I Love You, Don't Touch Me!

When Harry entered the car where he had left his two friends, he found them both already in their uniforms and robes. Hermione gave him a look.

"Where have you been?" she asked.

Her tone was casual, but Harry could see she was still a little hurt that he had left so abruptly and then not returned for the entire trip.

"I was hanging out with Neville, Colin and Ginny," Harry replied as he pulled his trunk out and opened the top to get at his school clothes.

"Oh, how are Ginny and Neville doing?" Hermione asked from back behind her large spell book. Ron mouthed 'We have to talk' , so that Hermione couldn't hear, and gave Harry an intense look as he brushed past him on the pretense of going to see his sister about something. Harry stared at the back of the Standard Book of Spells Vol. 7 for a moment before addressing Hermione's question.

"They seem rather cozy. Kind of cute together. Neville is a little dense though; I don't think he realizes that she likes him."

"Hmm..." was all his female friend sent back in way of comment. Harry cleared his throat and gathered his clothes in his arms.

"Erm... I'm just going to go change. I'll meet you and Ron on the platform when we stop, okay?"

Hermione peeked over the top of her book. Harry breathed a sigh of relief; she didn't seem mad at him. Maybe his reaction earlier was just a one time thing. After all, he wasn't feeling anything weird hanging out alone with Hermione now.

"Sure Harry, see you in a few minutes," Hermione said, still seemingly absorbed in her textbook.

"Uh, Hermione?" Harry paused then. He wanted to apologize for his actions earlier but wasn't sure how to start.

"Yes?" She was still behind her book.

"I'm...sorry for walking off on you before. Thanks for the back rub...I feel a lot better." He gave her another of his crooked smiles and she gave him half a smile back.

"Glad I could help, Harry."

Harry turned and left the car then, making his way down the hallway to the bathroom to get changed. Normally he and Ron would change together and then they would let Hermione take her turn while they waited outside, but as Harry hadn't come back until the last minute, he had missed Hermione's usual early warning to get changed before there was a crowd and so now he had to wait in the line up outside the men's washroom. Of course, he realized as he made his way toward the bathrooms, he could have asked Hermione to stand outside for a few moments; but he was embarrassed enough talking with her already and didn't think he would be able to make it through a few more minutes of conversation. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and joined Dean and Neville in the line.

******

Fifteen minutes later Harry and Ron, whom he had met on his way back to their car, were waiting on the platform with Ginny, Neville, Hermione, and Luna Lovegood (who had appeared out of nowhere as soon as they got off the train and was standing just a shade too close for Ron to be comfortable), for Hagrid to make his usual call to gather the first years.

"Firs' years this way! Come on! Hurry up now!" He paused. "Harry! Hermione! Ron! Nice to see you kids again. Ready for your las' year?"

"Oh, please don't say that, Hagrid," Hermione pleaded, "it's sad enough as it is."

"Don' worry, Hermione. I'm sure that this year will be one of yer bes'." Then he grinned a typical smile, as only Hagrid could manage, and Hermione smiled too.

"I'm sure it will be, Hagrid. We'll come visit you as soon as we're settled in, all right?"

"I'll be expectin' yeh," Hagrid called, then he turned his attention back to the half-terrified eleven year olds running around in the chaos that always accompanied the disembarking of the Express.

"Hey you! Get over 'ere with the res' of your year!" he roared, not meaning to, but being unable to do anything else when he raised his voice. A couple of tiny kids scurried to comply and trod on Ron's feet as they pushed past. Ron snorted.

"Were we ever that small?"

Harry laughed as he spotted a carriage and signaled to his friends to join him inside.

"Ron, when we were in first year, people in seventh could have squashed us with one foot."

Ron quickly made his way inside the carriage, managing to settle himself on one of the seats and hide from view before Luna noticed he was gone. Harry waited to close the door after Hermione, who was still climbing the steps to the carriage then, got inside. However, it was at the same moment that the carriage jerked and began to move. Hermione let out a startled gasp and nearly fell off.

"Hermione! Hang on!" Harry called, causing Ron to start, and then leap up to see what was happening.

"Harry!" Hermione cried, only grasping the doorframe with one hand. The magical steps were beginning to slide under the carriage where they stored themselves while the carriage was in motion and Hermione was close to falling off altogether.

"Help!" She sounded a little frantic now. Even being a witch, a fall from a moving carriage was the same as falling out of a moving car. Hermione would have serious injuries if she hit the ground now.

Harry wrapped one hand securely around the piping on the top of one of the inner benches and leaned out toward his friend. Grasping her waist, he held on tightly and heaved. Hermione let out a squeak and then they both tumbled onto the carriage floor.

"Oof..." was all Harry mumbled when they crashed down. The carriage door slid closed with a click and Ron stood over them.

"Er...you two okay there?"

The tangle of arms and legs didn't move for a total of three seconds then the bundle of robes that Ron supposed was Hermione began to panic.

"Oh Harry! Are you all right? Am I squashing you? I'm so sorry!" A short pause. "Um, thanks for rescuing me..." she added somewhat shyly.

Harry couldn't move for several reasons. The first being that Hermione was on top of him. The second being that Hermione was *on top* of him. When she shifted her weight, and quickly scrambled off his chest, Harry lay still for a few moments concentrating on breathing.

In... Out... In... Out...

"Hey Harry! You dead, mate? Did Hermione really squish you? Must have been all those caldron cakes you ate on the train Herm, they went straight to your hips."

The next thing that Harry heard was a squeal from Hermione and a yelp from Ron. He sat up to see Hermione standing in front of their red-haired friend, her wand out and pointed at him, and Ron himself sitting awkwardly on the opposite bench, his hair singed. Harry got to his feet.

"You ought to know better than to tease Hermione about her weight, Ron. She's a girl, for Merlin's sake! Do you have a death wish?"

Hermione flounced across the dark carriage and sat beside Harry. Harry turned to look at her.

"Are you all right, Hermione? What were you thinking about that you forgot these carriages have schedules to keep?"

Hermione was avoiding his gaze. "Nothing important. I don't know where my head was just then." She mumbled this as she reached for her book bag once again.

"Man, Herms, you're not going to read again, are you? Why waste the last precious moments we have before school starts doing homework that we're going to have to do every day after we arrive!?"

Hermione gave Ron an indignant look. "If you studied one tenth as much as I do Ron, you might actually have a chance at passing your N.E.W.T.S. in the spring!"

Ron's ears colored again, but he looked down and didn't comment as Hermione opened her book. Harry moved across the carriage to sit next to his friend.

"What did you want to talk about?" he asked in a low voice. Ron glanced at Hermione then back to his best friend.

"Not here," he mumbled, and Harry gave him a confused look.

"How did you like the quill and ink I got you?" Ron said more loudly then, and Harry gave him another confused look.

"I already told you they were nice, more of a 'Hermione' sort of present, but still nice," Harry replied.

Ron grinned at him. "You haven't used them yet, have you?" It was more of a statement then a question.

"No..." Harry answered slowly.

"That was the gift the twins and I gave you. It's a new prototype for their shop. Invisible Ink!" So that explained what Ron had meant back on the platform in London.

"But Ron, invisible ink isn't anything special, it's been around for ages, even in Muggle London!" Harry protested, then quickly added, "Not that I don't like it, because I do! It'll come in real handy when I want to pass notes in class!"

"That it will Harry," Ron replied, still grinning, "but this is no ordinary invisible ink. This ink actually makes *things* invisible. Imagine if you will..." he continued placing one hand on Harry's shoulder and pointing off to an empty corner of the carriage, "You're being bothered by some slimy git such as -," He paused for a fraction of a second "oh, let's say Malfoy, or one of his cronies; they knock over your ingredients in Potions or something. Well, you just go and 'erase' one of theirs. You know how stingy Snape is about letting students get extra stores. They can only go and get more so many times before even Snape will have to deduct points from his own house!"

Harry grinned too this time. This could in indeed prove useful, and he told Ron so.

"You know Ron, this, combined with my Father's cloak, could be very handy during the year..."

"I know. You just better not leave me out of any of your adventures," Ron shot back. Harry laughed and promised he wouldn't.

"Honestly, you boys... " Hermione admonished her friends. Sometimes she wondered what she was doing with two males for her best friends. The carriage gave a lurch then, and shuddered to a halt.

"Guess we're here," Ron said, and he hopped up to open the door, flooding the moonlight into the cramped compartment. He climbed down, Harry following, and Hermione coming last. They joined the throngs of people heading up the steps of Hogwarts School and entered the Great Hall. The trio headed to their usual seats at the Gryffindor table and sat down to wait for the Sorting Ceremony to take place.

*******

Hermione glanced at the two tall boys sitting on either side of her. Harry was looking at the stage and watching as the first years made their way up to the front to sit on the three-legged stool and be sorted.

Harry noted that most of them looked quite terrified as they put on the hat and remained so until they could take it off again. He didn't blame them. He remembered the first time he had put on the old hat and had it talk, well, rather 'think', into his head. It could be quite an unnerving experience.

Ron was chatting animatedly with Seamus and Dean about some Quidditch match that had taken place in the last week of August. Hermione studied Harry's profile for a moment. His face had become highly defined, with chiseled features, and he sported short sideburns coming to the tops of his ears. His dark hair was still as unruly as ever, and his fringe had grown longer (his aunt never took him to the Barber's; she had given up after realizing that his hair would just grow back to at least its original length over night) and it now hung in his eyes.

And then his eyes. Hermione hadn't really paid any attention to Harry's eyes before, but now that she had the chance to really look at them she was surprised at the intense emotions swirling around in their emerald depths. She blinked and forced her gaze past Harry's face and up to platform. The ceremony had just finished and Dumbledore had risen.

"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts... " The headmaster recited his traditional opening speech before proceeding on to go through all the now familiar rules. Don't go in the Forbidden Forest; it's forbidden for a reason. Don't do "X" number of noisy activities indoors, as Filch had added about fifty new things to his rolling lists of 'unallowables' on school property; see his office door for details. Then Dumbledore gestured to the crowd with both hands and made his last announcement.

"Would this year's Head Boy and Head Girl please stand so that all the Houses can see who you are?"

As Hermione rose to a standing position, Harry and Ron shared surprised and then understanding looks. Of course she was Head Girl, who else would it be? Then they both turned to look around to see who the Head Boy was. Their jaws dropped. Across the room, near the back end of a house table, stood none other than...

"Neville?!" Ron cried in hoarse surprise.

The whispers rose at once, and before long the Hall was buzzing with hushed voices.

"Yes, yes, welcome to you both. I'm sure that you'll take your duties seriously. Please see your Head of House after the Welcome Feast is over so that you can get a few instructions. And now...tuck in!" Dumbledore didn't seem to find anything wrong with the two new Heads; in fact, his eyes had their familiar twinkle as he spread his hands once again and the house tables magically filled with food.

Harry and Ron turned to Hermione at the same time; the same question on their lips:

"Neville?!"

"Hermione, we can't say we're surprised that you were picked. I mean, it's been rather obvious since our first year, but Neville? No one will take him seriously! What was Dumbledore thinking?" Ron began.

"Well, at least we have two Gryffindors as the School Heads. Maybe something can be done about the Slytherins," Seamus commented, leaning around Ron's shoulder.

"But why Neville?" Dean cut in from across the table.

Harry glanced over at a certain red-head sitting in between Dean and Lavender. She was looking down at her plate and her cheeks were pink. She seemed somewhere between bursting into tears and hexing someone into next year.

"Er...Maybe we're all over-reacting? I'm sure he...er...won't be that bad. Actually, Neville's changed a lot over the years, he's not nearly like he was in first year..." Harry trailed off, glancing around at the others who had fallen quiet when he spoke up.

Ginny had lifted her head and was giving him a little smile. Harry grinned back at her then stood up, raising his goblet of Pumpkin Juice high in the air.

"Three Cheers for Hermione and Neville! The new School Heads!"

The rest of the Gryffindors glanced at him for a moment then jumped to their feet and raised their glasses as the table roared their approval. Moments later Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw got to their feet and raised their glasses too, loud cheers erupting for them also. The Slytherins only clapped half-heartedly; and even then only because they caught several professors, including Dumbledore, looking at them.

Hermione smiled gratefully at Harry. She hadn't wanted to answer the others' questions herself. She didn't know why Dumbledore had picked Neville either, nor why two Gryffindors were the Heads and not two students from different houses, but she didn't really care. Harry tipped his goblet back and drained it triumphantly before taking his seat again. He draped his arm around Hermione's shoulder and gave her a one-armed hug.

"Congratulations Herms! I know you'll be great!"

She blushed slightly, but her wide smile told him that she was extremely pleased with everything. Further down the table several students were clapping Neville on the back and giving him similar congratulations.

The rest of the feast passed without incident, and after it was over Hermione and Neville walked up to the head table for their meeting with Professor McGonagall. Ron and Harry told Hermione that they would meet her in the common room after she was finished and headed back Gryffindor Tower to unpack their things.

Hermione watched them go with mixed feelings. This year was already going to be different from all those that they had spent together before. It wasn't just that the balance of life in Hogwarts was going to change with her and Neville, especially with Neville, being school Heads, but somewhere deep inside her heart, Hermione knew that something was going to happen that year that would change all of their lives forever.