The Time of Destiny

Chapter 11 - Resolutions

"Well, that was fun!" Tonks chuckled as she led Remus back into the bedroom Harry and Ginny had so carefully cleaned the previous school term. She kicked off her shoes and turned to Remus, grabbing the front of his shirt, pulling him toward the bed. "They've given us custody of this house. We should enjoy it while we can!"

"I feel a bit awkward about this," Remus said, looking around the room. "They've made a little nest for themselves." Although the Shack hadn't been a trysting place for Harry and his friends since last term, the bed linens were still clean due to an Everlasting Cleansing Charm Ginny had put on them. There was a small flagon full of dead wildflowers on the bedside table, apparently a leftover from someone's last visit there. Two small apples lay dried up and forgotten on the table by the boarded up window. The broken furniture had been repaired as well as teenagers with very little knowledge of construction could manage.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Shall we go, then?" she said, her normally merry eyes looking seriously into his.

"If you don't mind," he said apologetically. "This place has a lot of bad memories for me, but many good ones as well. James, Sirius, Peter and I spent a lot of time here when we weren't out running in the grounds." He sighed. "Hard to believe I'm the only one left."

"Surely you're not mourning Wormtail," she said, astonished. "He was about to murder you when Harry killed him!"

Remus shook his head slowly. "No, I'm not mourning him. It just saddens me that our friendship, the friendship among the four of us, ended the way it did. James murdered, Sirius unfairly jailed for twelve years, Peter turning traitor. . .and then when Sirius got out of jail, he had so little freedom, he fought the constraints on him constantly. For him to die the way he did, and in front of Harry. . . . But he and Harry loved each other. It was so good that they had some time together."

"You love Harry too," she reminded him. "And he loves you, Remus."

Remus smiled. "That's a blessing I'd never expected to have." He looked at her, his eyes crinkling in a smile. "As are you." He pulled her into his arms and held her close, then leaned down and kissed her. He chuckled as her tongue tickled his lips in a warm invitation he gladly accepted. Tonks was moaning by the time they came up for air.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay here?" she said huskily.

Remus bent to kiss her again, taking her breath away quite thoroughly once more. "Now, Miss Tonks, it's time we Apparated to your flat," he said in a husky voice. "This place holds happy memories for Harry now, and I won't impose on that."

"OK," she said with a grin. "Just checking." They stepped a few inches apart and disappeared from the Shrieking Shack, a place Remus never wanted to visit again, and never would.

* * * * *

At breakfast a few days later, Ron left his place by Harry and Ginny to move to the Hufflepuff table when he saw Hermione come into the Great Hall. Harry and Ginny just shook their heads, sighed, and began eating as Ron settled into a seat by Susan and served himself his usual huge breakfast. Susan's eyes widened in surprise as she watched him eat, but she seemed glad to see him.

Hermione glanced over at Ron as she joined Harry and Ginny at the Gryffindor table. "Do you suppose he'll ever stop being angry with me?" she said sadly.

"Give him time, Hermione," Harry said bracingly.

"Yeah, he's a stubborn git," Ginny said casually, passing the bacon to Hermione.

"He can't help himself. He's a Weasley - stubbornness is part of their nature," Harry said, smirking in anticipation of Ginny's explosion.

"I am not stubborn!" she snapped, then saw the laughter in his eyes. "Well, yeah, I am, actually."

"And it's a good thing you are," he said, wrapping a long arm around her shoulders and giving her a little squeeze, "or you wouldn't have waited so long for me to stop being an idiot and finally ask you out!"

"You're not an idiot," she said primly, "merely a bit thick sometimes."

"Ah," he said, grinning at her. "Glad we cleared that up!"

Hermione smiled at them being so silly together and sighed, wishing Ron was there being silly with her.

When the post owls arrived, Hermione put seven knuts in the leg pouch of the owl delivering her copy of the Daily Prophet. Harry had given up his subscription again. He thought it was easier to just ask Hermione what the Death Eaters had been up to recently than to read all the bad news himself. He removed a letter from Hedwig's leg, skimmed it and smiled, then looked up when Hermione opened the paper, apparently finished with the first page.

"Well? Any news?" he said quietly.

"The Death Eaters killed two Muggle families in Dorset," she said, glancing at an article. "They seem to be killing people randomly these days, Muggles as often as wizards. That doesn't make any sense."

"Nor does it make any sense that Voldemort's been so quiet," Harry said ominously.

"But Harry," Ginny began, "he's blind! And he can't have magical eyes - you learned that this summer when Mr. Verre was killed. That's probably why he's not in the news. He can't aim spells properly if he can't see."

"He's probably busy working on some other way to regain his sight," Harry sighed. "I mean, if he could regenerate his entire body, there's no reason he couldn't regenerate eyes, is there?" He looked curiously at Hermione, who read so many different things all the time that she might actually know the answer to his question.

"I don't know, Harry," she replied. "I imagine it's possible, since he did make a new body and managed to stay alive for so long without one. He must be the best potions master ever."

"And he has Snape to help him," Ginny whispered, leaning closer to her friends and glancing toward the Head Table.

"Yeah, but Snape's been acting oddly lately, haven't you noticed?" Harry murmured, leaning toward the girls. "I mean, he gave Ron and me points for how we dealt with those ickle firsties!"

"Yeah, that was odd - for him. But any other teacher would have given you those points. Maybe Dumbledore has told him to be more fair to you - or maybe Remus has talked with him about it," Hermione suggested.

"I doubt it. Something's up with him, but I don't know what," Harry said darkly.

"I suppose we'll just have to wait and see what it is," Ginny said philosophically as she grabbed a last piece of toast.

"Yeah, and I'll just have to watch my back," Harry grumbled.

"As if you'd stopped," Ginny said, smiling up at him. "Besides, you have Hermione and me to help you watch your back. And a very fine back it is! Matches the rest of you rather well, actually."

"Have you been checking out my bum again?" he asked, acting insulted.

"Oh yeah!" Ginny said coquettishly. "Nicest arse I've ever seen riding a broom, sir."

"I could argue that point, you know," he said, bending down until their foreheads touched. "Some little redhead I know. . ."

"So who was your letter from?" Ginny asked him, suddenly remembering he'd gotten one. "Do you have a secret admirer?"

"Yup!" he said cheekily.

"Right. Who is it this time, Mrs. Figg?" she teased him.

"Nope!" He sat there with a grin on his face, watching curiosity and frustration chase each other across her pretty face. Finally, she sighed.

"All right, if that's how you want to be--"

"It's from Marcus Pomfrey, Miss Nosy," he said, tweaking her nose gently. "He said he really enjoyed our Quidditch game and hopes we can do it again sometime. He was away at a conference or he would have written sooner. Here, you can read it if you want. He said he wrote your parents too, to thank them for dinner."

"Oh, that was nice of him," she said as she read the letter. "He's such a sweet man. I'm surprised he isn't married."

"You're not going to start matchmaking for him, now, are you?" Harry said warily.

"Nope. I don't know any women the right age for him, now that Tonks is taken," Ginny said, looking thoughtful.

"Well, there's always Healer Grener," Harry said, referring to the pretty young woman who'd helped heal his scars early in the summer.

"Yeah, she'd be okay," Ginny said, smiling up at him. "You might make a good matchmaker yourself, sweetie!"

Harry held his hands up in surrender. "Nope! Not me! Leave me out of it!"

"You're so silly," she said, smiling at him.

"I live to make you smile," he said tenderly, his eyes soft and warm as he gazed at her.

Hermione sighed sadly, glanced at her watch and got to her feet. "You two have fun. I'm off to class."

"Hang on, Hermione, I'll be right there," Harry said, kissing Ginny quickly on the nose and grinning at you. "Later, sweets."

"Same to you," she said, grabbing her bag and turning to wait for Colin, who'd called to her to wait up. "Have a good day, Harry."

"You, too," he said over his shoulder as he jogged to the end of the hall to catch up with Hermione. They saw Ron trudging along ahead of them. When Ron glanced back and saw Harry was walking with Hermione, he frowned and walked faster.

"Hermione," Harry said as they followed their classmates toward their first class of the day, "do you have any idea how Voldemort could restore his eyes?"

"No, I don't," she replied. "I imagine it would be similar to whatever he did to restore his body, though."

"So he needs more of my blood for another potion?" Harry gasped, horrified at the thought.

"No!" Hermione said quickly. "I doubt that. For that potion to work, there would have to be variations of some kind so it will be specifically for eyes, you know? Or maybe he's working on a spell to conjure eyes. That would probably work, actually. Hmmm," she said, the gears in her brain quite obviously clicking into motion. "That sounds like a better possibility, quite honestly. Don't you think so?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I imagine it would be easier to conjure them, or transfigure something else into them, maybe. What do you think?"

"Yes, transfiguring something is another good possibility. You've given me some things to think about. I'll start researching this afternoon."

"Thanks," Harry said gratefully. "I'd like to have an idea what he's up to so I can be better prepared next time we meet."

"I understand," she replied. "I have a lot to do for class, so it may take me a while, but I'll let you know what I find out."

* * * * *

A few weeks later, the Third Year and older students stood in line excitedly, waiting to be released for their first Hogsmeade weekend. Harry and Ginny were chatting with Ron and Susan, while privately wondering where Hermione was.

Back in the Common Room, Hermione sat in her corner surrounded by books, as usual. Neville walked over and sat next to her.

"Hi," he said quietly.

"Hi, Neville," she said with a distracted smile.

"Not going to Hogsmeade?"

"I didn't feel like going," she said with a shrug.

"Me neither," he replied.

She turned and looked squarely at him. "Why not?"

"I broke up with Luna yesterday." He saw her look of concern and hurried on. "It went quite well, actually. Ginny was right, Luna was ready to move on, too. So we're still friends. I just don't feel like going to Hogsmeade alone. Everyone our age goes as couples, you know."

Hermione sighed, turning back to her books. "Yeah, I know."

Neville was quiet a moment. "That's why you're not going, isn't it? Because you'd have to go alone?"

She turned and studied his sweet, sincere face. "Yes. That's it exactly."

"So would you like to go with me?" he said hesitantly. "Not as a date or anything - I know you're waiting for Ron to wake up," he chuckled, "but as friends?"

Hermione smiled. "You're so sweet, Neville. Are you sure you want to go with me?"

"Yes. I'd enjoy that, if you wouldn't mind going with me," he said shyly.

She sat looking at him for a moment longer, then closed her book decisively. "I'd love to go with you, Neville. Thanks for asking. Just let me put my things away."

A short time later, they were following the crowd of happily chattering students on their way to a fun afternoon in the village.

* * * * *

"Well, would you look at that?" Ginny murmured, tugging at Harry's sleeve. "Look who's here together," she whispered as he bent his ear to her.

Harry followed her gaze and saw Hermione and Neville walking together perusing the display in Dervish & Banges window.

"Good for them," he said with a smile. "I didn't like the idea of Hermione staying at school, but she simply refused to come when I asked her."

"Same here," Ginny confirmed. "You don't suppose they like each other, do you?"

"Dunno." He gazed down at his girlfriend, amusement lighting his eyes. "Are they messing up your matchmaking plans?"

She looked up at him and smiled. "No, I don't think so. They're all old enough to be able to work these things out for themselves. We'll just have to hope they work them out the right way."

As their paths crossed, Harry said, "Oy, Neville, Hermione! Having fun?"

Hermione smiled at them, but her smile didn't reach her sad brown eyes. Nope, she's still in love with Ron, Ginny thought as she noticed this.

"What are you two up to today?" Hermione asked.

"Just wandering through town," Ginny said. "Nothing special in mind. But we're going to the Three Broomsticks at three o'clock. D'you want to meet us there?"

"What's at three o'clock?" Neville said.

"That's when Ron and Susan asked us to meet them," Harry said honestly, not wanting Neville to be caught by surprise.

Neville's eyes lit up. "Susan's really nice," he said. "She likes Herbology a lot. We've studied together in the library before."

Harry and Ginny looked at each other, finding this statement of Neville's to be another "interesting development."

"You're welcome to join us if you want to," Harry said warmly.

Ginny could see Hermione hesitating. "Hermione, you and Ron are going to have to work out how to be friends again anyway. Why not join us? Come a bit after three so we'll all be there already. We'll make sure we get a big table. OK?"

"OK," Hermione said carefully. "If you're sure you don't mind."

"You're our best friend," Ginny insisted, "and we enjoy your company too, Neville. We'd love to have you."

Hermione glanced from Ginny's face to Harry's. He was giving Ginny a completely besotted look at the moment. Hermione smiled sadly, remembering when Ron had looked at her that way, as if she were the most beautiful girl in the world and could do absolutely no wrong in his eyes. Would he ever look at her that way again? She was beginning to lose hope, but Ginny and Harry were offering her a chance to meet Ron on neutral ground. "OK. See you then. Thanks," she said finally.

"Oh, Hermione," Ginny said suddenly, "have you seen this new shop? They have the sweetest things." She grabbed her friend's hand and pulled her into a shop nearby, glancing over her shoulder at the boys. "You don't mind, do you, Harry? Neville?"

"We'll be happy to wait for you out here," Harry said, knowing from the frilly pink exterior of the shop that he'd be quite uncomfortable in there.

"Yeah, that's fine," Neville added.

"We might be a while," Ginny warned, giving her boyfriend a cheeky grin.

"In that case, we'll be in the Quidditch shop," Harry said waving to the girls. "Come and find us there when you're finished, all right?" He grinned at them as they went into the shop, Ginny with a devilish "I have a plan" look on her face, Hermione being dragged along not completely unwillingly.

"C'mon, Neville. Let's go and do manly stuff," Harry said with a grin.

Neville gazed at the shop the girls had entered, a look of relief on his face. "Yeah! I was afraid they were going to drag us in there with them!" he said with a chuckle.

Half an hour later, the girls rejoined them, both of them smiling. Hermione had her hair in a new style with one side of her curly mane gathered above her ear with a beautiful hair clip. Ginny sported a new ribbon in her hair, which she was wearing as a headband.

"Don't you look pretty," Harry said appreciatively, "both of you!"

"Yeah," Neville said, smiling at the girls. "That's a pretty clip, Hermione. I like your hair like that."

Hermione blushed. "Thanks," she said quietly.

Ginny wrapped her arms around Harry's slim waist and looked up at him, looking quite pleased with herself, her eyes sparkling. "Thank you, Mr. Potter, sir!"

Harry embraced her and leaned his cheek on her hair for a moment, then straightened abruptly. "What a minute. What's that scent? Please don't tell me you've put on more girly potions that will poison me!" he said cautiously.

"That scent, sir, is my new shampoo Mum sent me. Nothing from any shop here. We were careful to stay away from potions," she assured him.

"Oh, OK. I like it," he said, smiling at her, relieved she and Hermione were being more careful than they'd been last term. Wearing a Glamour Charm to conceal her identity, Bellatrix Lestrange had run The Ladies' Shop last year; several potions the girls had purchased from her had been poisons and had nearly killed Harry several times last term.

"I need to go to the stationers," Hermione told Ginny and Harry. "Do you want to come?"

"No, that's OK. We'll catch you up later," Harry said, gently tugging on Ginny's hair so she wouldn't agree right away. "We have other things to do."

"All right, then. See you a bit after three," Hermione said, waving as she and Neville walked down the street.

"What other things do we have to do?" Ginny said, looking up at him expectantly.

"We have some snogging to do, that's what. Come on," he said, grinning at her as she gladly took his hand and followed him down the street and out of town. He led her to the stile where Sirius had met them in the past, then up the hill to the entrance of the cave. He'd told Ginny about this place but had never taken her there. As they neared the entrance, they lit their wands and looked around.

"Uh-oh," Harry said when he saw lots of eyes reflecting the light of their wands. "Back away, Gin."

"What are they?" she asked nervously.

"Some kind of animal - I can only see the glow of their eyes. They must have made this cave their den," he said as he pulled her away.

"Are there babies in there? I want to see!" she said, leaning around the outcropping of rock for one last glimpse of numerous bright eyes staring back at her.

"Come on, we don't need to bother them," Harry said, pulling a reluctant Ginny away.

"I wish we could have seen what they were. Maybe they were foxes! I just love foxes - as long as they stay away from our chickens!" she said, skipping along happily beside him. "Thanks for showing me the cave, Harry!"

"That wasn't exactly what I had in mind, but I'm glad you enjoyed it," he said, grinning at her irrepressible spirit.

"It's so pretty out here," she said, enjoying the rolling hills and the nearby forest still cloaked in multicoloured leaves. They were nearly at the stile now, the village in view just down the hill a bit.

"Yeah," Harry agreed. "I take you to all the best places, don't I?" he said with a chuckle, wishing she could Apparate so he really could take her to special places.

"You do, sir, you most certainly do," she said, turning to face him and sliding her arms up around his neck. She pulled him down into a playful kiss, and before long, they were lying in the sun-drenched meadow, rolling down the hill just for the fun of it, teasing and tickling each other like little children.

"You are so silly," Harry told her, flipping her onto her back and gnawing on the upturned tip of her freckled nose.

Ginny laughed and nipped his chin. "Got your dimple, sir."

"And you can have it, fair lady, and anything else you want," he said, suddenly serious. He leaned down and brushed her lips ever so lightly again and again, then finally pressed his lips to hers seriously, his tongue happily sliding into her welcoming mouth. They kissed until both of them were moaning. Harry sat up reluctantly, earning a frown and a groan from Ginny.

"What?" she asked, pouting prettily.

He grinned at her. "You're incorrigible, you are," he said, pulling her to her feet.

"Why do you say that?"

"You'd be willing to have your wicked way with me out here on the side of the hill? Need I remind you we can be seen from the village?" he said with a chuckle, nodding toward Hogsmeade.

Ginny blushed royally. "I hadn't realized," she said, giggling.

"That's what I thought," he said, picking bits of grass out of her hair and brushing off her cloak. "A roll in the grass is one thing, but we were, um--"

"Yeah," she said with a huge grin. "We were! We'll just have to save it for some other time and place."

"Yeah," he said, leaning his forehead against hers. "I love you, you know."

"I knew that, but it's good of you to remind me," she teased. "I love you too, Harry."

Hand in hand, they headed back to the village, wandering from shop to shop until it was nearly three o'clock. They went to the Three Broomsticks and sat at a big round table, waiting for their friends to arrive.

Ron and Susan entered in a few minutes. "Oy, Harry! You think this table is big enough?" Ron teased.

"It was empty," Harry said with a shrug. "I'll go and get our butterbeers." He soon returned with four bottles in hand.

"What have you two been up to this afternoon?" Ginny asked.

Susan responded, "We spent a good bit of time in the Quidditch shop, actually." She looked tolerantly at Ron. "Then we went to Dervish and Banges for a little while, then on to Zonko's, Honeydukes and, of course, the twins' shop."

Harry looked at Ron, wondering if Susan had actually enjoyed going to Ron's favourite places or not. Ron looked happy enough. Susan just looked. . .patient? He glanced at Ginny, wishing he could read her mind just now. He'd love to know what she was thinking.

Ron took her to all his favourite places, but Dervish and Banges isn't on his list of favourites. That must have been her idea, Ginny thought, studying the faces of the couple across from her. "Did you buy anything interesting?"

Ron picked up two big bags he'd dropped by his feet. "The twins are selling some of the stuff we were developing this summer, Harry," he said excitedly. "I got a load of samples. I'm going to take orders at school."

"Cool! Which ones?" Harry said, glad to see Ron so happy.

"Well, the Butterfly Bonbons, of course, and the Never-ending Whoopie Cushions, the Fantastic Fart Machines, the Fake Dragon Poo, Everlasting Mud, the Blast-Ended Whistles, and Duck Tape," Ron said. "Zonko's has some new things as well, but nothing as wild as the twins are making. Their shop was packed!"

"Having two shops is good for business, then?" Harry said with a grin. "Are they making things here as well, or just selling? We haven't made it to their shop yet."

"Oh yeah, it's great for business. George is here today, and he was telling me about it. They've got a good-sized sales staff here, but they're still doing all the manufacturing at their workshop in Diagon Alley. Sales are good in both locations."

"I'm glad to hear that," Harry said, sincerely.

"Hi, guys!" Neville said, approaching their table from behind Ron, walking ahead of Hermione. "Mind if we join you?"

"Nah, come on!" Harry said with a grin. "Having a good time today?"

"Yeah, brilliant," Neville said, helping Hermione into her chair, then sitting close beside her and resting his arm on the back of her chair.

Harry glanced at Ron, whose ears had suddenly turned pink.

"We were just in the twins' shop," Hermione said cheerfully. "The things they're selling now! Amazing."

"Ron and I helped develop some of the new stuff," Harry said with a grin. "It was a blast working for them, sometimes quite literally! When we were creating those Blast-Ended Whistles," he turned to Ron, laughing, and prodded him with his elbow, "remember? We nearly blew up the whole shop that time!"

Ron's whole face turned red. "Well, yeah. I added the ingredients in the wrong order and when Harry tried to cap it--"

"I was lucky it didn't blow my hand off," Harry said with a smirk. "That was when we'd first started working for them, and hadn't sorted out the best way to do things." He and Ron exchanged a glance and then both of them laughed out loud.

"What?" Ginny prompted. "We'd like to laugh too, you know!"

"The twins let us make a few mistakes - well, actually, they tested things on us without warning at first," Harry said, "so once my hair ended up a nice shade of purple. They left me like that for a couple of hours before they gave me the antidote. Ron and I hexed them just a little bit so they left off playing practical jokes on us after that."

The conversation rolled on fitfully, Ron not talking much and spending far too much time staring at Neville's arm behind Hermione's back. When Neville put his hand on Hermione's shoulder, she jumped a bit in surprise, but turned and smiled at him. Ron's face reddened at the sight.

"What's wrong, Ron?" Susan asked him, studying his face curiously. "You look upset."

"Nothing," he growled, starting to get up. "Let's go."

"I haven't finished my butterbeer," she protested. "And I'm enjoying being with your friends. Can't we stay?"

Ron ground his teeth but sat back down.

Remus and Tonks came into the pub hand in hand, and strolled over to their table.

"Hi!" Tonks said cheerfully, pulling up a chair between Ginny and Hermione. "Having a good time today?"

"Yeah!" Ginny said, smiling at the young woman.

"Pull up a chair, Remus," Harry said, pulling his and Ginny's chairs over to make room for his godfather.

"We don't want to gatecrash," Remus said with a smile.

"Yes, we do!" Tonks said cheekily.

"All right, then, I suppose we do," Remus said, chuckling as he pulled a chair up between Ginny and Tonks.

"What are you two up to?" Hermione asked.

Tonks held out her left hand. "Remus bought me a present," she said, her eyes dancing. Remus ducked his head, trying to hide his blush.

"Let's see!" the girls all said, leaning over to look at Tonks's engagement ring.

"Took you long enough," Harry teased his godfather.

"I picked out several and let her choose which one she liked best," Remus confided. "I wanted to be sure she liked it."

"That sounds like a good idea," Harry said, knowing Tonks and Remus had much different taste in many things.

"OOoooooo, it's beautiful!" Ginny said, pulling Tonks's hand over so Harry and Ron could see the ring as well. It was a pretty thing, a ruby with a small diamond on each side, in a lacy gold setting.

"That is pretty," Harry agreed, then turned to his godfather and murmured, "She picked that one out?"

"Yes."

"I would never have guessed she'd want such a. . .a. . ." Harry was at a loss for words.

"A girly one?" Remus said, understanding exactly what Harry meant.

"Yeah! I thought she'd want something more. . .unusual. It's beautiful," Harry said, smiling at his godfather.

"I went to your jeweller friend, Mr. Joyero. He's very nice, gave me a good price on it and put some protections on it for me, as well," Remus said. "Thanks for telling me about him."

"He's great, isn't he?" Harry agreed. He glanced around the table. The girls were all busily chatting about Tonks's ring and the wedding plans. The guys were all leaning back in their chairs, watching the girls in amusement. All but Ron. He kept watching Hermione, who looked very pretty with her hair held back in that clip and her cheeks pink with excitement. When the girls' chatter settled down, they all sat back in their chairs again. Harry kept watching Ron and noticed the tension in his eyes and mouth as Neville's arm came around Hermione's shoulders once more.

Apparently, Susan noticed the same thing, as well as Ron's reaction to it. She pushed her chair back and said, "I'm ready to go now."

"I thought you wanted to stay?" Ron said in surprise.

"We've stayed long enough," she said, waving at the group as she started toward the door.

"I guess we'll see you later," Ron told Harry and Ginny with a shrug. "Bye Remus, Tonks," he added, then glanced at Hermione and Neville and grunted, "See ya," as he turned away.

Hermione and Ginny stared at each other as Ron left the pub, and then Hermione burst into giggles, leaning into Neville and smiling up at him appreciatively.

"You're great, Neville," she said. She sat back and looked into his eyes seriously. "That was part of the plan, right?"

Neville grinned. "Yeah," he admitted shyly. "Looks like it worked, too."

"Anyone care to let me in on this plan?" Harry said, his eyebrows raised in question.

"Neville acted as if he and I are a couple to see if Ron still cared about me," Hermione explained. "It looks as if he does!"

"Yeah, and Susan wasn't too happy about it," Harry said, sorry the girl's feelings were being hurt.

"She comes and sits with me in the library a lot," Neville said, blushing madly. "I like her. I think she likes me a bit, as well."

"Really? Well, that might solve all kinds of problems," Harry said with a smile. "If we can get Ron to get past his anger, maybe everyone can be friends again."

"Yeah, but how do we do that?" Ginny said, sighing in frustration.

"No idea," Harry said sadly.

* * * * *

During their break after lunch early the next week, Harry went looking for Ron so they could study together. He finally found him sitting on the stairs up to the Head Boy Suite, his elbows on his knees, his chin on his crossed wrists, his face glum.

"What's up, mate?" Harry asked, sitting next to him.

"Susan's decided we've seen enough of each other," Ron replied.

"She broke up with you?"

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry," Harry said sincerely. Ron had just started looking happier, and here he was in a deep blue funk again.

"Yeah." They sat quietly for a while, then Ron asked, "How long have Hermione and Neville been together?"

"Dunno," Harry replied. "I think Saturday was the first time they actually went out together."

"I like Neville. I should warn him about her."

Harry was amazed. "Warn him? Why?"

"She'll just break his heart. It's what she does," Ron said bitterly.

"She's not really like that, mate. You've just never talked to her about what happened," Harry said, trying to smooth things over between his friends.

"I have no interest in talking to her," Ron snarled.

Harry snorted. "You could have fooled me, mate. You were looking daggers at her the other day. You don't do that to someone you don't care about."

Ron just growled in reply.

"Why don't you at least try talking to her?" Harry prompted.

"No. I'll talk to her about Head Boy stuff, but that's all," Ron snapped.

Harry shrugged. "OK, if that's the way you want it." He patted Ron on the shoulder and left him to sulk alone, since that's what he apparently wanted to do.

* * * * *

"Harry?" Hermione said as she came into the Common Room late in the evening a few days later. When Ron saw her coming, he slammed his book closed, gathered up his things and left the table.

"You don't have to--" Hermione began.

"Ron, wait--" Harry said at the same moment.

"I'll be in the suite when you want to get back to working on this," Ron told Harry darkly, then disappeared up the stairs.

Hermione watched him go, her heart in her eyes. Finally, she turned back to Harry. "I'm sorry," she said glumly.

"It isn't your fault, not anymore," Harry said. "He's just being a stubborn git. He needs to get over what happened and at least try to be friends again."

"He doesn't want to," she sighed, looking despondently at the boys' staircase.

Harry decided ignoring the problem of Ron and Hermione was the best thing to do at the moment. "Come on, sit down. You're late coming in. Where've you been?" he asked, being determinedly cheerful as he pulled out the chair next to him for her.

"Thanks," she said, sitting down and opening her bag, pulling out a huge sheaf of notes. She offered it to Harry. "I've been in the library again. These are my notes on what I found, but I don't think they'll be any help to you. I've researched everything I can think of. I've even talked with Professor McGonagall about the transfiguration idea. I haven't found any way Voldemort could make himself new eyes that would actually work."

"Really? Huh. Then I wonder what he's doing?" Harry said, leafing through her notes as his mind went over every idea he'd had about how Voldemort could regain his sight. "I can't imagine him giving up on regaining his sight. He's too stubborn, too cocky, too confident that he's the greatest wizard of all time and can do whatever he damned well pleases. He won't quit until he's succeeded. I think that's why he's been so quiet and the Death Eaters are just attacking randomly, rather than with some kind of plan. He's concentrating on other things than the Death Eaters right now, and what else would he concentrate on, given his condition, but his sight?"

She shook her head, having no more answers than Harry did.

"I've been trying to think of ways he could do it other than transfiguration, conjuring or a potion, but I'm completely stumped," Harry said, raking his fingers through his hair in frustration.

"Yeah, me too," Hermione said with a sigh.

"Thanks for trying," he said sincerely.

* * * * *

Late in the week, Neville set his things on the table in Greenhouse Three where Susan was unpacking her bag. "Want to work together today?" he asked timidly. He, like everyone else in Gryffindor, knew Ron and Susan were no longer together.

Susan smiled at him brightly. "Yeah. I'd like that," she said.

Neville grinned and began unpacking his bag to get ready for class. "Professor Sprout told me we were going to start working with Spitting Daisies today."

"Really? Cool. What do you know about them?" Susan said, her eyes sparkling as she looked up at the gangly boy with the sweet eyes and shy smile.

Hermione came into the greenhouse and saw Neville was sharing a work table with Susan. Harry was with Ron, Parvati and Lavender were sharing, Dean was with a girl from Hufflepuff, all the other Hufflepuffs were paired up as well. She looked a bit lost standing in the doorway.

"Ron? I'm going to invite Hermione to work with us," Harry said.

Ron looked a bit rebellious, then shrugged. "Whatever."

"Hermione! Over here," Harry called.

She hesitated until Harry waved at her madly, then slowly walked to their work station. "Do you mind, Ron?"

"No. Professor Sprout says we need partners to do this work, so you can't work alone," he admitted.

"Thanks," she said, setting her things much closer to Harry than to Ron.

"All right, class, let's pay attention, please!" Professor Sprout began. "You will need your full face shields, dragon hide lab robes and your dragon hide gloves. Spitting Daisies can spit up to three feet. The juice they spit can burn you, which is why you're wearing face shields, lab robes and gloves. The Spitting Daisy's leaves are good for poultices used to treat lung disorders. The poultice generates heat that is comforting to the patient, as well as fumes that open the lungs and airways. We'll be re-potting these plants today. Here's the procedure." She gave directions as she and two students passed out plants to each work station. "You must work with at least one partner. One person must hold the plant while the other removes the pot and trims the roots. In the case of the larger plants, it may take two people to pull the pot off of the roots, so Potter, Weasley, Granger, since there are three at your table, you will work with the larger plants. It would be best if you boys hold the plant once the pot is removed, one the top of the plant, the other each root as Miss Granger tries to trim the roots. The plants will fight you, even the smallest ones, trying to stay in their pots and to avoid being pruned. Do your best not to damage the leaves of the plant, nor the flowers. The flowers also have medicinal purposes which we'll get into in our next lesson."

The three of them managed to work well together after some initial tension. Harry made it a point to talk to Ron and Hermione equally, to try to say silly things, to try to engage them in conversation. He managed better than he'd hoped, with Ron actually joining in the conversation almost naturally every so often, which was a huge improvement over his behaviour to this point this term. Dealing with the plants led to some laughter among them as well, especially when one plant waved a thick leaf hard enough to flip up Harry's face shield and smack him on the nose.

"Ow!" he said, rubbing his nose with his gloved hand as he pushed his shield back down. "That hurt!"

"Oh dear, Harry - don't rub it! It got some juice on you!" Hermione said, sounding worried.

"Not that spit juice!" Harry said, horrified.

Ron was trying not to laugh. "Looks like it, mate. Your nose is starting to look like Winky's."

Sure enough, Harry's nose was swelling to tomato-like proportions, much like Winky's. In seconds, it was so large, it was pushing the face shield away from his face.

"Hurry and finish, Hermione, so we can let go of it," Harry urged.

"Professor!" Hermione called, trimming roots as quickly as she could, "Harry's got some of that sap on his nose."

"Oh, bad show, Potter, bad show, that," Professor Sprout said, tutting as she looked at his nose which was now huge, round, red with yellow blotches. "Hospital wing as soon as that plant's finished, Potter. You can't let go of it until it's done. Don't worry, it won't kill you. It will just be uncomfortable until you get it treated."

Harry sighed. "Yes, Professor."

Ron looked at Harry and grinned madly.

"What?" Harry said, his voice sounding oddly hollow with his nose so swollen.

"You look like a poisonous mushroom now, all red with polka dots," Ron sniggered, then laughed out loud. "Sorry!"

"Thanks, Ron," Harry replied acerbically, then laughed himself when he saw his reflection in the greenhouse walls. "I hope Madam Pomfrey can cure this quickly."

"She'll have you fixed up in a trice," Professor Sprout assured him, having overheard his comment.

"Great. What's a 'trice?'" Harry said, acting grumpy, but grinning. Ron hadn't laughed so hard in months. It was worth a painfully burned nose if it made his friend guffaw like that.

"OK, all done," Hermione announced. "Stuff it in the pot."

The boys and Hermione finished re-potting the ill-tempered plant and then Hermione cleaned up their station with a quick cleansing charm.

"Thanks, Hermione," Harry said, packing his bag and heading for the door.

"Granger, Weasley, go with him," Professor Sprout called across the greenhouse. "Make sure he goes straight to the hospital wing and gets his treatment."

"Yes, Professor," Hermione said, putting her arm through Harry's and hurrying him along.

"Yeah, c'mon, mate, let's get you taken care of before someone sees you like that," Ron said, chuckling again as he grabbed Harry's other arm and practically dragged him into the castle. They were all laughing by the time they got to the castle door, although Harry winced whenever he laughed too much.

A short time later, Harry was standing in front of a mirror, happy to see his own thin, slightly arched nose on his face again. Ron and Hermione stood smiling behind him. It almost seemed like old times, the three of them sharing laughter and fun. He turned to face them. "Well, that's an experience I don't want to repeat," he chuckled.

"Yeah, you've got to watch out for plants that want to fight back," Ron sniggered. He heard Hermione chuckle and looked at her for a moment with an open, friendly smile, but it soon faded and was replaced by the guarded, tense expression he normally wore around her now.

Harry sighed, seeing the happy light go out of Hermione's face and her shoulders sag as she turned to pick up her bag.

"See you later," she said, walking toward the door.

"Thanks, Hermione," Harry called after her. This has gone on long enough, he thought, and decided tonight was the time to put his plan into action.

* * * * *

At dinner that evening, Harry leaned over and whispered in Ginny's ear, "Tonight's the night."

She looked up at him, startled. "Are you sure?"

"Now or never," he said seriously. "Is it ready?"

"Yes," she murmured. "I hope it works."

"Me too."

When they got back to the Common Room, Ginny ran up to her room for a few minutes, then came back down with her hand in her pocket. She sidled over to Harry, who was standing at the window watching bats chasing bugs in the evening light, and slipped her hand into his. He smiled down at her and closed his hand around the two small, sealed vials she was passing him, then put them in his pocket.

"You are both beautiful and brilliant," he murmured, leaning down to kiss her briefly. "Where's Hermione?"

"She went to her suite to study," Ginny replied.

"OK. The game's afoot!" he said softly, giving her shoulder an affectionate squeeze before walking toward his best mate and calling, "Oy, Ron? Can we work in your room? I'm having trouble with the star chart and need to spread some stuff out."

"Yeah, go ahead, Harry," Ron said absently, having just opened a book to begin his homework.

"Erm. . .can you come help me?" Harry asked hopefully.

"OK, sure," Ron said, packing his books up and following Harry up the stairs. "I think you just like the suite," he teased.

"Yeah, that's a big part of it," Harry agreed, laughing as he ran up the stairs.

When they got to the suite, Ron cleared off his worktable and he and Harry spread out the star charts they were making for Astronomy. They were supposed to be projecting the location of the various planets and stars five, twelve and eighteen years in the future, to make sure they had a thorough grounding in their calculations of astral movements.

"So where's the problem, Harry?" Ron asked as they bent over the chart.

"This area. I keep getting Neptune's moons messed up in my projections," Harry said. He actually understood what he was supposed to be doing, but it was the first "help me with my homework" thing he could think of at the moment.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. "I'll get it," Harry offered. He opened the door to find Hermione standing there uncertainly. "Hi. Come in," he invited.

Ron turned to see who it was, his welcoming face hardening when he saw it was Hermione. "What do you want?"

"Ginny told me you needed to see me," Hermione said, confused.

"I never. . . ." He turned to his best mate and snarled, "What are you up to, Harry?"

Harry took a deep breath. He'd thought a lot about what he would say when this time came. He crossed his fingers, hoping that what he was about to do wouldn't make matters worse.

"I'm tired of us not getting on. You two need to clear the air for us to be friends. If you don't want to be boyfriend and girlfriend anymore, that's fine, but a lot of friendships have been damaged by you two not speaking to each other."

"Nothing she has to say interests me," Ron snapped.

Hermione stood silent and big-eyed, not knowing what to do next.

"Here's what we're going to do. I've brought a dose of the Draught of Peace for each of you. Once you've taken it, you won't lose your tempers for a while and will be able to talk sensibly. It also has a little bit of Veritaserum in it so you have to be honest with each other. I'm going to do a strong Cheering Charm on each of you--"

"Like hell you will," Ron snarled, his face flaming red with temper.

"Don't make me Stun you, Ron. This has to be done or we'll be miserable the whole term. I don't care if you become boyfriend and girlfriend again or not - well, I do care, but it's not my choice, it's yours. But you have to clear the air," Harry insisted.

"As I was saying before you so very rudely interrupted me, I'll give you this potion, and then, once I'm sure you won't kill each other - oh, by the way, Accio wands," he said, catching their wands neatly when they flew to him.

Both of his friends started to object, but Harry spoke over their objections. "WHEN I'M SURE YOU WON'T KILL EACH OTHER," he repeated, shouting until they quietened down, "I'll leave you alone to sort out your differences. Ron, Hermione needs to tell you what happened this summer. You need to listen. You two need to discuss how you really feel about each other. And hopefully, you need to at least become friends again - if that's possible."

He did a Cheering Charm on each of them despite Ron's protests, then handed each of them a flagon. "The potion is a good one - Ginny made it." He waited for a moment, glaring at Ron's more cheerful but still rebellious face, then snapped, "Drink it!" Once they took the potion, he stood there waiting a few minutes to let it take effect. When Ron's face visibly softened, Harry said, "All right. I'm going to leave you two alone. Try your best to work out your differences, all right?"

"K," Ron said amiably, looking relaxed and happy.

"All right," Hermione said, a dreamy look on her face as she gazed at Ron.

His fingers tightly crossed, Harry left the suite and closed the door behind him. Just outside the door, Ginny stood with an Extendable Ear in her outstretched hand, the other already installed in her ear.

"You think of everything, don't you?" he said in admiration, sitting beside her on the top step and shoving the ends of the Extendable Ears under the door.

"I learned a lot from the twins," she said with a smile. She scooted over next to Harry and leaned her head comfortably on his shoulder as he wrapped his arm around her back.

"And now we wait," he said with a sigh.

"And now we wait," she agreed, giving him a hopeful smile and showing him her crossed fingers.

Inside the Head Boy Suite, Ron and Hermione stood looking at each other, neither knowing quite what to say. Finally, Hermione broke the silence.

"I had no idea Harry was that devious," she said, a smile tickling the corners of her mouth. "It must be Ginny's influence."

"Devious?"

"Tricking us into being together and having potions ready to keep us from arguing," she said, her smile actually breaking free now.

Ron chuckled. "Yeah. I didn't know he had it in him," he agreed. He smiled at her. "Would you like to sit down?" he said, offering her his best armchair.

"Thanks," she said, smiling at him sweetly.

"All right. Harry says you have something to tell me," Ron said, giving her all his attention.

"Yes, I do," she said quietly. "I love you, Ron. I always have. I always will. I messed up badly this summer, and I want to explain that to you as well as I can. But I want you to know I love you. I've missed you so much."

Ron seemed to be struggling with himself a bit, but the mild dose of Veritaserum kicked in despite his objections. "I love you too. It nearly killed me when I got your letter. I went out and got drunk. Scared Harry to death. He called my dad to come look after me."

"You got drunk?"

"Yup. First and last time I'll drink Ogden's Old Firewhisky," he replied seriously. "I swore off hard alcohol and girls both when I woke up, but then I decided swearing off girls wasn't in my best interests, so I started trying to find girls to go out with. I was a real prat for a long time. Harry could tell you. I was so numb, I didn't really know what I was doing half the time. He had to keep covering up for me at work. I was messing up everything I did, especially when it came to girls. I think I made every girl on Diagon Alley angry with me at some point during the summer."

"I'm glad you swore off the firewhisky, anyway," she said sincerely. "I'm so sorry for what I did, all the things I said in that letter." She shook her head sadly. "It all started when my parents decided it wasn't safe for me to be part of the wizarding world anymore. . . ." She went on to tell him about the many fights she'd had with her parents, how they'd pushed her and Lorenzo together, knowing Lorenzo had many qualities that would appeal to her, as well as being a handsome young man with tremendous charm.

"Hermione, I honestly don't want to hear how handsome and charming he is," Ron said uncomfortably.

"I'm sorry. This Veritaserum is making me say more than I normally would," she said softly. "I don't want to hurt you."

"You already did," he said soberly. "I thought I was going to die."

"Veritaserum?"

"Yes. I wasn't going to say that," he admitted. He leaned forward in his chair, his elbows on his knees, his face in his hands. He didn't want to look at her anymore.

She reached toward him, laying her hand on the back of his head, stroking his hair softly. "I've missed you so much," she murmured. "I didn't love Lorenzo. I think I needed to grow up a bit before getting so serious with you, and I did that this summer. And I'm ready to be serious with you now, if you'll have me back."

"How serious?" he said, lifting his head and eyeing her suspiciously. The Draught of Peace was beginning to wear off.

"As serious as you want, Ron," she said simply. "I love you." She sat back in her chair again. "I haven't finished explaining things to you. I should finish so it's all out in the open."

He sat up, his face stoic, braced to hear the worst. "Go on."

"Do you remember how you felt when you saw Fleur Delacour the first time?"

He made a disgusted sound, embarrassed by the memory. "She's part Veela. Are you saying this bloke is part Veela?" He looked sceptical.

"No. He's a Muggle, actually. But he had that effect on me. It shocked me - a grown man thought I was pretty, interesting, all that. He swept me off my feet at first. I'd never known anyone like him. He was like one of those men in the romance novels the girls pass around the dormitories." Hermione shook her head, shocked at her own behaviour.

"I don't think I want to hear that either," he grumbled. "And you are pretty. I've told you that often enough, haven't I?"

"Please, Ron, please just let me explain," she begged. She waited for him to respond, but he remained quiet. "Ginny should've made stronger doses of the potion," she muttered, gazing at his increasingly stubborn face.

"I can bring in another dose if you need it," Ginny called through the door, evoking a startled laugh out of Hermione and a growl from Ron.

"Are you going to listen to me, or is Ginny going to have to dose you again?" Hermione asked with a sad smile.

Ron sighed and sat back in his chair again. "Go on."

"My parents were pressuring me to go to a Muggle school, to go out with Muggle guys. I told them my school credits wouldn't transfer from a magical school to a Muggle one, but they didn't care. Going out with Lorenzo was one way to get them to give me some space," she admitted. "But - the Veritaserum is still working a bit for me. Is it for you?"

"A bit."

"So believe what I'm saying is the truth, Ron. I was . . . erm. . .a bit frightened of how serious you and I were getting. I want an education. I want to travel. And suddenly I was afraid I'd be locked in a house full of redheaded babies the rest of my life." Tears streamed down her face. "Not that I have anything at all against redheaded babies - I love babies, and want to have them eventually, but I'm too young to think about things like that. It scared me. I love you, Ron, I really do, but I was afraid of where we were going. I wanted to experience life. . . I'm not explaining this well."

"You thought you were going to be tied to a sink and kept pregnant all the time?" he snapped. "You should know me better than that. I know you want an education, a career, and to travel. I wouldn't stop you from any of those things. I would've helped you, gone with you. . . ." His voice faded and his face, which had become soft and vulnerable for a moment while he was speaking, hardened defensively again.

"Yes, you're right," she said miserably. "I do know you better than that, really, I do. I just. . . ."

"You wanted to go out with more guys than just me and Viktor Krum, is that it?"

She looked at him, her eyes bleak. "Something like that, yes. And you'd never gone out with anyone but me. I was afraid that one day you'd regret not going out with more girls, that you wouldn't be satisfied with me anymore. . . ." Her voice trailed off.

"I've gone out with loads of girls now," he said, his eyes sad. "Most of them think I'm a complete prat. Susan was the first one who went out with me more than once, the only one who made me smile at all since I got your letter."

"I know. I was glad to see you smile again, Ron, I really was. I was sorry that I wasn't the one making you smile, but I was glad to see you looking happy again." She sniffled. "And I don't think you're a prat."

"I need to know something. . .I think," he said uneasily.

"What?" she said, equally nervous.

"Did you. . .erm. . .did you two. . .um." He stopped, unable to continue, blushing furiously and looking angry with himself.

"You want to know how far we went?" she asked. He nodded. "He never did more than kiss me goodnight, and even that wasn't passionate," she said quietly. "I thought he was being a gentleman, just taking things slowly, but he really just wanted to be friends, I guess."

"For the record, Susan and I didn't do much more than that either. There was some snogging, but nothing else," he admitted. She nodded and gave him a grateful look. Ron nodded, then dropped his eyes and sat studying his hands for several long, quiet minutes, before saying, "Are you still scared of being serious with me?"

She gazed at him with hope in her eyes for the first time in ages. "No. I know my own heart now."

"And what does it say?" he said cautiously.

"That I was a complete fool for throwing away the best thing that ever happened to me," she said quietly.

"So you're sorry you went out with this bloke?" he asked slowly.

"Well, yes and no."

He frowned at her, confused. "What does that mean?"

"It means that going out with him showed me how much I care about you," she said simply. "I was infatuated with him for a little while, yes, but then I woke up and realized he wasn't what I really wanted. I was always comparing him with you in my mind, and he kept coming off second best. You're the one I love. You're the one I dream about. You're the one who makes me laugh. You're the one I wish was there to comfort me when I have bad dreams. You're the one whose voice I listen for in the corridors, in the Great Hall, in the Common Room. I love the sound of your voice. I love the colour of your hair, and your beautiful blue eyes. I love your loyalty, your honesty, your courage, your impulsive nature." She reached out gingerly and took his big hands in her small ones, turning them over and caressing the callused palms with her thumbs. "I love your Quidditch calluses. I love your broad shoulders, how tall you are, how you make me feel so dainty and small and protected. I love your freckles. I love the way you make me feel when you hold me. I love when you take my breath away, when you make me dizzy with kisses." She knelt in front of him, looking up into his eyes. "I cannot tell you how many ways I love you, Ron." She swallowed hard, then continued. "We made vows to each other last year. Do you remember?" He nodded. "I said, 'I, Hermione Granger, solemnly swear to never let the sun go down on my anger with Ron Weasley. If I have to crawl through owl droppings to get him to forgive me, I will do it.' I'll go up to the Owlry right now and crawl through the droppings there if it will help. I can't tell you how terribly sorry I am that I hurt you. Can you ever forgive me?"

Ron was silent for several minutes before replying. "Do you need to go out with more blokes? Or can you be satisfied with me?"

"I only want you, Ron," she said, rising on her knees so they were face to face. "Please, please forgive me."

He sat gazing into her serious brown eyes a long time, then studied her face. She had an ink smudge on the side of her nose, as usual. Her curls were rioting around her face, cascading in an unruly mass down her back, one side held back by the pretty clip she'd bought in Hogsmeade. He reached out with a gentle finger and let one tendril curl around his finger almost of its own accord.

Hermione sat there holding her breath, wondering what he would do next. Her eyes trailed over the dark circles under his eyes, the sad droop of his shoulders. Even his hair seemed a duller red since he'd been so depressed. She lifted a hand and gently pushed his hair back out of his face, cupping his cheek in her hand as she did so.

Ron spent a lot of time lost in serious thought, winding that strand of her hair around his finger over and over. When she cupped his cheek in her dainty hand, he nearly lost control, but he was going to think this through before reacting. He didn't want to be hurt like that ever again.

When he didn't react to her hand on his cheek, Hermione dropped her hand and sat back, beginning to pull away from him.

"Where are you going?" he said gruffly, not letting go of her hair.

"I. . .um. . ." she said uncertainly.

He sighed, then took both of her hands in his. "You're sure this time? You really want me? Not some ideal bloke from your dreams? You're not going to change your mind?"

"I'm sure."

"Are you ready for a real commitment, or is this just for the rest of school?"

"Whatever you want," she said humbly.

"Really?" he said in a small, surprised voice.

"Yes. I'm yours for as long as you'll have me."

He put his big hands under her arms and lifted her easily into his lap. "You're sure this time? You're not going to change your mind?"

"No," she said with certainty, sitting nervously on the edge of his lap.

Ron pulled her to him, holding her close. "You know what this means, don't you?"

Hermione sighed contentedly, relaxing her head against his shoulder. "What does it mean? And by the way, this feels wonderful."

"It means I'm never allowing you to go on holiday alone with your parents ever again," he vowed.

"That's fine with me," she said, lifting her face to his. "I don't ever want to be apart from you again. Do you want me to crawl through the owl droppings now?"

"No, I think we can skip that part. I have something else in mind," he said, lowering his lips to hers.

Outside the suite door, Ginny turned shining eyes to Harry as they listened to smooching sounds and blissful sighs on the Extendable Ears. "I just love happy endings!"

"Me too," he agreed wholeheartedly, pulling her into a kiss. "We're brilliant, you know. I love it when a plan actually works!"

Just then, an alarm went off over their heads.

"Uh-oh," Harry said, then pointed his wand straight up and cried, "Silencio!" When that didn't work, he sent an Adfero to Dumbledore, and the alarm instantly quieted.

"Who'd you Adfero?" Ginny said, taking her hands down from her ears.

"Dumbledore. I told him we'd just gotten Ron and Hermione back together and his alarm was messing up all our hard work!" Harry replied with a laugh. "He Adferoed back that he likes happy endings too, but that we'd need to interrupt them soon."

"OK," Ginny said, putting the Extendable Ear back in her ear. "They're laughing now. It should be safe to go in."

They stood and knocked loudly on the door, then opened it cautiously when they heard Ron's bellow "Come in!"

"You bellowed, Ron?" Harry said with an impish grin.

"I can barely hear!" Ron said loudly. "That alarm went off right over our heads!" He and Hermione were still in the armchair, their faces pink from both blushes and laughter.

"And did you two work out your differences?" Ginny asked cheekily, unashamedly rolling up the Extendable Ears where her brother and best friend could see them.

"You probably know everything that went on in here," Hermione said, her cheeks pinking up again quite prettily.

"Well, not everything," Ginny admitted, smiling slyly, pleased that the plan had worked so well. "You'll have to tell us exactly what set off the alarm."

Both Ron and Hermione blushed madly, exchanging a look that made them laugh. "Not today," Ron said. "And Harry? Ginny? Thanks. I mean that."

"No problem!" Harry said. "I'm just glad everything worked out."

"Are those tiny little Cupid wings coming out of your back, Mr. Potter?" Hermione teased.

"Just another Animagus form," he assured her with a cheeky grin.

"Pink's just not your colour, Potter," Ginny teased him.

"Pink?" he said, twisting around to try to see his own back, where, of course, no wings existed. Everyone laughed at him being so silly.

"I don't know about you lot, but I have homework to finish," Harry said, gathering up his books from Ron's floor.

"Let's study up here," Ron said, pulling another chair up to the table for Harry.

"I promised Colin I'd help him with his Potions homework," Ginny said, heading for the door. "I'd better get to work before it gets too late."

Hermione ran down the stairs after Ginny to get her books so she could study with her boyfriend and best friend as they had so many times before. Ron and Harry grinned at each other across the table as they waited for her to return.

"So everything's OK now?" Harry asked seriously.

"It may take me a while to trust her completely again," Ron admitted, "but I'm willing to give it a try. Thanks for not giving up on us," he said sincerely. "I needed a good swift kick up the backside. That was a great plan."

"I may patent it," Harry said cheekily. "I'll cut you in on the royalties, since you and Hermione were the test subjects."

"We're all going to be filthy rich from it, mate," Ron said with a grin.

Hermione returned and sat between her two favourite men, spreading out her notes and getting their homework organized, much to the boys' relief.