Chapter 2

Harry sat there on his bed for what seemed like hours, looking from the shoe box next to him and then back to the velvet box he still had in his hands. Looking down he opened the box it was a beautiful diamond not too large but not too small with two green emeralds on each side.

For once he had gotten something he really wanted from his aunt on his birthday.

He stared at it for a while then he noticed the letter still sitting on his lap from Hermione. And he noticed the 'love Hermione.' He remembered how she had said she was lonely and how she said that she missed him. Although he considered both Ron and Hermione his best friends, in recent years Harry had developed additional feelings for Hermione that he could not deny. Looking again at her letter, Harry began to wonder for the first time if his feelings were matched in her.

He had always admired Hermione since third year when she punched Malfoy. He knew she could handle herself, but he had always thought that she would end up with Ron or someone else who she would be safe with. He knew that as long as Voldemort was alive, anyone he loved would be in constant danger.

And then he heard a pop right outside his door he looked at the clock and saw that it was noon at last. He pulled out his wand, just in case. There was a knock on the door he told them to come in, figuring that if it was a death eater they wouldn't knock. The door opened and he saw her. Hermione had a huge smile plastered on her face and she ran to him and pulled him in to a hug. They realized that their hug may have lasted a little too long because simultaneously they backed up. It was at that moment that she saw the bars on the windows, and he remembered he was holding an engagement ring and her letter. He quickly put both in is trunk he thought he saw her glance over before she looked at the windows again

"So now I see why I haven't gotten any letters" she stated breaking the ice

"Yeah, your owl passed the letter through the bars and flew off."

Plopping herself down on his bed she started talking about her summer he couldn't help but think about how he had never had a girl in his room before

"… and this room has swords and books on fighting techniques you have to see it I haven't told anyone about it"

They talked like this for a while. It felt good to harry to talk to someone who didn't openly hate him

At 12:30 he heard 2 more pops and saw the Weasley's outside his door

"Well you my dear are entirely too skinny, do they feed you here?" said Mrs. Weasley pulling him into a hug

"Hello Harry. Are you all packed up?"

"Yes sir."

"Well then, let's get going. I will take your trunk, son."

Hermione smiled and held out her hand harry nervously grabbed it and after hearing two pops she winked at him and he felt it. He would never get used to apparition. He had yet to take lessons, and had only Apperated with someone a few times.

He thudded into the living room off Number Twelve Grimmauld Place heard Mr. Weasley say he was going to bring his trunk upstairs for him and he thanked the man Harry didn't notice that he was still holding the girl's hand until she began pulling him up the stairs towards the library when she got there she smiled and let go of his hand.

Opened the door …

"I completely forgot you had told me in your letter they were planning a party". She just smiled.

There were probably 15 people there.

When they realized he was there, there was a chorus of happy birthdays.

People from school, people from the order, all the Weasleys except Percy were there, too.

Ron came rushing over dragging a pretty girl behind him. Ron looked like the girl was a trophy he had won before wishing Harry a happy birthday. He introduced the girl as Sara to Harry and Hermione and dove into a story about how they had met and harry was all too happy to be interrupted when a cake was brought in and people started singing.

"Happy birthday to you…"

Harry was looking around at all the faces, a feeling of guilt washed over him. Being friends with him and loving him had torn many of these people's lives apart

"Happy birthday to you… "

Voldemort had to be defeated.

"Happy birthday dear Harry …"

At that moment he decided that by this time next year he would have defeated his enemy and he would do anything he needed to do in order to kill Voldemort and as many death eaters he could get his hands on.

"Happy birthday too youuuuu"

There was cheering and harry looked over at Hermione "Make a wish harry," she said with a smile on her face .

It was not hard for harry do decide what his wish would be.

He wished for the courage, strength and power he would need to defeat the dark lord.

Harry put on a happy face and began opening the gifts that were passed to him

He was given books on powerful spells from moony, harry thanked him thinking he had probably gotten the same gift from Hermione

A box of honey dukes chocolate from Ron

Ginny had given him a framed picture. In the picture there was Hermione and Ron with his arm around his shoulder and harry with his arm around ginnys shoulder. Harry could not quite remember taking the picture but he loved the gift all the same and thanked Ginny with a hug. When he let go she shyly ran off he couldn't help but notice how red her face had gotten.

After another 15 minutes of gift giving and about an hour of mingling people started to say their goodbyes. Ron, Charlie, and Sara said good bye and Ron said he would be back in time for the train to leave once everyone was gone it was just him and Hermione they started to clean up before she called him over to a book case

"You know Harry I never gave you your birthday present." She reached up and grabbed a book called Family Honor and pulled it down instantly the whole bookshelf shimmered and he saw her walk through it like the barrier at 9 ¾

As soon as he stepped through the barrier he saw a huge hidden room with swords along the walls. At the far end of the room was a line of portraits. He stared in awe as he noticed a portrait of Sirius beaming at him

"Happy birthday harry" he heard in his god fathers voice

Could it really be, could there really have been a portrait of Sirius that he hadn't known about he looked at Hermione questioningly she nodded

"Sirius is it really you?" As he stepped closer Hermione followed him

"In the flesh …Well you know what I mean." He said with a chuckle

And with that chuckle from serious he finely let himself believe that he was looking at his godfather again

Seeing that harry was still in a state of shock, Sirius began to talk

"The room you are in is made for your use in learning to fight, in addition to anything else. It can only be used by a person who has a direct black bloodline or deemed worthy by one of the portraits. In your and Hermione's cases, that would be me" he said still smiling

"We can control the room harry like the room of requirement only better" she said

Harry began looking around the room there were quite a few doors

He and serious and Hermione talked for quite a long time harry learned a lot about the room they were in.

Upon walking through the bookcase they had been transported to a new hidden location. The room was untraceable, and while in the room they were untraceable as well. One of the most alarming things was that the room was actually not in the house at all. Harry couldn't help but think that could be useful.

Harry after yawning a few times himself and hearing Hermione yawn as well decided that it was time for them both to turn in and promised serious he would return tomorrow. Serious told harry to be prepared to begin training because they had no time to waste. Before leaving, harry saw Hermione grab a box from one of the tables, after pushing the book back in place she turned to him and handed him the box

"Hermione you have given me enough with the room and serious I really can't accept anything more from you." Harry said sincerely trying to give her back the box

"Harry please I worked so hard." Seeing her pleading eyes only mad harry feel bad about trying not to accept the gift and he began opining the box.

When he lifted the lid he saw two necklaces one a thin delicate chain with a golden pendent on it that had a red markings on it that harry could not recognize and the other had a thicker chain with an identical pendent on it. Hermione took the thick one and put it over his neck

"I made these two necklaces the chains themselves are unbreakable and are unable to be removed by anyone but I and the pendants are port keys to this room." Harry stared at her in amazement but she wasn't done yet.

She pulled reached for his pendent and took hold of it coming to stand next to him and began explaining the markings on the pendent. They were runes some for strength, power, and one that Hermione said she had added a spell porously making the chains and pendants invisible so that if ever captured he could make it so that the enemy could not see he was wearing it .

Harry looked down at his best female friend and realized suddenly, how very female she was, gazing up at him with her melted-chocolate eyes. A deep sense of gratitude and something else he couldn't name to himself came flooding through his body. It was an unexpected sensation, and partly because of it, partly because he'd wanted to try this with her for a while, he found his head moving down to close the height difference between them. Hermione looked a bit surprised, but also excited as his lips closed upon hers, and he relished at the soft sigh she let out and the gentle press of her lips.

Hermione's heart was thundering in her chest as she nervously kissed back her best friend. She had never been kissed before, and she found the sensation greatly enjoyable, especially as Harry, taking her tacit compliance as permission, wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against him tightly. They pulled back slightly, before coming together for another kiss, and Hermione allowed her mouth to fall open, breathing in his masculine scent. Just as she was really getting into the kiss, however, Harry, realizing what he had done, took a step back

Hermione was not at all expecting the kiss and stood wide eyed as he mumbled about how he was tired and would see her in the morning.

As he walked to his room he mumbled to himself

"Stupid, stupid, stupid…Why did I kiss her?" When he reached his room he plopped down on his bed and began thinking about his day first his Aunt then Sirius and now he had gone and kissed Hermione. It had been a very eventful day and hopefully he wouldn't pay the consequences in the morning

Taking hold of his pendent and staring at the runes Hermione had carved he remembered the wish he had made before blowing out the candles

Maybe he would get the power and strength he would need to fight Voldemort

That was his last thought before drifting off to sleep.

AN: The kiss is 100% coconutjelly596 she is my beta and she does all my fluff…. You can thank her.

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