Thanks everyone for all the reviews! I was so happy to read them, though I must say I'm a bit scared that I won't be able to make more chapters that are as liked as much as that one. But I guess I'm up for the challenge. Also, I apologize it took me this long to write this. I hurt one of my fingers and typing was a challenge, but I'm back in full writing mode.

Special thanks to ObssessedRHShipper who is now officially the beta for this story! Yippee!

Also sorry, I changed my mind and put no memories in this chapter. I needed a bit more R/H before going back to the dark past. So the memories will come later. I hope you like this one. R&R

Our Secret

Ron and Hermione ran to the Dungeons quickly. Once they arrived, they noticed Harry, the twins, Angelina, and Draco standing outside the potions classroom. There was a blue glow at the edges of the door, which clearly indicated it was imperturbed. George was desperately trying to put an earlike thing against the door by casting spells. Fred tried to help by adding charms on the ears.

"Where have you been?" asked Harry.

"There was an odd shaking in the Transfiguration classroom. As prefects, we had to check what it was," answered Hermione immediately. Her quick thinking had yet again gained Ron's admiration since it was definitely not wise to reveal that they had been snogging while McDavol got in the school.

"How did McDavol get in?" Ron asked.

"He works in the Ministry now and Ministry officials are welcome to attend the ball. Didn't you notice your own brother in here?" asked Draco sarcastically.

"Yes, he did! But McDavol cannot be as important as Percy, not so soon after graduating!" answered Hermione clearly annoyed at Draco's jab at Ron.

"Unspeakables have top-ranking at the Ministry, even if they're just in training like Marcus. He was next in line for the job if something happened to Ely," answered Draco sourly.

"I thought he killed Ely to be able to kill Estella," said George.

"Marcus won't kill Estella. He might try almost anything to get her on his side, but he won't kill her. That curse was not directed at her, was it? In his own twisted way, he cares about her. But Marcus knew that Ely Swanson would die rather than let him take Estella so he could put under the Imperius or whatever other scheme Marcus would use to make her do what he wants. I've begun to think he added Estella to his target list just to have Ely get in the way. He's calculating like that and now Ely's job is his."

"And you didn't tell them that before the train!" yelled Harry.

"I hadn't figured that much out by that time! Even now, I can't be sure that's what he really wanted, but that's my best theory from what I know about Marcus. Especially now that he is enjoying the job perks and Ella's getting Ministry orders to reveal the location of Swanson Mansion."

"Would he be capable of hurting her?" asked George.

"Maybe, if he thinks he could heal her afterwards," answered Draco with sadness.

"Why in the bloody hell would she go in a room alone with him?" added George before trying the ears against the door again.

They sat on the floor in silence waiting for McDavol and Estella to come out. Harry paced along the door and looked crazed, even worse than George. It was kind of scary to see Harry with the animalistic expression that Ron had only seen at Godric's Hollow, right after the train attack.

Hermione stopped their best friend and talked to him, "Are you alright?"

"The evil arse that cursed my father is in that room doing Merlin-knows-what to Estella and all we can do is stand here! How do you think I am?"

"DON'T YELL AT..." screamed Ron, only to be interrupted by Angelina.

"Shut it!"

Angelina came closer to the trio and forced them to walk away from the door. She quietly added, "This isn't the time to have a go at each other. And saying things about McDavol doing anything to Estella is not helping anyone, especially George. Now, you might be our leaders, but if you have nothing useful to say, be quiet."

"Sorry," said Harry followed by Ron.

They all stood around for what felt like forever until the blue glow around the door disappeared. George barged in, ran right to Estella and hugged her like his life depended on it. She didn't really hug back, but did say, "I'm fine."

"Are you going to downgrade to a squib next?" McDavol said with a tone of disgust while looking at the pair.

Everyone raised their wands towards him except for Estella who yelled, "Don't!"

"Did he use the Imperius on you?" asked George.

"No!" she answered.

"How's dad?" asked McDavol looking evilly towards Harry.

"You bastard!" yelled Harry before sending a stunning spell right towards Marcus. The spell never reached its target because Estella quickly cast a strong Protego charm.

"What the hell!" yelled Harry.

"Don't fall for it! He's baiting us! Me and you! If we hurt him, he'll have all sorts of ammunition to bring to the Daily Prophet and the Ministry. He'll use us to smear the Swansons and your parents even more."

"You won't outwit me, Marcus. Not again," Estella added looking straight at McDavol.

"Clever. You can take the girl away from the Slytherins, but you can't take the Slytherin out of the girl," said Marcus sarcastically. He bowed in front of her, took her hand, kissed it and then added, "You get your truce... for now."

Then he walked past the crowd, specifically stopping by Draco.

"The door is open if you want to walk through it," he said.

"And the price?"

"The mark and bringing Estella with you."

"Thanks, but it doesn't seem worth it."

"Think about it," added Marcus igniting a tall and perfect flame out of nowhere. His blue eyes turned dark and he kept a serious and hateful expression while the fire surrounded him and Draco. They both stood tall, but after a while Draco began to kneel down in pain.

"Stop it!" yelled Estella pointing her wand at McDavol for the first time. The flames quickly dissipated.

"Afraid?" asked Marcus with a serious expression.

"No! Leave!" screamed Estella keeping her wand pointed at him.

"Until next time," he answered and finally left the classroom.

Once McDavol was gone, the Headmaster appeared in the middle of the room. Estella checked on Draco and healed a small burn on his cheek, leaving him as if nothing had occurred. Dumbledore quickly began to explain why he had allowed this meeting, which was smart given the looks of anger he was receiving.

"Mr. McDavol requested a meeting with Miss Swanson to finish settlements on the trials that are pending in the Wizengamot. Arranging the meeting here during the ball was the easiest way since he planned to attend anyway."

"So you send MY GIRLFRIEND, a witch that's not even a third of your age, to deal with a killer!" yelled George.

"Calm down Mr. Weasley; she was protected," he answered. Then he showed them a mirror he got from his robes and summoned an exact replica that was on one the shelves of the classroom.

"Two-way mirrors," said Estella.

"I saw and heard everything that happened in here even through the imperturbable charm. If Miss Swanson said the stress word, I would have broken in and brought The Order with me," said Dumbledore.

"You can get through an imperturbable charm?" asked Hermione.

He nodded and smiled at Hermione's look of admiration.

She looked back at the Headmaster with confidence and spoke, "Why didn't you tell us? We were going mad with worry."

"I left the ball with a perfect excuse, so I didn't expect anyone to be worried. I was going to return after meeting Marcus," answered Estella.

"I was worried! I followed you. When I saw McDavol I thought the worse and got help. And ditching me is not exactly a good excuse!" answered George.

"Well that's not the Headmaster's fault, is it?" she said cheekily.

"As amusing as your lovers' quarrel is, I want to know what got settled with Marcus," asked Draco.

"Go ahead," said the Headmaster looking at Estella, "You should take some credit. You did better than even I expected, and I should be going to supervise Mr. McDavol at the ball."

"Thank you. Your instructions really helped me stay calm," she answered.

"Good, I expect to see you in my office again. Perhaps Mr. Snape could accompany you."

"Yes sir," she said. Then the Headmaster left.

Estella told the group that Severus had a meeting with Marcus and Lucius Malfoy to work on a truce and settle the trial of Estella and the twins out of the public eye.

"What! I did research and looked at the evidence chain and Wizengamot procedures! If Draco's mum testifies and we all submit our memories, you three will be cleared!" Hermione argued passionately. Ron gave her a smile.

"Yes and then we all would get even bigger target signs on our backs. That is if The Order keeps Narcissa safe long enough to testify. As it is, Ted and Andromeda's home was turned to shards," said Estella.

"What?" the group yelled. Draco then spoke.

"Three weeks ago, the Black Hand attacked Aunt Dromeda's house. I don't know how they figured out Mum was there, but like Ella said, the house is destroyed and if Dora had not been quick to alert The Order members..."

"Don't think about that. They are safe and will stay that way as long as your mum and I don't testify."

"I would have asked you not to," said Draco.

"I know - survival first. On a good note, I don't know how, but Severus got Lucius to agree to break his marriage bond to Narcisssa as part of this deal," Estella added.

Draco's face lit, as if an immense weight had been lifted of his shoulders.

"And my dad?" asked Harry.

"Huh?"

"My dad, Estella. How did he manage to meet with Malfoy and McDavol?"

"Harry, your father is the best strategist I know. He convinced The Order that fighting is not really helping at the moment, so he summoned Malfoy and Marcus. He put himself on the line since he... well... he's dying anyway so there was no point for those two to kill him," said Estella and she looked at Harry with sympathy.

Silence filled the room until Draco spoke, "Lucius doesn't deal like that. What did Severus give up to get a truce and free my Mum?"

"The leverage was... to have Dumbledore be replaced as Headmaster after Christmas and let Marcus meet with me," answered Estella.

Screams of outrage were heard from all the Gryffindors.

"Sorry! I didn't make the deal. I just played my part as an Order member!"

"A what?" yelled George.

"I was going to tell you, but..."

"But what exactly!"

"You got so enraged about me digging information based on comments from Marcus that you've practically broken up with me!"

"I have not broken up with you!"

"I think not talking to me for two weeks and meeting Heidi McCavoy at the ball without having the decency to warn me, qualifies as a break-up."

"I told you I didn't ask her to meet me! It was..."

"I don't want to talk about this. I've avoided making a scene all night because there are more important things at hand! I'm sorry I didn't tell anyone about this meeting, but it's my first assignment for The Order and I couldn't botch it up. I had to prove I am a worthy member."

"How long have you been in The Order?" asked Harry.

"Just a week. That's when the Headmaster asked me to meet with Marcus. I wasn't about to do that without getting something in return and Dumbledore was quite prepared for that. He offered to let me be a member right away," answered Estella.

"You sound a lot like my dad sometimes," said Harry sitting at one of the tables and looking tired.

"He's taught me a lot, plus we're Slytherins; I don't think we can help it," she answered with a shrug. She sat right next to Harry and took one of his hands in hers. Their hands produced a brownish glow and then she let go.

"Thank you," said Harry. She just shrugged again.

"What's going to happen now?" asked Ron.

"I don't know, but we should go back to the masquerade. Professor Dumbledore said it would be good to appear cordial and Rita Skeeter is downstairs," said Estella.

They all decided keeping the charade that Dumbledore had set-up was the best course of action. Ron and Hermione realized they had separate dates to return to and felt awkward. George pleaded with Estella to stay in the classroom with him and after giving him an annoyed glare, she agreed.

Once they returned to the ball, things were a bit odd as many Young Phoenixes interrogated them about McDavol's presence. In a way all the questioning was good because Ron and Hermione were busy telling everyone to wait until the next meeting and didn't have time to return to their dates. Once they finally did get time, it was wonderful. Apparently Susan had gotten on quite well with Thaddeus Boot after Ron and Hermione disappeared. Since the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw were dancing happily, Ron got to have the last few dances of the night with Hermione.

George and Estella came back to the ball a bit later, but in much better moods. Not long after the couple's arrival, a few Slytherins and a Hufflepuff were turned into toads and the twins and their dates laughed madly. After that prank, George and Estella disappeared and were not seen again until Monday morning when they walked in for breakfast together brandishing nothing but grins. Ron didn't think it was quite as disgusting as he would have a few weeks ago when those two were attached at the hip. In fact, he understood now, and if he had the chance he would spend entire days with Hermione and grin just like his brother.

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Since the night of the ball, Ron and Hermione had not been able to spend nearly enough of their time together. Harry had been really upset over seeing McDavol and accepting that his dad was dying. It was as if having Estella say it out loud made Severus' forthcoming death real for everyone. So, instead of officially dating, Ron and Hermione had agreed to keep their new relationship completely secret, at least for a while, for Harry's sake. Hermione could clearly remember how they made that decision, the night after the ball, when they met in the empty Transfiguration classroom.

"I love you," he had mumbled between sweet pecks.

"I love you too," she answered as she held him tighter and got their lips to join again.

This kiss was different than the ones they shared the previous night. It was more passionate, more sure, and far more needy. His tongue prodded her mouth for entrance and she gladly allowed him to do as he pleased. She couldn't think of words to describe what she felt when he took possession of her lips. It was so much better than she had thought or even dreamed about. All that was left of her when he kissed her was pure instinct and a burning sensation in her stomach that led to incredibly wet knickers. In the middle of the snog, she heard herself.

'Did I just moan?' she wondered, not daring to separate her lips from his.

Then the best part came. She heard his deep and wonderful groan. That sound was just amazing and it made her feel hot, desirable, and somewhat powerful. Without much thought, she sucked the tongue that invaded her mouth and that got him to moan even louder. He separated from her and was breathing heavily. His eyes were filled with desire and his ears were slightly red. Soon, his mouth was on her again, slowly exploring. He kissed her jaw and instinctively her head fell backwards allowing him to kiss her neck, right at her pulse point. His hands slowly caressed the side of her hips and some of the fingers grazed the side of her bottom. Everything felt perfect until she remembered.

"HARRY!" she screamed.

Hermione looked at Ron's features. He seemed a bit angry, but mostly he looked hurt, quite deeply.

"It's not what you think!" she exclaimed.

"It usually is when you say another bloke's name while..."

"No, Ron! We forgot to tell Harry where we were going! He might be looking for us!"

He stayed quiet.

"Ron?"

"You really don't fancy Harry?"

"What?"

"Well it's just... you are always watching after him. You two spent the summer together... and have been friends longer than you and I and... He is... it's always about him... and that's alright, he's Harry... and..."

"Please stop. It's not like that. Harry... I care about him a lot. He's like my brother, but in all truth..."

"In all truth what?"

"I... I became friends with Harry because... because I wanted to be friends with you."

"What?"

"Well... oi, this is embarrassing. Here goes... umm... Ron, I didn't really have many friends growing up. I was weird because I always studied and could do things... like make things fly or change when other kids teased me. When I got my letter and I understood why all those things happened and it was wonderful. Then that first time at King's Cross..."

"Yeah?"

"I saw you. Your mum was nagging you and you looked really embarrassed in front of your brothers and Harry. And then it was time to get on the train. Your face changed to be completely stoic and brave and you turned to Ginny and hugged her showing you really cared about her. It was... impressive... seeing that you could bounce back from your embarrassment and care about others and I... I was curious. I wanted to talk you and to get to know you. Of course when I tried I failed miserably and had you calling me a know-it-all in no time."

"I'm sorry... I..."

"Ron, it's..."

"Please let me say this."

Hermione nodded.

"I just called you that because the spell Harry and I were working on was not working. Then you talked mostly to Harry and you were so smart and suggested solutions to him. I thought you assumed I was not worthy. I... Hermione, anyone with eyes could tell I had second-hand-everything and people only knew me as the Weasley kid that hung around the son of Severus Snape. I was already hacked off because of mum and then thinking you had crossed me off without even giving me a chance... It was stupid to call you that. I'm sorry."

She couldn't contain the relief and excitement she felt at those words. She practically jumped him and kissed him fiercely trying to show him that this was all about them... not Harry, not the Black Hand... nothing but them. Her hands slowly caressed the lower portion of his back and tentatively toyed with his shirt.

'He's going to think I'm a scarlet woman,' she thought. 'Then again, this is Ron we're talking about. The same Ron who called me a know-it-all and a troll because he was insecure; he might not even notice. Unless... I make it so obvious even he can't miss that this is all about us."

She snuck her hand under his shirt and felt the bare skin of his back muscles. It was so warm and strong. Ron seemed to get the message that he was the one she wanted because he soon pushed her against one of the student desks and was kissing her without restraint. She didn't even know how but she ended up perched on the desk with Ron in between her legs and he was kissing at her pulse point again. He pushed his hips against her and then moved away.

"I... I'm sorry," he said while breathing heavily. "I... I don't want to take advantage of you."

She smiled at him, "I don't want to take advantage of you either... maybe... maybe we should stop."

He smiled back at her and helped her hop of the desk before hugging her.

"I don't know if we should tell Harry," he said.

"Why?"

"It isn't what you think," he answered.

"And what do I think?" she asked.

"That I'm embarrassed about us."

"So there is an us?"

"Well, yeah, you're my girlfriend."

"I am?"

"Yeah... I thought... Oh bloody hell! I didn't ask!"

Hermione giggled. Sweet Merlin she actually giggled. This was ridiculous. Since when was she giggly like Lavender Brown? She looked at him and he seemed to be concentrating hard. He took a deep breath and then spoke.

"I... I'll do this properly. Umm... Hermione Granger... would you... would you be my girlfriend?"

She smiled the brightest of smiles and nodded while saying, "Yes!"

They kissed briefly and with a bit of restraint. She then asked, "Do think Harry will take it badly?"

"No, I know he will. You remember how angry he was with me when I got to Godric's Hollow. He thought I had it all easy. I think it's probably going to get worse. He's just..."

"... angry that you have your family safe and whole while the Black Hand is after him," Hermione interrupted.

"That's part of it. But if we told him he might be angry about you," Ron said.

"What? Like... worried about your intentions?" she asked.

"Sort of, but..."

"You don't think... Harry would be... jealous?" she asked in disbelief.

"Well... not like I'd be if you dated him or Boot or anyone. I don't really think he fancies you, not anymore since I know he fancies Cho. But... he might just be jealous that we're together... that we love each other. Jealous that we're happy when he's so miserable and just..."

"... Scared and lonely," she finished.

"He blames himself you know."

"What?"

"Because McDavol aimed the curse at him and his dad saved him."

"But it wasn't his fault! Severus is his dad and he took that curse willingly."

"You and I know that. But if Severus dies Harry is going to take it hard." Ron said.

"Yeah, it might be worse than last summer. Do you think he'll push everyone away again?"

"Hasn't he been doing that already?"

"Well, we won't let him!"

"How?"

"We'll stay around him by all means and make him see we'll always be on his side! But if he finds out about us... it would be the perfect excuse. We can't tell or have anyone else tell him about us. It has to be a secret."

"For how long?" he asked.

"Uh?"

"How long does it have to be secret? It's just... I really wanted to be able to have you be my girlfriend, like... in front of other people."

"Ron, no one matters, but us and our friends."

"What about Boot?"

"Boot? That's what this is about. You want Thaddeus to know I'm your girlfriend."

"Well... it's just... oh what the hell!" he said as he heard her laugh.

"Ronald... stop acting silly... I don't want Thaddeus. I want you. Plus, from what I hear, he will be going to the next Hogsmeade weekend with Susan. He wasn't my type anyway. I like tall red heads that challenge my every word."

That led to some more serious snogging before they exited the classroom promising to be careful to keep their secret.

So that was it. From that day forward, Ron and Hermione were officially boyfriend and girlfriend, even though it was a secret. They faced the challenge of Harry's sadness, helping to run the YPS and preparing for whatever happened with the Black Hand. Still, the moments they got to share alone were the bliss they needed to stay cheerful, and to have the will and energy to help Harry and fight hard to win against McDavol.

Weeks passed quickly this way and soon the trio found themselves heading to Hogsmeade in the middle of November. This time there was no ball to shop for and the townspeople were more than happy to see the students, even the females, since they were back to their normal, not-too-batty state. It was funny but as they left the castle Ron noticed Susan meeting Thaddeus Boot and walking happily. He smiled; the ball had turned out better than he could have ever imagined.

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Next Chapter: Second Viewing of the Memories. (For real this time, I'll get to those memories)

Also, if any of you are following my other story (George Weasley's Breaking Tradition), the 13th chapter of that is up.