Disclaimer: Since I still don't have enough money to buy Harry and Hermione's characters I still don't own anything, everything belongs to J.K. Rowling and I'm just trying to make myself feel better by writing this.

Author's note: I'm really sorry for the delay, I was very busy this week but I finally managed to edit one more chapter, the problem is that while I was editing I didn't realise how much text I already had in the file until I felt satisfied to leave the chapter where it ended, the problem is that it was a lot of text, so I divided it into two chapters, so I present you the shortest chapter and tomorrow I will upload the next chapter which is a bit longer, tomorrow finally appears a character that I think almost everyone loves without exception.

Chapter 6

Rumours and reactions.

When the boggart class was over, as Harry and Hermione established their relationship, the rest of the classroom that witnessed the event began to tell everyone their version of events, rumours ran through the castle that Harry Potter had fought Voldemort in a classroom to the tragic ones about how Harry banished Voldemort when he saw his dead girlfriend.

Similar rumours spread quickly, but they all had one thing in common, Voldemort appeared in a classroom inside the castle, this part of the rumours quickly reached some of the educational staff, which consequently reached Headmaster Dumbledore's ears, but he told those close to him that they would discuss everything at the next staff meeting, where Professor Lupin could tell what really happened in that classroom, and with that Dumbledore headed to the great hall to go to dinner.

Secretly the Headmaster didn't think much of it, Harry witnessing Voldemort as his boggart didn't surprise him after the confrontations he had in his first and second year at Hogwarts, the problem was that most people in the castle weren't aware of the full events and young Harry's involvement in those events, he supposed he would have some explaining to do to his staff at the next meeting.

It did not cross Albus Dumbledore's mind to ask what the dark lord personified looked like, this could have been for any number of reasons, but in reality it is pretty much what happened with most of the students.

Those who saw it thought that Voldemort always looked like himself and that Harry Potter could clearly remember him, on the other hand, the illustrious headmaster simply assumed that the Voldemort who appeared was something like what Harry saw with Quirrel and the diary, all of which was cemented by a simple but overlooked detail.

Neither Albus Dumbledore, nor anyone else who knew of Harry's adventures, even Hermione Granger who accompanied Harry almost to the end in his first year, was stopped for the potions challenge, Ron who did the same with Harry in second year, was stoppe

d when the cave-in separated them and Harry had to go on alone, so no one had been with Harry when he faced these challenges, therefore, no one knows the absolute truth of what happened at that time.

So out of ignorance and presumption, no one commented on what the dark lord looked like in class, just how scary he was.

When they arrived at the Great Hall, Harry and Hermione were still in their own world so they didn't notice the eyes on them, the Great Hall was filled with murmurs that stopped dead in their tracks when they arrived, it seemed that the rumours about the boggart class were already being discussed with great interest.

It wasn't until they sat down and began to dine that they were called over by a pair of redheads.

"Look what we have here gred" commented the red-haired A.

"You see what I see, forge?" continued the red-haired B. "no doubt our Harrykins is getting older".

"Our Harrykins got himself a girlfriend".

Sitting across from them as Harry and Hermione looked on, the Weasley twins began their interrogation.

"And well lovebirds"

"Is there anything you want to share? "with the rest of the commoners?" "classified information".

"Preferably with day and time". "Of the current event?

Looking at the twins not knowing which of the two was speaking when, Harry looked back at Hermione with an idea in his eyes, Hermione smiled understanding what Harry wanted to do.

"Well, the sun was setting," began Harry amused.

"So we can work out that it should be around 6 or 7" continued Hermione where Harry left off just as amused.

"leaving the castle" was Harry's turn.

"Sitting on a rock by the lake," Hermione commented with an exaggerated sigh, clasping her hands to her chest.

"I decided to ask the lovely Miss Granger."

"And how can you refuse when he is so gentlemanly and attentive". "So officially Hermione and I."

"Harry and I" they looked at each other before continuing to speak at the same time. "We are officially a couple!"

When they finished, paper streamers and sparks of light flew from the twins' wands as they celebrated and applauded.

Harry and Hermione's friends who were listening began to clap and congratulate the couple, Lavender, Parvati and Fay hugged Hermione squealing as only they could, as they asked her questions non-stop, from the Hufflepuff table, several people who had been aware of the relationship waiting for this moment also clapped, Susan and Hanna stood hugging each other while jumping as if they were the protagonists of the news, some crows also seemed happy at the news, although they didn't clap or shout. But what took the few who witnessed it by surprise the most, was that Draco Malfoy was giving a slight clap with the palm and back of his other hand, and he kept a neutral expression on his face.

Although there was one Gryffindor who wasn't happy with the idea, he didn't express it out loud other than to look at them with daggers in his eyes, for Ronald Weasley this news wasn't new, he thought that since Harry betrayed him by going with Hermione they were probably already a couple, he was still upset about the huge betrayal that his former best friend did to him, at least that's how Ronald sees it from his point of view.

At the professors' table, Dumbledore looked with a contented expression in the direction of the congratulated students. But something in his expression felt false to any onlooker who had known him for any length of time.

"We are glad to hear this news," said one of the Twins.

"but we're sure there will be one person who will be happier than we are" said the twins as they pulled out some sort of ledger and began to look for something in it.

Harry and Hermione who were still happy just looked at them confused, but, Harry thought he had a feeling that was it, that feeling was right.

"Listen up ladies and gentlemen," said a twin standing on top of the bench. "Students, teachers and ghosts," said the other twin as he stood up as well.

The winners of the pool for when these lovebirds get together are" the other twin was making drum rolls with a small drum that seemed to have been transfigured from somewhere, meanwhile Hermione, who was listening, understood his words and began to cross her arms as she tried to make a disapproving face, although it was the most she could do because she was still too happy to be really upset.

"Susan Bones and Hanna Abbot!" said the twins at the same time and from the puff table there was a double shout.

The two girls who until a moment ago were jumping and hugging each other quickly made their way to the Gryffindor table, specifically to where Hermione, Harry and the twins were.

"Congratulations to you both," said Susan as she arrived.

"And thank you so much for making us win," commented a giggling Hanna next to Susan.

Hermione, still trying to be annoyed, sent a disapproving glance at the twins that indicated she wasn't finished with them, before turning to look at the two smiling puffballs.

"Thanks, and you're welcome I guess," Hermione said still a little hesitant. "Although I'm not happy about this bet thing, I can't help but be surprised that you guys are the ones who got it right" commented the brunette.

"Nothing against you girls, it's just surprising considering we don't talk much and you're not part of our house," Harry interjected to explain.

"You'd think Gryffindor people would know better about this," Hermione said with a slight laugh.

"Let's just say we've been fans of their relationship for a while now," commented Susan who had taken a seat next to Hanna in the space next to Hermione.

"And lately it was hard to ignore how they acted in the classes we shared".

"They look so cute in Arithmancy and Transformations especially," Hanna said as she let out a dreamy sigh. Harry and Hermione blushed a little at the latter since, although they weren't trying to hide it, they didn't think they had done anything explicit in those classes, apparently they were either mistaken or these two were paying more attention to them than to the classes themselves.

"If they had waited a little longer we would have won," commented one of the twins, returning to the conversation.

"We thought you'd make it to Hogsmeade for the weekend," continued the other twin. "But we seem to have missed some important information".

"The disadvantages of not being on the same course my dear brother" finished the twin who again they couldn't tell apart.

At the mention of Hogsmeade, Harry missed a moment of the conversation, just like last time Harry hadn't been able to get his Uncle to sign the permission slip and although Harry doesn't plan to remain in the Dursleys' care next summer he still needed their permission for this trip.

Harry couldn't ask Sirius to sign it because he didn't know him at this point to begin with, it's not like he could just go to the shouting house and wait for him to show up and say "Hi godfather, I'm your godson Harry who for some reason knows you're completely innocent, by the way I also knew you were coming to this place and was waiting, but I'm sorry I can't tell you how I know any of this, by the way can you sign my permission to go to Hogsmeade so I can go on a date with my girlfriend?"

Nope, it didn't sound good at all, the meeting with Sirius would have to be different than last time, this time he wouldn't let Pettigrew escape, but he still needed a similar situation for Sirius to tell his side of the story and he needed the map if he was going to convince Lupin that Pettigrew was alive.

He was assembling a plan in his head when he suddenly felt something appear in his pocket, he pulled it out without making any sudden movements only to be surprised to see what was in his hand.

The permit to Hogsmeade was signed in his Uncle Vernon's handwriting, how was this possible? He wondered, but then he heard a voice in his head that he recognised instantly. "I can't interfere too much, but something as simple as this may grant it, after all you were supposed to go."

Harry smiled and thanked Tett in his head, it seemed he was still being watched by that sly fox.

Hermione who was now engaged in a conversation with Susan, Hanna, and her roommates, noticed that Harry was lost in thought, she was about to ask when she saw him smile and was glad, she seemed to think of something good while she was still curious she thought if it was something Harry would tell her, she still had to tell him about the time- turner, thinking it would be better to find a time in the next few days she gave her boyfriend a smile and went back to paying attention to the noisy girls on the side.

Having friends who act like normal girls was exhausting, but refreshing at the same time.

At the Professor's table there were different thoughts on this event, while Minerva already knew, she couldn't help but be pleased at the reception her favourite students received (though she would never say it out loud) at the news, and while she was a little sorry to Pomona and Poppy for not getting the date right, she was comforted by the thought that she still knew the true level of relationship the two students had.

"I hope Miss Granger will help keep Mr. Potter out of the infirmary more often," Minerva heard Poppy comment with amusement and couldn't help but agree.

Severus Snape was thoughtful, and annoyed, the brat Potter was once again being the centre of attention and that irritated him, but the attitude and skill Potter showed in the last Potions class was something he hadn't expected, the boy didn't let himself get carried away by his emotions as easily as before, he thought it would just be a silly change that wouldn't last so Severus was thinking to see how far this new attitude of the Potter spawn would go, but he certainly wouldn't congratulate the cocky boy for getting a girlfriend.

On the other hand Albus Dumbledore had conflicting thoughts, on the one hand he was a happy old man, he knew all that Harry had to be forced to endure and although it was not entirely to his liking it was certainly a necessary evil from his point of view, although after the previous year, he couldn't help but think it was good that happy things happened to the boy, He still hoped that Harry would enjoy his youth before he endured the fate that awaited him, although he was surprised by Harry's subject changes, he thought he was also reasonable about what he went through and apparently his changes also had more selfish motivations such as being close to the witch he was interested in and who now became his girlfriend.

But there was something about Harry this year that intrigued Albus Dumbledore, it wasn't just the change in his subjects, Harry Potter felt different this year in a way that the Headmaster couldn't quite figure out, but it was too early to have any thoughts or conclusions, classes had only just begun, He decided that he would wait until he had the information from the teachers at the next meeting of the month to get a better idea of how different Harry Potter was from what the Headmaster expected, but in Dumbledore's eyes, Harry was still a young man who should be enjoying his time at school with his friends.

Not for the first time he lamented the fate that awaited him at the end of it all and not for the last time he resigned himself to the fact that there was nothing he could do to avoid it

And although the rumours about the boggart and the dark lord were being commented on by most now that they had a fresh new piece of news it seemed that the old one had left everyone's minds for the time being, after all it was old gossip after all, at least until it became relevant again it seemed that the subject had been forgotten for the time being.

They were in the Gryffindor common room, sitting next to each other in the armchair closest to the fireplace, Hermione had her head resting on Harry's shoulder, while he had his head on hers.

It was already a little late and there were few people in the common room, but everyone was minding their own business so the couple had enough privacy to feel comfortable.

"It's amazing how much things change in such a short time," Hermione said, breaking the silence, but speaking in a low tone of voice.

"Until recently I thought you'd never think of me as anything more than a friend... and now I'm certain of a future together, that one day I'll be Mrs. Potter and I love it," she finished as she snuggled closer to Harry.

"We're of the same mind, although if we're talking about changes I'm more surprised by some people's attitudes to the news," Harry commented. "After the way they acted about the Slytherin heir, it's even more surprising," Harry finished as he squeezed Hermione's hand, then gave her a mischievous grin.

"But who knew that my beautiful girlfriend would also get along with the gossip queens of the school, that certainly surprised me."

Hermione blushed a little at this.

"I have to admit that even though it's not so bad to talk to them sometimes, it's refreshing to talk to girls as a typical teenager... even though I still don't like their topics of conversation or their gossiping, it's nice to know that I have new friends," Hermione said and let out a sigh before continuing.

"Looks like we lost one friend, but gained many more," finished Hermione still annoyed by the attitude of her other friend or former friend.

Harry knew who she was referring to but he wasn't so much annoyed as he was disappointed, despite his suspicions and what he knew before the class switching incident, Harry still had a faint hope that Ron wouldn't act like he did, but seeing him like that, reminded him exactly of his attitude in fourth year, Harry Potter wanted nothing to do with Ronald Weasley, Potions or not, the betrayal Harry felt back then was simply not something he would let go of, so he had no qualms about saying what he truly felt.

"To be honest several of Ron's attitudes always bothered me, the argument about the timetable just showed me what I hadn't wanted to see until now, what Ronald is really like and he's not someone I want to be around" Hermione was attentive to Harry's words, she thought Harry still wanted to regain his friendship with Ron, and she wasn't sure she wanted to do that, though Ron wasn't always bad, he had his good moments, Hermione still remembered who had sent her to tears in first year, and in the course of getting to know each other, Ronald still blurted out comments that were offensive to her even if the Weasley in question thought they were jokes, Harry saying he didn't want to be with Ron was a relief to Hermione.

Then Harry looked straight at Hermione with his crooked, mischievous grin.

"Besides now that he's gone and we're no longer a threesome I have more time to kiss my luscious girlfriend without interruption."

Hermione blushed, but didn't flinch.

"Idiot," she said giving him a light punch on the arm before connecting her lips with his in a quick kiss.

"Harry there's something I want to tell you," said Hermione, after surveying the common room and realising that the last of the people had left.

"It's a secret I'm not supposed to tell anyone," Hermione explained.

"If you don't have to tell, you don't have to tell me," said Harry, even though he already knew the secret, he still wanted to respect his privacy.

"Thanks Harry, but I want to tell you" Hermione smiled at him as she pulled out a necklace that was hidden in her clothes and showed it to Harry.

"I know you noticed that I've attended several classes that are supposed to be taken at the same time, I want to thank you for not asking even though it should be strange for you" Hermione gave him another grateful smile before returning to a serious countenance.

"The reason I was able to attend those classes is this necklace... it's a time-turner Harry, Professor Mcgonagall gave it to me at the beginning of the term, when you left her office."

Hermione was nervously looking at Harry waiting for his response, but, he just smiled at her before giving her another quick chaste kiss to make her relax.

"I have an idea of how the time-turners work, now it makes sense how you got to those classes, I'm glad you told me, although I admit I already had a sneaking suspicion," said Harry before continuing.

"I guess since you don't have to hide it anymore it will be easier for you to use it, since I can even cover for you if you ever need it" Hermione was happy, hearing that Harry already had a suspicion is fascinating since she herself suspected that Harry was guessing something, knowing that he didn't mind not telling her and that he would even help her was too good for Hermione and she gave him a hug so tight that you could almost hear Harry's bones make noises.

Harry didn't complain and just accepted the hug, after a few more minutes they both said their goodbyes to go to bed and went upstairs, Hermione had another letter to write to her mother.

It was a cosy two-storey house in the London suburb of Hampstead Garden, and it was through an open kitchen window overlooking the backyard that a snowy owl arrived, rather proud of its time on the road, in the afternoon when it made its appearance, taking by surprise one Emily Granger, who was preparing hot water to pour herself a cup of tea.

Seeing the beautiful owl, she recognised from her previous letter, Emily smiled and gave Hedwig a treat as she picked up the letter the owl was carrying.

"Thanks Hedwig, I guess it's another letter from my daughter."

As Emily Granger took the letter and began to read it, she could only shake her head as she thought about the events her Daughter Hermione was telling her through ink and paper, although she was glad that the boy who had starred in most of her letters since she had entered Hogwarts was becoming her daughter's boyfriend, the way Hermione had apparently ignored her advice and gone completely on the attack was so funny to her that she couldn't help but laugh.

As her mother she should have known that telling Hermione to wait would not only be useless but that at this age teenagers tended to do the exact opposite of what adults expected, even if her daughter was quite mature for her age she was not exempt from the phases of adolescence, not all of them at least.

She took a sip of her tea as she reflected on what her daughter was telling her, apparently she wanted to invite her boyfriend to spend Christmas with them, the claim that the young man in question never returned to his relatives for Christmas made her think of many scenarios, but for the moment she would leave them aside, that her daughter was bringing someone home for the first time was something to celebrate for the worried mother.

Now it was an amused mother thinking about how to break the news to her husband, Joseph Granger was a sensible man and always looked out for his family, he was certainly someone who could be reasoned with, but Emily also knew that her husband had practised his "what are your intentions with my daughter?" speech many times and was eager to

use it, just as Emily had thought of so many ways to tease her daughter when she got a mate, it would no doubt be a fun Christmas for the Grangers.

But until then Emily would wait until her beloved husband was drinking tea to spill the news, with any luck she would see him spit it all out before he started coughing to Emily's amusement, she was an amused mother and wife who would eagerly await her husband before writing her reply.

It had been a few days since the day Harry and Hermione officially became a couple, most people had calmed down and seemed to have accepted the idea, having several people participate in what seemed to be a betting pool helped. Harry's dorm mates were quite nice to him and congratulated him again, he had a surprise when Neville congratulated him, but he looked very down when he did, even though he hadn't talked to Neville much he noticed it, then an idea occurred to him, he remembered that Neville had invited Hermione to the Ball in the previous timeline, and it occurred to him maybe Neville had feelings for Hermione and was a little saddened by the news.

Despite that he was a great friend and complimented Harry, if what Harry thought was true he didn't know what to say so he simply said nothing, accepted his words with gratitude and put the subject aside in his mind, unfortunately that was none of his business and something Neville would have to overcome on his own.

On the other hand, there was Ronald, he was convinced that he was right when he accused Harry and Hermione on the first day of school, and as they had denied it then he was even more convinced that they had lied and cheated him to his face, Ronald's treatment of the pair was similar to the treatment Harry received in his fourth year after the Goblet of Fire incident.

Ron's behaviour towards Harry and Hermione was based on ignoring them both, either looking at them with hatred or occasionally hurling an insult or two, but unlike the fourth year this time it didn't look like the trio could reconcile, partly because neither wanted to reconcile.

Ron had started hanging out more with Seamus and was increasingly ignoring the pair, if there was one thing Harry could be sure of right now it was that Ron Weasley had no feelings for Hermione, his anger with the pair stemmed from his problem with Harry and his subjects, then intensified when he thought she cheated on him and conspired behind his back, His anger wasn't driven by jealousy or any selfish reason to have Hermione, it seemed that Ron's feelings for Hermione had started in fourth year and Ron hadn't understood those feelings until sixth year, which meant that now that he was no longer friends with Hermione that possibility was gone, Ron would leave their lives with some conflict but Harry didn't think it would become a major problem in the future.

He still had to worry about Mrs. Weasley but, by having the bond even if it was just the beginning, they were protected from potions and compulsions so he had no problem with

that, if she still tried anything Mrs. Weasley, Harry had a plan so she wouldn't bother him again.

Lastly, there was Ginny, of her he had no suspicions as he had with Ron when Tett told him the truth in the afterlife, she seemed down lately but she was still a younger girl and he didn't think she was a threat, it would be up to herself to get over her crush on the Hero and move on, after all they hardly ever spoke to Ginny, they only started to get to know her better years later.