Harry Potter and the Adventure He Affectionately Calls Life

On the far side of the room, Draco's arm was around Lana's shoulder. The ingredients to the whatever-potion lay untouched on the table.

Lana squirmed uncomfortably in her chair. She wished Draco would move his arm and concentrate on the task ahead of them. And she knew that she had to tell him. If not today, definitely soon. Otherwise this Draco-ness would have to continue.

"Uh... Draco?"

"Yes, love?"

"First of all," she started angrily, taking Draco's hand off of her. "My name is Lana. NOT 'love.'" She sighed. Maybe she didn't have to yell. Maybe if she told him as calmly and normally as possible, things would be okay. "Look, I'm flattered that you like me. Really, it's very sweet. But I have a boyfriend. Harry Potter. And I love him, Draco."

Draco looked shocked. "You... Harry... together...?" He frowned, shaking his head in disbelief. Then he chuckled. "I always thought I was better than Potter, you know. Sure, he somehow manages to catch that damned Snitch before I do, but..." He sighed. "Lana, I won't lie to you. People think I'm some sort of creep, especially you Gryffindors. I liked Hermione for a while in our second or third year, excep mean, or so people said. When I saw you that day, I thought it might be better to show my affections. I didn't know that Harry was so lucky." He took her hand and kissed it gently.

Lana smiled. Maybe Draco was just misunderstood.

"But you don't have to do this, Lana," he continued. "You don't have to pretend that you like him when you're pining for me inside. So maybe Harry plays all nice-nice, but he's no fun. He's a Gryffindor, for crying out loud."

"So am I," Lana pointed out, frowning. This was going so well, what happened?

Draco ignored her. "Lana, Lana, Lana. Even if I didn't like you, and I do, don't get me wrong. I saw it at our first meeting. And when you came to the Slytherin under the pretense of 'needing to talk to me,' I saw right through you." He grinned. "Go on, admit it. That kiss left you wanting more. Much more." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Draco Malfoy, you are utterly disgusting," Lana said, wrinkling her nose in distaste. "I cannot believe you. I love Harry!"

"You say that now. But at the end of the day, in your deepest dreams, you know you want me." He puckered his lips and kissed the air in front of him.

Lana rolled her eyes.

"Why are these ingredients exactly where I left them?" Snape wanted to know.

Lana opened her mouth to speak, but Draco cut her off. "Lana was just telling me about a problem she was having. I was just helping her, Professor. I'm sorry that we weren't able to complete the lesson." He smiled angelically.

Professor Snape glared at the two of them. "Very well. 10 points to Slytherin for comforting another student." He saw Ron and Hermione, almost done with their potion. "You two. Class ends in five minutes. Finishing the potion at that stage will tak dropped in disbelief over Snape's unfairness.

Needless to say, Lana Weasley was thrilled when Potions class was finished. She had a break; she was going to see Harry.

________________________________________________________________

"Now, Hermione, what's wrong?" Ron was sitting on the sofa in the Gryffindor Common Room. Hermione was laying down on the couch, her head on Ron's lap.

"Damn that man. Damn him to hell."

"Who?"

"Mr. Crivellare," Hermione said. "Who else?"

"Why? What happened?"

"I don't like him."

"That's good. A lot of the other girls do. Lavender, Parvati, Pansy. They're all fawning over him like he's some international pop star or something."

"No, not that. I think he's evil. I don't like him." She crossed her arms over her chest. "That day I walked him to his room, all he could talk about was Harry. He asked if I was in love with him."

"That's silly. Everyone knows you and Harry are best friends. Besides, you love me. Right?"

"Of course." She took his hand in hers. "You know I love you. But that's not the point. He was just talking endlessly about Harry then he commented on how Harry's escaped Voldemort six times."

Ron frowned. "Six? I thought it was five."

"It is counting the Triwizard tournament, and Department of Mysteries."

"He thinks the fiasco with the Death Eaters and Dementors in our third year was Voldemort's doing. He's fully convinced himself. I was arguing with him about it, trying to tell him that Voldemort had nothing to do with our third year, but he slammed the door on your face."

"Uh-oh."

Hermione nodded. "Yes! I kept banging on his door, and you know what he did? He opened the door and said, 'Yes, Miss Granger. Perhaps Fudge was behind it all. But you're a smart girl. Voldemort is the source of everything dark. In the end, they answer to Voldemort.' He didn't even say it, he sort of hissed it. Then he shut the door back."

"I'm surprised you didn't Alohamora it."

"I tried. Believe me, I tried. But that was of no use, he bewitched it so I couldn't do it."

Ron's eyebrows shot up. "He must be a pretty powerful wizard if he could do that. And you're a genius."

Hermione blushed. "Anyway, thanks for listening to me, Ron."

"I would listen to you any day."

Hermione blushed again, smiling. She sat up, leaning her head on his shoulder. She felt Ron put his arm around her shoulder, hugging her close. She felt him rest his cheek on the top of her head. Comfortable, safe, and warm, she fell asleep in his arms.

__________________________________________________________________

"How was potions?" Harry asked.

"I did nothing, and Slytherin got 10 points."

Harry grinned. "Story time. Come here."

Lana lay down next to him and sighed. "I finally told Draco about us. And he said that I didn't have to kid myself that I'm secretly pining for him all the while. Honestly, this man is so full of himself! My god!"

"That's Malfoy for you. I've found it best to just ignore him. You've told him about us, what more can you do?"

Lana shrugged.

"I missed you, you know."

"I wasn't gone for that long. I was here all night."

"I know, but I was asleep."

"I was, too."

"True. Maybe we were together in our dreams."

Lana shook her head. "I was elsewhere in my dreams."

"Where?"

"Disney World. With the real love of my life."

"Oh really?" Harry said, grinning. "And who might that be? Mickey Mouse?"

"Oh, please, no. It's always about Mickey, isn't it. He's so over-rated. No, my love is Donald Duck."

"You wouldn't like him because his name rhymes with your favorite cousin, now would it?"

"Yeah, maybe I am a bit partial to him for that."

"I thought as much."

"When are you coming back?" Lana asked.

"Tonight. I'll be there for dinner. I don't know why she's keeping me. I only fainted, it's not like I almost died, you know."

Lana shrugged. "As long as y "Just you."

Lana smiled.

"And my Quidditch Through the Ages book."

"Hey!"

__________________________________________________________________

Harry was finally dismissed from Madam Pomfrey's watchful eye. Classes would end in 10 minutes. He ran up to the Gryffindor Tower and changed into his normal clothes. Then he ran to the greenhouse, where he knew Lana would be at the moment.

Professor Sprout had her back turned to the class. It was perfect. Harry gently tapped on the glass so Ron could hear him.

Ron's face lit up at the sight of his best friend. He waved.

Harry pulled out his wand and wrote "DISTRACT LANA" in the air. The spell was the same that Tom Riddle had used in his second year, except Harry's letters gleamed scarlett.

Ron nodded. He gently nudged Hermione, who looked upset at being bothered.

"What?"

He pointed to Harry.

Hermione's face, like Ron's, lit up. She smiled, relieved. "Are you okay?" she mouthed.

Harry nodded.

"Okay." She frowned, trying to read the already-fading letters. "Okay," she said, understanding.

"Class dismissed," Professor Sprout announced. "Please leave your papers at your seats and I will collect them."

Now that the doors were open, Harry could hear Hermione.

"I'll see you later." She kissed him, then winked at Harry.

"I'll see you at dinner."

"What's up?"

"Uh..." Hermione needed to come up with something quick. "Uh..."

"C'mon! I wanna' pick up Harry from Dictator Pomfrey."

Hermione grinned. "That's harsh."

"It's true! She kept him from me all day!"

"She kept him from Ron and I, too, you know."

"Then you agree that she's a dictator?" Lana joked.

Harry slowly crept into the greenhouse, making sure Lana didn't see him. Hermione smiled slightly at seeing Harry down on the floor.

"Well... I do miss him. And I know Ron misses him, too."

"And me."

"Of course."

"C'mon, Hermione, let's go see him."

"He's probably already out."

"I missed him?"

"No," Harry said, standing up and putting his arms around her. "I missed you."

"Harry!" Lana squealed, dropping her books in excitement. "Harry." She kissed him fiercely.

Hermione bent down automatically to pick up the books. She watched the two of them, still kissing, and placed her books on the table. Backing out of the room quietly, she left the greenhouse.

Harry sat down on an available desk, pulling Lana onto his lap.

"How did the rest of your day go?" he asked her, his lips just barely an inch away from hers.

"Fine, after I came to see you. Professor Trelawney said that I would get an unexpected surprise today."

"I'm surprised her prediction came true," he said sarcastically.

Lana laughed. "So you're okay?"

"I've been fine all day. I wanted to attend classes as normal."You heard?"

Harry nodded, grinning.

"Well, it's true," she insisted. "I missed you."

"You had Ron and Hermione to keep you company."

"They were to busy making out the entire day. Either that, or she was upset about something and Ron spent the day trying to figure out what it was."

"Oh. I'll have to talk to her later. Well, you had Draco Malfoy to keep you company," he said, grinning some more.

"Oh, shut up, Harry Potter," she said half-huffily, rolling her eyes.

"Yes, ma'am," he said obediently, kissing her softly and fully again.

Someone coughed behind them.

"Uh... Mr. Potter and Miss Weasley, if you could please take this somewhere else? I would like to close the green house." Professor Sprout looked amused.

"Sorry, Professor," Harry and Lana said in unison, both blushing beet red.

__________________________________________________________________

"Uh... Lana, could you please leave Harry alone for a few minutes so we can talk to him?" Ron asked jokingly at dinner that night.

Lana gave a dramatic sigh. "Fine, be that way." She turned around, her back to Harry's side instead of her front.

Everyone laughed, including Lana, who still wouldn't turn around.

Harry put his arm around Lana, leaning her back into his shoulder. "he same. What exactly happened?"

"I don't know," he said, shaking his head. "I just remember feeling an extreme pain in my head, then waking up in the hospital wing."

"Hmm..."

"Actually," Harry said in between mouthfuls of chicken. "Hermione, I needed to talk to you."

"Huh?"

"Lana," he kissed the top of her head. "Said that you were upset today. What happened?"

"Oh. Him." Hermione wrinkled her nose.

"Who?"

"Mr. Crivellare," Ron filled in for his girlfriend. "Hermione doesn't like him."

"Me either," Lana chimed in. "He has bad vibes."

"But why, Hermione? What's wrong with him?"

"He's obsessed with you, Harry. You and Voldemort."

"Don't say that name!" Neville yelled, jumping at hearing the "V" word.

Hermione ignored him. "You and Voldemort. Completely obsessed. He kept asking all these questions about you. And he's stubborn as hell. He thinks that the Dementors and Death Eaters were sent by Voldemort."

"They weren't," Harry said automatically.

"I know!" Hermione was excited now. "It's crazy. He says you've been Voldemortized six times, I said it was five. Then he says, 'five and a half.'" She imitated his Italian accent, causing Ron and Lana to laugh. "Oh, for heaven's sake, Lana, turn around."

"I'm not huffy anymore."

"Then?"

"I'm comfortable." She reached over and sipped her goblet.

Harry laughed. "Continue, Hermione."

"What? He's a freak. And that's all I have to say on that matter."

"I wish she would stop the S.P.E.W. business." He smiled sweetly.

"Anyway, I don't like this Crivellare guy. I want him out of this castle as soon as possible."

"What do you think?" Harry asked Ron.

"I don't know. I've never spoken to him." He looked at the direction of the teacher's table, where Mr. Crivellare was chatting conversationally with Professor Snape. Professor Snape laughed heartily at something.

"I change my mind," Ron said, staring. "I have an opinion now. Anyone who can make Snape be in a good mood is welcome in this castle!"

"Ron!"

"What?" He shrugged at Hermione. "He's not bothering anyone. Maybe he's Professor Dumbledore's friend."

"Maybe he's his love child with McGonagall," Lana said, sitting up excitedly.

"Sit down, Lana," Ron said, rolling his eyes.

Lana resumed her position leaning on Harry.

"What do you think, Harry?" Hermione asked, her eyes fixed on him.

"I don't know. I was in the hospital wing a majority of the time. Maybe I'll try and talk to him later."

"I'm sure he'd love that," Hermione said.

Harry shook his head, smiling.

At the teacher's table, Mr. Crivellare stood up, excusing himself. He made a show of yawning. Saying good-night to everyone, he exited the Great Hall.

"Actually," Harry murmured, looking at Mr. Crivellare curiously. "Maybe I'll go now."

__________________________________________________________________

Harry left the Great Hall and walked to the stairs leading to the second floor. Mr. Crivellare, to his surprise, was sitting there.

"Extendable ears," he said matter-of-factly. "A marvelous creation."

"Yeah," Harry laughed nervously. "They are." He fondly remembered the twins using them at the Order last year.

"Tomás Crivellare. And you're Harry Potter. That scar. But we've been through this already."

"Guess so."

"Your friend, Miss Granger, doesn't like me," Mr. Crivellare said bluntly.

"Well, she's upset that you disagree with her. Not many people do, you see."

"I don't give a flaming fuck how many people agree or disagree with her. She says Voldemort has bothered you five times, I say six."

"It's five."

"Six."

"Look, Mr. Crivellare," Harry snapped. "I think I would know."

"As would I."

Harry looked up at him.

"I think you would know, too."

Harry sighed with relief.

"Which is why I'm disappointed that you can't count."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

"Could I ask for a favor?"

Surprised at the randomness of the question, Harry nodded.

"Could I see the scar again?"

This guy is psycho, Harry thought, pushing back his hair.

Mr. Crivellare ran his index finger over the scar, tracing it delicately. It was the same gentle touch that Harry used when outlining Lana's face, but Mr. Crivellare's touch offered no tenderness. In fact, it offered no emotion at all.

"Are you in love with her?" he asked, removing his finger from the scar and staring at Harry.



"How reassuring," Harry muttered, rolling his eyes. "Tomorrow night, Gryffindor Common Room." I'll have an Extendable Ear ready. I don't trust Mr. Crivellare at all.

"Anywhere," he insisted. "Except the Gryffindor Common Room."

"The library at seven."

"Thirty."

"Done. I'll have him there.

"So tell me again, Harry. Why exactly does Mr. Crivellare want to meet me?" Ron wanted to know.

"Honestly, Ron, I don't know. All I can say is that he wanted to meet you. He's talked to me. He's talked to Hermione. Now he wants to talk to you."

"Oh, joy," Ron muttered. "Lucky me."

"Just go." Harry pushed him into the library. Mr. Crivellare was reading Most Potente Potions to himself. Fuck! Ron thought desperately. He knows about the prank! He just wants to talk me out of it. Aw, man, it was just a joke. Let me off alive, and I swear I'll never do anything stupid again, I promise. Please. "Harry, I really don't want to do this."

"To late," Harry said to his friend. "Hi, Mr. Crivellare. This is Ron. Ron, you know Dumbledore's friend, right?"

Up close, Ron could see why all the girls were fawning over Mr. Crivellare. It wasn't the accent, although Ron would readily admit that that helped a bunch. He wasn't unfortunate in the looks department. Oh well. At least his Hermione didn't fancy this Mr. Tomás Crivellare too much, and Ron was the last guy who was going to complain about it.

"Hello, Harry. Hello, Ron." He nodded at both of them politely. "Now, Harry, if you'll excuse us. Mr. Weasley and I have important matters to discuss."

"We do?" Ron asked at the same time Harry asked, "you do?"

"We do."

At the sight of Harry leaving, Ron suddenly panicked. Here he was in an empty library with this psycho here. Ron realized that he was alone. If Mr. Crivellare turned out to be a bad guy, well, it basically sucked for him.

"Sit down," Mr. Crivellare said gallantly, beckoning to a chair as if it were a study in his own private castle and not in the school.

"Thank you." He sat. "Uh... not to be rude or anything, but is there a reason you wanted to meet me? I mean..."

"I've heard a lot about the three of you. Professor Dumbledore raves about you all the time. I just wanted to meet all three of you."

"You couldn't do it all together?"

"I could, but I believe in one-on-one intellectual contact with another person."

"Oh. I see."

"Yes." He stood up and returned Most Potente Potions to its place on the shelf in the restricted section. Then he sat back down. "So tell me about yourself, Ron."

"Uh... I'm Ron... uh... well, I'm the youngest of six boys, and I have a younger sister. She's a fifth year here. Uh... Hermione's my girlfriend, but I guess you knew that. And my best friend's Harry, but I guess you knew that, too. Hmm... I hate Potions class. It's not that the class itself is unbearable, it's the Professor. Snape. He's so mean. Like, this one time, Hermione and I were unable to complete our potion, but we were close. So he deducted points from our house. Then Lana and Draco don't do anything, and Draco gets points. It was crazy!"

"That is crazy," Mr. Crivellare agreed. "Chocolate frog?" he asked, pulling two out of his pocket.

Hermione doesn't trust him, his mind raced. But then again, it's still in the wrapper. If it was poisoned or something, you can't do it when it's still in the wrapper. He reached out and accepted the chocolate frog. "Thanks." He opened it; and to his dismay, it was a Professor Dumbledore card. I only have about ninety of him.

"Doubles?"

Ron nodded morosely.

"Let's see what I get."

Ron looked up, interested.

"My, my. Imagine that," Mr. Crivellare murmured to himself. "What are the odds?"

"What?"

He twirled the card in his fingers to Ron could see the picture.

"Dumbledore!" He threw his hands up in the air and sighed. "Well that doesn't help me at all!"

"I'm missing two cards, but I don't remember which. I mean, I'd know it if I saw it, you know, but off the top of my head..."

Ron nodded. "I know what you mean."

"You know, Harry Potter should have his own card."

Ron laughed. "He really should! He's amazing, and he doesn't even know it! It's insane. For all the times he's saved the world..."

___________________________________________________________________

"...For all the times he's saved the world, he really deserves his own card," Ron was saying. Finally! Some useful information. I've won this one over with his addiction to sweets. Easy as pie. Tomás smiled, silently patting himself on the back.

"How has he saved the world?"

Ron's jaw dropped. "You're a non-believer, aren't you," he accused. "Even after Harry's interview in The Quibbler, you still don't believe him."

"What? That Voldemort has returned?"

Ron nodded.

"Oh, no." Tomás put his right elbow on the table and rested his chin in his hand. "I believe him."

The red-headed boy sighed, obviously relieved.

"But, I mean, is it really him that's doing it?"

"Well, who else?" Ron asked, bewildered. "Granted, there haven't been a lot of witnesses, but who would joke about it? He's Harry Potter. Maybe he's the only one who can defeat him."

"If he is, why doesn't he just do it already?"

"He's sixteen! No sixteen-year old is focused on saving the world. He's focused on my cousin now!"

Such fierce loyalty to his friend, Tomás mused. I never would have expected it.

"But then," he said to Ron. "If we're being fair with Harry, then shouldn't the other have his card?"

Ron's eyes widened so Tomás could see the whites of them. "The Dark Lord? Have his own card?"

"Why not? Otherwise, what's Harry fighting for?" He pulled out a packet of Bertie Botts Every Flavored Beans from his pocket.

Ron said nothing.

Tomás looked at his watch, a shiny silver item that probably cost more than the tuition of all seven Weasley siblings. "I must go. Nice talking to you."

It surprised him that he was actually sincere about it. "Good night."

"Good night," Ron said, staring longingly at his pocket.

Tomás laughed. "Here," he said, sliding three chocolate frogs across the table.

"Thanks!" Ron said, his eyes lighting up.

___________________________________________________________________

Yes! Three more! He caught the frogs as they came. "Thanks!"

Mr. Crivellare nodded, smiling. "Good night then."

"Good night." Ron was much perkier now that he had candy.

Ron got up and walked lazily out of the library. That wasn't so bad, he thought. He seems like a very decent kind of guy. Maybe Hermione just didn't give him a chance. He disagreed with her, after all. Of course Hermione would be upset. It's just her nature. I'll talk to her. And Harry, too. I think he's a bit confused. I'll talk to him, too.

_____________________________________________________________

To open, or not to open. That is the question. Ron gazed lovingly at the chocolate frogs, still in their wrapper. He was on the fifth floor now, and he was proud oh himself for having made it so far without opening them. Well, they're gonna be opened eventually. To open now or not to open now, that is the question!

Ron decided to open them. He unwrapped the first wrapper and looked eagerly at the card.

Dumbledore.

"Damn," he said as he reached for the second.

Dumbledore.

"This is crazy." He shook his head. "One more. One Chocolate Frog left."

Dumbledore.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures." He reached into the deepest pocket of his robes and pulled out a chocolate frog. "If this is Dumbledore, too, I'm going to be very upset."

He opened the frog and held his hand out, waiting for the paper of the card.

Nothing.

"I got a dead one! After five Dumbledore's, there's nothing!" Sighing in frustration, he chomped the head off of the frog.

"Damn Dumbledore," he grumbled.

"What have I done this time?" Professor Dumbledore asked, staring at him curiously.

"Oh! Nothing, Professor." Ron blushed furiously. "I've opened six Chocolate Frogs, and in the first five, the card was all you."

Professor Dumbledore looked at it. "Not a very flattering picture of me, I suppose. But I look so young. Possibly because the picture was taken well over 200 years ago..." He shook his head. "What was the sixth card?"

"Nothing," Ron grumbled.

"You can tell me."

"No. I mean, there was no card inside!"

"That, indeed, is quite rare," Professor Dumbledore said cheerfully.

Ron wondered how he could be so cheerful. This was practically a crisis!

"Well, it's a strange coincidence," Professor Dumbledore reasoned.

"Or is it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Mad-eye Moody probably could have seen which card it was. Maybe Mr. Crivellare saw it, too."

"Tomás gave it to you?"

Ron nodded.

"All of them were me?"

"The one I opened, the one that he opened, and the three he gave me were all you. And then a nothing."

Professor Dumbledore laughed cheerfully.

"Fine," Ron said sourly. "Laugh."

"Oh, I will. Don't doubt it!"

Ron glared at his headmaster, but couldn't help grinning.

"You know, Ron. You have exactly two minutes to run back up before I have to deduct points from you."

"Fuck! I mean..." He blushed.

"Just go," Professor Dumbledore said, fighting hard to keep from laughing and his blue eyes twinkling with amusement.

_____________________________________________________________

When Ron walked into the Gryffindor Common Room, Harry was on the couch, his arm around Lana. Harry's hair was untidier than usual, and Lana's perfect hair was a mess.

"How did it go?" Harry asked, not even bothering to look up.

"How did you know?"

"Ron, Ron, Ron. After five years, you'd think I'd know the sound of your footsteps by now."

"Oh." Ron was flattered. "Well, it went okay. I don't think he's to bad a guy, you know. I think he's fairly decent. A little prodding, I guess, but hey. No body's perfect."

"Eh."

"Omigosh, Harry, guess what. He gave me a chocolate frog and the card was Dumbledore."

"Don't you only have about a hundred of him?"

"Yeah, but I'm not done yet. Then he opened his chocolate frog, and it was Dumbledore. Then he gave me three more and they were all Dumbledore."

Harry looked at him, frowning. "Strange."

"Then I got pissed, so I dug into the reserves."

"Ronnie must've been desperate," Lana grinned.

"Don't call me that," he said automatically. "In the sixth frog, guess what the card was."

"Dumbledore," Harry and Lana said in unison.

"Nope. There was no card."

"Really?" Harry looked shocked. "That's so weird."

"Yeah! I know! I said that you should have your own card on the Chocolate Frogs."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Are you serious?"

Ron nodded. "But then Mr. Crivellare said that in all fairness, Voldemort should have his own card, too, otherwise what are you fighting for."

Harry covered Lana's ears. "Voldemort should have his own card? Is this man smoking something we are not aware of?"

Ron shrugged. "Anyway, where's Hermione?"

"Sleeping."

Ron's face fell. "Damn. I wanted to see her."

"Your room," Harry told him.

Ron exaggerated a yawn, grinning. "My, my, look at the time. I think I'll go to sleep now."

Lana rolled her eyes. "I'm sure."

__________________________________________________________________

"Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty," Ron announced, seeing Hermione in his bed.

"It's night. No need to wake up." Hermione grinned. She was obviously not tired.

Ron climbed into bed. "What are you doing here?" he asked, placing his finger on the top of her head and gently running it down over her nose and lips.

"I missed you. I heard you were with Crivellare."

"Yeah."

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"Aren't you going to tell me what happened?"

"It was fine. He gave me chocolate."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "But you're okay."

"I'm fine." He gazed into the depths of her eyes. "I'm perfectly fine." Tentatively, he bent down to kiss her. She moaned in response, kissing him back. Ron propped his head up with one of his arms, using the other to hold her closer to him. So this is what love feels like, he thought to himself, losing himself in Hermione's kisses.

Ron moved his hand to her shoulder and let it wander down the side of her body.

Hermione stiffened. "Ron," she said quietly, her tone a strange combination of desire and fear.

"No," Ron said. "I'm not thinking... you know. I love you to much." He outlined her narrow waist and jean-covered thighs before reached her knees, then worked his way back up.

He knew that she wanted to question him further on his discussion with Mr. Tomás Crivellare, but right now, all he wanted was her. And right now, something told him that all she wanted was him, too. Not that Ron had a problem with that, of course.