Chapter 3 Sunshine , daisies and playboys? Part one

Disclaimer:Don't own it, never will. What a shame. A/N:This chapter does switch POV at some point. If you don't like... well you just don't like it. Sorry it's too late, you're already reading. Might as well keep going.

As Harry opened his eyes and put his glasses on, he saw something that completely took his breath away. Never in his entire life had he seen anything or anyone more beautiful. She was four feet away. The sunshine that was streaming through the dusty window made her seem to be almost angelic looking. The rays played across her chestnut hair and shoulders , making her hair look like wavy strands of gold. He had to breath deeply and mentally restrain himself from going over and running his fingers across her slender jawline. He had never seen her asleep like this before. He had seen her doze off in the common room at Hogwarts, but this was different somehow. He had never woken up before with someone other than Ron in the room.

Suddenly her face changed into a look of sorrow. Then anguish. She shifted slightly and began to mumble. Her voice was very soft. Harry couldn't quite make out what she was saying at first, but she started to repeat it over and over. "Harry, Harry? Where are you? I can't see you. Please tell me where you are!" at this point she started to hysterically sob in her sleep. Harry couldn't take it anymore. He had to go to her. He slipped out from under his cover and off the bed that Hermione had made for him. He leaned over her bed. He gently touched her shoulder. Her eyes flew open as soon as his hand had made contact .Her teary brown eyes sought his green as emerald eyes. She quickly pulled him into a huge vice like hug. His socked feet slipped out from under him and he landed half on the bed, and half on Hermione.

Harry raised his head and was shocked to see Hermione's face so close to his. She had the same shocked expression on her face as well. A blush began to creep up onto their faces. Harry moved his hands on the bed, putting one hand on each side of her. She moved her hands onto his chest. Neither moved, beyond that. Time seemed to have stopped for them. Suddenly they heard walking outside the door. Then the doorknob began to turn. Harry didn't want to be caught in this position. He knew Hermione didn't either. He did the only thing he could think of doing at the time. He rolled off the bed and then under the bed.

Harry tried to breath slowly, so as not to stifle to death from the dust. He could see the door open and Ron's trainers come into view.

Ron cleared his throat, "Um, is Harry in here?"

"He was last night, but I don't see him now. Do you?" Her voice sounded a little shaky to Harry. Ron seemed not to notice this fact, because he came in and sat at the foot of Hermione's bed. Harry heard Ron take a deep breath.

"Um, I need to tell you something." Oh, merlin, not now. Not now. Do you have to tell her now?Why do you have to do this now of all times? Harry wanted to put his fingers in his ears and sing at the top of his voice, just to block out what he knew was coming. He knew he couldn't though. He wanted Hermione to be happy. He wanted Ron to be happy. He just, well he didn't want them to be together. That was a truth that he kept trying to avoid. He cared for her more deeply than a friend. That was the reason for the distance he was trying to keep over the last year. But his resolve was slowly melting away. Just being near her was an enormous struggle. His head snapped up at Ron's words.

"Well, I just thought that we could go out sometime. If you wanted to that is." Harry's heart seemed to stop, it seemed to be waiting for her answer. What if she says yes? What if they start dating?What if they get married one day? I waited too long to realize how I felt about her. Well that's not true. I realized it long ago, but I was frightened to say anything. I can go up against Voldermort and his death eaters, but a seventeen year old girl scares me to death. Maybe Malfoy was always right about me. I'm just a coward. Seems to be true. I am hiding under a bed, while my friend asks the girl I care about out. Harry silently lay his head down on his arms. He waited for her answer. The thing that he knew would surely break his heart into a million pieces. Pieces that could never possibly be put back together.

Hermione finally spoke. "Will you give me a little time to think about it Ron?"

"Um, sure. I'll just go see if I can find Harry."

"Why?" she sounded panicked.

"Well, you know how Harry can be sometimes. He may have left to go off fighting by himself. Be just like him, wouldn't it?" He said as he made his way out the door closing it behind him.

"I have a feeling, that Harry's close bye." She leaned over the edge of the bed and pulled back the sham. " Aren't you Harry?" He raised his sad eyes to hers. He said the first thing that popped in his mind.

"Are you going to go out with Ron?" He could barely stop the question his heart was screaming to ask.

"I don't know Harry. It all seems so different now. The way I felt a few months ago doesn't seem to have the same importance as it once did. Does that make any sense?"

" Like it's part of a different world? Like from another lifetime?"

"Exactly. I couldn't have said it better myself. How do you know just what to say at times?"

"It's the way I felt at the end of fifth year, after the Department of Mysteries."

"You want to come up here and talk about it?" Harry sheepishly realized he was still lying under Hermione's bed. He slid out, taking half the stuff under the bed with him. Including Dudley's stack of girly magazines. His face turned a dark shade of red as Hermione's eyes landed on them. Harry cleared his throat.

"Those aren't mine! I promise." His voice sounded squeaky to his own ears.

"I believe you Harry. This isn't even your room." She pushed the stack back under the bed. "Do you look at them though?" her eyebrows rose into her feathery bangs.

"No, well alright once, at Hogwarts." he lowered his eyes.

"Whose magazine was it?"

"Not saying, am I."

"Was it Neville's?" That threw Harry's concentration off drastically. He wasn't expecting that name.

"No."

"Dean's?"

"Hermione, I can't tell you."Ron would kill me.

" Harry, I already know whose it was. I already know that it's Ron's."

" How'd you..." he said baffled.

"Sometimes, you're like an open book Harry. Other times your like the thickest fog."

"Are you saying that I'm thick?" Harry was trying desperately to change the subject. Hermione realized this of course.

"Obviously, I am." she laughed at his expression. Her laughter made his confidence soar. He was glad he could make her laugh.

"Well, it's hard to shine through the fog sometimes, but there's always a little ray of light in the midst of the darkness." He said as he softly touched the end of her nose. "I think I'll go take a shower." He heard her call his name as started out the door.

"Did you like it?" she looked slightly flushed.

"Like what?"

"Looking at the magazine."

" I've seen more beautiful girls than that." He said as he walked out of the room. He stuck his head back inside the door frame. "You're the most beautiful one of them all, you know." He went towards the bathroom, her face was puzzled beyond belief at his words. He smiled to himself. He knew he was being selfish. But he really didn't want to be lonely anymore.

Hermione's POV.

What am I going to do?! I can't do this. I've never had to deal with this before. Boys. I can't tell Ron I don't fancy him anymore. It sounds so, so, shallow. Which is how it will seem. I can't exactly walk up to him and say "Sorry Ron, I don't like you anymore. I'm in love with your best friend, Harry." He'd go ballistic. He'd probably try and beat Harry to a pulp. If not me as well. It's not Harry's fault I feel this way. I can't even tell Harry. Harry still loves Ginny. Even if Harry doesn't like me that way, I can't very well lead Ron on. I'll have to tell him the truth. She got up and started her search for Ron.

She decided the best place to start would be the kitchen. She was right. He sat there with his bowl of warm porridge. He looked around hopefully. The look he gave her almost made her flee the room.

"Hey, so did you decide yet?"

It wasn't that she didn't like him. She did . Just not the way he wanted.

"I'm sorry Ron I can't. I can't do it."she looked down at her feet as he stood from his chair to face her.

"Why? I thought... What about all that with Lavender?" He was starting to get mad, she could tell by the red color his ears were turning. "A few months ago you seemed to like me. I just don't understand how you can stand there saying you don't like me."

" I didn't say that I don't like you. I'm just not in love with you." she heaved a sigh at his gaining temper."Some things are hard to explain, but that doesn't make them any less true. It could never work. Please believe me, it just couldn't."

"Who is he?"

"Who ?"

" You heard me, who , is, he? I know you. There's someone else."

"There is no one Ron."

"Fine, don't tell me, but when I find him, he is going to wish he were never born." He stormed out of the kitchen, leaving behind his cooling breakfast.

That's the problem , I think he already wishes he were never born.

Thanks to those who left a review. Leave more. They're quite good. You gave me quite a few good ideas. So thanks. Alright how was it? Did you like it? Was it worth the long wait? You know something, if I didn't love my computer, it would be at the bottom of the lake or busted into little teeny tiny pieces. This is the fourth time I've written this chapter. My computer kept crashing every time I had gotten half way through this chapter. Let's just say, every sentence is saved after I right it now. There are obvious mistakes. Leave a review if you wish. But please, please wipe your feet on the way out.