Free Will and Fate

Surprisingly, Harry found himself doing well in his first Defense Against the Dark Arts class with Snape. He put it down to all of his practice with Dumbledore's Army. There was also the knowledge that Snape couldn't do any serious damage to him in a classroom full of students, however much he might have been tempted. The class began with Snape directing the students to move into groups and practice defensive spells. Those who showed the most promise were allowed to duel each other until a clear winner from each group had been established. The winners then faced off until one was left.

The class concluded with Harry facing his stepfather in a duel, surprising them both, and the class, by holding his own for the better part of ten minutes while the class looked on. After a sneaky silent spell disarmed him, Harry received congratulations from his classmates on lasting as long as he had, and a suspicious look from Snape as he offered reluctant praise. Harry had walked out of class smiling, glad he hadn't been assigned the three foot essay on effective use of defensive spells his classmates had gotten.

"You're full of surprises, aren't you?" Hermione asked as they walked out of class.

Harry looked over his shoulder to make sure Snape wasn't going to keep him from leaving. "What do you mean?"

"You've never done anything like that before." Her eyes dropped and she appeared to study the books in her hands. "I mean, the change is obvious, Harry."

He stopped in the hall outside the class, smiling absently as a few of his fellow students offered him positive comments on their way out. "What do you mean? I had to defend myself."

Hermione shook her head. "It's not that. You said you didn't want him to notice anything, but you were acting very different from usual. I've never seen you move that way, especially using defensive spells. It was amazing," she said in an awed tone. "I'm sure he noticed."

Harry shrugged and nodded as another classmate passed them. "I couldn't just act like I don't know how to defend myself," he responded as they began walking. "I had to learn the hard way that protecting myself is more important than letting people think I'm defenseless."

Hermione started at this and stopped walking as they got close to the stairs, her eyes showing concern as she looked at Harry. She was quiet for a long moment before she said, "I'm sorry, too." Before he could respond, she added, "It's really hard for me to believe everything you said earlier. I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt because I don't really have a choice. You really aren't the same Harry I've known for years. If there's any way I can help you," she sighed, "I'm going to try."

"Thank you for that," he said. "Wait, let me get these." As Harry reached for the stack of books she was attempting to balance, Hermione swung her arms out of the way, almost falling over in the process.

"I can handle it, thank you," she said breathlessly.

He smiled and plucked the first 3 books from the stack while she regained her balance. "Come on, sweetheart." He smiled and put an arm around Hermione as they got onto the stairs. "We've got to make it believable," he whispered.

She didn't respond as they made their way to the Gryffindor common room, but she did consent to lean against him a bit after she turned a corner too quickly and nearly lost her balance again.

"Sometimes I wonder why I take so many classes," she said as they stepped through the portrait hole.

Harry laughed before he could stop himself. "I think we've all wondered that at one point."

Hermione immediately shook off his arm and backed away a step, frowning. Her eyes narrowed as she pointed a finger at his chest. "Look." She stopped and took a deep breath. Harry stepped closer. Hermione continued in a lower voice. "You can pretend to be my boyfriend, but you can't pretend like you know me. That's not a part of the deal."

Harry frowned and put his arm around Hermione again, shuffling the books he was carrying to one side as he spoke in her ear. "Some things may have changed for us, but I do still know you. I know it frustrates you that your parents don't understand anything that goes on at school, except when you get good marks and when you made Prefect. I understand that you've practically lived in the library since first year because you feel like the other students had a head start learning magic and you don't want to get left behind."

With a startled expression, Hermione began to move away. Harry pulled her closer until her side was flush against his. He brushed her hair back before he put his arm around her and spoke again, his breath warming her neck. "And I know you only push yourself that hard because you don't want anyone to look down on you for your Blood Status, the way you do defensive spells or anything else some people might consider a weakness." Harry surprised himself by continuing.

"You are the smartest witch of our age, and you've mastered spells and potions a lot of adults can't do. You should stop being so hard on yourself. It's not in you to fail. Trust me. You're my best friend," he added. "No one knows you better."

Hermione turned suddenly wide eyes up to him. "You--"

Harry shifted the books in his hands and smiled sheepishly. He was just as shocked as she that he had said all of it, but he knew every word to be true. Perhaps that truth serum from Professor McGonagall was a blessing in disguise. "I'll um...I'll meet you back here in a few minutes. We should eat before we have our next talk."

She nodded and accepted her books from him before turning and walking slowly up the stairs to her dorm.

"Which of us should go first?" Hermione asked. They had returned to the Room of Requirement immediately after dinner, both eager to get started on what purported to be a long discussion. "I have a feeling what you've been through will be a sight more interesting than what I have to say."

Harry shrugged. "Right now, the only thing that's important is staying safe. Anything you can tell me is more important. My stuff can wait." He sighed. "Actually, I have a lot of questions, mostly about my parents. My dad. I had no idea until you said something this morning that he's...not around anymore."

Hermione leaned back onto the sofa and curled both legs beneath her. "I don't know where to begin with him. There's only so much you've told--this is so strange," she said, shaking her head. "I don't know how I can think of you as a different person if you're not."

"I'm not different. Not really. Not in ways that matter," he said.

"Yes, you are," she countered. "I look at you and I want to see you as the person I care about, but there is a difference."

"You don't care about me?"

"Yes, of course I--" Hermione looked at him crossly. "You know what I mean. This is hard for me."

He nodded. "The sooner I can figure out what happened, the sooner I can get everything back to normal. More or less," he added, realizing nothing about his life at Hogwarts had ever been anyone's idea of normal.

Hermione uttered a short, mirthless laugh. "Honestly, nothing will ever be normal again. You must know that." Pinching the skin between her eyes, she lowered her head and took a deep breath, her face and hand obscured by her hair. "You don't know how strange this is for me," she muttered.

Harry grinned in spite of the grim tone to her voice. "Even more for me, if you can believe it. After last night, I don't think I'll ever be able to look at you the same again. I never thought you'd look at anyone but--" He stopped himself before completing the thought, causing Hermione to look up.

"Anyone but who? Who do you think I fancy?"

He began to shake his head and his grin widened. "No one, don't worry about it. Just start your story."

"No," she began. "I want to know. Who did you expect me to be with when you came here last night?"

He hesitated a moment before blurting, "Ron."

One eyebrow quirked up and Hermione's mouth dropped open. "Ron Weasley?" She fell back on the sofa and laughed so hard her whole body shook. "Really? Ron!" she gasped out between breaths, laughing until tears ran down both sides of her face. "How in the world did that happen? We have nothing in common."

Harry shrugged. "You have me in common, I guess. Honestly, the two of you spent more time fighting than anything else when left on your own. But it's obvious there's something there. I just figured you would get together in your own time."

"Oh, so we weren't really a couple?" Hermione asked. She had stopped laughing, but her face was still heavily flushed.

"No, I don't think either of you wanted to admit how you felt just yet. I guess now it'll never happen."

She nodded minutely and pulled her robes around her legs on the sofa. "I guess a lot of things won't happen." She paused. "What do you want to know first? About your Dad."

"Did you ever get to meet him? What was he like?" He sensed before he finished both questions that her answers would disappoint him.

She bit her bottom lip and hugged both legs close. "You were five when he... From what you told me, he had been sick for a while, before, you know." Harry nodded. "You never talked about it much. I always thought it was because it hurt too much to think about him not being here." She was having trouble meeting his eyes now and his own were stinging a bit from held back tears. "Your mom and Professor Snape and your dad were really good friends for years."

"Wait," Harry interrupted. "Snape was friends with my dad?"

"Yes, they'd all known each other since they were at Hogwarts together." She frowned, a puzzled expression clouding her features. "What? What's wrong?"

"They hated each other," Harry responded, his thoughts unwillingly drifting to Snape's memory of his father teasing him in front of other students. "I think they may have even fought over my mother. I don't know if Snape and my mom were even friends, especially after she married my dad."

Hermione blinked in surprise. "I guess that all changed when Professor Snape saved your lives."

"Mine?" Harry couldn't help the surprise that laced his voice. "Why would he ever save my life?"

"You-Know-Who."