Disclaimer: Nothing has changed since chapter 1. I still do not own Harry Potter or any characters associated with it.

Chapter 2: Confessions and Re-aquaintances

"Go on," she politely urged.

"Well, ever since last year, I can't help but feel guilty about what happened to you in the Department of Mysteries. What if you would have died?"

"Harry," she said quietly and she touched my hand, "it was my choice to go, I told you that I would go with you. It wasn't your fault."

"Yeah, but you told me that Sirius probably wasn't there. I put your life at risk and got Sirius killed because of my stupidity."

"Harry, don't ever say that again!" she said with an almost angry tone. "Sirius would not want you blaming yourself, and neither do I nor anyone else who went to the Department of Mysteries." she said consolingly.

"But you were right Hermione. I just had to go and act like a hero. I put my friends in danger all because I had to save Sirius, who I thought was in danger." I said, feeling close to tears of guilt.

"Harry," she said imploringly, "we're ok. We were glad to be by your side. It was well worth the risk just to accompany you. Plus," she added with a grin, "we got rid of Umbridge."

"Yeah, but we still have Grawp, Hermy," I told her with a chuckle.

"Oh shut up," she laughed.

Ron came in while we were laughing. "Hey Harry! What's so funny," he asked as he sat down and spotted us laughing. We looked at each other and smiled.

"Nothing," we simultaneously said.

"Oh, ok then," he said completely missing our lie.

"Hey, where were you?" Hermione voiced my question.

"Oh, Seamus dropped some of his stuff and I stopped to help him."

"Well that was chivalrous of you," Hermione stated, which made me want to laugh, but thankfully I was able to swallow it down, and instead I just had a stupid grin on my face.

"So, Harry," Ron said, interrupting my thoughts, "how was your summer?"

"Um, you know, same old, Dursleys were as intolerable as ever, I was as bored as ever," I lied.

"Oh, well that's good," Ron said, once more not catching the lie. Hermione, however, kept glancing over at me with a worried expression on her face. Finally the train stopped and I stepped out of the train and my heart instantly leapt. I was home. Home again.

Hermione, Ron, and I were sitting in the common room. Ron was in a chair and Hermione and I were sitting on the couch. I noticed that she has been sitting by me often. Knowing Hermione, she's probably still worried about me.

"Well," Ron announced as he once again interrupted my thoughts, "I'm going to go to bed."

"Ron, it's 10 o'clock," Hermione exclaimed with an incredulous expression."

"Thanks Big Ben, I know that, but I have Quidditch," he said, avoiding my eyes. I stared at the floor, missing my favorite sport desperately.

"I'm sure McGonagall will let you back on, Harry," Hermione said, reading my mind.

"Yeah, mate, she's bound to let you, I mean she'd be nutters not to," Ron said in a knowing tone.

"Yeah," I half-heartedly supplied. "Oh, what time do you have it? Four?" I said, trying to lighten the mood."

"Haha, Harry, actually it's at six."

"Oh, well g'night Ron," Hermione said.

"Yeah, see ya, Ron," I said.

After he went up the stairs and had shut the door, Hermione turned to me.

"Harry," she quietly said, "I'm worried about-"

"I'm fine," I said abruptly cutting her off."

"No, not about you. Well, ok, you too, but what about Grawp?"

"Maybe Hagrid came back to Hogwarts and took Grawp back," I said hopefully. Hermione raised her eyebrows and gave me a doubtful look.

"Well, why don't we go see," I said, feeling daring, and wanting to do something to keep my mind off of Quidditch.

"Harry! It's ten, we can't go out without permission!" Hermione said matter-of-factly.

"Well I guess I'll go by myself," I said, knowing that she would come along rather than let me go by myself.

"Fine," she sighed, and I tried to hide my smug smile. "But we are taking the invisibility cloak."

"Fine," I said, matching her exasperated tone. "Let's get our wands and meet back down here." I rushed up to my room and grabbed my invisibility cloak. "Let's go," I said quietly, and grabbed her hand and pulled her towards me so that I could put the cloak over us. I grabbed her hand again and led her out of the portrait and through the castle.

"But do you remember how to-" she began, but I put my hand over her mouth and raised a finger to my mouth.

We cautiously made our way through the castle and stopped at Hagrid's hut, which was still dark and was looking gloomy in the night. I looked to her and she nodded.

"Lumos," we whispered and our wand tips ignited. Hermione grabbed my arm as we entered the forest.

"This is even worse at night," she shakily whispered.

"Come on," I said reassuringly, "the sooner we get there, the sooner we can leave." I grabbed her hand again to get her to go, but she was resisting. I turned back to look at her and saw that her face was white.

"H-Hary," she whispered, pointing to the right.

"What?" I said as I scanned the area in the direction that she was pointing. I gasped as I saw five centaurs. I stood transfixed until I felt Hermione slowly pull me backwards away from them. I shook my head to clear my daze. I desperately tried to think of a plan. I couldn't run because they would surely catch us. It wouldn't help to turn off the light because they had already seen it and it would prevent us from seeing them. Before I could decide what to do, I heard one of them sniff the air.

"Who's there? I can smell you," one of them said.

"Yuck, it's the foul stench of human," another one said with disgust. I nudged Hermione with my elbow and I mouthed "Nox, and then run". She nodded and we whispered nox. I grabbed her hand and sprinted, dodging trees and bushes. I heard them approaching. I felt the invisibility cloak slip off of us but paid little attention to it until Hermione stopped.

"What about the cloak?" she asked as I pulled her away from it.

"Leave it," I said. "It was only slowing us down anyway." We stopped despite better judgment and frantically tried to catch our breath and think up a plan. I searched around and found a tree. I pulled her behind the tree and tried to slow my heart down. As my heart thundered, my fear was confirmed when I heard, "I know you're behind the tree. Why don't you come out?"

I went to tell Hermione to stay there, and that I would go out in hopes that they would think that I was the only human there, but she had already stepped forward.

"So, it's you again, is it?" Ronan asked. "We've warned you before."

"Let's kill them," a centaur eagerly said and the other four grabbed their bows and readied an arrow. I pushed Hermione back and stepped in front of her willing to do whatever it took to keep her safe.

"He thinks that he can protect her from us," Bane said mockingly, causing the others to laugh.

"We're not bothering you, so don't bother us," I stated simply.

"Ah, but you are forgetting whose forest you are trespassing in, human," Ronan said. "Therefore, you shall pay the consequences," he said maliciously. Hermione stepped in front of me and took a couple steps forward. I tried to pull her back but she dodged my attempts.

"Please," she began. I saw the centaurs pull back their bowstrings, ready to attack. I dove and knocked Hermione to the ground, my body pinning her down to the forest floor. This is it, I told myself, and to think that earlier I was worried about Quidditch. I put Hermione in danger again. I'm so stupid!

I felt the ground shake and I lifted my head and looked up. Like he did last year, Grawp parted the trees and stared at the scene before him. When I saw him glance at the centaurs, I quietly helped Hermione up and started backing up slowly.

"And where do you think you are going?" I heard Bane say. Before I could say anything- not that I was going to tell him- I saw Grawp's massive arms descend toward the centaurs, causing them to scatter. I seized that chance and grabbed Hermione's arm and dragged her through the forest. I then realized that one of the centaurs had followed us.

"You will die humans!" He shot his arrow and I pulled Hermione behind a tree and held her protectively. She buried her face in my chest, her whole body shaking with fear. Realizing that I had my wand still, I pointed it at him and said, "Immobulus," and Hermione and I ran out of the forest.

When we reached Hagrid's hut again, we stopped and sat down on the steps to his door.

"That's twice we owe Grawp," I said trying to lighten the mood. Hermione gave a shaky laugh and took a deep breath.

"I think that Grawp's ok," she said quietly, which made me laugh.

"Come on, we need to get back," I said, but she didn't move so I grabbed her hand and pulled her along.

"Wait!" she said and pointed toward the forest. "Accio cloak."

"Good idea!" I exclaimed and to my delight, heard the cloak zooming to us. "But there's no need for it now, everything in the forest knows that we're hear." She grinned despite her disheveled appearance. "Are you ok?" I asked in a concerned voice.

"Yeah, just a bit shaken up is all." She grabbed my hand and practically sprinted back through the castle back to the portrait. "Fortuna Major," she said and the portrait swung open.

A/N: Same drill, reviews are greatly appreciated :)