Chapter 3: Hermione's Intervention

Harry looked up at Ron and he knew that he wasn't joking around. Harry slid over in his bed to offer Ron a place to sit down. He pulled the covers down and patted the side of the bed that was open to let Ron know to sit down.

"Do you think that this is the safest place to talk?" Ron said looking around.

Harry reached over and grabbed his glasses and put them on. He then reached over and grabbed his wand. He pointed it at each wall of his four-poster bed and gave a charm that would not allow anyone else to hear what they were talking about if they came in.

Ron being satisfied with that sat down and put his legs under Harry. He was looking around trying to figure out where to begin. He noticed the package sitting at the foot of Harry 's bed. "What's that mate?"

Harry looked at the end of his bed and realized it was the package that Hedwig brought earlier that day. He reached down and grabbed it. "I don't know. Hedwig dropped it off to me this morning and I guess I haven't had the time to open it."

"Whose it from?"

Harry looked at the box and realized that there was no return address on it. I don't know. It doesn't say." He reached down and grabbed for the paper on the side of it.

"Harry wait. Can we talk first before you open it up?"

"Sure, what's on your mind?"

"I was thinking tonight when I was running back here after quidditch."

"You mean when you were running away from me."

"Dammit Harry, not everything has to be about you. You know sometimes I just get sick of being in the shadows behind you Harry."

Harry looked surprised to hear this. He never thought of Ron and Hermione in the shadows behind him. Although now that he thought about it, it did make sense. Like when Fluffy's room was broken into and they all went down there. Hermione and Ron gave him advice and did things for them to get through, but ultimately, it was Harry that got all of the recognition for beating Voldemort. "I don't understand Ron."

"Harry, I don't want to be in the shadows behind you anymore-"

"Are you telling me that you8 don't want to be my friend anymore Ron? Does Hermione fell the same way?"

"Harry, that's not what I'm telling you. And I hope Hermione doesn't feel that way. What I'm saying is-"

"So you and 'Mione have talked about this?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Harry, would you let me talk please? What I have to say isn't easy. And yes, 'Mione knows how I feel and she's fine with it. It took her a little bit to understand, but she eventually got it."

"What? Ron, I don't understand."

"Let me explain Harry. Ok, like I said, I don't like being in the shadows behind you, and to be quite honest Harry, I hate it. That's why I…I…" Ron began to trail off. He suddenly realized that he didn't know what to say. He had it planned out in his head, but now he was beginning to work though it again, it sounded so…dumb.

"Ron, go ahead and say it." Harry said. He could see that Ron was having a hard time explaining this to him. He wanted Ron to feel comfort when he was around him. The way Ron kept shifting on his bed and looking around, made Harry wonder. 'Could Ron be telling me what I think he's telling me?' He didn't know if he wanted it to be true or not. He knew that it had feelings for Ron, but he also knew that Hermione was in love with Ron. 'If Ron talked to Hermione about how he feels about me, then that could be why she hasn't talked to me since she left t his morning. Could she be jealous?"

"Well Harry, it's like this. I have these…things."

"What things Ron?"

"Dammit Harry, let me explain." With that Ron had no other choice. He pulled Harry's wand out of his hand and pointed it right at Harry's throat and whispered "Silencio."

Harry looked down at his throat as he saw the silver white strands come out of the end of the his wand and then go into his throat. He had never felt such coldness on his body before. Now he did all that he could do, he sat there and waited for Ron to explain.

"Hermione, what's wrong?" asked a voice that sounded like it was in the same stall as her.

"Who said that?" Hermione asked as she was looking around?

"Hehe, who else silly? It's me." Moaning Myrtle said as she came through the door to the stall and saw Hermione sitting on the toilet crying.

"Oh, it's you Myrtle! You scared me," she answered while wiping the tears from her eyes. She looked at Myrtle with new eyes, she had never thought of her as a caring ghost. "I thought you had to say in the girls bathroom on the second floor."

"Oh no, I can go wherever I want to, it's just that usually I stay there because no one ever goes in there and I have it all to myself I have a reputation in case you haven't noticed, and I guess no one wants to be bothered by a ghost who always talks about show she died. But I heard you from up there and I came to see what was wrong."

"Oh Myrtle. I don't know what to do. It's Ron." Hermione said while still wiping the tears that would refuse to stay in here eyes.

"What's he done this time?"

"He says he doesn't like me. I've tried all I could to let him know how much I care for him more than a friend, but it seems like he likes someone else.."

"Oh, boy troubles. Well, I would go and have a talk with this other girl. Let her know who the boss is."

"That's the problem Myrtle, it's not a girl that he likes. It's Harry."

"WHAT?" Myrtle looked at Hermione and gasped. Her hand flew to her mouth covering it. "I can't believe that. What does Harry think about all of this?"

"Harry doesn't know yet. Ron asked me what to do and I said that he should tell him. Of course I asked how long he's liked Harry and he said since the first say they met on the platform 9 ¾."

"Leave it to a boy to squish a girls dream." Myrtle went over to Hermione and placed a ghostly hand on her back for comfort. Even though Hermione couldn't feel it, she knew what Myrtle was trying to accomplish.

"Thanks Myrtle. I guess I just needed someone to talk to about it. But I can tell that things are going to be different between the three of us now."

"How so?"

"Well, I'm pretty sure that Harry likes girls. And if Ron tells him he likes him, then oh-. Myrtle, I have to go."

"Why, what's going on?"

"I'll fill you in later. I promise." Hermione ran out of the bathroom and made her way to the Gryffindor common room. She had to stop Ron before he said anything.

Ron sat there on Harry's bed still trying to figure out what to say to him. Right now it was just a bunch of jumbled up words trying to force their way out of his mouth. He knew that he had to say this just right in order to make Harry understand. He closed his eyes trying to clear his mind but nothing was working. He decided to just spit it out. "Harry, for quite some time now, I've liked you."

Harry sat there, still under the silencio spell. He just nodded his head up and down letting Ron know that he had heard him. He was patiently waiting for him to continue with what he had to say.

"Harry, I don't know how to say this. I guess the best way to say it is that I-"

Hermione had busted down the boys dormitory door with her wand at the ready and as soon as she was in the room she pointed it at Ron and said "Silencio!" Once again Harry saw the silver white strands come out of her wand and hit Ron right in his throat. He sat there looking dumbfounded. She slowly walked over to the boys and sat down on Harry's bed also. Ron was giving her the look of death when she placed her hand on his leg and opened her mouth to speak. "Ron, I need to see you in private." She grabbed his arm and drug him away.

Harry quickly jumped on his feet and ran over to Hermione. He pointed at his throat and was waving his hands all over the place. She stopped and looked over at him and with a quick smile she pulled out her wand and gave a reversal spell so that Harry could talk again.

"'Mione, what in the bloody hell are you doing?" Harry asked gasping for breath like he hadn't been breathing the entire time.

"Ron and I need to talk before he ruins our lives. All of our lives Harry."

Harry stood there looking at Ron and then back at Hermione. He didn't understand, and he dreadfully wanted to. "I don't get it." Now the other thing for him to do was to wait for her to answer him.

"I know you don't Harry, but you will one day. I'm saving your life."

"But I'm not in any danger. How can you be saving my life if I'm not in any danger?"

"Don't think of it as physically saving your life, but metaphorically saving your life. I know you don't understand, and you may not be in physical danger, you're in emotional danger, and as your best friend, I don't think I can allow that to happen.

"Why?"

"Because Harry, I love you, and it would hurt me more than anything to see you hurting."

"'Mione, if you think that Ron telling me that he likes me is going to cause me to hurt, than you're the one whose mad. I already knew that he liked me. We have been friends for how long?"

"Quite some time now Harry, but it's more than that?"

Ron reached over behind Hermione's back and grabbed her wand. He mouth the reversal spell and was again able to speak. "Harry, I don't know why she doesn't want me to tell you, but she told me earlier that it would be best if I did."

Hermione glanced over at Ron, just now realizing that her wand was gone. She opened her mouth to talk but Harry put his hand over it. "Don't say anything. I want to hear what Ron has to say."

Ron glanced over at Hermione and saw that she was pleading with her eyes not to tell him. He knew that there was something behind that look, but he didn't know what it was. He stood there thinking about what he was going to do. He knew that he wanted to tell Harry how he felt but he knew that Hermione had figured something out. He knew that he should follow her and figure out what it is that she wanted to tell him. "Sorry mate, but it's gonna have to wait."

Harry just stood there with his mouth open. He was so close to knowing what had Ron so upset. He watched as the two left the room. He stomped back to his bed pouting.