Chapter 6: chaos

Harry scoffed at Hermione. He couldn't believe her…and that tone! "What do you mean exactly, by "your best friend"? Isn't he your best friend too? Are you suddenly forgetting the number of times you've group hugged both of us and said in that emotional girly voice "You guys are the best best friends in the entire world"?" he asked with a lousy imitation of Hermione's voice which had the witch's frown deepening.

"I'm sure I don't sound like that." She said disapprovingly

"Alright, fine you don't. But that's not the real issue here. The issue is that when it comes to disturbing things, I am Ron's best friend and you're just a friend but when it comes to all the fun things, then we're some sort of threesome right?"

Hermione squinted her eyes at him, obviously preparing a reply for him. "You're boys, you sleep in the same room so yes I get to ask either one of you when one of you can't be found. Besides, that is beside the point. The point is, we can't find Ron and we need to start looking for him."

Now it was Harry's turn to frown. "We can't find Ron? Hermione it's been two hours and he missed one class! It's not like we have searched Hogwarts grounds for the past year and we can't find him. That is what will be worrying but it's just a lesson! Just one."

She looked at him as if he was a stupid boy and sighed indulgently. "You don't get it, Harry…" she started before harry cut in "Well please help me do"

"I was going to!" she snapped. "So yes, as I was saying before the rude interruption, Ron won't miss class because he really hates it when I start acting like his mother so he never misses classes and he did today."

"Which should tell you that he might have an extremely good reason?"

"Or maybe he was taken"

"Taken? Hermione, seriously, taken by who, pray tell. Snatchers, perhaps? Death eaters? Oh yes, there's been a break in Azkhaban and all the graves of the dead death eaters has been overturned so they're walking about just you know, taking people. Breaking the Hogwarts wards…or oh wait, some of them even go to school with us, poly juiced as their children!" he finished, feeling just as mortified as Hermione looked.

She was staring at him like he just grew a set of giant wings and flew beyond the horizon. And the look in her eyes warned him to do damage control before she starts talking. "Of course, what I mean is, he's safe in Hogwarts. We all are. So he's probably just overwhelmed because lately he gets that way a lot. Look, Hermione, if it helps at all, I promise to go find him if he has still not shown up by lunch okay?"

She looked like she was about to argue but thought better of it and nodded slowly, picking up her bag even though the worry in her expression didn't fade. He stood up from the chair and held her hand, slowly rubbing it. "He's okay, Hermione. Or he'll be okay."

She smiled at him and nodded, squeezing his hand right back and when she made to pull her hand back but he held on and smiled down at her when she looked up at him with a questioning brow.

They walked hand in hand to professor Binn's history class, neither of them anticipating the lesson at all especially since Hermione found Harry's calmness about Ron's absence very suspicious.

It would have been the understatement of the year if he'd said he had been shocked when Hermione dragged him to the back of the class considering she was the one who always insisted that they all sat in the front of the class.

The lesson went on for an hour and Harry was on edge the whole time. He was certain Hermione was up to something and whatever it was, he would very much like to find out sometime during the next few minutes.

Hermione, not one to disappoint, muttered after a while of silence while still jotting down notes from professor Binn's lecture. "Draco's not here too. In fact, now that I think about it, he wasn't in Charms either." She uttered casually, not looking up from her book.

Harry made a show of looking around before replying "Yes…it seems he isn't either."

Hermione looked up at him and shook her head with that indulgent look that she has, setting his teeth on edge. "Are you trying to tell me that you, Harry Potter, didn't notice the absence of Draco Malfoy in class? Oh please, you know how many years it takes to break a habit that you built in six years? Yes, it takes a much longer time so I don't buy that."

Harry scratched his head nervously, watching Hermione from his peripheral vision as she went back to writing her notes. He was at a loss of words and had no idea what to do or say except shift uncomfortably in his seat.

She sat up quickly, turning to look at harry almost immediately. "Wait, you think that Draco finally noticed him and they both decided to ditch school today? But couldn't they do it after classes? I mean, school is important."

"Hermione, it's just one day." Harry replied by default before what Hermione had said sunk in. she knew? But how could she…? "Mione, what did you…?" he couldn't finish his question no matter how much he tried.

"What did I..? Oh you mean about Ron liking Draco? Harry, I'm not stupid and I'm a very observant person. I am also good at putting two and two together so yes, I know Ron likes Draco. He's probably even in love with him but the last time I checked, Draco had the hots for you so…"

"The hots?" Harry asked and choked slightly on nothing. "My God, Mione, please refrain from using such phrases in the future. What hots?"

Hermione just rolled her eyes at him before turning back to her book. "Well, what do you call the look he gets in his eyes when he sees you?"

"I didn't know you spent your time looking into the eyes of Draco Malfoy" harry said cynically.

"I don't. it's just the look he has as if he'd like to rip your clothes off and have his way with you right there and then is pretty hard not to notice. Especially with all the sexual vibes that he gives!" she spat out, obviously not thrilled.

"And you don't like it." Harry said that in a way that made it sound like a question.

Hermione sat there silently for a while. She had stopped making the notes but she wasn't looking at him either, then slowly she shook her head. "No."

"Why?" harry asked simply. He knew he was pushing it, but somehow he had been blessed with this opportunity and he'd kill himself if he doesn't seize it.

She just shrugged though, and went back to what she was doing, which was writing notes as if history was the best thing that happened to her so he mumbled: "Because you want it to be you? You want to be the only one who gets to look at me like that? Or at least to be the one among all the people who look at me that way that I actually look back at with that same look in my eyes?"

Her back stiffened and her shoulders tensed up. Her hand had stopped moving on the book and she was gripping her quill so tight, her knuckles looked pale from the effort. She seemed to be weighing her odds before slowly nodding. Harry let out a long breath he hadn't known he'd been holding and he reached over to touch Hermione's hand on the table.

She looked back at him, confusion evident in her eyes as well as a cocktail of worry, uncertainty, fear, doubt and a few other emotions he wasn't quite conversant with and simply nodded before whispering: "I will."

She smiled tentatively at first before right before his eyes, it transformed into a bright smile. She squeezed his hand, looking around regrettably. Harry knew why so she just pulled her into a hug and hugged her tightly. He pulled back and kissed her slowly. It was innocent and soft but he knew to pull back quickly because even though everyone was asleep, it was still a class and for some reason, even Binns was dozing off.

No one was more relieved than he when the time was up and they were dismissed. He walked hand in hand with her, smiling in his head at the looks they got from people and how the girls seemed to glare at Hermione while they boys just looked on in envy. "Yeah in your face, people!" his brain mocked and he chuckles lightly, turning around to see Hermione staring at him.

"Oh it's nothing. I'm just thinking we should probably walk around these days with protective spells around us, because I think we gathered a few enemies in the last five minutes." Hermione just shrugged. "I'm sure we can take them down. We're the power couple. I'd say the brains and the heart but that's just wrong"

"It is?" Harry asked, doubtful. "Why?"

"Because you see, even if you and I are a pair, Ron is part of our whole being and we all know he strategizes than anyone we know so he is the brains. I'm the eyes…for obvious reasons, no pun intended." she said, looking at his glasses.

"None taken." He replied with a sly grin.

"Great. And you are of course, the heart." She finished with a smile. Harry smiled back at her, pulling her close and swinging an arm around her shoulders. She slipped hers around his waist before looking up at him: "well, speaking of the brain, it is time for lunch."

"And we'll see him soon, hopefully." Harry said and kissed the top of her head as they made their way to the great hall.

A/N: yes yes i know i am a mean person but bright side is, yay….another chapter! I hope you like it and as always, R&R please...I would really appreciate it. And yes, I know it was mainly Harry/Hermione but I introduced their love story in the previous chapter and I thought I should develop it. Thank you for reading.

Merci beaucoup

Gracias!

:-*