Yours Lovingly

Hermione's world was shattered after hearing to what Ginny said to Harry.

No. This can't be happening! May be- May be I am hearing things!

"This is not something to prank about!" said Harry, completely forgetting what he wanted to tell Ginny in the first place.

"No!" said Ginny forcefully. "I am not kidding!"

Harry was motionless. Did Ginny...?"

"Did you send those letters?" asked Harry quietly.

"What letters? Oh- no, I didn't. But does it matter? I really love you and I know you love me-"

"Don't be childish!" said Harry, who felt a stab of anger at Ginny's words. He swore to himself long ago that he would never fall in love with anyone other than the girl who sent him the letters and Ginny had so conveniently said that it didn't matter.

Hermione was rooted to the spot, totally stunned. She hadn't misheard it for sure. Slowly, the reality of what had just happened began to disconsolate her and she decided to leave the place before she broke out in front of them.

Harry tried to calm down. "I think you have to have time alone to rethink your feelings for me. I never behaved with you in anyway that suggested love as a possibility."

Deep down, Ginny knew that Harry was telling the truth. But she somehow found her voice. "Then why were you acting so close to me these days? Why did you say you liked me in that dress? What did you want to tell me in private?"

Harry let out a short laugh. "Let me make one thing clear. You were the one being unusually close to me these days. I said I liked your dress just to change the topic regarding Hermione. Now I decided against telling you what I was going to say!"

"You love Hermione, don't you?" said Ginny, breathing hard. "What do you see in her that you don't see in me?"

Harry's anger reached its peak at Ginny's words.

"DON'T COMPARE YOURSELF WITH HERMIONE!" shouted Harry. "IF YOU WERE EVEN A BIT LIKE HER, YOU WOULDN'T BE SO INSENSIBLE!"

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT HOW YOU FEEL!" Ginny was getting fanatical. The fact that she was losing to Hermione was turning her wild. "YOU HAVE TO LOVE ME. YOU DON'T HAVE A CHOICE!"

Ginny's behavior was getting Harry to dislike her more and more by the minute. "What will you do if I say no?"

"I AM GOING TO KILL MYSELF!"

"Good luck! Don't forget to ask me if you need the appropriate spell." Harry left the place before Ginny had time to speak.

I can't believe she would do that. What does she think of me? 'YOU DON'T HAVE A CHOICE!' As if I belong to her.

He headed straight for the Gryffindor tower. On his way, he began to feel sorry for Dean. What would he say to him?

He doesn't deserve someone like Ginny. That's what I am going to tell him!

When he reached the boy's dormitory, he looked briefly at Ron. He hoped Ron wouldn't know about what had just happened. He couldn't afford to lose a friend at this point. However, he fully justified his behavior towards Ginny before going to bed.

Ginny stayed at the top of the astronomy tower for a long time after Harry had left. She stared into the clear sky, feeling extremely dreary. She just lost a good friend for her stupidity...

After an hour, she finally left the tower. When she reached her dormitory, it was completely dark. She could faintly trace someone sitting on the ground.

"Hermione," said Ginny normally, "what are you doing sitting in the dark?"

She went over to her bedside table and lighted a candle. She noticed that Hermione was sitting on the ground against her bed. "I am late because I was talking to Harry about something. I thought of telling about you, but finally decided against it since you asked me not to."

Hermione was silent. Ginny didn't know what to say. "Goodnight Hermione."

Ginny was about to lie down when Hermione suddenly spoke.

"What were you and Harry talking about?"

"Nothing of importance. You can be assured. I didn't tell him about your love."

"Did you tell him about your love?"

Ginny looked at Hermione, with her mouth slightly open. Hermione finally got up and came towards her. Her eyes were red and Ginny could tell that she had been crying.

"Wh-What are you talking about?" stammered Ginny.

"Why did you do this to me?"

Ginny finally gave up trying to act innocent. Somehow, Hermione knew it.

Hermione was staring at Ginny with utter disbelief. "When you said Harry didn't look good, I thought you were just teasing me. I believed you when you told me that the outfit didn't suit me. I blindly trusted you for whatever you said. Why did you do this to me? WHAT DID I DO TO YOU TO DESERVE SOMETHING LIKE THIS?"

"YOU STOLE HARRY FROM ME! THAT'S WHAT YOU DID!"

Hermione wasn't remotely surprised by Ginny's reaction. She waited for Ginny to continue.

"I LOVED HARRY FIRST!" Ginny turned away from Hermione. She knew she made a mistake and she had to confess it. "When I learnt that you loved him, I felt jealous! I blindly justified my reason to make Harry love me instead of you."

For the first time in her life, Ginny realized what crying hard felt like. She just poured all her bad intentions in front of Hermione, and was left with nothing but guilt and self-hatred.

"He flatly refused to love me. I deserve this by all means!"

Hermione sat there trying to scrutinize on what Ginny had just said. She didn't expect Ginny to cook up feelings of such intensity for Harry. After Ginny stopped crying, Hermione finally managed to speak.

"Ginny, things would have been much better if you had told me before."

Ginny was silent. Hermione continued, "Even if you put a small stone in front of your eye, it would look bigger. Hatred and jealousy are very small things that are part of everyone's life. It's our responsibility to get rid of them before they grow and rid us of our sanity."

Ginny finally turned and looked directly into Hermione's eyes, which were filled with full of meaning. She realized how much damage she had done to the girl's life.

"I am very sorry, Hermione!" Ginny put her hands around Hermione and began to cry in her shoulder. She could feel Hermione's tears prickle on her cheek.

"I made a terrible mistake!" She looked at Hermione and held her by her shoulders. "I am going to make it up to you! I am going to go to Harry right now!"

Ginny got up to leave the dormitory. Hermione held her by her hand. "You are not going to tell him!"

"What do you mean?" asked Ginny incredulously. "Fine! You yourself go and tell him... What are you waiting for?"

Hermione shook her head feebly, with her eyes shadowing the deepest depths of despair. Ginny understood that Hermione had already taken a decision, and it wasn't going to relieve her of her guilt.

"What did you decide?" asked Ginny timidly.

"You were able to bear it when he refused to love you," said Hermione, making every possible effort to keep her voice steady. "But if he does the same to me, I won't be able to bear it. Let my love stay within myself. Let it be buried in my heart forever."

Ginny dropped to her knees, feeling helpless. "But-but he won't do that to you! He can't say no."

"What if he says no?"

"He won't-"

"WHAT IF?"

Ginny fell silent. Hermione made her decision. There was no use trying to argue.

"Promise me you won't do anything to yourself!" said Ginny, finally giving up.

"I promise," said Hermione. "What is there in me to kill anyway?"

The next thing she knew, Ginny was holding Hermione by her hands and both of them started sobbing their heart out. Ginny felt so culpable for Hermione's grief that she decided that she was never going to face Harry anymore.

Hermione head was starting to throb. She couldn't tell why exactly she had forgiven Ginny for what she had done. Ginny was still young and took life in a juvenile perspective. There was no use in trying to avenge her for her mistake; that wouldn't leave much difference between them both. She finally let go of Ginny and reached her bed. But she wasn't going to sleep unless she had figured out a way to end everything once for all.

Only one thing seemed plausible at this point. Though the thought was painful, she didn't remotely have a choice. She was going to leave Hogwarts forever. She wanted to go away from Harry. Away from all his memories. Away from the torture he would cause just by being around....

Making sure Ginny was asleep, she got up and started packing.

The next day, Hermione went over to Professor McGonagall's office. Her heart wasn't sympathetic to what she was about to do. Before she knew, she was outside the office door. She took a deep breath and entered the office.

Professor McGonagall looked surprised at Hermione's sudden appearance. "Yes, Miss. Granger?"

"I changed my mind, Professor."

"Regarding?"

"I want to leave Hogwarts."

Professor McGonagall looked at Hermione with concern. "Are you sure, Miss. Granger?"

"I am," said Hermione firmly.

"Very well, I will make arrangements for you to leave this weekend-"

"Please Professor," interrupted Hermione, "If possible, I want to leave right now."

Professor McGonagall looked slightly surprised. "I am afraid that's impossible, Miss. Granger. You don't even have enough experience to travel such long distances by apparition."

"I talked to Hagrid this morning," said Hermione. "He said he would assist me."

Professor McGonagall opened her mouth to argue, but closed it and promptly reached for her desk. She took out what looked like a golden colored envelope, and handed it over to Hermione, who looked at her in surprise.

"Your Academic Records. They also include your N.E.W.T results."

Hermione nodded. "Thank you Professor." She got up and was about to leave.

"Miss. Granger," called Professor McGonagall. She hesitated for a second. "May I ask you the reason why you changed your mind all of a sudden?"

Hermione turned. "Everything in life happens for a reason. But the reason itself isn't always clear."

Hermione left, leaving Professor McGonagall alone to ponder on the real gist in Hermione's words.

Hermione only had to do one thing before saying goodbye to the castle.

She went over to the entrance of the great hall and stood against the door and spotted Harry at the Gryffindor table, having his breakfast. She just stood there looking at Harry with tears rolling down her cheek. Her heart turned over at the thought of not being able to see Harry again...

Harry,

How do I express with a heart that is shattering?

How do I explicate the reason I am going?

It's been so severe on me that I was scared stiff,

constantly asking myself one question; "What if?"

We dwelled so close by,

we fostered together our past.

We were a blissful mock-up of a friendship,

that swore to last.

But some things in life are unjust and plain rotten,

if they weren't, my love for you would have been easy to be forgotten.

You have cheerful eyes that were green,

a smile that would confiscate my worries and return my serene.

you mean more to me than you realize,

I will never be able to convey, I apologize.

I will miss you dearly,

I will miss your say and mirth.

I regret I cannot bid goodbye,

this is meant to be the conclusion of my birth.

How could God confer me with so much despair and pain?

What is the purpose?

What is there possibly to gain?

But everything in life crops up for a reason,

though it's not very clear.

You always subsist with me,

you will always be near.

And so life must keep going, just like it has done before,

just know my soul is always with you, yesterday, now, and evermore.

I love you Harry...

Hermione looked away from Harry. She couldn't take it anymore. She cupped her hands on her mouth to stifle a cry and before anyone could spot her, she ran for the Hogwart's main entrance. She looked briefly at the castle walls and the murmuring portraits before going to Hagrid's hut. It was time to get ready for the heart-splitting parting.

*****

After his breakfast, Harry approached Dean apprehensively. Dean looked hopefully at Harry.

"Did you talk to Ginny? Were you able to change her mind? What did she say?"

"Forget Ginny, Dean," said Harry. He had been preparing for the conversation since last night, and what he just said was the best thing he could come up with.

"Forget her?" asked Dean disbelievingly. "Why? Did she say no?"

"I can't tell you anymore than this. Ginny is not the person you think she is. You would be better off looking for someone else."

Before Dean had time to talk, Harry left. He wanted to keep the conversation as short as possible. He was joined by Ron on his way to divination class.

"Any luck?" asked Ron hopefully. Looking at Harry's bemused expression, he added, "Did Cho show up for breakfast?"

Harry was relieved. For a split second, he thought Ron was talking about his promise to Dean. "No. She didn't."

"She better show up. Or else, she is going to have a big fright tonight!"

Harry forced a laugh. He wasn't really in a mood to talk. Everything seemed to be burdening him at once. At times like these, Hermione was the best person to confide into. He entered his Divination class, preparing himself to endure another hour, listening to Professor Trelawney's earsplitting lecture on the importance of N.E.W.Ts.

"As you all know," said Professor Trelawney in her usual misty voice, "N.E.W.Ts is very important in determining what your future holds for you."

"I am sure my future doesn't hold a lot of mist!" muttered Ron. Professor Trelawney didn't seem to notice him.

"My inner eye sees the possibility of crystal ball gazing as a part of your practical examination. I would like you to revitalize your form in the subtle art of crystal ball gazing. I will come around and check on your progress."

"Not some more mist!" groaned Ron. Harry and he went over to the shelves to grab their crystal balls and upon returning to their desk, turned to page 51 of their 'unfogging the future' text book and started gazing into the orb.

"I don't see anything," declared Harry. He was having a very hard time trying to concentrate.

"You have company, mate," said Ron looking up and taking a deep breath. "Who needs this stuff anyway? I am sure I am not considering Divination as a career opportunity."

Professor Trelawney came over to Harry. "I realize you have been experiencing relentless mental trauma lately." She delicately adjusted her shawl before continuing. "What does the orb show you, dear?"

By now, Harry's mind was full of smog. When he didn't reply, Professor Trelawney reached for his orb and gazed into it. After a minute she looked up at Harry mournfully. "Pain. A plight of pain in store for you. And it's not too far away!"

Harry ignored the comment as usual. Ron, however, making sure Professor Trelawney was out of earshot, said, "You sure don't think she was right, do you?"

"Of course, not!" said Harry. "Besides, I am going to know the truth tonight. Why should I worry?"

If it was only that easy...

Harry waited for the day to pass rather anxiously and hurried to his dormitory after dinner. He paced the room for sometime, trying to figure out how exactly he was going to carry out his idea. Once he got everything planned out, he waited for everyone to turn in. When he was the only person awake in his dormitory, he set out of the Gryffindor tower, invisible under his cloak. Spotting a Ravenclaw in the corridor, he closely followed her and sneaked into the Ravenclaw common room along with her.

The Ravenclaw common room looked quite different from the Gryffindor common room. The walls were draped with tapestries of deep blue color and majority of portraits were of a woman, who Harry assumed to be Rowena Ravenclaw. The flames were cracking merrily in the fireplace and making sure the cloak was covering him properly, he followed a girl to the staircase leading to the girl's dormitory.

But Harry stopped short at the entrance leading to the staircase. He knew that boys are normally not allowed into the girl's dormitories. Could he get past the guard without embarrassing himself, now that he was invisible? Desperately hoping for the best, he took a step forward. Nothing happened. He took one more step. Nothing happened. Reassured, he continued to ascend the stairs, hoping to spot Cho in one of the dormitories. .

The hitch was that Harry didn't know where Cho's dormitory was. Most of the doors were closed and he didn't dare open anyone of them. Deflated, when he was about to leave, he heard the familiar voice.

"McGonagall herself accepted that this is highly unusual. Nevertheless, she wouldn't let me quit playing for the quidditch team!"

Harry's heart leapt as he saw Cho coming up the staircase, accompanied by some other girl. He flattened himself against the wall and when they passed him, he began to follow them to their dormitory. He quickly slipped inside as they closed the door behind them and seated himself on the floor. How on earth was he going to talk to Cho with the girl around? Why didn't he think of it before?

"So what were you and McGonagall talking about this late at night?" asked the girl.

Cho hesitated for a second. "Promise me you wouldn't tell anyone."

The girl looked thoroughly excited. "I promise!"

"I was asking her if I could go and visit my parents," said Cho faintly.

The girl looked taken aback. "Why would you ask her for something like that? I mean, we all know we can't go home except during Christmas holidays-"

"I am not talking about home," interrupted Cho. "I wanted to visit them at St. Mungo's."

There was a ringing silence, which was broken after a while by the girl's apprehensive voice. "Can I ask you one question?"

"What is it?"

"Why are you still staying at Hogwarts? I don't even see you in any of the classes. What's going on?"

Cho didn't respond immediately to this question. After a while, she took a deep breath. "We all know that Dumbledore formed a secret society called the Order of the Phoenix, which consisted of people who fought against You Know Who. When he declared its existence at the beginning of my 7^th year, my parents immediately joined it. After all, they always supported Dumbledore in everything he did."

She suddenly became sober. Harry was motionless. He clearly didn't expect to hear this sort of a thing.

Cho continued, her voice shaking. "Since everybody already knew about his return, You Know Who didn't need to hide in the closet. He came out in the open and started killing people, especially the ones in the Order. My parents weren't killed, but they were seriously injured.

"Dumbledore reckons he was responsible for this situation and said that I was to stay at Hogwarts till my parents recovered."

The room was again filled with silence. The girl obviously didn't know what to say. Harry, on the other hand, didn't want to stay there anymore. He got up to leave, but was stopped when Cho mentioned his name.

"I am really glad he died. Harry prevented a lot of students from meeting the same fate as me."

Harry turned back and looked at her and noticed that her face had a faint trace of admiration in it.

The girl, who kept silent all the while, suddenly spoke. "You love him, don't you?"

Harry stood rooted to the spot. The truth was finally going to come out, and he found himself anticipating every moment of it.

Cho looked surprised at the girl's sudden assertion. When she kept quiet, the girl pressed on. "I saw you both together at Hogsmeade in my 5^th year."

Cho's eyes were illuminating in the bright candle light. She opened her mouth to explain, and closed it, and again opened it, and shortly said, "It's just not possible."

"Not possible for what?" said the girl, in a somewhat disappointed tone.

"To forget Cedric. He was the love of my life. It's true that I liked Harry. But liking is different from loving. It's just not possible for me to love anyone else other than Cedric."

"But-"

"I would rather not talk about this. Good night, Margaret. Don't forget to extinguish the candle when you go to sleep."

Harry didn't know how to react to the sudden outburst of reality. So Cho wasn't the person to send those letters after all. He didn't remotely feel disappointed. But one thing was for sure. He felt very light. He got the information he needed and it didn't seem to bother him at all. But what did bother him was that the girl suddenly stopped writing to him. She stopped writing to him when he started to develop feelings of love for her. She stopped writing to him when he was more than prepared to accept her for whoever she was...

Harry wanted to leave the place as soon as possible. He ventured for the door, when he suddenly tripped on his cloak. For a split second, the girl named Margaret stared at him, then without warning, started to scream at the top of her voice.

Panicking to the fullest extent, Harry hastily adjusted his cloak and opened the door. He could hear the girl's screaming and the anxious voice of Cho behind him. However, he ran down the stairs, perfectly aware of the fact that many sleepy heads were popping out of the doors in order to know the cause of the racquet.

Harry didn't dare look behind. He wasn't even sure if the cloak was covering him properly. All he cared about was to get out of the place before a teacher showed up. The common room wasn't entirely empty and Harry heard several people gasp when the door covering the portrait hole opened all by itself.

After exiting the Ravenclaw common room, Harry headed straight for the Gryffindor tower, thinking that this would be the perfect moment to jinx Peeves if he caused any more trouble than he was already facing with. When he finally reached his dormitory, he closed the hangings around his bed and dropped into it, sweating all over. He could swear that Margaret had seen him and found the thought to be extremely depressing. Trying not to think of the possible far-fetched reasons people could come up with if they knew about his presence in another house's girl's dormitory, he tried to sleep, only to dream that he was being expelled out of Hogwarts the next day.

The next day, Harry woke up extremely wide eyed; he didn't sleep very well the previous night. Ron had already got up and was dressing.

"Morning, mate," wished Ron.

When Harry didn't say anything, Ron went over to him. "What happened last night?"

"A girl saw me," said Harry quietly.

"Sorry?"

"A girl saw me spying on them. At least that's how she must have thought."

Ron looked horrified. "You are kidding, aren't you?"

"No."

"Well?" he asked impatiently. "Did you get caught?"

"No"

"Then-"

Ron was interrupted by a tap on the window. On the sill, stood an owl, which looked as if it was going to drop dead right there. Ron hurried and let the owl in. As soon as he untied two parchments from the owl's legs, it flew straight out of the window, towards the direction of the Owlery.

"Who is it for?" asked Harry casually.

"It's for you. One from the school Owlery and the other from...no name!"

Harry couldn't believe his ears. His heart began to beat fast as he leapt from his bed and took the letters from Ron's hands. He unrolled the parchment that bore no name on it and began to read. It was a very short letter, but it lifted Harry's spirits greatly. He handed the letter to Ron, who read it aloud.

Come to the Hog's head over the coming Hogsmeade weekend. I will be wearing white.

Ron was ginning broadly. "I am very happy for you, mate. At last, you are going to know who she is. What does the other letter say?"

"It's from the owlery." Harry opened it and read it aloud.

Dear Mr. Potter,

We apologize profusely for not being able to deliver the letter accompanying this note on time.

The owl your sender chose was severely weather-beaten and the post was delayed for two days.

We will be on the case from now on to make sure the problem doesn't persist any longer.

Greetings

School Owlery

"Blimey!" exclaimed Ron after hearing to the letter. "Owls are getting so unpredictable these days. Able enough to drop dead at the drop of a hat! Anyway, what happened yesterday night?"

Harry turned forlorn again. "Cho and this girl named Margaret were talking about why she had to stay back after her 7^th year at Hogwarts. It seems that her parents were part of the Order of the Phoenix and in their fight with Voldemort, they were injured and are currently in St. Mungo's."

"Let me guess," piped up Ron. "Dumbledore let Cho stay in the castle till her parents recovered. Right?"

"Yeah. And she doesn't love me. She still loves Cedric."

"So how exactly did you get caught?"

"I didn't get caught!" said Harry impatiently. "After the conversation had ended, I didn't need to stay there anymore. When I was about to leave, I tripped on the cloak and that's when she saw me."

"Does she know who you are?" asked Ron anxiously.

"Think she does," replied Harry.

"Hope she didn't recognize you, mate!" said Ron nervously. "If she goes to McGonagall-"

"Don't sound like Hermione- did you see Hermione yesterday?"

"No," said Ron, suddenly sounding dense. "I don't know and I don't care. Now dress up. I can feel the Hogwarts express steaming in my stomach."

Harry dressed up quietly and they both left for breakfast. For some reason or the other, the atmosphere in the great hall seemed to be indifferent. Hoping ardently that the Ravenclaws didn't spread the news about his presence in their tower the night before to the whole school, he headed towards the Gryffindor table. No sooner he took his seat, he was rounded by Professor McGonagall.

"Mr. Potter. To my office."

It didn't take a great deal of effort for Harry to guess the reason behind the sudden invitation. Sharing a nervous glance at Ron, he followed McGonagall quietly to her office. His fears were confirmed when he saw Margaret sitting in the room, looking paler than ever.

Professor McGonagall didn't even ask Harry to take a seat. He merely stood there, gaping at the two of them as if he didn't have a clue as to what was going on.

"Is he the intruder, Miss. Jones?" McGonagall asked Margaret, gesturing towards Harry.

Margaret began to look closely at Harry, who seemed to have lost his tongue. He didn't dare to defend himself if she girl said yes, let alone lie to McGonagall.

When Margaret was about to answer, the door slammed opened, and Snape entered the office. He narrowed his eyes when he spotted Harry and turned to McGonagall. "What did you want the veritaserum for, Minerva?"

"Miss. Jones has interesting news, Severus. It seems that some one has broken into her dormitory yesterday night and she suspects it might be Mr. Potter."

Harry's stomach turned over. So Margaret recognized him after all.

Snape turned to Margaret. "Did you see Mr. Potter in your dormitory?"

Margaret looked at Harry again and shook her head. "I am not sure. I couldn't perceive him properly in the candle light. But I remember catching a glimpse of a scar on the forehead, and that made me suspect Potter."

"I think we have to give Mr. Potter a chance to confess before using the veritaserum, Minerva," said Snape icily.

Harry kept quiet. McGonagall sounded as if she was resisting an enormous outlet of fire out of her nostrils. "Do you accept the guilt, Mr. Potter?"

Harry knew what he was going to do. Either way, the truth had to come out. He would confess it, rather than having to take veritaserum and let slip of a few undesirable things, like why he went to the dormitory for instance. "Yes. I went to the Ravenclaw tower last night."

"OUTRAGEOUS!" spat McGonagall. Her nostrils were clearly on fire. "WHAT AN UNWORTHY ACT! GOING INTO THE RAVENCLAW TOWER BY STEALTH, AND SPYING ON THE GIRLS, LATE AT NIGHT! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? 50 POINTS OFF GRYFFINDOR!"

Harry was determined not to let slip of anything. After shouting at Harry for some more time at her fullest potential, Professor McGonagall took her chair, feeling thoroughly exhausted. Snape however looked very lively.

"What punishment do you suggest for him, Minerva?" asked Snape with eternal glee, which according to Harry, made him look ten times as ugly as he already was.

"Nothing seems to work on him, Severus!" said McGonagall, her voice full of disgust. "There is no point in giving detentions or taking house points off!"

"May I suggest," said Snape, removing his greasy hair from his eyes, "that we restrict Mr. Potter access to certain privileges his fellow students enjoy?"

Professor McGonagall considered this for a second. When she couldn't come up with one, she eyed Snape wearily. "Why don't you suggest the appropriate punishment for him, Severus?"

"Thanks indeed," said Snape as if he just won a jackpot. "From now on, Mr. Potter will be banned from future Hogsmeade visits."

"NO," shouted Harry. "You can't do this. At least for the upcoming weekend..."

"I think this is a brilliant idea, Severus," said McGonagall triumphantly. "This should teach you the seriousness of what you have done, Mr. Potter. You may go now."

Harry stood there, not being able to digest the severity of the injustice.

"You may go now, Mr. Potter!" repeated McGonagall severely.

Harry threw Snape a look of indisputable aversion and left the place, slamming the door shut behind him. He went to the great hall, with his head buzzing.

"What happened?" was the first thing Ron asked when Harry sat beside him. He noticed that Ron's toast was untouched.

"She recognized me," said Harry through gritted teeth. "I can't go to Hogsmeade anymore." He was having a hard time trying to suppress his rage at Snape.

"WHAT?" said Ron, with his eyes slightly popping out. "Then what about your meeting?"

"It was Snape,' said Harry. "He came up with the idea."

"Thought so!" said Ron in an extremely loathsome tone. "Only that greasy head can come up with such stinking ideas. Wait a minute---HARRY!"

Harry jumped up in surprise. "What happened?"

"Didn't you get it? That's about the greatest thing Snape can ever do for you."

"What do you mean? I won't be able to meet-"

"You can!" said Ron with euphoria. "Remember, the statue of the one-eyed witch!"

"What stat-" he broke off, finally getting what Ron was talking about. "The one Fred and George showed me in our third year!"

"Yeah. It leads directly to Hogsmeade and now you can meet her without any problem. Just make sure you have your cloak."

"Thank you very much, Ron," said Harry, feeling greatly indebted to him. "You are the coolest!"

"I am," said Ron, thoroughly elated. "And I am coming with you."

"Why?" asked Harry. "You are allowed to go, aren't you?"

"Yes. I am. But I never tried the passageway of the one-eyed witch and I really want to know how it is."

Harry agreed to Ron's request and they both left to their Transfiguration class in high spirits.

Harry and Ron waited eagerly for the Hogsmeade weekend to arrive. Harry was having a great difficulty, suppressing his glee at the prospect of finally meeting the girl. However, he managed to look gloomy whenever he passed Snape or McGonagall, incase they feel dubious.

The weekend finally arrived and Harry and Ron were ardently waiting for the students to departure. Once the castle was empty, except for the first and second years, who were buzzing excitedly in their common rooms, Harry and Ron set out of the Gryffindor tower to the statue of the one-eyed witch on the third floor, with the cloak safely hidden under his arm. Making sure no teacher was prowling around, Harry tapped the statue and muttered, "Dissendium"

The hunch on the witch's back opened, revealing a couple of stairs that led to a passageway. They settled themselves in the statue and Harry closed the hunch behind them. They cautiously descended the stairs and started walking.

"What are you standing there for?" said Harry to Ron, who fell back, reluctant to pass a line of spiders on the way.

"I never thought this would be so...spidery," said Ron repulsively.

"What would you expect to see in a deserted passageway?" asked Harry, grinning.

"OUCH!"

Ron had stumbled upon a stone while trying to walk flat against the wall to avoid the spiders. The stone rolled over and settled itself at Harry's feet.

"That's likely to happen if you walk with your eyes in the sky," said Harry and hurried to Ron to heave him off the floor.

"Hey! What is this thing?" said Ron pointing to an opening in the wall the stone had been previously covering.

"What thing?" said Harry distractedly as he helped Ron to his feet.

"Look at it," said Ron as he picked up something from the gap. "WOW!"

Harry noticed the thing Ron was holding and took it from him. It was the most imposing book he ever came across. The hardback was embellished with a golden tinted covering and the borders were of immaculate silver embroidery. He opened the book and scanned the first page. After a while, he looked up. "Looks like some girl had lost her diary."

*****

Back home, Hermione was flinging her clothes all over her room in search of something she considered next to her life. When she couldn't find it, she sat back on her bed, exhausted; she had forgotten the diary at school.

Little did she know that the diary was about to fulfill its long-awaited purpose.

-TBC-