Yours Lovingly

Ginny was on her way to Harry.

What a perfect opportunity! Now I can get closer to Harry right under Hermione's nose. She will think I am looking for an opportunity to tell Harry about her love.

Harry was sitting in the common room with Ron and Seamus. He stopped talking when Ginny came over to them.

"WOW!" exclaimed Seamus. "You look gorgeous!"

'Thank you," said Ginny as she sat with the three boys.

"What do you want to do with us?" asked Ron skeptically.

"I want to talk about Hermione," said Ginny seriously.

"What about her?" asked Harry. He didn't seem to be remotely interested in anything that involved Hermione.

"She has changed a lot. She is not the same Hermione I used to know," said Ginny choosing her words carefully. "These days, she is spending a lot of time in front of the mirror. She also became quite head-strong!"

"It's quite obvious who spends a lot of time in front of the mirror these days," muttered Ron.

Ginny suddenly looked discomfited. Harry decided to break the awkward silence. "But Ginny, we are Hermione's best friends. As far as I know, Hermione can never behave that way."

"You are talking about the old Hermione," said Ginny. "I have been spending time with her all these days. No one can change her mind!"

Harry wanted to change the topic. Even though Hermione had been behaving unusual lately, he didn't want to believe in anything Ginny had just mentioned.

"Anyways," said Ginny as she got up, "it's none of my business. I just thought of telling you to stop hoping that Hermione would make up with you. By the way, how do I look today, Harry?"

Harry was glad the subject had changed. "You look very pretty Ginny! I really like you in this dress!"

"Thank you Harry," said Ginny, feeling accomplished. "By the way, good luck for tomorrow's quidditch match."

With that, Ginny left the boys and headed towards the girl's dormitory. Part of her plan was a complete success. She got Harry to notice her...

"Ginny!" said Hermione anxiously when Ginny arrived. "Did you tell Harry about me?"

"Yes. I did," said Ginny, smiling.

"What did you tell?" asked Hermione impetuously.

"I told him how sweet you are!"

"And?"

"That's pretty much it," said Ginny and headed for the mirror.

"Wait!"

Hermione held Ginny's hand. She looked pleadingly into her eyes.

"Didn't you tell him about my love?"

"Think Hermione," said Ginny, irritated. "How will it look if I talk about love right at the beginning?"

"You don't have to go through all this trouble-"

"No!" interrupted Ginny. "I didn't mean it that way. You know one thing? Harry thinks you are insane!"

"I know he does," said Hermione grimly.

"Then how did you think I would tell him if he thinks of you that way?" asked Ginny. "First, I want to take some time to create a good impression of you in his mind. Once I am sure he is ready to take it, I will tell him."

"Everything is in your hands, Ginny!" said Hermione, feeling helpless.

Yes. Everything is in my hands now.

Hermione couldn't sleep that night. She could feel the change that she had gone through. She felt very vulnerable.

Love is so painful! But the pain itself is so pleasant!

She fervently hoped that Ginny would tell Harry soon. She wouldn't feel normal till Harry knew about her.

After what seemed like hours, Hermione finally fell asleep. She had a dream, in which Harry was embracing a girl she couldn't quite recognize. As she approached them, Harry pulled away from the girl.

Hermione was trying to focus her attention on the girl. The girl looked back angrily at Hermione for disturbing her passionate moment with her love.

Hermione got closer to the girl. All she wanted to know was who she could be. As she got nearer, she recognized the red color of the girl's hair.

No. It can't be...

Hermione woke up with a start. She was all sweaty and her heart was beating rapidly. She reached for the jug of water on the bedside table and drank fully.

After recovering from the impact of the strange dream, she looked over at Ginny, who was sleeping peacefully. Something about Ginny didn't feel right. Was Ginny playing with her life?

She shook her head. What am I thinking? Ginny is just trying to help.

She took a few drops of the sleeping potion she had prepared for herself and drifted back into a dreamless sleep.

The next day, Hermione went over to Professor McGonagall's office to get her N.E.W.T results.

She cautiously knocked on the door. "Professor McGonagall?"

"Come in Miss Granger."

When Hermione entered the office, Professor McGonagall beckoned her to sit down before she spoke. "Anything bothering you, Miss Granger?"

"No Professor McGonagall!" replied Hermione instantly. "Why did you ask?"

"I expected you to be jubilant at the prospect of being the only Hogwarts student to give N.E.W.T.S in your 6^th year. However, I don't see a trace of enthusiasm in you."

Hermione didn't know what to say. She just stared at the clear sky out of the window.

"Your results are here," continued Professor McGonagall after a while. "You scored the maximum in all the subjects, as usual."

Hermione was holding her breath. She knew what was coming.

"I don't think you would be interested in staying at Hogwarts any longer. However, I won't stop you if you want to graduate the normal way with the rest of your friends."

I am not going to leave Hogwarts without letting him know about me.

"Have you made a decision Miss Granger?"

"I am going to stay," said Hermione finally.

"I will respect any decision you may take in the future. You can leave now."

Hermione got up and left McGonagall's office. She didn't feel remotely happy. Suddenly, everything seemed to be worthless. Except Harry...

She returned to the statue of the one-eyed witch, lodged herself into the passageway, and went over to the place where the diary was hidden. She took the diary out of the opening and stared at it fixedly for a while.

You are supposed to bring me luck. I don't see any of it yet.

She sat on the ground against the wall and started pouring her heart into it. She didn't know whether the diary would give her luck for certain. However, she was sure about one thing. Whenever she wrote in the diary, it gave her a distinct feeling of reassurance. She could just sit there writing in it forever...

After what seemed like hours, she finally stopped writing and hid the diary behind the stone. After crawling out of the statue and closing the statue's hump, she headed towards the library to kill some time before going to the quidditch match.

*****

"You all know what we are going to do," said Ron as the Gryffindor team got ready for the match. He had been the captain of the team since the last year.

As they walked onto the field, the entire student population broke into a turbulent applause. The blue robed Ravenclaw team followed them after a while. Harry spotted Cho among the lot. She had been the seeker of the Ravenclaw team ever since he first saw her. There was a very good chance the love of his life was right in front of him. He had a good reason to think so.

He tried to make eye contact. But Cho didn't look at him. She was talking animatedly to a boy who Harry recognized as the beater of the team.

On the instruction of Madam Hooch, Ron shook hands with the Ravenclaw captain. Harry was nervous. He wasn't quite ready for the match. Not with a lot of things encircling his mind, like the presence of Cho for instance.

"Mount your brooms...on my whistle...three-two-one-"

Harry kicked into the air on his firebolt. He zoomed higher and higher and wheeled around the stadium, squinting around for a sign of a flash of gold. He occasionally glanced at Cho. But Cho continued not to look at Harry. She had a determined expression on her face, which Harry couldn't quite comprehend.

Cho had greatly improved since the last time Harry played against her. She was forcing him to change course by cutting across him sporadically. He couldn't stop noticing her slim form soaring gracefully in the air...

"HARRY!" yelled Ron through the humdrum. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING? SHE SPOTTED THE SNITCH!"

Harry was suddenly pulled out of his trance. He was furious with himself for trailing off. He realized that Cho was speeding towards the ground, where the snitch was flittering near one of the goal posts. He dived with all his might and tried to overtake Cho. But Cho was already there. She was just a few feet away from the snitch...

Harry felt as if his glasses were about to fly off. He hastily adjusted them and by the time he was ready, Cho was just a couple of inches away from the snitch. Her face lit up as she stretched out her hand. She was about to take hold of the snitch. Suddenly, a Bludger came out of nowhere. It crashed right into Cho's outstretched hand and made her scream out aloud in agony.

Harry froze in mid-air. He was completely distracted. The snitch had vanished.

Both the teams halted when Madam Hooch blew out her whistle. She hurried over to Cho, who had just landed flaccidly on the grass.

"Are you all right Miss Chang?" asked Madam Hooch nervously.

"No," replied Cho, her face thoroughly flushed. Her hand didn't show any signs of bleeding. But it was swollen and Harry's stomach tilted as he thought of the possibility of a fracture.

Madam Pomfrey came rushing to the sight. She examined Cho's hand for a while and drew out a red colored bottle from her potion kit.

"This should do!" said Madam Pomfrey and sprinkled a few drops of the potion on Cho's hand.

"Thank you Madam Pomfrey," said Cho after a minute. "I think I am ready to play."

"Great!" Madam Hooch heaved a sigh of relief. "Is everyone ready? Mount your brooms!"

Harry wasn't sure if this was the right time for Cho to play. He uncomfortably soared back in the air and shifted his attention towards the match with great difficulty. A Bludger hurtled towards him and he dodged it in the last minute as it went spinning dangerously past his head.

In the crowd, Hermione was following Harry's path, occasionally drawing out her wand. She seemed to have sensed Harry's thoughts and started feeling guilty.

If I had just told him before, things would have been much better!

"Gryffindor in possession- Gribalski with the Quaffle- passes Jones- passes Whittington- Weasley hit hard in the face by the bludger- Ravenclaw in possession- Gryffindor back in possession-"

Harry glanced at Ron, whose nose was bleeding. He ducked just in time as another Bludger came pelting towards him.

"This is it!" thought Harry and soared high above the stadium to look for the Snitch. He was determined not to let Cho distract him another time. Then suddenly, he saw a glint of gold pass by his side. It was the snitch! Cho hadn't noticed it.

Harry dived in after it. He experienced a mixed range of emotions as he was following the golden trail left by the snitch. He was excited at the prospect of winning the match, and at the same time, felt guilty that he was taking advantage of Cho's helplessness. For the first time in his life, he wasn't sure if he should go after the snitch. He wanted to give Cho a fair chance.

But he was already there. The snitch was just at arm's length. He suddenly recalled Ron's hopeful expression just before the Quidditch match... What was he doing? Was he just thinking of losing the match?

Harry impulsively stretched out his hand and clasped the snitch. The Gryffindor stands erupted with applause and Harry headed towards the ground, with the snitch fluttering helplessly in his grip. It took a while for Cho to become conscious of what had happened. Her eyes were filled with tears as she landed and ran towards the Ravenclaw end.

As soon as Harry hit the ground, he was surrounded by the Gryffindor team.

"What happened to you at the beginning?"

"I thought you would blow it!"

"I knew you would make it at the end!"

But Harry wasn't paying attention to his teammates. He felt miserable. Ron seemed to have noticed his mental commotion.

"Let him breathe, will you?" He shouted at his teammates.

Harry felt grateful for him. All he wanted to do was to be alone. He was steered away in the direction of the boy's lockers by Ron. Once they changed, they left to the Gryffindor tower.

The common room was already crowded with excited Gryffindors. Ron beckoned Harry to follow him up to the boy's dormitory. Making sure they were alone, Ron started the conversation.

"You don't even know if she loves you! Why were you behaving like that out there?"

Harry was expecting this. "I don't know. I just think she might be-"

"But why?"

"Think about it Ron," said Harry. "She was supposed to leave last year. But she stayed back, didn't she? The only reason I could think of is that she wanted to stay where I am."

"Do you think Dumbledore would let her stay just because she loves someone? I reckon there is more behind this than we know. Whatever it is, you are going to go and talk to her tomorrow. I am sick of this!"

Harry suddenly felt resolute. Even he was tired of waiting for her to show up and wanted to end it once for all. "I will ask her tomorrow at lunch."

"Good." Ron sighed. "We are really behind in our homework due to quidditch practice. Let's go and start on it."

They gathered up their parchment and books and went down to the common room.

It seemed as if it took hours to finish their transfiguration homework. Professor McGonagall had asked them to write a 2 feet essay on the evolution and significance of animagi. It was one in the morning and Harry and Ron got up to go to bed, when they were approached by Dean.

"Harry," said Dean apprehensively, "I need your help with something."

"You would be better off asking someone else," said Harry. "I haven't even started on the essay Snape had assigned!"

"No," Dean shook his head. "This is personal."

Harry and Ron exchanged glances and sat down. Dean looked briefly at Ron. "I want to talk to you alone."

Ron instinctively got up and left before Harry had time to stop him. He looked sternly at Dean. "What is it?"

"You know Ginny very well, right?"

"Yes. So?"

"The thing is," Dean stammered, "I love her."

This was some news for Harry. Everyone seemed to have fallen in love at the same time. "What do you want me to help you with?"

"Every time I go to her to express my love, I get all nervous," said Dean without looking up. "I even forget what I went to her for and end up acting lame. Since you know Ginny so well, I was wondering if you can tell her about my love."

Harry didn't know what to say. Somehow, Dean and his unknown lover seemed to be in the same situation. He however gathered up his thoughts.

"I am sorry Dean," said Harry seriously. "I can't do this."

"But why-"

"Love is a personal thing Dean," interjected Harry. "If you were scared, why did you even love her in the first place?"

Dean hung his head.

"I am not saying that you made a mistake by loving Ginny," continued Harry. "I am just saying that people have to express their love themselves. If you love her that much, go ahead and tell her about it. If any problem arises, I will talk to Ginny."

Dean felt comforted. He thanked Harry and they both left to the dormitory together, unaware of the fact that a third person listened to their conversation.

Hermione was standing at the entrance of the stairs leading to the girl's dormitory. She was waiting for Harry to leave so that she could finish an optional assignment given by Snape in her advanced Potions class, without any distraction. That's when she spotted Dean approaching Harry.

Curiosity overtook her. She stood there, listening to every detail of their conversation. After they left, she felt a surge of excitement pass through her spine.

So Harry wants me to articulate my love by myself! Thank God Ginny hasn't told him yet. I am going to tell him on my own. Yes. That's what I am going to do. The time has come!

She quickly left the Gryffindor tower, heading straight for the owlery. When she reached the owlery, she tore a piece of parchment she had planned to use for Snape's assignment and set it against the wall.

After finishing her rather short letter to Harry, she went over to the owls that were scheduled to deliver their letters the next day. Most of them were already sporting a parchment. There was only one owl that was free to use, which Hermione thought looked a little under the weather. However, she promptly tied the parchment to its outstretched leg and left the owlery, cheerful than before.

Hermione didn't even bother to work on Snape's assignment. She just went to her dormitory and slept, without the help of the sleeping potion for once.

Harry hopefully looked across the great hall towards the Ravenclaw table during breakfast the next day. But there wasn't a sign of Cho. Just when he was thinking deeply as to how he could put his feelings into words once he did meet her, he was suddenly perturbed by Ron's fake cough.

"See you later Harry." Ron left the table before Harry could ask him the reason. However, his question was answered almost instantly.

Dean was approaching Harry with an extremely depressing expression on his face. It wasn't difficult for Harry to guess the rationale behind it.

"I did as you told me to," said Dean, sitting beside Harry.

"And she refused."

"How did you know that-"

"It was obvious. Anyways, what are you going to do now?"

Dean thought for a while. "Try to forget her, I guess."

"Don't give up," said Harry immediately. "I will talk to her tonight as I promised."

"Thank you very much Harry! Whoever you love, she must be very lucky!"

"Hope so," thought Harry.

Hermione finally caught hold of Ginny during lunch. She pulled her aside out of earshot before turning to her to talk.

"Ginny, I can't thank you enough for what you did till now! I think I can take it from here."

"What do you mean?" said Ginny. She didn't expect Hermione to change her mind so suddenly.

"You don't have to tell Harry about me."

"I want to help-"

"No Ginny!" interpolated Hermione. "I had it all planned. I don't want you acting as a go-between in matters like love."

"But Hermione, are you sure?"

"Positive!" Hermione left before Ginny could argue with her. Words defeated her. She didn't know what to do. Only one thing seemed plausible.

I am going to put a period to your love tonight!

It was dinner and Harry was starting to get restless. Cho was absent even during lunch. He desperately kept looking towards the Ravenclaw table, even though he knew she wasn't there at the moment. Her behavior gradually seemed to confirm his suspicions.

"She even stopped writing to you!" said Ron, who was sitting right beside Harry. "What are you going to do now?"

Harry already knew what he was going to do. "I will see if she shows up tomorrow. If she doesn't, I will go to her."

"But, you don't know the password!"

Harry looked at Ron, as if trying to convey the answer. He didn't want to talk about it with everyone around. Ron got what Harry was trying to say. He just kept quiet throughout dinner, leaving Harry alone to ponder with his thoughts.

After dinner, both of them left to the Gryffindor tower together. Once in the common room, Harry suddenly remembered something.

"Ron, you go ahead. I just remembered. Professor McGonagall asked me to come to her to talk about something!"

Ron mumbled something about Professor McGonagall having nothing better to do and left upstairs to the boy's dormitory. Harry was now free to keep his promise.

Right! Now I have to catch Ginny and talk to her about Dean.

He crawled out of the portrait hole and waited for Ginny at the passageway. Ginny showed up after a while and Harry was glad she was alone.

"Ginny," said Harry seriously, "I have to talk to you about something."

"Even I have to tell you something," said Ginny. She hoped Harry would say what she had in her mind.

"This is not the place," said Harry looking around. "Let's go to the Astronomy tower. It will be deserted by now."

"Whatever you say," said Ginny and followed Harry.

Harry was pleased to find that there was no one near the Astronomy tower as he expected. He led Ginny to the top of the tower and found that the sky was unusually cloudless and serene. He felt a slight chill in the air as both of them were bathed in silvery moonlight.

Hermione was getting fidgety in her dormitory. The thought of finally letting Harry know about her love was very energizing. She could feel her usual charisma returning to her. For the first time in the year, she wanted to do something exciting. She stared out through the window into the clear sky and realized that it was a perfect night for stargazing. She knew what she was going to do.

She quickly grabbed her unfilled star chart and a quill and left for the Astronomy tower. As she approached the summit, she heard two familiar voices.

Harry and Ginny! What are they both doing up here?

She tiptoed towards the door leading to the top of the tower. It was left open and Hermione had to hold on to the knob for support as she encountered the sight ahead of her. Harry and Ginny were standing away from each other, trying to avoid each other's eyes.

Harry didn't know how to start. "What did you want to tell me, Ginny?"

Hermione's grip on the door tightened.

Ginny! I told you not to tell Harry!

Ginny didn't speak. Hermione was getting restless.

You came till here. Why don't you just say it and get it over with?

Ginny finally spoke. "I wanted to tell you that-"

Harry was waiting. Hermione was holding her breath.

"I wanted to tell you that-" she stammered again.

Come on Ginny. Tell him Hermione loves you.

"I wanted to tell you that I love you."

-TBC-