A/N: Ok, this is my first fanfic that I've ever done so please be gentle but opinionated with your reviews. I'm going to try and update this every Monday, but I make no guarantees about my timeliness.

Disclaimer: All the characters, places, objects, etc. from books 1-6 (and maybe some stuff before them) belong solely to J.K. Rowling.

The rest of the stuff in this story is out of my own mind and any resemblance to anything in book 7 when it comes out is purely coincidental.

Summery: With what lies ahead of Harry, he gathers as much help as he can to aide in his quest to defeat Voldemort. Will Harry succeed? Will love come into his life?

Chapter 2

Harry awoke the next morning as the rising sun shown through a small division in his bed hanging and onto his face. Other than Seamus and Ron, everyone else in the dormitory was awake and beginning to pack for what, in Harry's mind, would be a very somber trip home aboard the Hogwarts Express.

"Morning Harry," Neville greeted his fellow Gryffindor. He was apparently still feeling some of the after-effects of the battle with the death-eaters as he flinched and groaned a little as he spoke.

"Morning Neville," Harry responded. At this point, Seamus began to awaken. Harry turned his head from Neville towards Dean who had a mild look of disgust mixed with sorrow across his face. The two looked at each other in silence for a moment or so.

Then Dean spoke, "Look, Harry, I know I haven't been the most pleasant person around here since Gryffindor won the Quidditch Cup, but I would just like you to know that out of everyone in this school, I'm glad that it was you that Ginny went to. And… I hope that you two have a great time being together."

"Thanks Dean," replied Harry, "I'm really sorry that things didn't work out between you two."

"Don't mention it. I'm a little too much of a gentleman, and as I'm sure you well know, Ginny is very capable of handling herself."

Harry smiled at Dean's response. Dean smiled back and extended his hand to Harry who took it. As they shook hands, Ron finally woke up and joined the others in getting dressed and packing up for the trip home.

"I hope Hogwarts stays open next year," said Seamus as he closed the lid to his trunk.

"I think everyone does," replied Dean, "but I guess it'll be up to the school's governors to decide, won't it?"

"They wouldn't close the school now, would they?" questioned Neville, "I mean, my gran is always saying that there's no safer place in the wizarding world than this school."

Seamus shook his head, "Who knows, me mum will probably be reluctant to have me leave her sight now."

"Well come on, let's go down to breakfast and get something to eat before we leave," Dean said. The others all muttered in agreement.

"Harry, Ron, you guys coming?" Neville asked as he reached the door.

"Yeah, we're right behind you," Harry replied. But as he turned to close the lid of his trunk, he saw Ron sitting on the edge of his bed looking down at the floor, "You okay Ron?"

"What… oh yeah," Ron said seeming to come out of a mild trance, "Harry, can I talk to you alone before we head down to the Great Hall?"

"Sure. What's on your mind?"

"Well, you see, it's… it's…"

"It's what mate?"

Ron sighed deeply, "It's Hermione."

"What about her?"

"I…" Ron stammered, "I think I love her Harry. Whenever I'm around her, I get this strange feeling in the pit of my stomach."

Harry smiled, "Ron, if you love her, as I suspect you do, just tell her. Don't keep it bottled up."

"It's not that easy mate. I mean how do I know if she feels the same about me… or someone else like McLaggen or Krum," Ron said, sounding a little depressed.

"Trust me, she doesn't," Ron looked skeptically at Harry, "think back through this year Ron. When you and Lavender were together, Hermione kept avoiding you, not to mention tried killing you with those birds she had conjured up just before Christmas. Hell, she even gave you a little help during the quidditch try-outs at the start of the year."

A look of shock and disbelief spread across Ron's face, "Your joking right?" Harry shook his head, "But… she… prefect…"

"You love her, and she loves you," said Harry as he placed his hand reassuringly on Ron's shoulder, "tell her."

Ron turned and looked at Harry, "You're right. Thanks mate."

"No problem, now let's go get some breakfast before we have to leave."

Down in the Great Hall, Ron and Harry joined the other last minute stragglers. At the Gryffindor table, Harry took a seat next to Ginny. Ron, however, went over to Hermione and asked, "Hermione, can I talk to you for a moment? Alone?" he added as Ginny looked over at him in an interested way.

"Sure," Hermione responded. She then got up from the table and followed Ron into the Entrance Hall. Ginny watched them leave and then turned her head to Harry, "Alright, I know you know what's going on. So what is it that my brother doesn't want anyone overhearing?"

Harry relied, "What makes you think I'd tell you?"

"Care for me to remind you why Slughorn invited me into the 'Slug Club'?"

"You really are as stubborn as your mum," said Harry knowing full well Ginny's Bat-Bogey Hexes were nothing to mess around with. He leaned his head down and whispered so that anyone nearby wouldn't hear, "He's letting Hermione know exactly how he really feels about her."

With a smile stretching from ear-to-ear, Ginny turned to Harry and said very quietly to him, "I knew it."

Moments later, Ron and Hermione returned to the table with beaming looks on their faces. A few onlookers watched them return to their seats with somewhat puzzled looks, including Lavender, who had a look that was more mutinous than puzzled.

After they had sat down next to each other, Ginny looked at Hermione and Ron, and asked, "Well?"

Ron appeared to be in a bit of a trance, but after Hermione turned to look at him for a moment, she looked over to Ginny and simply said, "He did."

When he heard this response, Harry looked at Ginny and then to Hermione, and back again. Then it dawned on him, "Hang on… what were you two talking about just before Ron and I got here?"

Ginny looked over to him and said, "Apparently, exactly what you two were discussing before joining us. Now how about some food." She passed Harry a plate of eggs and poured some pumpkin juice for both of them.

Let me know what you think... Chapter 3 coming next Monday.