A/N: Sorry for the wait! To make it up to you I am thinking of posting three chapters today! Yay! Unfortunately, that means that you guys are nearly caught up to me and I will have to start writing again to keep up the pace. That is a good thing trust me. It just means, however, that the chapters might take a while longer. No worries, though! I am not one to drag out a story for years or even months on end. So enjoy and as always, please R&R!!

Several months had passed since their trip into Hogsmeade and Harry was finding the inactivity more than difficult to handle. It was only two more weeks until Christmas Break and he was already planning a vicious ambush on his mother and father. The anticipation was almost killing him. After their meeting with Sirius, anyone who even remotely knew the eldest Potter could see the change in him. He seemed so serious, not even baited when Kate had picked on him incessantly about getting frown lines. Barely did he notice Ron's more and more frequent absence and Hermione's growing concern for him. Usually Harry was busy strutting about the school, laughing loudly or in the library distracting his more studious counterpart. Yet lately he seemed far away. Even as he sat atop his broom at the center of the quidditch pitch, his eyes seemed not to be looking for the snitch.

"HARRY!"

Harry nearly toppled off his broom at the sound of his sister's voice. He looked around to see her beater's club brandishing wildly at the one of Ravenclaw's goal posts. The Ravenclaw seeker, Jennifer Smith was racing rapidly toward the tiniest glint of gold that was hovering inches above the ground below. Harry let out a growl of frustration before flattening himself to the handle of his Nimbus 2000, making himself as small as possible so he could urge his broom faster and faster.

A collective gasp rose through the stands as they all held their breath, watching as Smith drew ever closer to the snitch and Potter ever closer to her. Smith reached out her hand as the final five meters drew to a close. Harry was already silently berating himself for not paying closer attention. He was their captain! Wasn't he supposed to be the one yelling at them to mind the game? Thinks seemed to slow for Harry as he drew even to the end of the young Ravenclaw's broom.

He had just given settled on kissing the Quidditch House Cup goodbye when suddenly the smaller girl was spinning madly out of control. With lightening reflexes, Harry dodged her and unconsciously reached out to grasp the snitch in his right hand. The roar that erupted from the Gryffindors was deafening. Harry looked at his hand in shock. He couldn't seem to see how he had done it. His eyes scanned the area for the Ravenclaw seeker only to find her on the ground clutching her broom to her chest crying. It had been snapped almost in half. Just to his right he saw Kate's bat arm still wrapped around her in follow through. His little sister had taken the seeker out with a bludger so he could catch the snitch.

His heart swelled with pride as they all landed on the pitch to a flood of red and gold that was now fighting its way down to meet the winning team. The whole team embraced, jumping up and down excitedly. Harry felt as if it were the first time he had smiled in months. He didn't even let his temper get to him when Kate popped him over the head with her broom for not paying attention. Everyone was shouting their congratulations at another miraculous save by the eldest Potter. Everyone was soon urging him to join them in the common room for a night of celebration. SMiling, Harry felt himself let go for a moment as he agreed. It felt Marvelous to release the tension and he was almost giddy. After many hugs and claps on the back, Harry and the rest of the team hit the showers.

Lingering for a few moments to help Madame Hooch wrangle all of the balls into their prospective places and go over the schedule for the next semester's practice and game schedule, Harry was the last one to leave the locker rooms. By the time he got out only Hermione was waiting for him sitting cross legged on the lowest tier of the stands. Her Arithmacy book was propped up in her lap, a look of stern concentration fixed on her face as she studied ferociously. Harry couldn't help but laugh. He wondered if she had been studying through the whole game. Probably, he thought remembering the fit she had thrown the previous morning when she had found out that the quidditch match coincided with midterm's week this year.

"I know you can't have absorbed a thing during that match," he said startling her into dropping her book down into the stands. He laughed again. It felt foreign, but good.

"Accio book!" she summoned catching deftly with one hand, her eyes never leaving Harry's face. She studied him quizzically as she tucked it into her rucksack.

"What?"

"Nothing, it's just…"

"Just what?"

"It's just that that's the first time you've spoken a full sentence to me since coming back from seeing Professor Black. Are you feeling better?"

Harry shrugged uncomfortably. He chided himself for being so distant with his friends. "Yeah, a bit." He slung her pack over his shoulder despite her protests and led them off the pitch and towards the castle.

"What changed?"

"I dunno, just feel good right now. I mean we won. Or were you too busy studying to notice." He gave the heavy bag a meaningful shake as he pushed open the front doors and started up the marble staircase.

"I'm sorry, it's just Professor Vector need us to memorize all of the Primary and Secondary potential number patterns of the—oh never mind that!" With that she threw her arms around Harry's neck and hugged him knocking him backwards into the banister of the stair. It was more the reaction he had been looking for, he had to admit. "Congratulations!"

"Thanks," he chuckled, reveling in the smell of her soft curls on his face. The hug lingered a bit longer then it should have. Both could feel the heat of their two bodies pressed together in a way that seemed more friendly than was usual. Harry was reluctant to let go as Hermione pulled back blushing, not managing to look him directly in the eye.

They walked on for a moment in an awkward silence. Harry couldn't help but smile again as he thought of how beautiful the once bashful bookish girl had grown into such a lovely young woman. In truth, before that year, he hadn't put much thought towards her in that way. He had been too busy with…well quite a few others. He did seem to have a reputation for being a serial dater. But more and more lately Hermione seemed to be drawing his eye. He wasn't sure what to make of it or what she would make of it. Worrying about stuff like that wasn't something Harry did. He figured if things were to happen, they would. Still, he couldn't help but think of how that skin would—

"So are you actually going to cease being broody from now on?"

"Maybe, will you give me a kiss?" he asked, only half joking.

Hermione scoffed and shoved him playfully pulling back the tapestry that was the shortcut to Gryffindor tower. Not looking where she was going, she barely noticed when Harry froze. Her eyes quickly followed his. A small squeak escaped her, notifying the pair in front of them just in time.

"Hey, close the tapestry, will you?" Ron said his back turned to the exposed doorway.

Kate, however, ducked her head around Ron's shoulder at Hermione's squeak and barely had a glimpse of her older brother's angry face and his angry fist caught the side of Ron's face. He let out a yelp of surprise as he was knocked sideways into the stone wall.

"HARRY!" shrieked Hermione.

"RON!" cried Kate rushing to Ron's side.

"What the fuck!?" Ron shouted sliding stunned down the wall.

Harry growled and drew his wand.

Chaos ensued. The girls were screaming at the boys who were both yelling at one another. Several curses flew off of the walls before Hermione finally drew her wand and placed a body binding curse on both boys.

"Both of you SHUT IT!!" she yelled, leaning them against opposing walls. Both struggled for a moment more before dropping into glowering at one another.

Kate took the opportunity to get into Harry's face. "WHAT do you think you are doing?" she shrieked. "What gives you the right to attack Ron? He is my boyfriend!"

"SINCE WHEN?" Harry garbled loudly though his mouth that was snapper shut.

Kate ignored him and pressed on. "You have no right sticking your nose in my business Harry James Potter! I am old enough to take care of myself and I can curse the pants off of you any day. If you touch one more hair on his head, so help me, you will wish that you were and only child."

Harry seethed at Ron while his best mate ws looking at his girlfriends with a mixture of admiration, embarassment, and affection.

"Now, if you don't mind," she spat hatefully,"we are going the party. Don't bother talking to either of us again until you can apologize for this." And with little more than a flip of her red hair and a flick of her wand, she reversed the body bind curse and grabbed a stunned Ron by the hand and dragged him back up the hallway. Still clutching his bleeding lip, Ron followed her without complaint.

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