Harry Potter and the Emerald Dragon

Title: Harry Potter and the Emerald Dragon (4/?)
Author: CPoe
Author email: [email protected]
Category: Romance, Adventure
Keywords: Harry, Emily, Hermione, Draco, Ron
Spoilers: All four books
Rating: R (to be on the safe side)
Summary: It's Harry's sixth year, and he meets a new girl that comes along with a lot of baggage. Romances are budding, confusion is all around, and the threesome's life is going to become a little hectic.

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK
Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books,
Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Authors Note: This story takes place in Harry's sixth year, however, I've decided for the purpose of the story that those two years above Harry (George, Fred, Angelina, etc.) are still at Hogwarts. I started writing it and wrote in these characters (and I like them, so I'm gonna keep them in it). Also, I'm American, so if any British terms are misused, I apologize in advance.

Harry Potter and the Emerald Dragon

Chapter 4: The Kiss

"Pure-blood," Emily groaned, standing alone in the dungeons corridor. The wall that had been directly in front of her slid to the side, revealing the Slytherin common room. She stuck her head into the room, and checked to see if anyone was slinking about. The last thing she wanted was to run into someone like Pansy Parkinson while carrying Draco's broom. She knew Draco was at a prefects meeting until at least 9pm, and planned to take advantage of his absence to personally return the broom to his room.

The common room was empty, as it always seemed to be. Emily entered the room and headed towards the spiral staircase that lead down to the boys dormitories. She looked down the center of the spiral, and saw that it too was devoid of people. Thank god these Slytherins are so antisocial, she thought to herself as she began to walk down the staircase.

She stepped onto the third floor landing and walked over to the fourth door on the right, which had a silver plaque on it that read "Draco Malfoy, Slytherin Prefect." She looked up and down the hallway before gently reaching out and turning the doorknob. It didn't move. She tried to turn harder, but it still wouldn't budge. She then looked up and down the hallway again, there was still no one in sight. Taking a deep breath, she placed her hand against the lock and whispered "Alohamora". The door gently swung open, and Emily quickly stepped inside and shut the door behind her.

She reached into her bag to remove her wand, and whispered "Lumos" under her breath. It was one of the few spells that she needed a wand for, simply because she needed something to light. The room was instantly filled with the warm light that emanated from the tip of her wand, and she was able to clearly see all the objects in the room. To her right was Draco's bed, which was covered with dark green sheets, with a black comforter at the bottom of it. On the wall opposite the door was a large desk, and on the wall opposite the bed stood a large wardrobe. The room was in perfect order, not a single thing looked out of place.

Emily got down on her hands and knees and slid Draco's broom back under his bed, which was where Vinny told her he kept it. Making sure she hadn't disturbed anything, and that the room was still in perfect order, she backed away from the bed and began to walk back towards the door. But just as she reached out for the knob, she heard footsteps that were coming from the hallway on the other side. She looked down at her watch, and saw that it was only 8:30. She then stood as still as she could, trying to figure out where the footsteps were going. Suddenly, they stopped, as did her heart, right outside the door. The doorknob rattled, and she then saw the door begin to open. She stood there for a few moments, not sure what she should do.

Just as the door fully opened, Emily threw herself onto the bed, and whispered "Nox".

Draco entered the room, still fiddling with the knob. "Blasted lock! Nothing at this school works right," he mumbled under his breath as he continued to jerk the doorknob up and down. Emily held her breath as he gave up trying to fix his 'faulty' doorknob, and walked over to his desk, lighting a lamp. As he went to sit down, she saw him casually glance over at her, and then, as if not seeing her, he went back to doing whatever it was he was going to do in the first place. But then, his body froze. He stood there for a few moments, before slowly circling around to face Emily.

"What the hell are you doing in here?" he demanded, propelling himself out of his seat.

"Draco, is that any way to talk to your guest," she answered in her most provocative tone, sliding her left leg up against her right, and then back down again. Maybe, if she played her cards just right, she could manage to get out of this after all. "Unless... you don't want me here. In which case, I'll be glad to leave you here in your room...all alone."

Draco took a few steps towards her. She couldn't quite read the expression on his face.

"Is that the best you can do?" he drawled, now only a few inches away from her.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she responded, recoiling a bit.

"From what I've heard, you're usually not so...how shall I put this...demure."

"What are you getting at Draco?" she snapped, starting to get offended. Who did he think he was, saying something like that?

"Just that your reputation supersedes you. I would have expected to find you dressed far scantier then that if what you are hinting at is really the reason you came to visit me." She looked at him with a blank expression.

"You don't know anything about me Draco!" she responded, sitting up from the bed with a sudden jerk.

"Oh, but I know all about you Waters," Draco hissed in reply. She watched his face contort into a little grin. "I bet I know more then even you know."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" she demanded, standing up so that their chests nearly touched. He was a few inches taller then her, but she didn't care.

"Do you really think your father brought you to England because he gave a damn how your mudblood mother was raising you?" asked Draco. And now, Emily backed away from him. It was the one question that had been bothering her since she first heard that she was to be going to England to live with her father. She had lived alone with her mother for practically her entire life, and he had never taken any sort of interest in the way she was being brought up. Then, a year ago, he came to New York to 'visit' them. And then a month after that, her mom had simply informed her that she would be moving to England. No ifs, ands or buts.

"Well, if you know so much, why don't you tell me?" she said, not really knowing if she wanted to hear what he had to say.

"You'll find out soon enough, Waters. Much sooner then you may think in fact," he replied with a grin that made even Emily cringe in response. It was at that point that Emily made up her mind, that, at some point in her life, she would kill Draco Malfoy. That decision made, Emily turned around and started to head out of his room.

"One more thing Ms. Waters," came Draco's voice from behind her. Emily paused, but didn't turn around, her hand planted on the doorknob.

"And that would be?"

"If you ever steel my broom to play diving games with Potter again, I can't be held responsible for the actions of my wand."

"I'll keep that in mind," she said, turning the knob and walking out of his room and into the hallway. But, as she slammed the door behind her, a thought flashed into her head. How does he know about me and Harry?

* * * *

Ron and Hermione were sitting in the common room, playing wizards chess, when Harry came in through the portrait hole. Out of the corner of his eye, Ron could see Harry pause for a moment, and then walk over to them. Casually, Ron looked up, and saw that Hermione had also noticed that Harry had come into the room. But then, Ron remembered, of course she would. She's probably just playing chess with me because it's something to do while she waits for Harry to come back.

Harry walked over to the two of them, and stood there, hovering. Ron didn't take his eyes off the board, pretending to be in deep thought for his next move. Harry shifted his weight a bit, as if he was trying to hint for them to acknowledge his presence.

"Can we help you?" Ron asked, still not taking his eyes off the board.

"Er..." Harry began. Ron could see Hermione signaling something to Harry, but when he glanced up at her, she quickly stopped and pretended to be pushing a piece of her wild brown hair back behind her ear.

"Oh, look at the time," Hermione said, stretching her arms out and producing the most pathetic yawn Ron had seen since Fred and George used to fake being sick together. "I think I'll be going up to bed now."

"It's only 8:30 Hermione. Don't leave just because he's here," Ron responded, giving a jerk of his head in the direction of Harry. "Besides, I thought you were sleeping in these days?" Ron continued, now turning his face towards Harry, "No need to get to bed early if you plan to practically skip breakfast and sleep until first period."

Harry made a move to grab Ron, but Hermione quickly jumped out of her seat and caught his arm.

"Don't," she said, giving Harry a look that Ron instantly hated. It was like they were reading each others minds, and it irked Ron to the point of no return. Hermione then let go of Harry's arm, and whispered a quick goodnight to the both of them before scurrying up to her room. Ron turned his attention back to the chessboard.

"We need to talk," Harry said, still standing next to Ron.

"I'm busy. Maybe another time," Ron responded. Ron knew it was quite obvious to Harry that he was, in fact, not even remotely busy. But nonetheless, he had nothing he wanted to say to Harry at the moment.

"Look Ron, I'm perfectly happy with pretending that you don't exist. It's been nice to get away from your constant accusations and ridiculous theories. But it isn't fair to those that have to deal with us everyday, and you know it."

"Oh, I'm sorry Harry. Is your girlfriend starting to get upset? Putting a damper on the relationship?"

"I don't know where the bloody hell you come up with this shit - "

"Where? Where do I come up with this shit? I use my eyes Harry, that's how!"

"Well then maybe it isn't me that should be wearing these glasses!" Harry bellowed.

Ron didn't respond.

"Ron, you have to believe me when I say that there is absolutely nothing going on between me and Hermione," Harry said, sitting down on the chair opposite Ron. "She's one of my best friends, and that's all." Ron looked up at Harry, and he saw, for the first time, that Harry was telling the truth. Ron suddenly felt a lump form in his stomach, a lump that Ron instantly realized was a manifestation of extreme guilt. How had he been so stupid? He had been so sure that something had been going on; that Harry and Hermione had been secretly involved. And now the idea of it all seemed so preposterous, and yet, a few moments ago, so feasible.

"She hates me doesn't she?" Ron said, looking down at the chessboard again.

"Er...what?"

"She made you do this, I know she did."

"Well, sort of."

"She must think I'm the biggest git to ever walk the earth."

"I doubt she minds. It's not as though this is the first time you've completely misinterpreted everything," Harry responded.

"Thanks for reminding me," Ron replied sarcastically, thinking back to the start of the Triwizard tournament when he had wrongfully accused Harry of putting his name in the Goblet of Fire.

"Hey, and since you're so worried about what I think of you now that you've managed to show how quick you are to determine me untrustworthy not once...but twice, in the past two - "

"I get it Harry," Ron said, putting his hand up to stop Harry from continuing. He then took a deep breath before adding, "And I'm sorry."

"As unconvincing as that was, I'll take it," Harry said with a smile. "Just as long as you do me one favor." Ron looked at Harry now, dreading the words that he was sure would come out of his mouth next. Harry would want him to tell Hermione how he felt, and he knew he couldn't. He'd tried a thousand times in the past two years, and each time, the words failed him.

"What?" Ron asked hesitantly.

"Let me borrow that Quidditch mail order catalog I saw you leafing through the other day," Harry said, moving around in his seat opposite Ron. "And your broom for a little while."

Well, that wasn't exactly what he was expecting.

"What? My broom? Harry, you have a Firebolt! What do you want with my Cleansweep?"

"Well, it's not exactly for me," Harry said, shifting his weight uneasily.

"Then who is it for?" asked Ron, getting suspicious of his friend. No, stop that, you have to trust him.

"Er...you don't know her...I wouldn't need the broom all the time, just a couple of evenings a week. You'll still be able to use it for practice," Harry said, a grin on his face.

"And what makes you so sure I'll make the team?" Ron asked, not quite as sarcastically as he had meant it to sound. The truth was that the impending tryouts were making Ron very nervous, and he didn't know what he would do if he didn't make the team.

Harry leaned forward, and said in a whisper, "I figure you've got at least three of the six votes, and I heard Fred trying to talk Angelina into voting for you too...not that she needed talking into...I've seen the competition...and I'm expecting the decision to be unanimous."

Ron couldn't help but turn red. It had been his dream to play Quidditch competitively, and hearing Harry say those last words made him happier then he could remember feeling in a long time. He could just imagine himself flying out of the locker rooms, all of his other teammates at his side, and onto the Quidditch pitch. The school screaming around them, Lee Jordan announcing the start of the game. He could practically smell the fresh air running past his nostrils as he soured up into the air at the sound of Madam Hooch's whistle; the feeling of the Quaffle in his hands...

"So, about the broom?" Harry cut into Ron's daydream.

"Oh...yeah....I guess so," Ron replied, still trying to shake the fantasy from his mind.

"Thanks," Harry said, sitting back in his chair, resting his head on the back of it, and shutting his eyes. He looked a little different. Ron couldn't quite put his finger on it, but the best friend that now sat opposite him had somehow changed over the past few days. Deciding he wasn't going to allow himself to jump to any conclusions, Ron shrugged it off, and got up to walk up to his dorm room. As he walked around the couch he had been sitting on, he glanced back one last time at his friend, and saw that he was still sitting with his eyes closed, but there was the slightest trace of a smile on his face.

* * * *

Friday approached with frightening speed. Before anyone knew it, it had come time for the Gryffindor team to choose their new member.

Ginny had decided, to much the disapproval of Ron, that she wanted to come down and watch the tryouts. So, after watching Ron pick at his food through dinner, she followed him and Harry down to the Quidditch pitch.

"Don't look like you're marching towards the guillotine," Harry joked, giving Ron a good shove on the shoulder.

"Yeah Ron, this isn't a life or death situation," Ginny added.

"Thanks you guys, but I just can't help it," Ron replied, still walking with his head down.

"Hey, you can use my broom if you want," Harry offered. Ron seemed to consider this, but then shook his head.

"No, I've got to do it with my own broom."

"Don't worry Ron," Ginny said with a soft voice. She could just see the nervousness radiating off of him, and wanted to do something to help him. She knew how much this meant to him, and wanted more then anything for her brother to make the team.

They walked in silence the rest of the way to the pitch, and when they got there, they saw that the rest of the team had already gathered in the center of it, along with Seamus and Dennis. Ginny walked over and stood in front of the locker rooms, while Ron and Harry walked over to the rest of the team.

"Hi Ginny," came a heavily accented Scottish voice from behind her. She swung around and nearly jumped when she saw the person that had just walked out of the locker rooms and was now standing next to her.

"Oliver Wood?" she gasped, not necessarily meaning for it to come out as a question. He had graduated from Hogwarts the year after her first, and she hadn't seen him since. As she looked at him, she realized that he was wearing blue and green Quidditch robes, and wearing them quite well. He had always been one of the cuter Gryffindors, all the girls in her grade used to talk in hushed whispers about him whenever they passed him in the hallways. And it was no secrete that when he played Quidditch, half the female student body at Hogwarts spent most of the time staring at him rather then paying attention to the game. Ginny included. "What are you doing here?"

"Alicia asked me to come down and judge the tryouts," he responded, looking down at Ginny. She could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks, and quickly looked away from him and out at the Gryffindor team that was standing in the middle of the pitch.

"Judge the tryouts? I thought the team just voted."

"They usually do, but Alicia felt there might be some...favoritism...among the team members."

"Oh," she replied, for she knew instantly who he was talking about. "You came to make sure Fred and George and Harry don't vote for Ron."

"Don't sound so glum," Oliver said, taking a step forward. "If I know one thing about your family, it's that it isn't just red hair that's passed down through the gene pool." And with that, he winked at Ginny and turned around to walk out towards the waiting team.

Ginny, still a little lightheaded from her conversation with the graduated Gryffindor that Parvati Patil often referred to as God, leaned up against the wall of the locker room building, and then slid down it, resting her hands on her knees. She saw Oliver walk up to the group of students and greet them all. He was introduced to Dennis, for he hadn't been at Hogwarts when Oliver was still a student, and then he did some sort of fancy handshake with...she had to squint her eyes a bit...but she thought it was George. They all stood around and talked for a few minutes before the current Gryffindor team stood off to the side, and the three hopefuls flew up into the air. Alicia handed Oliver a large trunk, of which he opened and removed the shiny red Quaffle He passed it back and forth between his hands, and then took off into the air himself.

"I'm going to throw the Quaffle in an arbitrary location, and you all have to try your best to outmaneuver each other and get to it first. Once you've gotten it, throw it back to me," she could hear Wood instruct the contenders. The three boys spread out, and Wood proceeded to throw the ball around at them. After a few minutes of this, Ginny couldn't help but smile as her brother zoomed around the pitch, only allowing Seamus and Dennis to get the ball twice in the nearly forty times Wood threw it.

Wood did a few more drills with the boys, before signaling them all to come down.

Alicia gave Angelina the Quaffle, who set to putting it back into the trunk, while Alicia and Wood walked over to one of the sets of goal posts to discuss the verdict. After a few minutes of talking, Wood turned around and proceeded to walk back towards Ginny.

"Is it over?" Ginny asked, jumping to her feet.

"Yup," he said, still walking towards her.

"And?"

"My only question is why you haven't tried out for the team yet?"

Ginny knew her face was as red as a beet.

"My position is already taken," she responded, looking down at her feet.

"And what position would that be?" he asked.

Ginny raised her head, and her gaze met his. "Keeper."

"Interesting," he said, raising one of his eyebrows at her. God he looks cute when he does that. "One of the most under-appreciated positions, don't you agree?" Ginny nodded her head, and turned back to looking at her feet. Why is it so hard to have a normal conversation with cute guys, she asked herself. He then walked past her and started to walk back up to the castle. Just before he went around the corner of the building, he turned around and called back to her "If you ever decide to try out, let me know. I can give you a few pointers."

"Thanks," she said with a smile that was, as always happened whenever she was trying to control herself, much larger then she had intended. But, he smiled back before disappearing behind the building.

As she stood there, staring at the spot that was last occupied by the great Oliver Wood, star Quidditch player and super hottie, she was suddenly jostled by someone that came flying at her from behind.

"He made it!" Fred yelled, knocking Ginny over and onto the ground. She tried to get up, but was then pushed back down to the ground again by a falling Ron.

"I know! Congratulations Ron!" she grunted, shoving her youngest brother off of her and onto Fred.

"Damn Gin! You been lifting gnomes or something?" Fred said, now shoving Ron off of him.

"Er..."

"I always said she was supposed to be a boy..." George began, but before he could finish, Ginny had lunged herself forward and pulled him to the ground too. Before long, the four of them were running around the Quidditch pitch, trying their best to knock each other over. Ginny was having so much fun playing with her brothers that she hadn't even noticed that Harry had left.

* * * *

Harry walked swiftly back up to the castle, hoping that he could get back to the great hall before everyone had finished eating. Well, he wasn't exactly interested in everyone, he was actually just trying to get back there before Emily left.

It was starting to get dark and he had some trouble seeing what was real and what was shadow. He was coming around the side of the castle, just a few feet away from the greenhouses, when he heard a strange sound. He slowed down, and looked towards it. He didn't see anyone, or anything, lurking around. He then looked over at the castle, and then down at his watch. 7pm. She was probably already done with dinner anyways.

He approached the third greenhouse cautiously, and then stopped in his tracks. On the ground, curled up in a ball, leaning against the front door of the greenhouse, sat Emily. She was crying, her hands over her face, her whole entire body heaving. Harry stood there and watched her, not quite sure how to proceed. She raised her hands and cough into them, and as she did this, she caught sight of Harry. She quickly began wiping her face with her hands, and looked as though she was going to try to get up.

"No, don't get up," Harry said, advancing towards her and kneeling on the ground in front of her. She was looking at him with big, watery, green eyes, and Harry couldn't help but think she looked the best he had ever seen her. He shook his head a little to clear his thoughts. That was the last thing he should be thinking at a moment like this.

"I'm sorry Harry," she said through a loud sniffle, still wiping her eyes. As she did this, Harry looked at the ground next to her, and saw several cigarette butts in a little pile to her right.

"How long have you been out here?" he asked, putting his hand onto her shoulder, hoping it would somehow make her feel better. She shrugged a little and sniffled a few more times before responding.

"Not long..." she said, but she then followed Harry's gaze and saw the cigarettes. "Well, maybe a little while." Harry fought back the urge to ask her what had happened; what had made her so upset. He wanted more then anything to know, but also had this nagging feeling that made him feel as if he wasn't the right person to ask. After all, they had only just met a few days ago.

"Did you miss dinner?" he asked, trying to get her mind off whatever it was that was bothering her. She simply nodded, looking down at her hands, which she had cupped in her lap. Harry decided to sit down to her left, bringing his knees up in the same position she was sitting in.

"I wasn't really in the mood to eat," she finally added. They sat there for a few more moments, Harry feeling more and more uncomfortable with the dead silence that stood between them.

"Ron made the team," Harry said, grasping at straws.

"Is he the red head you hang out with?"

"Er...yeah," Harry said, realizing she had never actually met Ron before. "And, he said that you can use his broom if you'd like. It's a bit sluggish compared to the Nimbus 2001 you were on the other day, but I'm sure you'll still find new and innovative moves to make me look like a complete novice in the Quidditch department. " Harry looked over at her, and saw that a small smile had finally penetrated her miserable face.

"Thanks Harry."

"Well, you should thank Ron really, it's his broom and..."

"No....Thanks for making me feel better," she interrupted him, turning her head towards him and looking up into his eyes. Without thinking, he took his right hand and laced it through her left and gave her a reassuring squeeze. In response, Harry could feel Emily shimmy over a bit and rest her head on his shoulder. As they sat there, Harry could feel her breaths becoming shallower and more calmed. "Harry?" he heard her say, practically in a whisper.

"Yeah,"

"What's a Death Eater?" she asked, still curled up beside him.

"They're dark wizards that serve under the leadership of their master, Lord Voldemort," Harry began, not exactly understanding why Emily had asked such a strange question. "Voldemort is the one who...who...murdered my parents."

"I thought he disappeared after he tried to kill you, and that that's why you...are so famous?"

"He came back. Every year since I came to Hogwarts I've had to face him again."

"What happened last year when you went up against him?" she asked, turning her body a little so that she was now looking up at him. The question caught Harry off guard, and his mouth just sort of opened and closed, without producing any sound. Very few people knew the details concerning Harry's encounter with Voldemort that last day in May of the previous year. It wasn't because people hadn't asked - god knows they did. But Harry usually couldn't find the words to describe it. It hadn't been a fierce battle, it had simply been a sort of meeting, a meeting that perplexed even Dumbledore.

"I didn't exactly go up against him," Harry began, finally able to make his mind focus on her question enough to produce an answer. "The entire school year, Dumbledore and his underground supporters had been gathering information about the activities of the Death Eaters and knew that they were planning something, but didn't know what. Everyone figured he would come after me once and for all, finish me off. I was under terribly high security, and the teachers finally decided it would be safer for me to leave school early, to return home to my Aunt and Uncle. But, as soon as we got to the Hogsmeade train station, something happened. I went through the door that lead onto the platform, but Mrs. Figg, who was accompanying me, could not. It was as if there was an invisible wall blocking her passage. There were other people blocked too, and I then realized that I was the only person on the platform. Well...the only person except for Voldemort.

"It took him a few seconds to stand up, but when he did, he moved towards me faster then I had ever seen a human move before. He then tilted his head down, and whispered something into my ear. Then, when he finished, he Disapparated and the next thing I knew Mrs. Figg came running over to me and nearly crushed me."

"What did he say? When he whispered to you."

"It didn't make sense really...almost as if it...."

"What was it?" she asked again, pushing herself up and onto her knees, staring at Harry with the utmost of attention.

"Sleep tight, for the arrival of the emerald dragon will change our lives forever," he revealed.

"What did he mean?"

"We have no idea. Dumbledore was even stumped. Madame Pince and Hermione searched the stacks of both the Hogwarts and Muggle London Library for weeks during the summer, but neither of them came up with anything on an emerald dragon." He then paused, another thought flying into his brain. "Why did you ask me about the Death Eaters, and about what Voldemort said to me?"

"Oh..." she began, moving uncomfortably next to Harry. "I overheard Millicent and Pansy talking about them. I didn't want to ask them, nor anyone else in Slytherin for that matter." She paused before adding, "I'm going to have to read up on British wizarding culture this weekend."

"While you're at it, I'd suggest checking out Hogwarts: A History, Hermione swears by it," Harry suggested, with a little chuckle to himself as he recalled the many times she had gotten frustrated with him and Ron because they refused to read the darn thing.

"What time is it?" she asked, reaching across his waste to his left wrist. She grabbed hold of it, and twisted around the face of the watch so she could read it. "Oh my. I didn't realize it was this late," she said, moving to get up. Harry did the same. They both stood there, brushing the grass off their cloaks.

"So, what do you guys do on weekends for fun?" she asked, twisting around to make sure she had gotten all the grass off her back.

"Er..." Harry began, but couldn't really think of anything. Besides Hogsmeade weekends and Quidditch Saturdays, most of the weekends at Hogwarts consisted of catching up on all the work they had put off the previous week. "Not much actually." Harry saw her face fall.

"Well, that just sucks then," she said, before a wicked smile spread across her lips, "Guess we'll just have to change that." She then reached into her bag and pulled out her silver box. Harry's mind instantly darted back to the other night and his clumsy attempts at making a move. She must have seen his expression, because she suddenly burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" Harry asked, starting to giggle too. She had one of those laughs that was highly contagious.

"Your face!" she exclaimed trying hard to calm herself down. She was unsuccessful though. As soon as she looked up at him, she quickly doubled over and went into another fit of laughter. Harry took a few steps away from her, and watched her practically fall over.

After nearly a full minute of laughing, she was finally able to catch her breath and stand up straight. Her face had little red circles on her cheeks and her eyes no longer showed signs of the tears she had been shedding just a few minutes earlier.

She put one of her cigarettes into her mouth, and lit it wandlessly. Harry had never been a fan of smoking, but he had to admit that as he stood there, watching her smoke her cigarette, she looked dead sexy. He watched her place the cigarette softly on her lips, and inhale equally as softly, but deeply, her chest expanding ever so slightly. She then slowly removed her hand from her mouth, turned her head and ....

Blew all the smoke out into his face.

"What was that for?" he wheezed, waving his hand in front of him, trying to waft the smoke away from him.

"For staring at me," she said, taking another drag before adding, "It's freaky." Harry immediately stopped waving his arms, and looked at her quickly. As he did so, she smiled. "Sweet...but still freaky."

They walked back to the front entrance to the castle, talking about the various people Emily had met. Who were nice, who should be avoided. Harry soon found that Emily had quite a different impression of most of the people that were at Hogwarts.

"Professor Snape is not mean. He's just...misunderstood," Emily insisted.

"Misunderstood?" Harry gasped, unable to comprehend what he had just heard. Is she for real?

"Yes, misunderstood."

"And, I suppose you'd say that Malfoy isn't a brainless git? That he is just misunderstood also?"

"Oh, there is no doubt that Malfoy is the biggest freakin' asswipe I have ever met. But, you should really rethink your views on Professor Snape."

"Are you serious? Have you seen the way he treats me in class?"

"He just has high expectations, and you have to admit, you're not the best Potions student in ..."

"That doesn't give him the right to berate me the way he does," Harry interjected, feeling the skin in his face go red with anger. He could just imagine Snape scowling at him, like he always did. "Plus, even if I was as good at potions as...as...well...you for instance...he would still hate me because he hated my father."

"He what?"

"He hated my father. They went to school together and my dad and him were enemies. My dad was best friends with Sirius Black and -"

"Sirius Black?" she interrupted.

"Uh, yeah. Have you heard of him?"

"Have you?" she asked, her voice very low, as if she didn't want anyone to hear. Harry looked around and saw that the grounds around them were completely empty. He then turned back to Emily who had also decided to look around to see if anyone was in ear shot.

Harry started to open his mouth, to say that Sirius was one of the best things to ever happen to him, like the father he never had. But then, he realized he couldn't tell her this. Sirius was still hiding from the authorities and admitting that he knew his godfather, and was in regular contact with him, would jeopardize his safety.

"Just that he was friends with my dad, and was my godfather," Harry lied, looking away from her eyes. "Have you heard of him?"

"My mom has these...private conversations...or at least...she thinks they're private...but what she doesn't know is that even with all the anti-eavesdropping charms she puts up around the room, I can still hear her.

"Anyways, right before my dad came to visit us a year ago, I overheard her talking to someone. I don't know for sure who it was, but she was yelling at the top of her lungs at them. I distinctly heard her say that name. More then once too. But when I asked her about it the next day, she practically took my head off and made me promise never to mention him again."

"Well, he's not exactly...well liked in the wizarding world. He's an escaped prisoner from Azkaban. They say he's a murderer," Harry said, stopping before the words "but he's innocent" had a chance to spill from his lips.

"Oh," she said, but Harry could tell she wasn't quite satisfied. Nor was he for that matter, why would someone over in America be talking about his godfather and then make her daughter swear never to speak about him again?

They had come to the front entrance and started to slowly walk up the stairs, both deep in their own thoughts. Harry reached out and pulled the front door open and held it there for Emily to pass through. They were now in the entrance hall, which was nearly deserted, except for two other people.

Oliver Wood and Professor McGonagall.

They were both in deep conversation and it took them a few seconds to notice that Harry and Emily had just walked into the castle. It was Wood who noticed them first. His eyes glanced over to Harry and he immediately smiled at him. He then turned his attention towards Emily, and his expression changed quite suddenly. Harry recognized that look, and didn't like it much.

"Harry, old chap. How nice it is to see you. Didn't have a chance to chat very much back on the pitch," Oliver said, walking over to where Harry and Emily stood. He didn't once take his eyes off Emily.

"Oh, yeah...with tryouts and all..." Harry said, glancing back and forth between Emily and Wood. How dare he look at her like that!

"That Ron Weasley was an excellent flyer, wish I had known about him back when I was captain." While he was obviously talking to Harry, anyone else would have thought for sure he was talking to Emily. His eyes quickly dipped down to get a better look at her before he added, "Aren't you going to introduce me Harry?"

"Hi, I'm Emily Waters," she said, putting out her hand as she always seemed to do whenever she met someone. Harry watched Wood as he took her hand, did something that looked a little like a bow, and kissed it. Harry fought the urge to grab her hand away from him, but then realized he had no right to do that, it wasn't like she was his girlfriend. Not really anyways.

"How nice to meet you," Oliver said, a smug grin sweeping across his face. Harry saw Emily smile back.

Just then, Professor McGonagall came over. "She's a new student here Mr. Wood, just arrived the other day from America."

"America?" Wood said with obviously fake astonishment. "I have relatives in Salem," he then added, finally releasing her hand.

"I'm from New York, which is quite different from Salem. All the witches and wizards up there think they're all high and mighty. They practically broadcast to the nearby Muggles that they're magical. It's most distasteful," Emily remarked. Harry looked over at Emily and saw that she was still smiling. Though he quickly realized it wasn't a friendly smile, more of a rebellious smirk. That a girl.

"Well, it's almost time for all the students to be back in their dormitories," interjected Professor McGonagall, most likely trying to turn the conversation around. "Ms. Waters, I trust you can find your way back to you common room?"

"Certainly Professor," she said, turning towards Harry and giving him a warm smile. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," he returned. Emily turned around and walked down the hallway that led to the dungeons. Harry noticed that Wood had a most perplexed look on his face, but was jogged back to reality when McGonagall spoke to him.

"I'll walk you back to Gryffindor Harry," she began. "Mr. Wood, it was nice to see you again. I do hope you'll consider the offer."

"Yes, well, I have to discuss it with my coach, but I should know by the end of next week. I'll be sure to send you an owl as soon as I do." He then gave them both a little wave before pushing the entrance hall door open and disappearing behind it.

Harry and Professor McGonagall walked back to the common room at a leisurely pace. Harry's mind was repeatedly going over the scene that had just transpired between Oliver and Emily, smiling to himself at the way she had handled it. But then, just as they were turning the last corner before the Fat Lady came into view, Professor McGonagall stopped short.

"Have you been smoking Mr. Potter?" she asked.

"Er..."

"You do know that smoking is strictly forbidden on Hogwarts grounds?" she began, her authoritative voice ever so clear. "And since students aren't allowed off the grounds while school is in session, I should certainly hope that you were not just breaking school rules."

"I wasn't..."

"No use lying to me, Mr. Potter," she interrupted, "Consider this a warning. However, should I catch you again, don't think you'll get off this easy." Harry swallowed.

"Yes Professor McGonagall."

"Good then. Goodnight Mr. Potter," she said, walking down the hall, past the portrait of the fat lady.

Ugh, that girl has got to stop smoking.

* * * * *

"You know Hermione, maybe you should just say something to him," Ginny said as they made their last lap around the Quidditch pitch. It was Saturday morning and they had finally worked their way up to running a full three miles, and Ginny was terribly out of breath.

"Ginny, will you just give it up."

"Hermione!" Ginny said, exasperated. "You can't just mope around hoping he'll ..."

"I am not moping around," said Hermione, huffing a bit before coming to a stop and leaning over, resting her hands on her knees.

"Yeah, well, this is Ron we're talking about, and we both know he will never come out and say something."

"Fine then."

"Hermione, you don't really mean that," Ginny said, still trying to catch her breath. Damn it was getting cold out. "He just made the Quidditch team and..."

"What does making the team matter?" Hermione interrupted.

"Well, nothing except that his mind is so overrun with Quidditch, he won't even..." But Ginny paused, thinking that telling Hermione that he'd never think to say anything to her now because he was preoccupied with Quidditch wasn't the best direction to go at the moment. "You're right, Quidditch has nothing to do with the matter."

"Ginny, I don't even know how he feels about me," Hermione said. It was one of the first times Ginny had ever heard Hermione speak with doubt in her voice. It was a little disconcerting.

"I offered to find out," Ginny began, "but you expressedly made me promise not to say a word to him." Ginny, of course, hadn't really taken that promise to heart, and had been trying to get a free moment with her brother ever since.

"What if he doesn't feel the same way. He's one of my best friends, and I don't want to mess that up. He and Harry are finally talking again, and everything is back to normal. I'd rather just leave it that way."

"Fine," Ginny said, giving in. She realized that Hermione had made up her mind, and that there was no way to change that decision. Ginny'd just have to talk to Ron.

* * * * *

Harry was having lunch with Ron and Hermione when someone suddenly sat down next to him, straddling the chair.

"Hey! What's up," Emily said, reaching up and tussling his hair. "You know, you should really do something about your hair...cut it a little...don't you agree Hermione?" she asked, turning her head towards her. Hermione's jaw dropped.

"Er..." she started. Harry noticed her give Ron a confused glance before saying, "Well...it is a little...wild lately."

"That's exactly what I was thinking," Emily responded, eyeing Harry's hair a little. Harry suddenly got a little scared as the image of her blinking her eyes, nodding a little, and taking three inches off his hair popped into his head. But then, Emily seemed to notice Ron sitting across from her.

"Hi, I'm Emily," she said, wiping her hands on her jeans before reaching across the table with her hand extended towards him. Did she always have to greet people like that? Ron seemed startled at first, but then reached up with his own hand and shook hers.

"Ronald Weasley," he said. Since when did he introduce himself as Ronald?

"Well, nice to finally meet you Ron," she said, turning her attention back towards Harry, "Anyways, what are you doing tonight?"

"Er..." Harry began. His head wasn't quite working properly for much else, he was still getting over the initial shock of Emily coming over so abruptly. "Nothing."

"Good," she said, smiling. Harry looked over at Ron and Hermione, both of whom looked stunned and frozen. "I have a little surprise for you. Meet me in the entrance hall at eight," she said, before glancing over at Ron and Hermione and adding, "You guys can come too, if you'd like."

Both Ron and Hermione looked at each other, Emily was already halfway out of her seat before Ron finally responded. "Sure."

"Oh, and bring your broomsticks," she said, and then she leaned over next to Harry's ear and added, just above a whisper, "I'll just...ride yours." Harry turned his head around and just barely caught her give him a little wink before turning around and heading over to the Slytherin table.

As Harry sat there, trying to figure out exactly what her wink had meant, he suddenly looked up and noticed that Ron and Hermione were staring at him.

"What?" he asked, shrugging his shoulders.

"Harry, what was that?" Hermione replied, her voice a little winded.

"What was what?"

"Um...well...correct me if I'm wrong here...but...did the new girl just come over here and ask you if you wanted to hang out with her tonight because she had a surprise for you?" Ron answered, turning his head to the side and raising one of his eyebrows.

Harry shrugged. "She invited you guys too."

"Yeah, but Harry...When did you become so friendly with the new girl?" Hermione asked a little timidly.

"Can we call her Emily, that is her name you know!" Harry exclaimed. Both Ron and Hermione glanced at each other, and then nodded to Harry.

"She's really cool you know," Harry began, trying to warm his friends up to the idea of her. "And you should see her fly!"

"Fly?" Ron gasped.

"Yeah, she's the one I asked to borrow your broom for. She stole Malfoy's last time, but she had to..."

"She stole Malfoy's broom?" they both asked in unison.

"She didn't have one and..." but Harry stopped after seeing the expressions on their faces. Hermione's mouth was gaping open, while Ron's eyes were practically bulging out of his head. "What?"

"The new girl stole Malfoy's broom?" Ron repeated.

"Ok. Yeah, I get it. Emily stole Malfoy's broom....But that's what's so great about her," Harry said, but they didn't look convinced. "Anyway, yesterday was her first time on a broom, in her life, and she flew better then I do!"

"Harry, I'm sure you're just exaggerating..."

"No, I'm not! I've never seen anyone fly like that. Especially someone who had never flown before. And...she can do wandless magic."

"She can do what?" Hermione practically gasped. Ron seemed to be trying to say the same thing because his lips were moving but only little muffled sounds were coming out.

"Wandless magic!" Harry repeated.

"Harry, that's impossible. Witches can't just go around performing spells without wands!" Apparently Ron had gotten his voice back.

"It's possible, but very rare," Hermione corrected him. "I've read about it. But Harry, they were all really powerful witches. And, most of them were...were..."

"Were what?" Harry and Ron both asked together, leaning across the table to get closer to Hermione.

"Were Dark," Hermione said in a whisper. Both Harry and Ron sat up straight again. Dark? But Emily couldn't be into the dark arts.

"She's not dark," Harry said, voicing his thoughts.

"How do you know?" Ron asked in his usual pessimistic tone. Harry thought about this for a second. Could she be a dark witch? He didn't know why, but he just had a feeling she wasn't.

"She just isn't. End of story," Harry said, giving his friend a look that he hoped would let him know he was not going to continue with this train of discussion. Ron seemed to understand and backed off accordingly.

* * * * *

At 7:50, Hermione grabbed her broomstick from the bottom of her trunk and headed down the stairs to the common room. Ron and Harry were already down there, brooms in hand, apparently waiting for her.

"Hurry up Hermione or we'll be late," Harry said, moving his hands about as if trying to hurry her along.

"Do you even know what we're doing?" Hermione asked as she approached the boys. They both looked at each other and indicated they hadn't a clue. "We're supposed to be back in our dormitories by 9 o'clock, so whatever it is, it has better be fast or else we'll be...."

"Breaking school rules..." Ron finished her sentence for her. He then gave her the look he always gave her when she reminded them about school rules. She hated that look.

"Well Ron, I don't plan on getting in trouble just because the new girl has some surprise in store for us." Hermione then caught the glare that Harry gave her for calling Emily the new girl again. "Sorry Harry."

"No one said you had to come," Ron said, raising his shoulders a little and giving her a little smile. He obviously knew she would never dream of letting the two of them go off on an adventure without her.

"And leave the two of you alone with that Veela?" Hermione responded, "I think not."

"She's not a Veela," Harry said, breaking Hermione's glare at Ron by stepping in between them. "I asked her."

"And what's it to you, Hermione? What do you care if we were seduced by her charms?" Ron said from somewhere on the other side of Harry. Hermione thought back to the conversation she had been having with Ginny earlier that day.

"You guys can finish this conversation another time, if we don't leave now, we'll be late," Harry said, finally stepping towards the portrait hole and pushing it open. Hermione stood there, glaring at Ron, who was glaring back. "You guys?" Harry said, bringing them both back to reality. Hermione tutted a little before turning on her heel and following Harry out of the portrait hole, followed shortly thereafter by Ron.

When they approached the entrance hall, Hermione was surprised to see Emily standing there with Justin Fitch-Fletchley, a Hufflepuff sixth year. And even more surprised by what Emily was wearing. She had on a short skirt with black stockings and matching black boots. Her shirt was another halter-top, pink this time to match her hair, which was perfectly shagged around her head. She wore make-up too, making her eyes glisten as if a hundred diamonds were surrounding them. Ugh, she is pretty! And that skirt leaves little to the imagination!

"There you guys are," she said, seeing that they had just entered the hall and giving a little tug at the back of her skirt. "I was beginning to think you guys wouldn't show." Hermione then saw her give Harry a very wide smile. What was going on with the two of them? And, how had I missed it before now? "Oh, and you remembered to bring brooms, good."

"So, what are we doing?" Ron asked.

"It's a surprise," she said, shaking her head as if Ron had asked the stupidest question ever. Hermione glanced over at him and saw he was less then amused.

"What are the brooms for?" Hermione decided to ask, hoping that maybe she could at least reveal that much.

"Oh, those. We have to fly to get there, right Justin?" she asked. Hermione could tell that Ron was itching to ask where there was, but he held back.

"Shall we?" Justin asked, extending his hand towards the staircase that lead up to the top floors of the castle. It was now that Hermione noticed that Justin was also dressed in an outfit that was just a little too nice looking for a stroll around the castle. He had on gray wool pants and a black turtleneck that fit him tightly around the chest. His hair was still wet, combed back over his head. It didn't look moussed or gelled, just combed back.

Justin lead the way through the twisting corridors , followed by Emily and Harry who were talking about something to do with Quidditch. Hermione and Ron were last.

"Do you think we're going to have to," Hermione began, looking out of one of the windows they had just passed. "Fly?" Ron seemed to stifle a laugh.

"Well, what'd you think the broomsticks were for?" he asked, beginning to laugh audibly.

"It's not funny Ron, I hate flying."

"It's just because you're too bloody rational on a broomstick. If you just relax a little, I'm sure you'd be...."

"Relax? How can I relax when I have to balance myself on a piece of wood no wider then an inch, while at the same time trying to steer the darn thing and fight against the wind."

"You just do. Don't think about doing all those things and it will just come naturally to you."

"Naturally to you maybe. But I like having my feet firmly planted on the ground, thank you very much."

"Harry sure did waste his money buying you that broom for Christmas last year," Ron said with a smirk.

"Well, I have to admit that the encyclopedia of charms you gave me has proved to be much more useful, that's for sure."

Just then, Hermione saw that Justin, Emily and Harry had turned into one of the rooms up ahead. Ron and Hermione had to run a little to catch up to them. And when they did, Hermione couldn't help but drop her jaw.

There were about twelve other students standing in the room, all huddled over by a window on the far side. They were dressed in a similar manner to Justin and Emily. They all had broomsticks, and one of them was standing on the ledge, about to jump out.

Hermione elbowed Ron and whispered, "What do you think this is?"

"Mass Suicide?" Ron offered with a shrug before adding, "I have no idea." He too had his mouth open far enough to shove a crumpet into.

Hermione watched as Justin broke from the pack and walked over to the group of students by the window. Hermione recognized Millicent Bulstrode, Ernie McMillan, Hannah Abbot, Cho Chang and two boys she knew belonged to Ravenclaw, but had never actually met before. He said a few words to them and Hermione saw Cho break apart and come walking over.

"Emily," she said, twirling her broomstick in what Hermione felt was a dangerous manner. Everyone else seemed to think it was cool. "You made it. Oh, and you brought the threesome," she said, smiling at the three of them. Was that what the rest of the students called us? The threesome?

"Well, you said the more the merrier," Emily responded, beaming back at Cho.

"Well, we just started inviting other houses last year. It was beginning to get a little boring with just the Ravenclaws. We've slowly begun getting a more mixed crowd. Not many Gryffindors though. Just the twins and their friend Lee." Hermione glanced over at Ron.

"Fred and George?" Ron asked, still with a look of utter confusion on his face.

"Yeah, oh, they're dead funny. And Lee's the best DJ we've ever had." DJ?? Hermione thought to herself.

"Shhh..." Emily said putting a finger over her mouth. "They don't know yet?" Cho looked at her with confusion for a second, but quickly seemed to get that they were being kept out of the loop and winked at Emily. Ron, however, had had enough.

"Will you tell us already?" he burst out, a tinge of anger in his voice.

Emily looked at Cho and shrugged. "I guess so."

"It's a party," Cho said, jumping in at the opportunity to spill. "We do it every two weeks, in the abandoned tower that faces the Quidditch pitch." As she said this, her eyes twinkled. A party? At Hogwarts? Run by Ravenclaws? This was just too much.

"So, why the broomsticks?" Hermione asked.

"As I said, the tower is abandoned. The teachers closed off the hallway to it our first year here. So, we fly over. It's actually much easier this way, it was always hard to sneak around that part of the school with Filch and his cat roaming about." She then turned around and saw that only Justin was standing at the window. "Oh, it's my turn. I'll see you guys over there," she said, running over to the window, climbing onto the ledge and leaping out into the sky.

"We have to...fly there?" Hermione asked, cursing herself for the wobble in her voice. The four of them looked at her.

"I'm sure it's not that far, is it Justin?" Emily said, obviously trying to comfort Hermione.

"Er..."Justin began. "It's not far...but it's a little tricky. Once you get there you have to fly up the inside of the tower to get to the top floor." We have to WHAT? Hermione frantically began looking around the room, but no one else seemed to be ruffled by what Justin had said.

"I'm not going," she said, putting her hands up into the air and walking back towards the door. It was one thing to fly out of a window that was at least a hundred feet above the ground, but it was something else entirely to fly inside an abandoned tower.

"Hermione, you'll be fine," Harry said with a tone Hermione could tell was encouragement. She instantly thought back to the time when she and Harry had to ride Buckbeak their third year. She shook her head at him.

"OK then, how about this," Ron said, stepping over to her and grabbing hold of her broom. "Emily can use your broom and I'll fly you over on my broom. Will that make it better." Hermione thought about this. While the thought of flying in general scared her to death, she figured it wouldn't be quite as bad if she could just hold on and could shut her eyes and scream the whole way. She realized that she still had a death grip on her broom and that Ron was tugging it away from her. She released it and nodded ever so slightly.

"Is that a yes?" Ron asked, leaning over as if trying to get a better look at the subtle head movement she was giving.

"Fine," she responded, watching Ron hand Emily her broomstick.

Emily climbed onto the ledge and jumped off, souring high up into the air and then diving back down, doing a little loop-de-loop before suddenly stopping and hovering level with the window. Hermione saw Ron nudge Harry.

"You weren't kidding when you said she could fly," Ron said as Harry jumped onto the ledge and pushed off. He flew a little circle and then went to hover next to Emily, followed by Justin.

"OK, do you want to be in front or behind?" Ron asked, turning towards Hermione.

"Behind," she said, eyeing him suspiciously. " Let Merlin save you if you try any of that acrobatic stuff with me, Ronald Weasley," she warned just before sliding on the broom behind him. She then felt him kick off and they flew out of the window. Hermione quickly wrapped her hands around his waste and leaned her head up against his back. If it weren't for the fact that they were now barreling through the sky at what felt like a thousand miles an hour, Hermione would have thought it was slightly romantic.

Justin led the way around to the abandoned tower and down to a hole that looked as though someone had sent a demolition ball through it. Hermione closed her eyes tight as they flew into it, and felt her stomach dive down to her feet as the broom suddenly began diving straight upwards. Over the gushing wind, and her screaming, she could just barely hear what sounded like music from up above.

The next thing she knew, she felt her feet touch the ground. She opened her eyes and saw that they were in a large room full of students. Some were dancing, some hanging out by where the music was coming from. She also saw several couples lining the walls.

"You can let go of me now," came Ron's voice from in front of her.

"Oh, sorry," she said, letting go of him and sliding off the back of his broom. The others walked over and placed their brooms into one of several cubby spaces in the wall that seemed made to serve that purpose. Then, Hermione though to herself, she wouldn't be surprised if they were made for that purpose.

"So, are you guys surprised?" Emily asked, folding her arms over her chest.

"I am," Harry said. "How did you find out about this?"

"Yeah Emily, we've been going here for six years and never knew?" Hermione added, sharing Harry's wonder of how a girl that had only gotten here three days ago could have possibly found out about something they had no clue existed.

"I asked," she said with a smile. "I just didn't believe that this school could be completely dead on the weekends. I asked a couple of people, and finally, I asked Cho, and she told me about it." Emily then leaned in closer to the three of them and added, "Weird one, that Cho. Ever get the feeling she's...well...playing for the other team?"

"You mean she's a dark witch?" Hermione asked, shocked. Ron and Harry started to laugh, and Emily simply smiled at Hermione. Did I miss something?

"You know Hermione, for someone as smart as you..." Ron began, fighting off his laughs, "You sure do miss a lot." Ron then turned his attention towards Emily and added "I don't know, she was pretty serious about this guy Cedric our fourth year here, and last year her and Harry had a little thing going." Hermione saw Emily give Harry a pointed look.

"Well, maybe she's a switch hitter," Emily responded with a shrug after a few moments of glaring at Harry. Switch hitter? Were they talking about Quidditch? And what did that have to do with Cedric? Or Harry?

"Emily thinks Cho likes girls," Harry whispered into Hermione's ear. And suddenly, Hermione understood.

"Oh, thanks Harry," she said, as she felt her cheeks turning a little red. How stupid!

Hermione turned her attention back to the room and was again amazed by all the students that were there. It was predominately Ravenclaws, but there were definitely representatives of all the houses present.

"Come on," Emily said, grabbing hold of Harry and pulling him out onto the dance floor. He seemed reluctant at first, but Hermione then saw him warm up to it, and the next thing she knew, they were both dancing quite well to a fast paced song that was being spun by none other then Lee Jordan.

"I thought Harry didn't dance," Ron said, nodding his head towards the couple who were practically clearing a place on the dance floor.

"That was my impression," Hermione responded, as she watched Emily do this snake like twist with her hips. How does she move like that?

"They seem to be having fun," Ron added. Hermione continued to watch them and soon realized that Harry was simply bouncing to the beat of the music, and it was Emily who was doing all the moves around him. She was moving her arms, shaking her hips, throwing back her head. She could really dance!

"Yeah, they do," Hermione said offhandedly as she continued to stare. She then heard him say something else, but couldn't quite hear him over the music. "What?" she asked, still not taking her eyes off the dance floor. He repeated himself, but she still couldn't hear what he had said. Starting to get flustered with his inability to speak clearly, Hermione turned her head towards him and said "If you mumble like that, I can't hear you over the music."

"I asked if you wanted to dance," he said, quite clearly this time. Hermione suddenly felt her mouth go dry.

"Oh," she said, looking around. She wasn't sure what exactly she was looking for, perhaps it was just something to do as she tried to think about what he had just said.

"Oh, nevermind. Forget I asked, OK?" Ron said, turning away from her and looking back at the dance floor.

"I'd love to dance," Hermione heard herself say. Hmmm, where did that come from?

"Really, cuz, you don't have to if you don't want to," he responded, looking a little nervous.

"No, it's fine," Hermione said. They both slowly walked out onto the dance floor and stopped at a spot near Harry and Emily. Hermione turned around to face Ron, who had already started dancing. He was moving he shoulders up and down, while doing this shuffling thing with his feet. She couldn't help but smile to herself at his attempts. She listened to a few beats of the music before joining him. They were dancing a good three feet apart, mostly because Ron was now doing this weird move where he was sort of punching the air in front of him.

Hermione looked to her left and caught sight of Harry and Emily. She was dancing with her back to him, pressed up against the front of his body. Her hands were up over her head, and her hips were flying back and forth, in perfect sync with the music. Hermione turned back towards Ron, who was still punching at the air in front of him, and then back to Harry and Emily. They had changed moves, and Harry now had his back to Hermione, while Emily was looking over his shoulder. She caught Hermione's eye, and then started waving her hands behind Harry's back, as if trying to tell her to move closer to Ron. Hermione casually lifted her hands in an expression that she hoped would say 'yeah right, I'd like to see you try to dance with him!'

It took her a few moments, but Emily managed to part from Harry and was dancing with him quite like how she and Ron had been dancing for the past ten minutes. She then glanced over at Hermione, as if making sure she had her attention. Hermione nodded, not quite sure she really wanted to see what Emily would suggest to do.

Emily put her hands up above her head and did a little turn in place, returning to her original position. She then nodded to Hermione to do the same. Hesitantly, Hermione looked back at Ron, who was still punching the air, and did her best to mimic the move that Emily had just done. After she had finished turning, she put her arms down and looked back over at Emily.

Emily then started moving her shoulders, bending her legs and swinging her hips, so that the overall effect was a rather seductive lowering of herself down towards the floor. She then did the same thing in reverse until she was standing upright again. Hermione took a deep gulp and, again, emulated Emily's seductive move as best she could. Ron still seemed oblivious to the fact that Hermione was shaking her hips right in his face. Once she was done, she looked back over to Emily, who was smiling. Emily did a quick move and switched Harry around so that Hermione suddenly realized that Emily was standing right beside her. Both still dancing, Emily turned her head and whispered "Now, put it all together like this." Emily then whipped back around and back to the spot she had been in a while ago, when she was demonstrating. Harry looked none the wiser, and Ron certainly hadn't noticed anything. Men!

As soon as Emily saw that she had Hermione's attention, she did a few moves before throwing her arms up into the air, doing the turn, swaying down and then back up again. She then took a step forward, leading with her right leg and hip, into Harry's steps, such that the two of them were suddenly sandwiched together, in perfect sync with each other. Hermione then noticed Emily nodding frantically at her, encouraging her to do the same.

Hermione took a very deep breath and turned her attention back towards Ron. He was no longer punching the air. Instead, his hands were down and he was simply rocking back and forth switching his weight from his left to his right foot, with some rapid shoulder movement thrown in. It's now or never.

Hermione raised her arms up in the air and did a perfect turn, letting her ponytail follow her and whip around over her shoulder. She then bent her knees and dipped down. It was now that she realized that she had gotten Ron's attention. She swayed back up again and took a step into his, and as she did so, she felt his arms wrap around her waist. Realizing that her arms were still up over her head, she lowered them slowly and wrapped them around his neck.

It worked!

Hermione closed her eyes and held Ron close. As they swayed back and forth, she could feel him up against her. His breathing, his moving. She could even smell him. It was the closest she could ever remember being to him, and she loved it.

She then opened her eyes just in time to see Fred and George come swooping in over their heads, still on their broomsticks. Hermione quickly pushed away from Ron and watched the two twins as they circled around the two of them.

"What have we here?" one of the twins said in a menacing tone.

"Oh Fred, bugger off," Ron demanded, taking a step towards the one that had spoken, attempting to grab his broom.

"Looks like we interrupted a private moment," George chimed in. Hermione felt her cheeks turn red.

"I daresay, if we hadn't just come over, I suspect they'd be snogging by now," Fred agreed in a most annoyingly aristocratic voice. The two of them then spotted their friend Lee and flew off, as if nothing had just happened.

Hermione looked over at Ron, who was in quite a state. She could see him breathing heavily and could practically see the heat radiating off his face. She took a few steps towards him and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry about it Ron, they were just being funny. They're always making fun of people..."

"They always have to go and ruin everything," Ron said, still glaring over at where his two brothers had landed and were now in deep conversation with Lee.

"Look, Ron, no harm done. Let's just forget..."

"You don't have to live with them!" Ron interrupted. "All they did was tease me about this day in and day out all summer."

"Tease you about what?" Hermione asked, not quite sure she was hearing him correctly.

"They know bloody well how I feel about...." He suddenly stopped and looked over at her for the first time since his brothers had flown off. He just sort of stared at her, a look of horror plastered onto his face.

"How you feel about...what?" Hermione asked, feeling her heart start to pump faster then she could ever remember it pumping.

Ron didn't seem to register the question at first. His face just stayed frozen as it had been before. Hermione didn't dare move an inch, or else she might somehow change the outcome of the conversation they were having.

Finally, he spoke.

"How I feel about them flying around my head like that. It makes me dizzy," Ron said, diverting his eyes away from her. Is he for real? She didn't even know how to respond. Instead, she simply narrowed her eyes, spun on her heels, and walked as fast as she could back over to where she had seen Ron parking the brooms earlier in the night.

"Hermione, wait," she heard him call out from behind her. She ignored him. She got over to the cubbies and started removing brooms, throwing them onto the floor, frantically trying to find hers. "Hermione please, don't leave." He was right behind her now. She started on the second shelf of cubbies and finally saw hers. She quickly pulled it off the shelf and spun around, finding herself face to face with Ron.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't fly back to my room right this second!" she demanded, surprised at the harshness of her voice. He just stood there. "Fine, just stand there, goodn..." but she never got a chance to finish, because just then, Ron swept down and kissed her firmly on the lips.

* * * *