon," Ron answered, except he sounded a little angry.

"Hey!" Harry called breathlessly, "Thanks for leaving me behind! I seriously think I broke my back!"

"Yeah, whatever!" I chuckled, leaning against a tree trunk, "Hey there's Ginny!" I pointed out.

Luna and Harry began to walk towards her, and I was too, until I felt Ron grab my arm.

"I need to talk to you," Ron said, very seriously, looking straight into my eyes, "You guys go ahead!" he called to Harry and a very nervous looking Luna.

Believe me, Ron being serious is very scary. The most serious I've ever seen him was when they ran out of food during dinner, and he, very seriously, wrote a complaint letter. Yes, a complaint letter. To Dumbledore, complaining about how he would starve to death is he didn't get his food.

"Yeah?" I asked nervously, not daring to look at his face.

"When were you planning on telling me that you were Herman?"

Boom. Unexpected…yes? No? Well, I decided I wanted Ron to know…because I'm thinking about another subplot, and it involves Ron knowing about Hermione's secret. For those of you that didn't catch it, Luna told Ron because...well..you'lle find out next chapter! It will all be clear then! So yeah…Sorry for the short chapter, by the way! I seriously couldn't think of what to write! So I decided to post what I had, so you guys would at least have something to read! Well, I don't know when to expect the next chapter. I've been trying to set deadlines for myself, but I never meet them! lol! Well, please review! Your reviews encourage me to write faster! And the faster I write, the sooner the next chapter will be out! ) And please leave suggestions and ideas as well! I'm sure they'll help me with the next chapter! Till next chapter, bye!

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