Harry is being watched over by Hermione, as per Madame Pomfrey's orders. Yet, he is up to his usual shenanigans and hilarity ensues in the Gryffindor common room. Also, Hermione learns that not all pet names are created equally.

Or: Hermione and Harry are oblivious to onlookers as they totally not flirt with each other on the sofa.

The cold January evening found Harry and Hermione lounging on one of the sofas in the Gryffindor common room. Ever since the tumultuous Yule Ball, they'd stuck together even more than usual, which had caused a frenzy in Hogwarts' rumor mill.

But after two weeks, the supposed romance between the Boy-Who-Lived and the Brightest Witch of Her Age was kind of old news. Currently, owls were busy carrying notes about an illicit affair between Ludo Bagman and Professor Sinistra.

Neither of them was married, as Hermione had pointed out a few days before, but then again, the Wizarding World had never been bothered too much by common sense. Harry had remarked that maybe, somehow, the Daily Prophet was using this as a test bed to see if its title font could in fact be made even bigger – his research was inconclusive, though.

Right now, both of them were reading.

Harry, who'd broken a leg during Quidditch practice the week prior, was lying on his back, reading a strategy guide for the game that Ginny and Ron had gifted him. Hermione, who'd been deputized by Madame Pomfrey to prevent Harry from doing anything even remotely strenuous before the Tournament's second task, sat beside him, his legs on her lap. She'd unilaterally decided to extend his virtual bed rest to an entire week and wasn't letting him out of her sight – earning a lot of teasing from her so-called friends in the process.

On the sofa next to them, Ron was retelling Louisa the final game of last year's Quidditch World Cup, utilizing an impressive array of tiny illusions to showcase the game's profession.

"I didn't know Ron could do that," Harry remarked as he watched his friend wave around tiny Quidditch players in front of the dazzled Beauxbatons student.

"I bet Ron didn't either", Hermione responded. They both exchanged glances and grinned.

The redhead, who'd first been struck hard by Fleur Delacour's Veela charm, had developed a serious crush on the curly blonde, who'd become a frequent quest in Gryffindor Tower by now – as had Amélie and some of the other French students.

Harry lowered his strategy guide. "Do you want to bet how long it'll take him to ask her out?"

"No, I don't."

"Come on, don't be a buzzkill. Remember the Yule Ball?"

"Unfortunately, I do."

He grimaced. "Ouch. Was it… was it so bad?"

"Well…" Hermione regarded him with a sideways glance from underneath her eyelashes. "Maybe not entirely."

"That's good."

"Ron certainly did not lighten up that evening, tough."

Harry shrugged. "That's fair, only I think it'll be really fun to..."

She flicked his leg, knowing that the broken bones had long been mended. "Look, I'm not going to touch Ron's love life with a ten-foot pole if I can help it, thank you very much."

They were interrupted by Seamus, who was sitting on the floor in front of the fireplace. "Wait, what is ten feet long?"

"Your mom!", someone shouted from the back of the room.

Seamus flicked them off.

"Boys." Hermione pinched her nose. "Why is this considered appropriate behavior for House Gryffindor?"

Harry raised his arm and snapped his fingers as if they were in class. "Oh, I know this one! It is because we in House Gryffindor dare to venture where no one else will tread!"

Seamus nodded. "That's right. Regret is for suckers."

With a groan, Hermione lowered her head onto the sofa's back. "To think that I could be in Ravenclaw right now."

"That wouldn't be fun. Also, no handsome boys to hang out with, unlike us." Harry spread his hands like he was presenting the room to her. "I mean, who'd you sit on the sofa with over there, Michael Corner?"

Hermione stared at him with furrowed brows. "Harry Potter, stop being a twat."

"Uh-oh, trouble in paradise. I need to go, I think. Maybe fold some laundry. Bye!" Seamus was gone before Harry could react.

Looking around and failing to find any supporters in the vicinity, he returned his gaze to Hermione. "Alright, you win. I'll behave."

"You better. I have a wand, and I'm not afraid to use it."

He grinned. "You also have my legs."

"Don't give me any ideas."

He just perked his lips and laid back to stare at the tower's ceiling. "Okay."

For a while, there was comparable silence as Hermione continued to read her book and Harry seemingly pondered something or other. Around them, Gryffindors talked, laughed, played enchanted board games, or did – in much smaller numbers – some homework.

Ron was still explaining the Quidditch match and had Louise's full attention. The girl wasn't a huge fan of the sport but, like Hermione, could be persuaded to watch a game or engage with the topic.

Apparently, this evening, Ron was persuasive enough.

Some students, like Amélie, Ginny, and Lavender, exchanged knowing smiles as they observed this development. They were paying equal amounts of attention to Harry and Hermione as well, though. Something was brewing between Gryffindor's involuntary Triwizard champion and the wild-haired bookworm.

"Say, Hermione?" Harry's voice was quieter than usual.

"Hm?"

"Do you have a pet name for me?"

She lowered her book and looked at Harry, lost for words.

"I don't mean like lovers do it! Although... maybe a bit? Everyone's assuming already that we're a couple, so it wouldn't be... anyway, what I am saying is, did you ever think of it?"

Feeling exposed sitting right in the middle of the Gryffindor common sitting, Hermione began to blush. "You can't just say something like that, Harry. It's... not appropriate."

"How so?"

That question threw her off. "I... I mean, obviously! That is very personal, and you and I, we're... also, you are Harry Bleeding Potter, so... "

"You have no idea how to respond to that, do I have that right?" Harry, still lying on his back, was observing her with shit-eating grin. "Fascinating."

"Stop saying that, it's not fascinating!" Hermione flicked his leg again, causing him to flinch.

"Ouch, you're officially hurting the House champion, therefore lowering my chances of survival."

Hermione sighed. "The only thing being hurt here is my sense of propriety."

"So, no pet name for little old me?" Harry's voice was still was barely above a whisper, but he was relentless. "I do understand, though, it's hard. How do you even abbreviate Harry?"

She shook her head, but then she obviously had an idea because her eyes were practically glowing. "I could call you Har-Har."

He grimaced. "Please don't."

"No, Harry, don't you see, it'll be like when Ron and Lavender had that love potion episode..."

"By Merlin, please, no…"

Hermione was holding a hand on her chest as she looked up. "My heart still beats for Won-Won and Lav-Lav. That... that was real love."

"You're cruel and unusual."

She raised an eyebrow. "I also still have my wand."

"But no pet name for me." Harry seemed unperturbed.

Hermione smiled, and there was something predatory about it. "Har-Har, what was that? I didn't hear you."

"The cringe is literally killing me." Harry shuddered. "Please, stop, I yield."

"But Har-Har, how can you ask me to stop?" She was on a row now. "Don't you want to bear a special name that only I, your true love, would dare use?" She batted her eyes at him playfully, the common room around them forgotten for the moment.

Harry, who tried not to blush, had trouble finding a comeback. "I… err… Herms? Hermy? I think Hermy is good."

She visibly recoiled from his words. "No."

"What was that, Hermy?"

Suddenly, a vine wood wand with a core made of dragon heartstring was drawn and held in front of Harry's nose. "Please, do repeat that name."

He gulped, aware that, right now, a lot of eyes were on them. "No need, I believe your argument to be very persuasive. Undeniably true even, I'd say."

"Are you quite sure?" Hermione's voice was full of false sweetness. Harry knew she'd never really harm him, but she was making a point.

He nodded.

"Good." She put her wand away almost as quickly as she'd drawn it – and only then did Hermione notice that virtually everyone was staring at them. "What?"

"Are you guys okay?" Ron looked as if he couldn't decide between laughter or disgust. "Do you need a room or something?"

"I don't know, Won-Won, do we?" Hermione, normally not one to engage in public banter, focused on the redhead, Harry's legs still on her lap.

Ron grimaced and ducked away. "Okay, okay, sorry." Louise was looking at all of them with visible confusion, Parvati, Lavender, and the other girls just snickered.

"All in all, this is pretty embarrassing", Harry commented.

"And yet you don't seem to be bothered by that?" She gave him her best diagnostic glare.

He shrugged. "After months of being ridiculed as an irresponsible thrill-seeker who disregards ancient tradition to cheat himself into a deadly tournament and steal the real champion's eternal glory, I can't say being known as Har-Har carries that much weight."

Hermione sighed. "I guess you're right."

"Sorry for ruining the evening like that."

"You didn't." She smiled at him. "Not yet, at least. There is still hope for Har-Har to redeem himself in the eyes of his eternal love."

Harry crossed his arms in front of his face. "Someone, please, help me. What kind of monster did I unleash?"

She patted his legs lightly. "A love monster, Har-Har."

Eventually, the other Gryffindors stopped staring, and Harry and Hermione continued to read. Occasionally, one of them would steal a glance at the other without ever knowing that they were both doing it.

When the last embers in the fireplace were going out, Harry suddenly noticed that everyone else had already left.

Sure, he had said good night to some folks, but he had barely paid attention to who was going where or how late it was – the Quidditch strategy guide had turned out to be fantastic. When had Ron gone up?

"Hermione."

"Hm."

"Hermione." He bumped her with one of his legs.

"What, Harry?"

"It's late."

"Let me just finish this chapter real quick...Oh." She looked around, finally noticing the empty common room. "Where did everyone go?"

Harry waggled his eyebrows. "To bed, I assume, although I can't make any definitive statements about which beds."

"Prat."

"Always."

She suddenly yawned. "We should go as well, Harry. Even though it's only Saturday, I think we should go with Cedric's plan and put the egg into water."

"Alright, I'm game for anything that gets me through the next task. Should we meet for breakfast?" He swung his legs off her and cracked his neck. "Having done nothing but lie around, I sure feel exhausted."

"Must be that demanding relationship you have with me", Hermione smirked.

"Oh, surely." He nodded. "You're a real menace, always putting me through the wringer. Haven't you noticed how exhausted I am these days? The things you make me do…"

She groaned. "You should stop listening to the rumor mill, Harry. It's not good for your mental health."

"Yeah…"

She waved him off. "And with this shining example of linguistic prowess, I bid you a good night."

Harry watched her stand up and take a few steps toward the stairs, then he summoned his courage. "Wait, Hermione."

"What is it?" She looked back at him.

"I... I need to tell you something before you go."

Her face was showing a bit of worry, but Hermione held her ground and let him step up to her. "Yes?"

"I didn't want to embarrass you in front of everyone earlier, I'm sorry for that. Somehow I just got carried away."

She shook her head. "That's fine, Harry. I know how stressed you are with everything going on right now. But you, someone who's by all accounts no extrovert, feel safe enough in here to joke about pet names and fake relationships." A warm smile played around her lips. "If that is what it takes to help you relax, I'm all for it."

"Even though it's embarrassing?"

"Even then, Harry."

He took a deep breath. "Okay... wow. Thank you, I guess."

"You're welcome."

"Then there's only one other thing." And before Hermione knew what was happening, he was embracing her. His lips put a soft kiss on her temple, and then they were close to her ear, giving her another reason to shiver.

"When I asked you for a pet name, I was only half-joking, Hermione", he whispered. "Because I… I do like you. You're the most important person in my life. I wouldn't be here without you, we both know it."

His embrace of her was strong, and Hermione felt her own racing heart echo against Harry's chest as she tried to regain her senses. What was going on? And why did she like it so much?

"So I thought about a special name for you, just for you. Something to show you how special you are, to me. In more than one way, you're my guiding light, Hermione. And that's not a Quidditch cliché, that's the simple truth. You show me where to go, and how to go there."

He draw a ragged breath before he continued his intimate whispering. "So I asked Victor the other day about what to call such a person – no, I didn't mention your name. Maybe he still figured it out, who knows?Anyway, in Bulgarian, a star, a guiding star, which, coincidentally, is also a girl's name, is called Zvezda."

With that, Harry let go of her, having noticed her lack of resistance to this rather long embrace at the bottom of the stairs.

"So Hermione," he said, looking at her and seeing her stare back at him with a forlorn expression, "from now on, when things get really serious, or I need to show you my appreciation without shouting it from the rooftops, I'll just call you Zvezda. My star."

"Zvezda…" she mumbled, trying to find out if she needed to scold Harry for being so forthright or if she should blush.

"That's right." Harry winked, then softly tousled her hair. "Good night, Zvezda."

As he went up the stairs with a spring in his step, he looked content.

Hermione, though, stared off into space, confused. She was still standing at the bottom of the stairs, touching her temple where his lips had touched her skin. "Zvezda", she repeated. "I… I like it."

Then she looked up to where Harry had vanished moments before. "Maybe, one day, I'll tell you my pet name for you."

With that, Hermione went to bed, but it took sleep a long time to find her.