Well, I guess here's chapter seven. Sorry for the wait. My computer is being a butt and it wouldn't let me save to a disc, so I had to get that figured out, and…. Wait, I really don't think you guys want to hear my excuses, do you? Just go read the chapter, but keep one thing in mind: I own nothing.

Chapter Seven -- What Note-Passing Can Lead To

The next morning, Harry woke up to a shifting movement beside him. Looking down, he saw a blurred mass of brown, and the memories of the previous night came flooding back to him. He smiled when he realized Hermione must have slept with him for the rest of the night.

Carefully, he reached over her sleeping form for his glasses and watch, a quick look at which told him he had a few minutes to spare before having to wake Hermione up.

Upon placing his glasses over his eyes, he was able to see Hermione clearly. Her hair was a mess, and her mouth was slightly open, causing her to drool a little (Harry nearly laughed when he noticed this), but he thought she had never looked more beautiful. He just stared at the dozing girl before him, taking in every sight from her stomach rising and falling in time with her light breathing to the faint freckles traveling across the bridge of her nose.

At this point, Hermione rolled over onto her stomach, and groaned, not wanting to leave this warm bed. But, hang on. This didn't smell like her bed. A low , almost puppy-like, whimper escaped her throat when she realized that she must have fallen asleep with Harry after coming to him during the night. Harry, hearing this whimper, reached out and ran a hand through her soft hair, being careful with the few morning snags he hit.

She looked up in response to his touch, a light pink blush on her cheeks. Her lips were slightly parted in an almost wary look. Harry suddenly felt a strong desire to kiss her.

"Good morning," he said as she sat up slowly, relaxing a little, "Sleep well?"

"I'm sorry," she said expectedly, "I shouldn't have slept here."

"It's all right," he said, noticing for the first time how cute she looked when embarrassed, "I didn't mind, but we should probably get up now."

"Yeah," Hermione said, looking like she was trying to decide on something as they stood up.

Without warning, she threw her arms around Harry, slightly nuzzling his shoulder. At first, he thought she had started crying again, but she soon pulled back, placing a light kiss on his cheek about a half inch from his lips as she did so.

"Thank you, Harry."

She then turned and left his room, leaving him rooted to the floor, not quite sure what just happened.

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For the rest of the day, Harry noticed he seemed to not be able to concentrate in class as well as normally. However, he found himself staring at Hermione for the length of the class. Every little thing she did, he found himself fascinated with, and when she was out of his sight, even if it was just to go to the bathroom, he worried about her. He knew she was all right in the back of his mind, but, consciously, he worried about her all the same. Come lunch, he didn't know how he was supposed to get through the rest of the day.

"Harry? Hello? Anyone home?"

"Huh?"

"Come on. Lunch is over. We have to get to class."

"Oh. Right."

He stood up and followed Hermione out of the Great Hall, forgetting momentarily where they were going as he watched her dark curls bouncing as she walked at a swift pace, not wanting to be late. He didn't want to ask her which class they had, because he knew she would start asking him if he was all right, and he could honestly say he did not know the answer to that question. However, she led him to the History of Magic classroom before his brain could process that his feet had carried him up two floors.

They sat down at their regular table just as the bell to signal the start of class rang out. Professor Binns drifted through the chalkboard and started droning on about vampire legislatures. After only five minutes, Harry's mind was once again drifting to Hermione. He looked to his left at her and received a shock. She was not taking notes like normal, but sitting with her head down on her arms, staring at Binns with a faraway look in her yellowing eyes. Harry smiled as he remembered the morning when Hermione had woken up and finding out that her brown eyes were changing color. Knowing it was a side effect of her lycanthropy, she had spent a half hour flipping through all the werewolf books to find out what was wrong with her. She eventually gave up with the books and went to talk to Professor Lupin, who had told her that it was just a sign that the full moon was near.

"All werewolves show small physical signs when their transformation is getting nearer." he had said, "The yellow in your eyes will go away a few days after full moon."

"I've never noticed any signs with you," Hermione said, looking inquisitively at Lupin.

"Well, mine would be something that nobody else would hardly notice," he answered, smiling slightly, "My canine teeth get sharper. It hurts like the devil if I end up biting my tongue."

Hermione had come back to the Head Dorm happier to know that it was a natural occurrence, but worried at what everyone else would think. Much to her satisfaction, however, nobody had questioned her about it.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by Hermione nudging his elbow. He looked over and she slid a small bit of parchment over to him. He flipped it over and read: What are you thinking about? History of Magic is not that funny, even to me. He had to choke down a small laugh before he responded, and sent the note back her way. She flipped it and read: Since when do you not take notes? She let out a breath that sounded like a whispered laugh before she wrote her answer: This is more fun. Besides, lycanthropes often have trouble concentrating when their transformation is near. I guess I'm no exception. And you didn't answer my question. Harry mock rolled his eyes at the fact that he always thought she would always be able to concentrate, no matter what strange thing happened to them. He dipped his quill in his ink pot before writing: All right. I was thinking about your eyes. Now a little apprehensive at what her answer would be now that it was on paper, he hesitated a second before handing it over to her. She glanced at him with a questioning look in her eyes before writing only two words: My eyes? He swallowed nervously but was spared of answering when the bell rang. They grabbed their bags and were out in the hall before Hermione restarted the conversation.

"So… what about my eyes?" she asked in what Harry could only think of as a flirting tone. He was suddenly very hot.

"Just… umm… how they're… changing. I was remembering that morning when we found out they were turning yellow."

"Uh huh," she said in a way that clearly told him she didn't trust his sincerity, before turning away from him, "I'll see you after Arithmancy."

Before he could blink she had placed another peck on his cheek and was gone.

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Well, that took me the better of three hours to write (and three weeks to post :P). I know Hermione is kinda OoC, but I hope you enjoyed it. R and R, please. TTFN