Author's Notes:

Alright, sorry that I didn't post this yesterday like I said I would. I ended up getting called into the office to work and that literally never happens! So I wasn't working on my laptop like I usually am.

I will admit that this chapter is pretty much laying down some more foundations between the characters in the story, but next chapter we will be seeing more action in the storyline. This one gives a good insight into Hermione's character in particular. It takes place directly after the ending of the second chapter and carries through to the next day. So enjoy! :)

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Chapter 3:

Hermione lay awake staring at the ceiling of her bed, waiting for Ginny to come back to the dorm. It had already been about half an hour since Harry had come knocking at their door wanting to speak with her and she had gone with him down to the common room. How long could a simple "I fancy you" take? She then remembered how long it had been since she had developed the same feelings for Ron, and she scolded herself for wanting to rush them. How could she complain when it had been years and she still hadn't had the courage to tell Ron?

She suddenly heard a door squeak open as Ginny stepped in and closed the door behind her. Hermione let out a quiet squeal and shot up out of her bed before excitedly prancing over to Ginny.

"So?" she asked with a huge smile on her face.

Ginny smiled back at how excited her friend was for her. "So what?" she teased.

"Oh, COME ON, Ginny. What happened? Tell me everything!" Hermione's face turned red as soon as she heard the overly excited tone in her voice. Even she was surprised to see how girlish she was being about this. She had always been somewhat of a closet-romantic, but the thought of a real-life romance unravelling before her eyes was much more exciting than reading any of her fiction romance novels.

Ginny giggled as she jumped onto her bed and pulled her feet up under her to cross her legs. Hermione followed her onto the bed as she crossed her own legs and turned to face Ginny with a lingering look of excitement on her face.

"Well… he said that he had had something on his mind for a while, but he couldn't act on it because of various… circumstances," she answered as she looked down at the bed.

Hermione felt her mouth fall open with anticipation as she waited for Ginny to continue. "Okay, what circumstances? What was on his mind? Keep going!" She already knew the answers to both questions but she wanted to know that Harry had finally confessed his feelings to Ginny and she couldn't keep her anticipation at bay.

"For Merlin's sake Hermione, calm down!" Ginny answered with a laugh. "Then he said that he couldn't tell me before because I was with Dean, and today after he found out that we had split he had wanted to tell me right away but there was still something he had to take care of before he did."

Hermione's eyes widened, still waiting to hear if Harry had told her that he had feelings for her or not.

Ginny giggled again at Hermione's reaction to her lingering pause in the story. "He said something about having to talk to Ron about it first, and once Ron had said he was okay with it he left right away to come tell me."

Hermione grinned as the excitement inside of her built. "Then what!" she almost shouted as Ginny laughed again.

Ginny was giggling like the school girl that she was, Hermione's excitement clearly rubbing off on her as she answered "Well, I could tell he was really nervous and he started stuttering, but he eventually blurted that he's fancied me for a while now as more than a friend, and he couldn't hide his romantic feelings for me anymore!"

Hermione gasped despite her already knowing everything that Harry had admitted to Ginny. She had to admit though; she was genuinely surprised that he had just come outright with it like that. "Now tell me what you said back!" she almost shouted again as she felt her grin sneak back onto her face.

"I said I fancied him too, of course! And then he said 'Brilliant!' and I said 'Yeah', and then he asked if I'd be interested in going on a date tomorrow night, and I said yes! So, I guess I have a date!" she said as she felt her own smile become as large as Hermione's.

Hermione's grin grew impossibly larger and she tried to supress another girlish squeal as she brought Ginny into a hug. Ginny couldn't keep from laughing as she returned the hug with a tight squeeze.

"I'm so happy for you guys Gin! I can't believe he finally told you, I didn't think he'd ever get the chance to do it!"

Ginny gasped and she suddenly pulled her head back to look at Hermione's face, her arms still on her shoulders.

"Are you saying you knew the whole time? And you never told me? What is wrong with you, woman? If I had known a nice boy like Harry was interested I probably would have dumped Dean ages ago!" she said with a smile.

Hermione laughed at her response. "Well it's not like I had a choice, Gin. Harry's still one of my best friends and he would have killed me if I had said anything! But at least it worked out in the end."

"Yeah, I'm just happy that Ron's decided to stop being a prat about me having boyfriends. Who knows if Harry ever would have asked me out if Ron had not been okay with it first?"

"Well, Harry did mention that Ron said it might be weird, but he also said it's got to be better than any of the other boys at Hogwarts. I'd imagine it's because he knows Harry well enough."

Ginny started scowling. "Well, it's still none of his damn business. I won't be surprised if he's still trying to keep me from snogging my boyfriend for the end of eternity, even if it ends up being Harry."

Hermione laughed. "You know he's only looking out for his only little sister, Gin. I'm sure he'll be better if it's Harry. They're best friends, after all. And if it makes you feel better I'll make sure to keep him off your case," she promised.

Ginny scoffed and gave her a mischievous smirk. "And how do you plan on doing that, Hermione? Taking him out in the courtyard for a little snog-fest, perhaps? That'll distract him, I'm sure." She laughed at her own teasing as Hermione's cheeks flushed and her face turned a light shade of pink. She immediately regretted having ever told Ginny about the dream she had had a while back which involved her jumping Ron and snogging his face off out in the courtyard.

Hermione huffed as she crossed her arms. "Oh, very funny! Honestly, Ginny, that's the last time I tell you about any of my dreams," she said as she turned her head away from Ginny's smirk.

"Oh come on, Hermione, we both know you'd love nothing more than to get him alone in the courtyard, or anywhere for that matter, and just snog his brains out" she retorted, her smirk turning into more of a devilish grin.

Hermione knew Ginny was right, but she was trying to push past the romantic urges she had towards Ron. All she wanted was to have some kind of relationship with him, and she truly believed that being his friend again was her only shot.

Hermione brought her face back around to look at Ginny, who was still smirking like an idiot. "Despite what I have felt in the past, I am trying my best to get over it." She felt her face slightly drop and she pulled her knees up to her chest and she rested her chin on top of them before she continued: "I really just want to be friends again, and I'm okay with him only liking me as his friend. I'm sure I'll get over it soon enough."

Ginny's smirk disappeared as fast as it had come and Hermione could see waves of pity behind her eyes. "Hermione, you and I both know that you aren't just going to get over him…" Hermione sighed knowing that Ginny was right. No matter what she tried to tell herself, she knew it wasn't going to be that easy. She wondered if she would ever be able to get over him.

Ginny sat there a moment longer before speaking again. "You now… I have reason to believe that Ron may, possibly, return the feelings…" Hermione's head shot up with a quizzical expression.

"What makes you say that?" she asked quietly, a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

"I don't know, after living with a bloke for years it's easy to tell when he's acting… I don't know, differently. And he definitely acts differently with you, Hermione," responded Ginny with a slight smile. "And he just broke up with that horrible girl… so, you never know what can happen. I'm not saying you should expect any big romantic gestures or anything, I mean it is still Ron, but just don't lose hope. I know my brother feels differently about you than he does with other girls. I just… have a feeling."

Hermione returned Ginny's smile with one of her own as she thought about what Ginny had said. Did Ron really treat her different than other girls? She hadn't really noticed. She made a mental note to pay more attention to how Ron acted towards other girls at school before responding to Ginny.

"Thanks for trying to cheer me up, Gin, but I'm still not going to hold my breath. I don't mean to doubt your sisterly intuition, but I think Ron and I just have a different sort of friendship. He's always treated me differently than other girls." She gave Ginny a sorry smile before releasing her knees from her chest and standing up. "But enough about boys. Who needs 'em, right?" She walked over and plopped down on her own bed. "I'm seriously considering remaining single for the rest of my days. I was so much happier back in first year when the only thing I cared about was my studies and my books." She smiled fondly at the memory of being a care-free child as she pulled her blankets up over top of her and laid her head down on the pillow. "I could always just get a cat… or ten."

Ginny laughed as she pictured Hermione as an old, crazy witch with a hundred cats following her around everywhere. "Well, you tell me how that works out then." She climbed under the sheets of her own bed and laughed again as the image appeared back in her head.

Hermione laughed with her, knowing what she must have been thinking about. "Alright, well I'm supposed to meet Harry and Ron downstairs before breakfast, would you like to join us?"

"Sure," responded Ginny.

"Good. 'Night, Gin" she said quietly as she closed her eyes. She heard Ginny say goodnight back as she let her thoughts carry her off to sleep.

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The next morning, Hermione woke up in a much happier mood than she had been last night, and she skipped out of her bed as she started getting ready for class. She put on a clean uniform and fixed up her hair as best she could with the old hairbrush she had had since she was a young girl. She grimaced as she tried to maneuver the brush between her thick locks as it pulled at her scalp. She really did hate her hair.

When she finally gave up on trying to tame her mane, she came out of the bathroom hoping Ginny would have at least started to get ready. She gave a frustrated sigh as she stomped towards Ginny's bed and plopped down on the edge of it.

"Ginny…" she whispered as she tried to coax her awake, "Ginny get up, we're going to be late for breakfast."

Ginny groaned at the sound of Hermione's voice. "Just a few more minutes, okay?"

"Come on, Ginny, you need to get up! We're going to be late," she snapped. Ginny lied still, her eyes closed, as she pretended not to hear Hermione.

Hermione let out an aggravated groan and huffed before suddenly remembering who was waiting for them.

"You now, a certain boy down there probably would be pretty disappointed to see that you didn't want to have breakfast with him…"

Ginny's eyes snapped open and she quickly struggled to get out from under the blankets that she had wrapped herself up in before falling asleep. Once she was free, she jumped out of bed, grabbed a clean uniform and ran into the washroom to start her morning beauty routine. Hermione giggled as she watched Ginny run in and shut the door, and she thought to herself how deliciously wicked she could be sometimes.

After another fifteen minutes had gone by, Ginny emerged from the bathroom, her face all done up and her hair styled the way she liked. She looked at Hermione who was sitting on the end of Ginny's bed with one leg crossed over the other, her elbow resting on top of her knee as her hand supported her head's weight. She rolled her eyes before looking up at Ginny and asking "Are you about finished?"

Ginny smiled down at her. "Well, that depends. How do I look? Presentable?"

Hermione huffed as she rolled her eyes again and smiled before standing up. "Yes, you look magnificent, the most beautiful sight I have ever laid eyes on," she laughed, sarcasm exuding from every word.

Ginny rolled her eyes back at her and started to pack her bag. Once she was finished the two girls slowly walked down the stairs to the common room, chit-chatting about school.

They reached the landing and looked around before finally spotting Harry and Ron, both sitting on a couch with their backs facing the stairs. Their elbows were on their knees and their hands holding their heads up, much like the way Hermione had been while waiting for Ginny to come out of the bathroom only moments ago.

Hermione and Ginny walked over to the couches and they saw the boys turn their heads and peer over their shoulders to see who was approaching. Harry suddenly stood up and smiled as he realized who was with Hermione. Ron remained seated but looked up at Hermione and gave her a smile. "I see you brought someone to join us, Hermione," he said as Ginny stared at him through narrowed eyes and stuck her tongue out at him.

Harry chuckled at her reaction before walking around to the back of the couch as the girls stopped walking in front of him. 'How are you two this morning?" He asked shyly as he glanced between the two girls' eyes. Hermione gave him a smile knowing that he had to have been aware that Ginny would tell her what he had said to her last night, and he was probably mortified that Hermione knew all the details. She answered quickly, not wanting to prolong his embarrassment. "Well someone was a little bit slow getting out of bed," she teased as Ginny rolled her eyes, "but besides that I'm fine."

Harry chuckled again as he caught on to who he was talking about. He smiled at Ginny and asked, "And you?"

"Oh, I'm good, same old same old, I suppose." She beamed back at him as Harry's smile grew into a grin.

"Brilliant." The two smiled at each other for a while before they heard a sudden groan.

"Oh, bloody hell, here we go…" a low voice from behind teased as they all turned to look at Ron rolling his eyes and rising from the couch. "Can we please just walk down to breakfast without all the cutesy stuff? Please? I can already feel it getting awkward and you two aren't even officially dating yet!"

Hermione covered her mouth to suppress a giggle as Harry and Ginny's faces both started to turn red. She had never seen Ginny blush before, but now that she had she knew she had to be Ron's sister.

"Alright, let's go then, no need to drag this out." She lightly pushed Harry and Ginny ahead of her as she and Ron started walking behind them.

By the time they had gotten out of the portrait hole, Harry and Ginny were lost in each other's gazes as they tried to make friendly chit-chat. Hermione smiled at the sight of them as she tried to stifle another giggle. She turned her head to her left and looked up at Ron who was looking at the back of Harry and Ginny with one eye closed, a scrunched up nose and a hokey grimace on his face. He stuck out his tongue with an "Ugh!" and shook his head back and forward as he closed his eyes and pointed his head down at the floor. Hermione couldn't help but laugh at his over-the-top reaction, and he grinned mischievously as Harry and Ginny turned their heads behind them to stare daggers at them, both with a red tint in their cheeks. Just as quickly, they turned their heads back up front and continued their conversation.

Hermione laughed quietly once she knew the two were distracted with each other once more. "I really hope you aren't going to tease them much, Ron. I told Ginny I'd keep you off her back."

Ron scoffed with a grin still plastered on his face. "Honestly, Hermione, I don't know what would give you the impression that I have any interest in her dating life," he said with a sarcastic tone. Hermione laughed again but was happy to see that her laughing hadn't interrupted Harry and Ginny's talking this time.

She smiled up at him and said "Well, I really don't think you have anything to worry about this time. You know Harry better than anyone in the world."

"I'm not worried, just a little, I don't know put off," he said with a slight chuckle. "My best mate, who's practically my brother, snogging on my sister. It's just a little weird is all."

"I'm sure you'll get used to it eventually," Hermione said looking up at him with a comforting smile. He smiled back and shrugged his shoulders as they continued to walk down the hallways.

Once the four friends reached the Great Hall, they found their usual spots at the table. Hermione laughed to herself as Harry chose to sit beside Ginny instead of Ron or her like he usually did. Ron scoffed as he shook his head and sat down next to Hermione. Harry and Ginny were still deep in conversation.

"Great. So can we expect that you'll be sitting with us every day now?" Ron said with a teasing tone in his voice. Ginny and Harry continued talking, almost as if they hadn't even heard what he had said. Ron huffed as he looked at Hermione with a shocked expression on his face. "Can you believe this?" he asked as he motioned his hands towards where Harry and Ginny were sitting. "It's like they don't even know we that we bloody well exist!"

Hermione laughed. "Oh, Ron, just leave them alone already! I'm sure Ginny wasn't like this to you when you started going out with Lavender." Her smile faded as she remembered back when Ron and Lavender had been going out. Ginny had absolutely hated Lavender, but probably in partial because she knew Hermione liked Ron and she wanted Hermione to be happy.

Ron's smile disappeared as well and he quickly took a bite of his breakfast as he looked down on his plate of eggs and sausage. A moment went by as the two sat eating their food, not wanting to be the first one to break the now uncomfortable silence.

Suddenly, Ron laid down his fork and cleared his throat. "Hermione?"

Hermione inwardly let out a sigh of relief as she raised her head off of her plate to look at him. "Mhm?" she mumbled, her mouth still partly full with food.

"Was I really… was I really like, you know, them? When I was, err… dating Lavender?" He stared back at her with a somewhat sad look in his eyes.

Hermione's eyes widened slightly and she swallowed the mouthful of food she had in her mouth. She had been in such a good mood that morning, why did he have to bring this up again?

She looked down at the table before answering his question. "Well, for a while there, yeah. Which was part of the reason why I was so angry with you…" Her voice trailed off as she bit her bottom lip. She grabbed a glass of pumpkin juice and took a sip before slowly lifting her head to look at him again.

Ron was looking down at the table, clearly mulling it over in his mind. She thought she detected a sense of guilt in his facial expression. Maybe he was starting to realize what he had put her through now that he was on the other side of things.

He looked up to meet her gaze, almost as if he knew what she had been thinking. "Listen, Hermione... I know I already said I'm sorry for that, but I just wanted to say it again. I really am sorry. I feel like I messed things up in our friendship, you know?" He kept their eyes locked as he waited for her to answer.

"Ron, it's okay, really. I already told you I forgive you for ignoring me," she answered, raising her hand up on his forearm as she spoke. "And it wasn't just you. I didn't take it as well as I could have." She gave him an assuring smile as she stared back into his deep blue eyes.

Ron nodded as he smiled back down at her, holding his gaze with hers for a few more seconds before chuckling and looking back down at his breakfast to shovel the last bite into his mouth. He looked back up at Ginny and Harry, who were both completely oblivious to him and Hermione's conversation.

"It's quite annoying, actually," he said with a laugh, his mouth still full of food. "I'm not surprised you were that upset. Especially with Lover Boy over there getting involved with Dumbledore's little missions at the same time."

Hermione laughed at the new nick name. "Yes, well it doesn't matter anymore. I was just being selfish, really. It's behind us now. And I can assure you, I'm not going to let it happen again, even now with Harry in the same position you were in a while ago."

"Good," said Ron as he smiled down at his plate. "At least you'll have me this time. I don't plan on getting involved in any of Dumbledore's crazy schemes, I'll tell you that much. Can you imagine? Next thing you know he'll have us all out there by ourselves to get these silly horcrux things. Not bloody likely!"

Harry's head suddenly snapped over in Ron and Hermione's direction at the use of the word "horcrux". "Ron," he whispered harshly as he leaned over the table so Ron could hear him, "you aren't supposed to be talking about those. And they aren't silly; they're an important part in destroying… You-Know-Who" he said, his eyes darting around to make sure nobody else could hear.

Ron huffed. "So now you're listening to us? And you say that, but I just don't see how important they could be that someone would have to go off on some dangerous mission to destroy them."

Harry looked at him with his a raised eyebrow. "Weren't you listening when I explained it to you yesterday in Charms class?"

Ron shrugged his shoulders. "I guess not."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Well, I'll explain it to you again later. Just please don't talk about it so loudly in public!" He sat back in his seat before taking a bite of his breakfast, which by now had become cold since he had been focusing all his time on Ginny.

Once everyone had finished eating, they got up from the table to head to class.

"I'm actually going to go walk with Ginny to her class; I'll meet you guys in Potions, okay?" Harry said with an embarrassed look once they were out in the hallway. Hermione smiled back at him and nodded while Ron rolled his eyes.

"Sure, Harry," said Hermione, as she looked over his shoulder and winked at Ginny. Ginny stifled a giggle as Harry turned around, his face still pink, and they started to walk the opposite direction from her and Ron.

"Just don't count on us covering for you if you're late!" shouted Ron, a playful tone in his voice.

"Alright, well we better get to class," Hermione said, turning to walk slowly down the hall with Ron following by her side.

As they were walking, Hermione couldn't keep from smiling as she imagined how ecstatic Ginny must have been that Harry had offered to walk her to class. She was really happy that at least one of them was getting attention from the boy they had liked for ages.

Ron looked down and noticed that Hermione had had the same goofy smile on her face that she had a minute ago when they had first started walking to class.

"What, may I ask exactly, are you smiling about? You've been grinning like an idiot for a whole minute now" he said with a chuckle.

Hermione's smile grew as she looked up at him. "Oh, I don't know. I was just thinking about how happy Ginny probably is right now. Isn't it romantic of Harry to escort her to class?" she asked with a dreamy look on her face. She drifted off in her thoughts again as her feet dragged underneath her.

Ron rolled his eyes. "Romantic? Since when is walking romantic?" he asked, his eyebrow raised and a sarcastic tone in his voice.

"No, Ron, it's not the fact that they're walking. It's the fact that he is walking her to her class so that she won't have to walk alone."

He clicked his tongue and huffed as he rolled his eyes for what seemed to be the hundredth time that morning. "Well, I'm walking you to class. You don't see anyone calling that romantic," he snapped, without even thinking about what he was saying. His eyes suddenly widened as he looked down after realizing what he had said.

Hermione sighed. "It's not the same, Ronald. He's walking her because he doesn't want her to be alone, and even though it's completely out of his way he's doing it anyways. It's kind of like a "knight in shining armour" idea. Girls like that sort of thing. It makes them feel, I don't know, special, I suppose…" Her voice trailed off as she thought about what it might have been like for someone to walk her to class simply because they wanted to.

Ron lifted his eyes up off the floor and onto Hermione, noticing the sad expression on her face. "Well, for what it's worth," he said quietly, "I'm walking with you because I want to too, not just because I happen to be going to the same class." He quickly looked away before she could lift her head.

She looked up at him, a slight smile on her lips, and a slight touch of pink on her cheeks. His face was becoming a vibrant shade of red as his eyes stayed on the ground, too embarrassed to meet hers. Her heart fluttered at the sight of his blush. Had they just had a moment there? She wasn't sure, but she decided not to read too much into it and kept silent, the smile still looming on her face.

Another minute went by before either of them said anything. Ron suddenly stopped looking at the ground and he looked down at Hermione.

"Hermione?" he said, a lopsided grin appearing on his face.

"Yes?" she squeaked.

"You know you called me 'Ronald' a minute ago?"

She felt the corners of her mouth tug up as she thought back and realized that he was right. "Yes. So what?"

"So, nothing... You just haven't called me that for a while." He chuckled before continuing; "I missed it. Well, maybe not entirely, but partially, at least." Hermione laughed at his emphasise on the word 'partially'.

"Well, I missed it too," she said, looking up to meet his blue eyes as he gave her a sweet smile. Now she was certain they were having a moment. They laughed together as they continued to walk slowly down the hall.

After a few more minutes and some more light chit-chat, they reached the classroom door. Ron opened it and motioned for Hermione to go through, and she thanked him and entered the classroom. Her eyes scanned the room for an empty table, but she was caught off guard to see Harry had already made it to the classroom before them. He looked up at her with raised eyebrows and gave her a smirk as he saw Ron walk in behind her.

They walked over to Harry's table and Hermione sat down beside him, Ron sitting next to her.

"Well. Look what we have here," quirked Harry, a sinful tone in his voice. "What happened to 'Oh, we won't cover for you if you're late', huh?" he mocked, trying to imitate Ron's deep voice.

"Oi, shut up, Harry!" shouted Ron with an amused look on his face. "How'd you even beat us here anyways? Ditch my sister once you turned the corner? I knew it was all a charade." He laughed as Harry's mouth swung open and he scoffed.

"Hey!" he snapped, a smile still on his face, "I'll have you know I walked her all the way to her classroom! Still had time to walk back here before you two made it as well. I was almost worried about you when I realized you hadn't showed up yet."

Ron rolled his eyes and laughed. "Well, don't get your knickers in a twist. We're here now."

Harry chuckled and looked at Hermione. "So what took you two so long then?"

Hermione's face started to blush. What had taken them so long? "Oh, I'm not really sure. We were just dragging our feet, I suppose. Big breakfast, you know…" she trailed off and let her eyes fall to the desk, trying not to meet Harry's knowing smile. The red on Ron's face was becoming more and more prominent as he realized they didn't have a good reason to be late other than the fact that they had been lost in conversation, much like Ginny and Harry had been this morning on their way to breakfast. His eyes started darting around the room as he tried to think of an excuse, but he couldn't come up with anything.

Harry smirked at the sight of Ron's embarrassment. He'd be lying to himself if he said he hadn't enjoyed seeing Ron squirm after all the things he had said to him and Ginny that morning.

"Well, slowpokes, next time speed it up maybe, hm?" he chuckled, letting them off easy. The booming voice of Professor Slughorn suddenly rang through the room as the three friends' heads shot up to the front of the class. Hermione tried to keep her focus, but she was in far too good of a mood to think about Potions class. She sneaked a peek to her left, only to catch Ron's eyes quickly darting away from her and back up to the front of the class as he rested his chin in his hand and a slight blush tinged his cheeks. She smiled to herself and focused back on the teacher, but not before seeing a small smile break out on his face from under his hand.

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A/N:

Alright so that was Chapter 2. Again, I know there wasn't a whole lot of excitement but I felt it was important to outline the characters' relationships at this point in the story. I also wanted to show how Hermione/Ron's relationship is improving considering everything.

Next chapter will be more exciting, with more focused on the storyline I outlined in the summary.

Don't forget to review :)