Hey guys. Sorry it took SO long to update this story…a few years I think, but I got sick of having writers block so I took a long break. But I just started thinking of this story again, and ideas came to me. I don't know if I'll be able to update much, because junior year is so hard, but I'll try.

I sat on the couch, silently watching the flames flicker in the fireplace. Most of my housemates had left the common room, but Ron and Dean were still sitting in the floor in front of the couch, struggling to get though their potions homework. I sighed, hoping they would leave so that I could meet Hermione in her dormitory without them knowing, but I was already half an hour late, and they still hadn't gone to bed.

"Something wrong, mate?" Ron asked me, looking up from his notes.

"No." I replied, glancing at my watch. I needed to get to her room soon, but if my friends found out I had asked her for help, they would never let me forget it.

"You don't have to wait up with us, Harry" Dean said, "You can go to bed."

"I'm not actually feeling very tired." I replied, " I think I'll go grab my cloak and go for a walk." I said.

"Alright." Ron said, not seeming to care very much.

I slipped upstairs, and dove under my bed to fetch my invisibility cloak, which was locked safely in my trunk. I extracted it, and flung it around my shoulders so that only my head was visible. I walked down the stairs, smiled at my friends who had burst out laughing at the sight of my floating head, pulled the cloak the rest of the way up, and was out the door.
I couldn't remember how to get to the head girls dormitory, so after many wrong turns and close calls with Filch, I arrived at the door. After I had removed my cloak, I knocked twice, and then took a step back, half of me wishing that Hermione had forgotten about me and the other half hoping that she hadn't give up waiting on me and had gone to bed. After a moment or two she opened the door and looked out.

"Oh." She said. "So you did remember"

"Yeah, sorry I'm late. I got caught up." I said, shifting slightly under her piercing stare.

"Well come in." She said, stepping away from the door to let me in. I stepped into the room.

"So do you get this room all to yourself?" I asked, looking around me at the room. It was just as big as my dormitory, if not bigger, but there was only one, king size bed. There was a large, stone fireplace sitting on the other side of the wall, and a large desk against the wall next to me.

"Yes, I get this all to myself. Its one of the perks to being head girl." She said, sitting down in a large, overstuffed armchair. I took a seat in a chair right across from hers, and pulled my script out of my pocket.

"So how much have you memorized?" She asked me.

"Um…not very much." I replied sheepishly.

"How much is not very much?"

"None" I said.

Hermione sighed, and opened her script to the first page. "Well alright then, we might as well get started. This will take a long time."

An hour later, I was kicked out of Hermione's dormitory. She said I was making lots of improvement, but she needed her sleep. I swung the invisibility cloak around my shoulders and hurried back to my dormitory. It was eleven o'clock and if Filch caught me out of bed, we would be sure to loose the house cup. I whispered the password to the fat lady, who looked around nervously because she couldn't see who had spoken, but swung open anyway. I stepped into the room, and was glad to see that both Ron and Dean had gone to bed so they wouldn't have to ask me where I had been, I already felt bad for lying to them in the first place. I walked up to the dormitory, shoved the invisibility cloak into my trunk, and fell into bed. I never thought practicing lines would be so tiring.

"Did you guys hear?" Ron asked the next morning as we ate breakfast.

"Hear what?" Dean asked, setting his fork down and leaning across the table to hear better.

"Draco's dad actually did it." Ron said, sitting down next to me.

"Did what?" I asked.

"Had him removed from the Quidditch team, because he got detention for trying to switch all our grades, remember?"

"Are you serious?" Dean asked. Ron nodded.

"I just ran into him in the front hall. He's furious."

"I would be too…although this is good for our team. It'll be easier to win against Slytherin." I said, laughing.
"Yeah well you're lucky," Draco said, sliding into the spot between Ron and me, ignoring a second year boy who told him to go sit at his own table. "Because if they still had me, you wouldn't stand a chance."

"We've beaten you many times." I replied, pouring myself some orange juice.

Draco raised his eyebrows, but didn't reply.

"So Harry, I forgot to ask you, where did you disappear to last night?"

I looked up quickly, scanning the table for signs of Hermione. I may not like her, but I didn't want to hurt her feelings by lying about where I had been to protect my reputation.

"I just went for a walk around the lake and then flew around on my broom for half an hour until I got tired." I lied, looking down at my food, hoping they wouldn't see though my lies. Luckily they believed me and switched to another topic. Sighing in relief, I joined them.

I glanced around quickly as I exited my dormitory later that night. It was pitch black outside, and I knew that if I got caught there would be hell to pay, but tonight was my one free night that I wasn't working on lines with Hermione, and I needed to get a book from the library to help me with my Defense Against the Dark Arts essay. I was just about to turn down the corridor that lead to the library when I saw Hermione duck around the corner and start walking up a staircase that I had never walked up before. Curious, I started following her. She opened a door at the top of the stairs, but before she could close the door, I called out "Hey!"

Hermione spun around, clearly startled. When the light from her wand illuminated my face she relaxed, glad to see it was just me.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." I said, walking up the rest of the stairs. "What are you doing here?"

"I guess I could ask you the same question." She replied.

"Do you usually wander around the castle at night?" I asked.

"I'm head girl, I'm allowed to. But what are you doing here?" She said.

"I needed a book from the library so I can do my DADA essay." I asked.

"Oh, I already finished that."

"But it was assigned just this morning." I said, taken by surprise at her words.

"I like doing homework?" she replied.

"Clearly." I smirked. "But you never answered my question, what are you doing here?"

"Come see." Hermione said; turning around and holding the door open for me. I followed her and stepped though the door, onto a small balcony.

"I didn't even know this was here."

"Not many people do. It's only for the head girl or boy, to put really anything they want, but the head boy never uses it, so I've mostly claimed it for myself." Hermione said, walking farther onto the balcony and setting her bag down. I noticed a small telescope set up near the edge of it.

"A telescope?" I asked.

"Yes. I built it when I was twelve." She said.

I had to admit that I was impressed. It was a nice telescope.

"You built it?"

"Yeah. With my dad." Hermione smiled. She leaned down and peered though the telescope.

"Here, you want to take a look?"

I moved forward, and looked though it.

"Saturn. Very cool." I said, somewhat sarcastically, straightening up.

"Yeah, I want to build a larger one to see the comet Hyakutake. It comes this spring but no one knows when it's going to be back." Hermione said.

"You're going though all that for a comet?"

"Well…yes." Hermione said.

I shrugged, not really seeing the point, but didn't say anything more on the topic.

"Didn't you say you had to get a book from the library?"

"Oh, right." I said, remembering why I had left the common room in the first place.

"Well I guess I'll see you later." Hermione smiled at me, and I found myself smiling back. I nodded and turned around and walked out the door.

"I swear Snape just gives us these assignments to try and kill us." Dean complained, as we walked out of the potions classroom. Draco put his arm around Lavender, and smiled at Dean.

"He's not that bad." He said.

"Easy for you to say, he actually likes you." Dean groaned, reading over the assignment.

"Maybe he would like you more if you were actually good at potions."

I chuckled at the look Dean gave Draco, but my laugh was cut short. Hermione was walking towards me. I looked away, hoping she would walk right by me, but no such luck, she walked right up next to us.
"Hey, Harry." She said.

Draco shot me a confused look.

"Um…hi." I tried to play it off.

"So will I see you after classes?" She asked me.

Oh shit, I thought, what do I say? I could see Ron and Dean share a confused look.

"In your dreams." I said, saying the first thing that came into my mind. Instantly I wished I could take it back, but it was too late. I could see Draco smirk, and mouth "Ouch". Hermione looked at me for a moment, and then walked the other way. When she had walked a few steps, Ron and Dean burst out laughing, and Draco slapped me on the back. I forced a smile, but I couldn't help but feel bad.

"What was that about?" Ron asked.

"No idea." I replied, and I started walking again.

Later that night, I stood outside Hermione's door, hopping she wasn't too mad at me. I knocked, and stepped back, looking behind me to make sure no one was around. There was no answer. I knocked again, harder this time, wondering that she hadn't heard me the first time. But as I was just about to knock a third time, Hermione opened the door.

"Whoa." I said, stepping back. I had never seen Hermione look mad. Usually she was so calm, but she sure as hell did not look pleased to see me.

"What do you want?" She asked.

"You – you aren't in a good mood."

"Your sharp today, Harry. You don't miss a thing." She said, sarcastically.

I ignore her comment. "Listen, I was hoping we could…run lines again."

"Alright. But we cant let anyone know about it, is that right?"

"I was just hoping to surprise everyone on how good I get." I said.

Hermione smiles. "Like we could be secret friends?" She asked.

I grin at her, relived that she understands. "Exactly, its like you're reading my mind."

"Great, why don't you read mine?" Her face darkens, and she turns and starts walking back inside, but I catch her arm.

"Hermione, I can't just be your friend."

"Harry, I thought I saw something in you. Something good. Something that sets you apart from all of your friends, but I was very, very wrong." And with that, she slams the door in my face. I kick the wall, and yell, "Damn it!" more loudly than I should have, given the time. I quickly glance down the hallway, make sure no one is looking, pull the cloak over me and run back to my dormitory.

The next chapter will hopefully be coming soon. I think the actual play will be in the next chapter, and for all who saw the movie and/or read the book, you all know what's coming next. I'm hoping to get the next chapter out in a week or two but if I don't, it will hopefully be soon. I promise not to take another almost three year break.

Thanks for reading!