Hermione In Love

Hermione was great at keeping secrets but this one was going to be tough. They had agreed not to say anything. If they did, it would tear them all apart but as the end of term drew nearer, Hermione was beginning to feel more and more nervous about deceiving her best friend.

It was their 6th year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and her second year as Prefect. Harry was Captain of the Quidditch team and had just received his letter informing him he was selected Head Boy for the coming term. Hermione sat on her four-poster holding her Head Girl letter thinking of him and how much she wanted to 'celebrate' with him just now. Ron had received his letter as well and despite his constant denial of it, you could tell he was still very proud of his Prefect badge.

Despite Harry's and Ron's constant wanderings and Professor Snape's personal vendetta against Harry, they had each managed to get 12 O.W.L.S. and with the Gryffindors winning the House Cup for six years in a row, they were the obvious choices for Prefect, Head Boy and Girl.

Last year as Prefects, Harry's Marauder's Map had helped them catch wandering first years and a few couples sneaking out for strolls around the lake. Ron usually let most of them go without so much as a warning, as he himself was often sneaking off to meet one girl or another. Ron had become quite the ladies' man as he came into his own. Hermione had even contemplated dating him once or twice, but their friendship would often get in the way. Besides, she knew she no longer felt for him the way she did for Harry. She and Harry had finally admitted their feelings for each other early last year, but telling Ron was going to be very difficult. Ginny, Ron's sister who still very smitten with Harry, was another reason Hermione and Harry decided not to make their relationship public.

Then it happened. It was last day of term and as everyone was busy getting their things to the Hogwarts Express, Harry seized his moment and took Hermione's hand leading her into an empty classroom next to the Great Hall.

"I couldn't just leave without giving you a proper good-bye," he said pulling her closer to him.

"I should hope not," she said staring deep into his beautiful green eyes. Leaning against a desk, he took her hand and pulled her to him. Tracing her jawline with his thumb he slowly pulled her lips to his. Hermione loved kissing him. His kisses began softly but as they continued to kiss, they became stronger and deeper. He began to run his hands down her back to her waist as she ran her fingers through his hair. He pulled her even closer; so close to him she could feel his hips pressed tightly to hers. At that moment, the door creaked open and they sprang apart. Standing at the door was none other than Draco Malfoy.

He said nothing to them, just smirked and strode off quickly.

"Harry, he's going to tell Ron," Hermione said, panic-stricken.

Fearing Malfoy would get to Ron before he did, Harry ran to the main entrance of the school. He could just make out a red head bobbing down the steps to the horseless carriages waiting to take students to the Hogsmeade tran station.

"Ron, Ron," Harry shouted, but he was too far off. From his left, he could see Malfoy heading for Ron, flanked by his cronies, Crabbe and Goyle. "Dammit," he breathed.

"Do you see him?" Hermione was now beside him, holding her side as she had run after him as well.

"He's boarding the carriage right now. But look, Malfoy's on his heels. Come on," he said taking her by the hand and leading her through the crowd.

"We're not going to catch up to him with all these people," Hermione said.

"Harry, Hermione, where've you been?" It was Dean Thomas. "All the Prefects are leaving together, come on, we can catch that carriage if we hurry," he said pushing his way past people. "Come on, step aside, Head Boy and Girl coming through!" You had to hand it to Dean, he could always get you out of a pinch.

They made it to the carriage, but Ron's had already left. Malfoy was nowhere to be seen though, and Hermione couldn't help but fear he had managed to get on Ron's carriage.

"Did you see which carriage Malfoy got on?" she whispered to Harry.

"No, I hope it wasn't Ron's."

They quickly walked out of the carriage towards the Prefect's compartment at the front of the Hogwarts Express and were glad to see Ron sitting alone inside.

"What happened to you guys? I looked all over for you guys!" Ron said as they walked into the compartment.

"Hermione couldn't get Crookshanks to lie still for his pill," Harry lied. Crookshanks had become rather difficult on the long train rides home, so Madame Pomfrey suggested a sleeping draught which she managed to make into a pill for Hermione.

"You know how awful he is to force anything on," Hermione said nervously. She and Harry exchanged quick glances and she decided to sit across from Harry next to Ron.

"Up for a game of exploding snap, Harry?" Ron asked.

"Sure," Harry moved over to sit next to his best friend and began to set up the cards on the seat. Looking over Ron's shoulder, he caught glimpses of Hermione and couldn't help but smile at her.

A few minutes later, Ginny passed by in Neville's arm to publicly announce their dating.

"That's great!" Hermione said getting up to hug Ginny. She gave Neville a pat on the cheek. One down, one to go. Hermione looked over at Harry who returned the glance with a slight grin and a quick raising of the eyebrows. Hermione lowered her gaze as she felt her face begin to redden.

"Well, we'd better get back to our compartment, we'll stop by again later," Ginny said with a twinkle in her eye, then winked at Hermione and pulled Neville's arm so fast down the hall, he seemed to be flying.

Hermione's smile was wide when she turned back to look at Harry and noticed Ron was not as happy as the rest of them.

"What's the matter Ron?" asked Harry.

"Aren't you glad for Neville and Ginny?" asked Hermione.

"I was looking forward to having you in the family, Harry. Don't get me wrong, Neville's great and all, but I just thought how great it would be to umm... have you as a brother..."

"Ron, you're my best friend and have been the only brother I've ever had. Nothing should change that."

It pained Hermione to see Harry hide something so important from him.

"Besides, I need to ask you something and I want you to hear me out first," Harry began to say, then Malfoy appeared at the compartment door flanked by his thugs Crabbe and Goyle with prune-faced Pansy at his side.

"Well, well, if it isn't the lovesick triangle. See Pansy, I told you this would be great. Heartbroken Ron? To think, they would do this to their best friend. If you could call that friendship."

Malfoy took two strides into the compartment and stood face to face with Harry, their noses almost touching.

"What are you talking 'bout Malfoy? Did that bludger on our last match finally knock out that last string of sense you had in that greasy head of yours?" Ron was standing behind Malfoy now two heads taller than the Slytherin seeker.

Malfoy smiled at Harry as he realized he had come in just in time.

"So you haven't heard?" his lips curled into the devilish grin his father Lucius had when he'd killed Hagrid the year before.

"Pansy, darling, this is going to be delicious! We must sit and enjoy this wonderful performance."

Pansy forced Hermione over and sat beside her while Crabbe and Goyle continued to block the door in the corridor.

"Malfoy, if you have something to say, just say it and leave," Ron said still facing the back of Malfoy's head.

"Malfoy just ...," Hermione said.

"Ron, there's something I have to tell you," Harry said glaring at Malfoy sandwiched between him and Ron.

"Everyone to your compartments please...do not block the hallway Mr. Goyle...out of the way...the train will be departing shortly." The trolley witch had begun to push her candy cart down the hallway and as Crabbe and Goyle were in the way, she could not get through.

"Everything all right dears?" she said from the door.

"Fine, Mrs. Clagg, Malfoy was just leaving," Ron said, then tapped Malfoy's shoulder with his wand and gestured for him to go.

His eyes still locked on Harry, Malfoy backed out of the room, sliding his hand on Hermione's knee as he passed her. Hermione jumped to her feet.

"Touch me again, and you'll spend the summer holidays with every bottle of Skele-Gro in Madame Pomfrey's medicine cabinet," Hermione said through gritted teeth her wand raised at Malfoy's head.

Harry slid over to Hermione and putting an arm around her waist, pulled her close to him then lowered her wand hand with his other hand. He continued to glare at Malfoy and his gang as they strode out of the compartment.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked pulling Hermione closer.

"I'm fine," she said keeping her eyes on the ground.

"The nerve of that guy, I tell ya..." Ron said turning around to look at Harry and Hermione, now in each other's arms. "What's...going...on...guys?" he asked looking at them with a pained expression on his face.

"Now hear me out, Ron..." Harry began to say.

"No. NO! Did we not agree NOT to date Hermione? We swore, we would not allow our feelings for her, get in the way of our friendship. Or did you say to get me out of the way, as usual?" Ron bellowed. His face, ears even his hair seemed redder as he got angrier.

"Just let me explain, Ron. I can't help the way I feel about her," Harry said, turning now to look into Hermione's eyes. "I love her."

Hermione eyes widened. He'd never said it before. Her eyes began to twinkle as tears began to well.

"Fine, just fine. Well, I hope you two are happy together. Forget Ron, as you usually do. My feelings don't matter, they never have." Ron stormed out of the compartment slamming the pocket door.

"Ron, please," Hermione yelled after him standing in the corridor, tears streaming down her cheeks, but he continued to walk toward the back of the train.

"What are we going to do now?" Hermione said burying her face in Harry's chest. She held on to him crying for Ron and crying for him. He held on to her tightly and she knew he ached for Ron too. They loved each other too. Hurting Ron was worse than hurting anyone else. He was a part of them, more than a friend, more than even a brother.

"I better go talk to him," Harry said then bent down and brought Hermione's lips to his. "I'll bring him back here, so we can be together when we tell him."

"Okay and Harry...I love you too," she said with a tearful smile

He kissed her again and raced down the corridor after Ron.

It was almost thirty minutes before they returned to the compartment, both sweaty and completely disheveled. Harry had a fresh shiner and it appeared Ron's nose was broken.

"What happened?" Hermione asked and quickly ran to Harry to check on his eye.

"Sure, never mind my broken nose Hermione. Go tend to your boyfriend, just leave me to bleed here." Ron was still upset and began wiping his nose on his cloak. "Ouch, I think it's broken!"

"Oculos Reparo," Hermione said, fixing Harry's glasses as she'd done countless times in the past. "Oh, Ron, get over it. You'll be just fine. Bracheo Enmendo. There, your nose is just fine now."

"Ron, sit down, there's something we want to say," she said. She had rehearsed this for the last thirty minutes and she was going to get it off her chest, once and for all.

"I love both of you very much but in very different ways. Ron, for a while there, I truly believed you and I could have something, but then I realized I wasn't in love with you. I love you so much it hurts me to see you hurt and I never wanted you to suffer. I've known since 5^th year of your agreement not to date me. I overhead you and Harry talking in the common room about how it would be best not to let your feelings for me get in the way of our friendship. I thought I felt the same way, but something happened. Do you remember the night Hagrid died?" Ron nodded and tears began to well in his eyes.

"You and I ran to Hagrid's hut knowing what Mr. Malfoy was going to do, but we'd gotten there too late. When I saw the Dark Mark over his hut, I knew it was over. Harry was there, remember?" Harry nodded this time as Hermione continued.

"I looked into Harry's eyes that day and realized I wanted nothing more than to take the pain away; to take away the hatred seething inside him." Hermione was now crying and she knelt between Harry's legs, she put her arms around his waist and her head on his chest.

"Hagrid was the only one to know how I felt about Hermione," Harry said, stroking her hair. "He told me it was best not to do anything without first knowing how you felt about her. The night of our agreement, you told me how you felt about her and I knew the only way we could keep from hurting each other was by making that pact. I did my best to avoid you two most of that year, remember?"

"But, if you felt that way about Hermione, why didn't you just tell me? I would have stepped aside. You didn't have to hide it from me like I'm some child who needs protecting," Ron was beginning to get upset again. "I'm not Neville, for Pete's sake!'

"We never said you were, Ron," Hermione said turning around to look at him. "Last year, Harry and I were assigned the third floor corridor to patrol together, when Scabbers was spotted in the castle. Dumbledore asked us not to say anything to you, because it seemed Wormtail may try to lure you into the woods," Hermione said.

"And it worked too...how could I be so stupid? I knew it was Wormtail, I...we...barely made it out of there alive, Harry" Ron said.

"During our patrolling of the corridor one night, we started talking about Hagrid's death and after hours of crying..."

"We fell asleep in each other's arms," Harry finished her story smiling down at her.

"You guys shut me out after that," Ron said. "You don't think I've known? I've seen you guys on the Marauder's Map, walking off to meet each other. The Trophy Room, Prof. Sinistra's classroom, the teacher's staff room. The map may not pick you up once you stop moving, but I could see you going into the empty rooms together. I guess I've always known. That trip to Hogsmeade last month to visit Sirius and Lupin, you guys showed up an hour later. Even Sirius seemed to know something."

"Sirius knows?" Hermione lifted her head from Harry's lap.

"I had to tell him. I need him there," Harry said lifting her chin up to look at him.

"Need him where?" Ron asked.

"At the wedding," Hermione said.

"What?" Ron jumped to his feet. He was aghast, the pain in his eyes was evident.

"Ron, I need you there. Will you be my best man?" Harry asked standing up, he extended his hand to Ron to shake. "Please, I can't do this without you."

"You're serious about this?" Ron asked.

"Very," said Hermione standing up.

"But we still have one more year at Hogwarts, when are you going to do this?"

"The day after the end of year feast next year," Hermione said.

"But why are you planning this now? You have a whole year Hermione!"

"We have another question for you," Harry cut in. "Will you be our Secret Keeper?" Harry's hand was still outstretched.

Ron shook his hand with a heavy "of course".

"I need to perform the Fidelius Charm before we leave the train tonight, so Harry can go home with me. Prof. Figg said Voldemort broke the Fidelius Charm on Privet Drive with Hagrid's and Dedalus Diggle's deaths. Harry's no longer safe at the Dursley's," said Hermione.

"You can protect us with a new Fidelius if you're willing to be our Secret Keeper, that is," Harry said, nudging his best friend on the shoulder.

"Sure, anything for you two, but why don't you just stay with me, Harry? Mum would love to have you again, not to mention Ginny...um...sorry, habit."

The train began to rumble and they were soon on their way back home.

"We could just Floo to the Burrow from your place once the spell is cast, can't we?" Harry asked Hermione.

"According to Dumbledore, we can. With Ron as our Secret Keeper, we'll be safe anywhere we go. We're always together," Hermione said smiling at Ron. He smiled back. It was nice to see his smile again.

"We're safe at Hogwarts, of course, but I'm not sure it will work in Hogsmeade," said Hermione with a furrowed brow thinking hard about what she'd read in her Standard Book of Spells.

"I love when she bites her lip like that when she's thinking," Harry whispered to Ron.

"Yeah, I know," Ron whined. He was trying hard not to show the pain in his eyes, but Harry could tell it was very hard for him.

"Well, Lupin and Sirius are in Hogsmeade, they can also help protect you, can't they, Harry?" asked Ron.

"When we transfigure, we're protected from Voldemort and the Dementors searching for me, but I haven't perfected my animagi transfiguration spell yet. Hermione and I are going to work on it over the summer," he smiled at Hermione.

"Have you been practicing your transfiguration Ron?" asked Hermione.

"I have, but I'm having trouble with the feathers. When I transfigure back I still find feathers in my shorts, it's really annoying."

Ron had chosen to transfigure into an eagle owl to gain information on Draco's family. It was his transfiguration that helped Hermione and Harry learn of Lucius' plan to murder Hagrid for Voldemort's plan. Hermione had perfected her transfiguration into a Pegasus so well that she could now transfigure easily and at will. Harry's transfiguration was the most difficult, as he chose to transfigure into a phoenix. Because phoenixes are the most magical, their transfigurations are the hardest to perfect and can be rather tricky. It took Dumbledore years, to perfect his. It involves bursting into flames and Harry has singed his hair so many times, his hair has begun to take a reddish tint in areas. Without Hermione's tickling flames spell, he would never have been able to survive the transfiguration.

"We can practice at the Burrow," Ron said.

"We'll need to be extremely careful, Ron," Hermione said. "We're unregistered animagi and Dumbledore could get in serious trouble with the Ministry if your dad's boss were to find out."

"Not to mention, Percy!" Ron said. "With Mr. Crouch gone, Percy's been appointed Manager of the Department of International Magical Cooperation and he's taking his job very seriously. Too seriously, if you ask me."

"I know, so here's a new pact," Harry said. "We can no longer trust anyone, outside of our circle."

"Don't you mean triangle?" Ron asked staring at the ground.

"No, circle. We no longer have a beginning or an end. We'll forever be bound by our Fidelius Charm," Harry said.

"And, unlike Pettigrew, I will never betray you," Ron stood up and took Harry's hand.

Standing in the center of their small train compartment, Hermione began to prepare to cast the Fidelius Charm, a new era in their friendship had begun.