"Yes" I yelled to Harry, once I got over my shock. I was not expecting Harry to ask me to be his girlfriend, because he had not before the other night realized his feelings for me. I was elated to know that he really cared for me enough to want to be my boyfriend. I also was nervous though, because I did not know what to expect. He was my first and only love and did not know how he would be as a boyfriend. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him, and loved him enough to be with him. After his story, I knew that he had the love for me, I just wasn't sure if he would realize the depth of his love, or if he would be happy with me, the bookworm and know it all. It seems as if Harry was able to read my face and sense my feelings because he answered my question that I did not have to ask.

"I know this may come as a shock to you, but I have liked you as more than a friend for a while. For the longest time you were my best friend and like the sister that I never had. But, at some point that changed without me realizing it and I began to notice you. I was so shocked at the Yule Ball to see the body in that dress that you normally cover up with your clothes and robes. I liked what I saw that night, but thought that I was just being a normal teenage boy and well you know. This past year though, with the exception of that time I had the crush on Cho, I have liked you more and more. I don't know anything about love because of the way that Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia have treated me, so I can't say that I love you. I might love you, but I don't know because I don't know what love is. You will just have to deal with me as I learn to be a good boyfriend. Please, help me to know what I need to do to make you happy."

Harry didn't know it, but he already was a perfect boyfriend in my book. Most boys would not ask for help, but would assume they knew what they were doing. I knew I would do everything possible to keep Harry and make him as happy as happy as he would make me.

"Harry, I think that you are not going to have any problem making me happy. You are concerned about my happiness, which my mom always says is the first step to keeping your partner happy." Harry's face lit up, like he was surprised that he knew how to do something without being taught. However, I had a question for Harry. "If you have liked me since earlier in this year, why did you not ask me to be your girlfriend earlier instead of waiting until I got hurt?"

Harry didn't immediately answer my question, but took a few seconds to think, chewing on his lip which I recognized as his trait of how to tell when he is trying to figure out the answer to a question. "Well... I, uh, thought that you and ..Ron were... well, I thought that you liked him instead of me."

"Oh, Harry. Me and Ron, really? Why would you think that? I have never liked Ron. He is an immature brat that has the emotional range of a teaspoon that thinks of nothing besides himself and his stomach. I am not even remotely attracted to him. What would make you think that I liked him, or would consider being with him?"

"Well, because you two are always fighting and bickering. You are always correcting him and trying to getting him to be nicer and think about others. You never do that to me, so I thought that maybe it was because you liked Ron more."

I did not know what to think, or how to answer that, and I was very concerned. "You thought that I liked Ron because we are always fighting? I fought with him because he does not like me, and he thinks that I am good for nothing but for him to cheat off of. He has not liked me since we met on the train. I am always correcting him to try to get him to be more polite and to think of how other's feel. I think though that he just doesn't care about anyone else besides himself."

"Oh, sorry Hermione. I didn't know. My uncle is always yelling at my aunt, and although I don't think that it is right how he treats her I thought that it was normal behavior. I mean, look at Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, she is always scolding the kids and Mr. Weasley. I have never gotten to see any other married couples so I didn't know. See what I mean, I am going to be a bad boyfriend." Harry started to get up and turn away, but I stopped him.

"Harry, you are not going to be a bad boyfriend. You realized that it is not right how your aunt and uncle treat each other, which means that you know it is not the right way for a couple to act. I think that the best thing to help you is if you spend some time at my house this summer with me and my parents. That way we can spend time together, and you can watch me parents and see how they interact. I am sure that my parents wouldn't mind spending time with you, teaching you about relationships." I could tell that Harry liked that idea, but still seemed unsure. I decided then that Harry was going to spend the summer at my house, and was not going back to his relatives. He needed to know that it was not normal for couples to fight and argue, but show affection. I got Harry to sit back down beside me so we could continue talking, to help him understand the correct way for a couple to act. "Have I ever treated you the same way that I treat Ron, do I fight with you and then spend weeks not talking to you?"

Harry took a few minutes to think before answering. "No, you have always been by my side, even when no one else was. You might fuss at me if I don't get my homework done or when I am being stupid, but we have never actually been in a fight. You and Ron spend a couple weeks every year not talking, but we have never done that. When I need help with my homework, you don't let me copy but instead try to help me understand the material. "

"That is right. The reason I treat you differently than Ron is because you are my best friend and I have liked you for a long time. Ron on the other hand I tolerate, because he is your friend and I didn't want to take away one of your friends. Actually, I think that the only reason Ron is your friend is because you are famous and wealthy, but you still are friends with him so I will deal with him as long as needed. Speaking of Ron, where is he?"

"Oh, he is at home with Mrs. Weasley. He apparently got tangled up in some brains that were in a tank at the Ministry. The brains have caused some minor burns on his arms, but he got sent home because the brains affected his brain. In the day he was at the school before Professor Dumbledore requested Mr. and Mrs. Weasley come pick up Ron, he picked a fight with about half the school. He insulted Malfoy and got sent to the hospital wing after getting hit with curses from the Slytherins. Professor Dumbledore said that the brains at the ministry were real brains of humans and other animals and were being studied by the Unspeakables in an attempt to reverse memory damage. The brains were in contact with Ron long enough to cause his brain to be confused. He said it was temporary, and could cause some behavior problems so Ron was sent home to allow him to recuperate in peace."

I did not know whether to laugh or be concerned. Ron already has attitude and behavior problems so I am glad he is gone if they are worse. But, if his mind was affected, shouldn't he have been sent to St. Mungo's instead? I will never understand the wizarding world. I would want to be under a doctor's care if my brain was affected, but apparently that was not the normal wizarding attitude. At least I would not have to deal with Ron and his idiotic ideas until term started again in September, especially if I bring Harry home with me and we stay away from the Burrow.

"Harry, can I borrow Hedwig to send my parents a message please? I would really like you to come home with me this summer, and I am going to ask them if they mind you coming over."

"You know I am not allowed to leave Privet Drive. Dumbledore says I have to stay there because of the blood wards. Remember, he makes me go there every summer, even though I always ask him if I can stay elsewhere. He says I have to stay there until my birthday to make sure the wards charge."

I was puzzled. "Harry, I would like to write Bill also, if you don't mind. Wards were seventh year NEWT material, because they are so advanced. However, I started some preliminary research on them the week before because I was interested in them. Blood wards are looked down upon because they create a drain on the person whose blood it draws upon. They were used more often in the times of Merlin, before it was known the effects of the blood wards. I would like to ask Bill if he knows anymore about blood wards, and also ask him if he can look at the wards that are on Privet Drive. I think that either Dumbledore created a blood ward that is still active and causing a drain on your magic, which could have been the bind that broke, or that there are no wards up and he just wants you to go back there because none of the Death Eaters know the location. I don't like either idea, so I would like both of us to meet with Bill and have him answer our questions, if you don't mind. Until we meet with him though, I think that you should come home with me. It is wrong for Dumbledore to send you back there, knowing how your relatives treat you."

"I hadn't ever wondered about the wards. I guess it wouldn't hurt to write Bill and ask if he wouldn't mind to talk to us and look at the wards. I also wouldn't mind not going back to the Dursleys, but how are we going to keep Dumbledore from finding out that I went home with you? "

"Let me worry about the planning, I have a better mind than you when it comes to that sort of thing. You normally get us in trouble and try to kill us when I let you make the plans. For now, we will just pretend that we are going home to our own houses like every summer past." That seemed to take care of Harry's concerns, so I had him get me some paper and a quill so I could write to my parents and Bill. By the time I finished writing the letters it was lunchtime and also time for Madam Pomphrey to bring me my normal potions. We had decided while I was writing the letters that we were only going to tell my parents that we were together. Harry was afraid that Voldemort would use me to get to him, like he did Sirius. We decided that we also did not want the Prophet finding out yet, so we would keep it quiet from the school until term resumed in the fall. As Madam Pomphrey came in with my lunch and potions, Harry left to eat lunch himself and to give Hedwig the letters.