It's Always Been You

It's Always Been You

By: Heather Wiebe

"But you don't understand!" Hermione Granger was not happy at all. In fact, she was on the verge of a panic. The manager of Flourish and Blotts, a short, portly man with a badly receded hairline gave her a concerned look and yet a smile played in the corner of his mouth. She was an amusing sight. Her eyes were open as wide as they could possibly go and her hands were white-knuckled from gripping the counter so tightly. She looked as though she was going to pass out.

"I need that book."

"Well I'm very sorry miss, but all copies of Hogwarts: A History are sold out. We haven't been able to keep them on the shelves for very long at all. There's nothing I can do."

Hermione let out a low whimper. It was all her fault. While they had been on vacation in Italy she had accidentally locked Crookshanks in her room for two weeks, until the neighbours were so bothered by his howling that they finally felt moved to do something about it. Unfortunately, that something involved a shattered window, a broken door and deep scratches on the neighbours' arms and legs. As a result, the Granger family came home 3 weeks later to Crookshanks purring merrily on the living room sofa and Hermione's bedroom looking like a war zone.

Crookshanks had shredded her blankets and pillows, leaving a carpet of feathers on her bedroom floor. Lamps had been knocked over, tables overturned, stuffed animals torn apart and he had successfully managed to eat his way through Hermione's well-loved copy of Hogwarts: a History.

Seeing Hermione's stricken expression the manager took her by the elbow and gently steered her to the very back of the shop. He lowered his voice.

"Tell you what I'll do, love. We don't normally do this but I promise you that, since you have your little heart set on having this book, as soon as we get a copy in I will sent it to you by owl, free of charge. How's that?"

Hermione managed a weak smile and nodded. She paid for the other books she needed and headed out into Diagon Alley. There was still no sign of either Ron or Harry and Hermione was starting to get more than a little worried. Ron had told her in his letter that they would be picking Harry up at the Dursleys' and would meet her at the Leaky Cauldron at two.

It was 3:30.

There was still no sign of them. She'd waited, like she'd said she would, at the Leaky Cauldron until she got sick of the sight of barmaids and more than a little uncomfortable with the stares she got from haggard old warlocks and dumpy little witches. Then she'd decided to run to Flourish and Blotts to get her schoolbooks; which were of the utmost importance of course, and figured she'd be back in a few minutes. Then it would be back to waiting.

Where could they be? It wasn't like them to keep her waiting like this. Sure, they weren't the best boys in the world at keeping promises but they'd never done anything like this to her before.

Actually, there was that time, second year, when Ron flew his dad's car into the Whomping Willow...Hermione couldn't help but smile. She hated his need to break the rules, but that sheepish grin he had when he knew that he'd done something wrong...spectacular, but wrong, just seemed to make everything all right again. Her cheeks grew hot, and she knew she was blushing.

Just then, she walked right into something solid, and it said "Oof!" Hermione looked up to see that she'd walked right into a wizard, and he was not happy to see her. He had long, greasy black hair and eyes that glinted red. His robes were torn and his beard was unkempt. He studied her for a while and smiled, revealing teeth black with rot.

"What d'ya think yer doin', darlin'?" As he spoke, he bent down until they were at eye level. He reeked of rum. "Yer a pretty likkle thing, aren't ya? Why don' ya come wiv' me, I'll show ya sumfin' special!"

Hermione tried to scream, but she couldn't make a sound. She was too terrified. She slowly started to back away, breathing hard. When the wizard started towards her, she finally found her strength and turned and fled. She ran as hard as she could until she was sure she'd outrun the man.

Where was she? None of the shops looked familiar. The alleyway was dark and Hermione was sure she saw eyes glinting at her from the darkness. She must have been too frightened to watch where she was running. Now she was lost. Would Ron and Harry even notice she was gone?

Something rustled behind her. She whirled around but no one was there. Clenching her hands into fists to stop them from trembling she stammered "He-hello? Who's there?" Silence. "Hello!" Still nothing. She would give anything to hear a familiar voice.

"Well, well, well..." came a voice from behind her that turned her blood to ice, "if it isn't little miss mudblood, out on her own." Hermione whirled around and found herself face to face with Draco Malfoy. His pale, pointed face was half hidden in shadow. He smiled slowly and his eyes gleamed. Hermione reached into her pocket for her wand and felt a wave of panic wash over her when she realized she'd left it in her suitcase in the Leaky Cauldron. She quickly tried to back away from Draco but her back hit a brick wall. She was trapped. Draco moved in so close to her that their noses were almost touching.

"You don't want to be wandering around by yourself," he drawled, his breath hot on her face, "you never know who you might run into." Hermione was terrified. She had no idea what Draco would do to her, and no one would ever find her, wherever she was.

"HERMIONE!" This sudden, loud yell startled both Hermione and Draco. She looked over Draco's shoulder and breathed a sigh of relief. Ron Weasley was sprinting towards her. His face was flushed, which made his freckles stand out even more than usual and his thick, fiery red hair was a mess. Harry was following a few paces behind. Ron stopped just behind Draco, panting, and said in a dangerous voice "Get away from her, I'm warning you!" He reached for his wand.

Draco, who was still facing Hermione, smirked and said, "You're warning me, eh?" Hermione could see that he was already holding his wand in his hand.

"Ron, Harry, look out!" she screeched. But it was too late. Draco whirled around and exclaimed "Expelliarmus!" Both Harry and Ron's wands flew out of their hands and Draco caught them easily. Harry ran to put himself between Ron and Draco but in one swift movement Draco shoved Harry out of the way so hard that he fell to the ground and then pointed his wand directly between Ron's eyes.

"Who's warning who now, Weasley?" Hermione started to cry and beat on Draco's back with her fists but he didn't seem to even notice.

"Two words, Weasley. All I have to say is just two little words and your life is over in a flash of light." He pressed his wand against Ron's head, between his eyebrows, pinning him to the wall behind him. "Is that what you want?" Ron grimaced and spat in Draco's face. He appeared surprised for a moment, but then he pressed his wand even harder into Ron's head, making him yelp in pain.

Hermione started to scream. A hand gripped her shoulder from behind and a hard, cold voice said "Stop that, you silly girl." She gasped when she saw the speaker. It was Lucius Malfoy. He moved to stand behind Draco and said "Draco, come. Don't waste your energy on this filth."

Draco's eyes narrowed at the sound of his father's voice. He hesitated for a moment, then gave Ron a final shove, threw Harry and Ron's wands into the mud and sauntered off, not looking back once. Ron slid down the wall and fell in a heap on the ground. Mr. Malfoy gave him a disapproving glare and then he, too, was gone.

"Ron!" Hermione shrieked and ran over to him.

He sat up, blinked a few times, then managed a weak smile and asked quietly "You ok?"

That was too much for Hermione. Her eyes filled with fresh tears, her bottom lip started to quiver and she nodded up and down quite a few times. He was all right, and that made her all right too.

* * * * * *

Ron wanted to hold her. She looked so lost and sad it was all he could do to keep from throwing his arms around her. She sat there beside him, staring at the ground, whimpering. He'd been so worried about her when Harry and he had finally arrived at the Leaky Cauldron to find her missing. They'd asked Tom, the bartender, about Hermione and he said that she was definitely staying there. He'd even gone so far as to show them her room. All her things were there, even that devil-cat Crookshanks, but no sign of her.

It was their fault, though. Ron didn't think it would take that long to wrestle Harry away from the horrible Dursleys, but it did. The Weasleys had left The Burrow, using a portkey in the form of a dilapidated mailbox, with plenty of time (or so they thought) to spare. Ron rang the doorbell at 4 Privet Dive and asked if he could speak to Harry, as planned. The two had decided that Harry would push past the Dursleys and out the door. Then the two would run and meet the rest of the Weasleys, who had gotten Harry's school things because he had snuck out the night before, gotten them from the cupboard under the stairs and left them hidden in the backyard for the Weasleys to find.

It seemed like a great plan, except they didn't stop to think that Uncle Vernon might just use his brain and see right through their scheme.

When he opened the door he seemed confused, which Ron was counting on. But when Ron asked to see Harry, the look of confusion on the muggle's face was replaced with a purple-blue fury. He slammed the door and Ron could hear the clicking noise of a deadbolt. Three, actually. After quite a few more tries at the front door Ron had to give up.

The Weasleys were forced to sit on the wall at the end of Privet Drive with Harry's things and think up a new plan. It was actually Ginny who had a brilliant idea. She jumped off the wall, eyes sparkling, and told Ron to go around to the back of the house and help Harry out of his bedroom window where they'd, no doubt, locked him in. She drew herself up to her full height and told them proudly that she'd distract the Dursleys. Anything for Harry!

His mum had protested at first but they didn't listen. The two of them took off running towards number 4 with Mrs. Weasley yelling after them and the twins shouting encouragement.

Ron ran around to the back of the house as he heard Ginny ask "Sir, would you like to buy some cookies to support my school?" He had to laugh. That would keep Dudley interested at any rate.

Getting Harry out of his window proved to be a chore. They finally decided that Harry would shimmy down a very skinny drainpipe. Ron was getting worried. He wasn't sure how long Ginny would last. Harry ended up losing his footing and falling a few feet to land on his seat on the grass. But he got up quickly and they were off.

As they neared the front door they could hear Ginny say "Er...like I said before, sir, I don't have any with me right at this moment." She saw Harry and her face lit up. "But I can go and get some right now!" She grabbed the door handle and slammed it shut in the Dursleys faces. "What took you so long?" she asked with a grin as she joined them. "Race you to the portkey!" She took off, laughing. Ron and Harry looked at each other, shrugged, and ran to catch up.

When they'd arrived at the Leaky Cauldron to find Hermione gone, he was frantic. She had never wandered off on her own before. Harry and he had searched Diagon Alley thoroughly but they couldn't find her.

Then they heard a familiar voice.

"Harry! Ron!" It was Lupin! He looked better than he had before. His robes were still tattered, and he had 5 o'clock shadow on his face but his eyes were bright and dancing. Harry looked very happy to see him.

"Hello Professor! What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I'm not a professor anymore," teased Lupin.

Harry was about to say something else when Ron elbowed him in the ribs and hissed, "Hermione!"

"Right. Er...have you seen Hermione by any chance?"

"As a matter of fact, I have. About ten minutes ago she passed right by me without even saying hello. She was running, obviously in a hurry to get somewhere."

"Where did she go?" asked Ron hurriedly.

Lupin pointed to a dark alleyway. "That way; Knockturn Alley. I assumed she knew where she was going so I didn't stop her."

Ron's mind whirled with all of the horrible things that could have happened to her. He glanced at Harry and saw that his eyes were wide with shock.

"Let's go," he said and they ran off without even saying goodbye to Lupin.

Witches with long noses and crooked fingers tried to sell them love potions as they went past. Harry almost tripped over a black cat. Ron hadn't noticed any of that. He had one thing on his mind and that was Hermione. Then he saw her - with him. He thought that his heart was going to burst out of his chest. They were standing so close. He thought for one crazy second that they were kissing but then he saw the fear in Hermione's eyes.

Now here she sat, beside him. She needed comfort. He was furious with himself because he couldn't even bring himself to put a hand on her shoulder. But she was safe, and that was all that mattered.

A groan of pain interrupted his thoughts...Harry! He realized with a start that his best friend needed him. He painfully got up and ran over to Harry, who was trying to sit up. He had a nasty gash by his right eye which was bleeding hard; he must have hit his head on the cobblestone street.

"I'm fine,' he said in answer to Ron's unasked question. Then he started to laugh. "You've got a bruise...right there!" He pointed at Ron's forehead and he checked his reflection in a shop window. Sure enough, he had a perfect, round bruise right where Malfoy's wand had been.

"Why didn't he curse you?" Hermione wondered out loud.

* * * * * *

Ginny Weasley was incredibly happy. She wasn't sure that she'd even been this happy before in her entire life, she couldn't even explain why. Everything seemed to make her smile, from the funny little goblins at Gringotts Bank to the little boys oohing and aahing over broomsticks to Fred and George. Even her mother was making her laugh.

It might have been her role in Harry's escape that left her feeling so energized. She had been terrified and yet she had pulled it off. She shuddered. If all muggles were like Harry's uncle then she hoped she wouldn't have to talk to another one anytime soon. She walked over to the full-length mirror hanging on the wall of her room in the Leaky Cauldron and smiled. She didn't really know why, but she was incredibly excited about the coming year.

"Something great's gonna happen," she told her reflection matter-of-factly, "I just know it."

Just then she heard raised voices in the hallway.

"We're FINE Mum!" Ron bellowed from right outside Ginny's door. Overcome with curiosity, Ginny opened the door, peeked into the hallway, and gasped at what she saw. Harry was bleeding from a gash in his head; Hermione's face was tear-stained and Ron had a queer round bruise right between his eyebrows. All of their clothes were filthy. She stepped out into the hallway.

"What happened to you guys?" she asked, looking at Harry. She was getting better at talking to him without blushing or falling over, and she was proud of herself. Ron whirled around.

"Ginny, go away!" he shouted with fire in his eyes. "It's none of your business anyways," he said in a gentler tone, seeing that he'd upset her. Ginny didn't quite know what to say. She cast a glance at Hermione, who looked at the floor.

"Fine," she muttered angrily, turned on her heel and slammed the door behind her so hard that she was sure the whole building felt it. Grabbing her "Standard Book of Spells; Grade 4," she threw it as hard as she could against the door and flopped on her back on her bed. She hated being left out.

* * * * * *

Time passed all too quickly for Harry Potter. He sat in a compartment on the Hogwarts Express along with Hermione and Ron and stared out the window at the people milling about on the platform, thinking. He was already in his 5^th year...yet he felt so young. Soon he would be finished his schooling and then what would happen to him? His stomach felt like it had twisted itself into a knot. It seemed to get that way whenever he thought about his future.

A slender girl with long, black hair walked past and his heart gave a sudden lurch. It was Cho Chang! He didn't really know why but whenever he was around her he was uneasy; very uneasy. He cast a sideways glance at Ron to see if he'd noticed anything. Harry breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn't. It seemed to Harry that Ron had forgotten that he even existed; he was deep in conversation with Hermione. Harry frowned slightly. Ever since the fight with Malfoy in Knockturn Alley, those two had been inseparable. They were always sitting by each other and often left Harry out of their conversations.

"They don't do it on purpose," he'd tell himself whenever he felt jealousy rearing its ugly head. But the facts were plain to see. Ron just didn't seem to have time for his best friend anymore. Harry was secretly disgusted with himself for being unable to help in Knockturn Alley. He had a sneaking suspicion that that was why he was being ignored. But he wasn't sure, he wasn't really sure of anything anymore. There was a loud, shrill whistle and the train slowly began to move.

It was a long and very boring ride to Hogwarts. Harry was quite surprised that Draco hadn't come to harass them, especially after what had happened. Harry kind of wished he had, that would have livened things up a bit, maybe even himself the chance to prove to Ron that he wasn't useless against Malfoy after all. Instead, he'd spent the whole trip miserably staring out the window, chin in his hands. It was a huge relief when the train finally started to slow down, and then stopped.

Harry couldn't help but smile when he first saw the castle. This was where he belonged and, despite how Ron and Hermione were acting, he was sure this was going to be a great year.

"Harry," came a gruff voice over the sea of heads on the platform. Harry looked up to see Rubeus Hagrid towering over everyone. "All righ' there?" Hagrid asked.

Harry smiled. "I'm fine Hagrid."

"Well, yeh'd best be off, looks like Ron an' Hermione are already in yer carriage!" Harry looked and sure enough, they were waiting for him.

"See ya Hagrid!"

As he turned to go, he heard Hagrid boom "All righ', firs' years follow me!"

"What took you so long?" Ron asked when Harry climbed into the carriage.

"I was talking to Hagrid," Harry said defensively. Ron mumbled something Harry couldn't quite hear.

There was a knock at the door and Ginny Weasley poked her head inside the coach. She looked very anxious and kept looking over her shoulder.

"Do you mind?" she asked quickly.

"Of course not," Hermione said. Ginny plopped herself down beside Hermione, across from Harry. Almost immediately there was another knock at the door. This time it was Neville Longbottom.

"Oh, I'm sorry Neville," Ginny said, in an unnaturally high, cheerful voice, "but it looks like we're full. We can't fit another person, no sir!" She smiled at him.

"Oh...ok then," Neville said, disappointment obvious on his round face, and walked away.

The carriage started moving with a groan of protest; pulled by what Harry thought to be an invisible horse. As they were jostled from side to side, he couldn't help but look at Ginny. She was, after all, sitting right in front of him.

"Boy, your hair sure has gotten long," he suddenly found himself saying.

She blushed scarlet. Ron and Hermione stopped talking and stared at Harry.

"Really?"

"Yeah, it looks nice..." Harry trailed off, embarrassed. Ron made an indistinct noise in his throat and went back to talking in hushed tones with Hermione. Harry looked back at Ginny to find that she was staring intently at the carriage floor, face aglow. I think this is the first time she's blushed all summer, Harry thought, astonished. Thinking back over the events of the summer he realized with a start that she hadn't broken anything either! Must be a nice break for the Weasley furniture, he thought with a grin. A small, delicate hiccough drew his attention back to her face. You've changed, he silently told her. I wonder if you know.

Harry's thoughts wee interrupted when they passed through the tall wrought-iron gates of Hogwarts and their coach slowed to a stop. As he stepped out of the carriage his breath caught in his throat. He'd been to Hogwarts 4 times before and yet the castle still amazed him. The sheer size and splendor forced his face into a look of wonder. He was glad to see the same look on his friends' faces too.

They filed through the large oak front doors and passed into the Entrance Hall, which was glowing in the light of the torches. He was just about to go into the Great Hall when a strong hand grabbed his shoulder.

A familiar voice said in his ear, "I need to talk to you." Harry turned and saw Ron standing behind him, a smile playing in the corner of his mouth.

"Sure," Harry said, bewildered. "Save us a spot Hermione!" he shouted.

"Where are you going?" she called over the hubbub of students, and tried to make her way over to them, but the throng of kids was pushing her towards the Great Hall. Ron grabbed Harry's wrist and dragged him away.

"We'll be right back," Harry called over his shoulder. Ron pulled him into an empty classroom and shut the door. Harry yanked his arm free of Ron's grip.

"What's your problem?" Harry asked angrily.

"What's going on between you and my sister?" asked Ron with a grin.

"What? Ginny? Nothing!" Harry stammered. "Why?"

"Oh Ginny, you hair is so long! It looks so good," Ron teased.

"I was just trying to be nice," Harry said defensively. "Besides, the real question is what's going on between you and Hermione?"

"WHAT? What do you mean?"

"You two have been ignoring me since Knockturn Alley! You're always together. It's almost as if I don't exist! Am I invisible or something?" Harry was shouting. He didn't mean to, but all of the bottled frustration of the past few days was coming out of him. Ron's grin faded.

"Don't be daft Harry. We weren't ignoring you. At least I don't think we were, we didn't mean to," he said very slowly. "I'm really sorry. Next time I get like that give me a really good kick in the pants, ok?"

Harry shrugged.

Ron gave him a look. "Are we ok?"

"Yeah, we're fine." Harry smiled. "I'm not mad, don't worry about it."

"Good! Now let's go back to the feast. I'm starving." As if on cue, Ron's stomach gave a loud rumble.

"Sure," said Harry absentmindedly. He followed Ron back to the Great Hall, lost in his thoughts. Me and Ginny, he thought to himself, what's Ron thinking?

* * * * * *

Ron Weasley sat in the Great Hall the next night, picking at his Steak-and-Kidney pie. He wasn't hungry. What Harry had said to him the night before was still running through his head.

"What's going on between you and Hermione...you're always together...it's almost as if I don't exist..." It was all Ron could think about.

Why was this bothering him so much? He had been up all night thinking about it. Hermione was his friend, why shouldn't they spend time together? He hadn't even noticed that Harry had been left out, maybe Harry was just being oversensitive...or maybe he had been ignoring him.

He slammed his fork onto the table, making Harry and Hermione jump. They had been talking about Potions class. Snape had taken 10 points from Gryffindor because Neville Longbottom had tripped (by Malfoy of course) and fallen face-first into Lavender Brown's cauldron of Shrinking Solution. Poor Neville was forced to sir through the rest of Potions with a head the size of a golf ball until Snape finally gave him that antidote.

Hermione looked at Ron from across the table. "What's the matter?" she asked.

"Yeah, you've been acting really strangely today," echoed Harry.

"I'm fine," Ron mumbled. He looked up from his untouched dinner plate and saw the look of concern in Hermione's eyes. Her gaze made him uncomfortable and he quickly lowered his eyes.

He stared hard at his plate and made his decision. He picked up his fork and shoved a mouthful of pie into his mouth. It felt like he was swallowing sawdust, his mouth was so dry. But he forced it down. He looked up to see Harry still frowning at him.

"I'm FINE Harry!" Ron grinned. He was feeling better already. "Don't worry about me." He made the mistake of glancing at Hermione and his stomach gave a funny little lurch. He swallowed hard. She's my friend, he told himself, I can't.

* * * * * *

"Draco, wait!" The voice was loud and shrill and Draco Malfoy winced when he heard it. He stopped, halfway out of the secret door that led to the Slytherin Common Room and turned around.

Pansy Parkinson was running towards him, a smile on her ugly face. She stopped in front of him and, breathing hard, asked, "Walk me to class?"

"Sure," Draco muttered, turned around and walked away, not bothering to wait for her. Normally he enjoyed any kind of female company but today he just wasn't in the mood. Pansy gossiped loudly in his ear and he inserted "Mmhm"s and "Uh huh"s in the right places but his mind was hundreds of miles away; back in Knockturn Alley, with the mudblood Granger. He didn't know what had come over him. He'd almost kissed her. It was the shadow, he'd told himself over and over for weeks. The darkness made her appear even the slightest bit attractive. There really wasn't any other explanation. His insides recoiled when what had happened came rushing back to him.

He wasn't usually allowed to wander around Knockturn Alley by himself, for obvious reasons. The Malfoy name was well-known among wizards and well-respected as it should be, but respect didn't save you from much in Knockturn Alley; especially if you were young and by yourself.

He'd been in the Apothecary in Diagon Alley with his father. After hissing at Draco to "Touch nothing," Lucius pulled the shopkeeper aside and they started talking in hushed tones, leaving Draco to examine a jar of Giant Spiders' legs. He hated being treated like a child. Why didn't father trust him? He was tired about being left in the dark about everything. One of the Spiders' legs jerked violently and he quickly backed away. Just then something outside of the shop window caught his eye. It was the mudblood Granger. He watched with a smirk as she walked straight into the shady looking wizard who'd asked Draco "Any spare Knuts, boy?" as he'd walked into the Apothecary with his father.

Draco watched with delight as her expression went from confusion, to apprehension, to pure terror. The man made a move as if to grab her arm and she finally turned and fled. Draco glanced at his father. His back was to Draco and he seemed very interested in the smoking vial that the shopkeeper was holding. On impulse, Draco left the shop and followed Granger.

He was surprised when she turned down Knockturn Alley. A know-it-all like her going there by herself? Things were sure getting interesting. Surprisingly, she didn't seem to notice his pounding footsteps behind her. When she stopped, he took his cue and hid in a dark corner.

"He-hello?" Granger's voice was shaking. Draco's features twisted into a malevolent grin. This was too perfect. "Who's there?" He hesitated. What should he say? "Hello?"

"Well, well, well...If it isn't little Miss Mudblood, out on her own," he found himself saying in his coldest voice and slowly stepped into the dim light that pooled in the middle of the alleyway, arms folded over his chest. She whirled, hair flying and her eyes widened when she saw him. He watched, amused, as she frantically searched her pockets for her wand, he guessed. Not finding anything, the stupid girl backed right into a wall trying to get away. He moved towards her, wand out, quite ready to inflict her with boils or turn her into a gorilla, but the words wouldn't come. Embarrassed, he hid his wand behind his back and moved even closer. He tried frantically to stop his legs from walking, but they wouldn't. He watched in horror as the mudblood's face came closer and closer until they were nose to nose. "Ah, you don't want to be wandering around by yourself," he continued, regaining his composure, "you never know who you might run into..." Something made him stop. He studied her face closely. He'd never been this close to her before. Her busy hair was virtually hidden in the darkness and her white skin glowed in contrast to the ugliness all around her. Tears made her eyes glisten, and he could see himself in them. She was biting her lip. He drew a shaky breath. She smelled incredible. Powerless to stop himself, he started to lean in closer. Hermione's face lit up. It was as if she knew what was coming and was welcoming his kiss. He smiled.

Then, "HERMIONE!" the shout made him start. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Weasley and Potter. His heart sank. The mudblood hadn't been excited about him after all, she'd seem them.

"Get away from her, I'm warning you," came Ron's threat.

"You're warning me, eh?" Draco was fighting to keep his voice under control. He was embarrassed and furious. He cast one last glance at Granger, then spun around and disarmed both Weasley and Potter. He almost laughed aloud when Harry ran in front of Ron. He's always the hero, that one. Draco shoved him to the ground and heard the crack of his head on the street. Right then, Draco didn't care about Potter, he wanted Weasley. He pointed his wand directly between Ron's eyes. White-hot fury blurred his vision. Draco wanted to curse him, tried to curse him, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Not with Granger watching. His impotence made him even angrier. He watched with satisfaction as Ron yelped in pain between Draco's wand and the wall, while muttering random threats about Avada Kedavera, which the red-headed git seemed to believe. All of Draco's energy, his anger and his frustration were focused on Weasley.

Then he heard his father's voice and came crashing back down to earth. He could hear Hermione sobbing behind him and out of the corner of his eye he could see Potter slumped on the ground.

"Draco, come. Don't waste your energy on this filth," he heard his father command. Why should I, he asked himself miserably, but he had no other choice than to obey. He gave Weasley a shove, making him wince in pain. Realizing he still had their wands, he quickly threw them into the mud, stepped over Potter's lifeless form and walked away. He forced himself not to look back.

His father had been furious. He'd given Draco an hour-long lecture on how he shouldn't wander off by himself and warned him not to disgrace the family name like that ever again. He'd also taken away Draco's broomstick, telling him that he wasn't allowed to fly until term started. That had upset the Quidditch team. Their seeker, not practiced? What a tragedy.

"Are you listening to anything I'm saying?" Pansy Parkinson's shriek brought him back to the present.

"Of course," he lied, "how could I not?" Pansy let out a high pitched giggle, blushed, and grabbed onto Draco's arm.

"Oh you," another giggle, "you're just too much."

Draco looked away so she wouldn't see the look of annoyance on his face. She reminded him of a pig; cute in some ways, utterly revolting in others. The pressure of her hand on his arm was too much; he itched to slap it away. But he controlled himself. No need to upset father any more than he already was.

"The Parkinsons are a nice, pure-blood family." Draco had heard that phrase more times than he could count, plus a few not-too-subtle hints from his mother about how he should think about maybe starting something serious with the "Parkinson girl." What did they take him for? He would never, in a million years, date anyone who was not of pure descent.

"Come ON! If you two don't hurry then we're going to be late for class," came a voice from down the hallway. Draco stiffened. Oh dear God, he thought frantically, please don't let that be who I think it is. He looked around for a classroom or another hallway to duck into. There was nothing.

"Sheesh Hermione," Potter's voice, "we have plenty of time."

"Exactly," it was Weasley now. Draco could hear them getting closer and closer. All they had to do was round a corner and they would be face to face with him and Pansy. "It's not like Professor Binns will notice if we're late. Besides, do you actually want to go to History of Ma-" He stopped when he saw Draco.

"What is it?" asked Hermione.

For a know-it-all she can be so dumb, Draco thought.

"It's Malfoy and his girlfriend," Ron muttered.

Draco snaked his arm around Pansy's waist and walked slowly past the three of them, brushing shoulders with Potter in the narrow hallway, glaring at them the best he could.

"Look, Pansy," he said loudly as they were walking away from them, "It's Potter and his girlfriends."

The next thing he knew he was hit from behind and knocked to the floor. Pain shot up and down his spine. He was vaguely aware of people yelling and Pansy shrieking. Potter and Granger each had a hold of one of Weasley's arms, their backs to Draco, holding him back from hitting him again. Ron was struggling against their grip and his face was flushed with anger. Draco slowly picked himself up off the ground and calmly brushed his robes off. As he walked towards Ron he could hear Potter telling him to "Leave it along! He's not worth it." Draco smiled. He swung as hard as he could and his fist connected with the side of Weasley's face. Ron staggered, surprised, then collapsed on all fours and spat blood onto the ground, the red contrasted starkly with the slate gray floor. Hermione and Harry both started to yell at Draco at the same time. He whirled on them and found himself face to face with the mudblood.

The girl he'd seen in Knockturn Alley didn't exist anymore. All he saw now was busy, ugly hair, brown eyes which were glittering with anger, a few freckles scattered on her nose and cheeks and two thick, dark eyebrows knitted together in a frown. The same Hermione Granger that he'd hated since his very first day at Hogwarts. But she wasn't the same, not really. Before he had time to think, he gave her a small wink and stalked past her down the hallway, forgetting about Weasley, Potter and Pansy, laughing.

* * * * * *

"Did Draco Malfoy just wink at me?" Hermione Granger had a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. She watched his back as he walked away. The harsh sound of his laughter reached her and the knot in her gut twisted itself even tighter. This was the last thing she needed. She had more homework than ever, and all Ron and Harry ever did was fool around, and then expect her to give her all the right answers. She was tired of it.

"WHAT?" Ron's exclamation made her wish she hadn't said anything.

"Nothing," she muttered, "forget about it."

"No. You said 'Did Draco Malf-ow!" Ron had bitten his swollen cheek.

"You guys, someone's coming," Harry whispered. Hermione could hear footsteps.

"Well, let's get to class then," Hermione snapped a little harsher than she intended. "We wouldn't be in danger of detention if you weren't so eager to fight everyone you meet." She was so frustrated and stressed; she was ready to pull her hair out. "I'm so sick of you!" I don't know what to think about Draco Malfoy anymore! She ached to tell them what was really wrong, but they wouldn't understand.

"But we-" Ron started to protest.

"Don't!" she screamed. She turned and ran back to the Gryffindor common room, forgetting all about History of Magic. She hated boys.

* * * * * *

Frost lined the outside of the Hogwarts castle and the grass shone silver with it. Christmas was approaching fast. Harry Potter sat in front of the roaring fire in the common room, grateful to finally be alone. Hermione and Ron hadn't talked since that day when she had yelled at them. She'd tearfully apologized to Harry the first time she'd seen him afterwards, but with Ron she was being quite stubborn. He refused to talk to her until she apologized, she said the same thing. Harry wasn't quite sure what Ron had to apologize for though. Since both his best friends were too stubborn to apologize, Harry was stuck as a translator between them. It was exhausting.

"Harry?" Ron asked as he came down the spiral staircase into the common room. "Can you ask Hermione if she's finished her Transfiguration homework yet?" Harry kept staring into the fire, pretending not to hear. "Harry! I said; ask Hermione whether she's finished her Transfiguration homework yet!" Harry jumped out of his chair.

"Ask her yourself," he yelled, "I'm tired of this!" He walked quickly past Ron and through the portrait hole.

The corridors were eerily silent and he guessed that everyone was huddled in their common rooms. "Which is where I should be, if they weren't so bloody stubborn," he told no one in particular. A suit of armor clanked in response and Harry walked quickly away. He had a sneaking suspicion that Peeves the Poltergeist was hiding inside, waiting to pelt an innocent bystander with water balloons and rude noises.

He wandered aimlessly, thinking about Ron and Hermione, Quidditch and Cho. It was nice to be alone, no Colin Creevey snapping photos or people pointing and gaping at his scar. Sometimes he wished he was just a regular boy but he knew, although he didn't want to admit it that it wasn't for him, Voldemort would still be powerful and hundreds more would have died. Still, it's a lot of responsibility for a one year old kid to unknowingly take on. He was sick of always being in the limelight but if someone told him that he could trade his past with anyone, he wouldn't for the world. It was a part of him; he didn't think he'd be able to let it go.

A familiar laugh pierced his thoughts, a very familiar laugh. But he just couldn't figure out who it was.

"Neville, no...don't, please! Not now," it was the same voice, but it was no longer laughing. Frowning slightly, he turned the corner to investigate.

He found Neville Longbottom standing against the wall, his forearms resting against it over his head. There was someone in between him and the wall, but Neville's arms were blocking Harry's view.

"Hey," he called and walked towards Neville, who started, stepped back and looked rather embarrassed. Harry finally got a good look at the person who he was with and froze. It was Ginny. Her long, fiery hair hung over her face, her fists were clenched and she was glaring at Neville with a look that closely resembled loathing. Harry had to force himself to breathe. There must be a mistake, he thought wildly. She turned and saw him for the first time and her eyes widened. A touch of pink appeared in her cheeks and she opened her moth to speak but decided against it and promptly shut it and Harry could hear the click of her teeth. She stared at him and Harry could feel her eyes boring through his skull. This wasn't the Ginny he knew; she was sure of herself now, braver. The intensity of her stare made him very uncomfortable.

To Harry's relief, Neville grabbed her arm, taking her attention off him. She whirled and yanked her arm away. "Don't touch me," she said acidly. Without another word she walked away and didn't look back.

"Isn't she something?" Neville asked, grinning like an idiot.

"Yeah," Harry agreed distantly. She's something alright, but what?

* * * * * *

Ginny Weasley had never been angrier in her entire life. She stormed through the cold hallways, pushing past students. She didn't really know where she was going and she didn't care; all she knew was that she just had to get away. Neville hadn't left her along all year. He would sneak up behind her in the common room and drag her into the hallway, telling everyone within earshot that he was walking her to class. He always found a way to sit near her in the Great Hall, although she always ignored him. In the summer he had sent an owl a day to her and she's never answered them. Instead, she'd kept the letters carefully hidden so her family wouldn't find them. Especially Ron because he would definitely tell Harry...Harry! The thought of him made her walk even faster. The moment she had agreed to go to the Yule Ball with Neville she had regretted it. If she had just waited then she could have gone with Harry and had the night of her life. Instead, she'd spent the whole night trying to dance while avoiding Neville's feet and gloomily watching Harry with that Parvati Patil. It had made Ginny sick to see her steering him around the dance floor like he was some trophy she was showing off. But she knew that Harry had only asked Parvati because he needed a date and that gave her a grim satisfaction.

The hallways grew brighter and soon she stormed into the Entrance Hall. She pushed the heavy oak doors open and walked out into the cold winter air. Maybe a little fresh air would clear her head. She was completely unaware of the dark figure that was following close behind her. She headed towards the lake, drawing her cloak tighter around her to keep the chill out of her bones when she walked right into someone and was knocked onto her back. She sat up and dazedly looked around for her attacker. Cho Chang stood over her, surrounded by a group of Ravenclaws, a look of great annoyance on her face.

Memories from last year flashed across Ginny's vision. Harry saying miserably, "I asked her to go with me just now..." and how her heart had stopped beating when he'd said that.

"Watch where you're going, you stupid little girl," Cho muttered under her breath as she stepped over Ginny. That was the last straw. Ginny leapt to her feet.

"What did you call me?" she yelled as Cho walked away from her. Cho stopped and turned, hands planted on her hips.

"I said..." But Ginny didn't hear what she was and at the moment didn't care. A figure standing in the distance had caught her attention. He was standing under a tree and was half-hidden in shadow but Ginny recognized him right away. It was Harry. Noticing that his hiding place was discovered, Harry grinned sheepishly and waved. He'd been following her. How else could he have gotten here so quickly?

"Who does he think he is?" she muttered angrily.

He's Harry Potter, a voice inside taunted her, the boy you've wasted four years of your life on. Look at Cho. Ginny did. Cho's long black hair shone despite the dim light and her rows of perfect, even, white teeth were very noticeable when she talked. She is what he wants, not you. He doesn't want you, he never has. Ginny clamped her hands over her ears, she didn't want to hear anymore. But the little voice inside wouldn't stop. It kept right on talking, telling her things she knew deep down were true but didn't want to admit because they were too painful. It reminded her of the terrible things she had done to other students in her first year. It told her that she would never be as pretty, as brave, or as smart as anyone else.

"SHUT UP!" she screamed as loud as she could, trying to make it stop.

"Excuse me? What did you say? You can't talk to me like that!" Cho's perfect voice made Ginny even angrier. She whipped out her wand and yelled the first curse that came to mind. A stream of dark blue light shot from Ginny's wand and hit Cho right in the nose. Warts the size of Ginny's fists began to spring up all over Cho's face. Paralyzed, Ginny stood there, half pleased and half mortified with what she had just done.

Harry came running over and when he saw Cho, he gasped and knelt down beside her. He glared at Ginny.

"What were you thinking?" he yelled. "I don't even know who you are anymore!" He helped Cho up because none of her friends would touch her. Ginny watched as he helped her walk back to the school, his arm around her. The rest of the Ravenclaw girls followed close behind. Ginny was left all alone, staring up into the sky as it started to rain.

* * * * * *

Hermione Granger lay on her stomach on her four-poster bed in her dorm-room, staring at her History of Magic essay. She was supposed to be writing about how the Ministry of Magic was started but she couldn't concentrate. She glared down at the piece of parchment in front of her, which was totally blank except for her name. Normally this was so easy for her.

The door flew open and Lavender Brown walked in.

"Hermione," she said slowly, "are you finished your Transfiguration homework yet?"

"Yeah, why?" Hermione sat up.

"Because Ron really needs help, he's been asking everyone to ask you for help. It's really hard; none of us can figure it out either." Lavender said that all very quickly and looked a little apprehensive about what Hermione was going to say. Hermione could feel anger boiling up inside of her.

"What? So he only wants to talk to me if I can give him all of the right answers? Typical." She got up, brushed past Lavender and clomped heavily down the stairs to the common room, intending to give Ron a piece of her mind. She hoped he choked on it.

She spotted him talking to the twins by the portrait hole, his back to her. The twins' eyes grew wide as she stormed up right behind him.

"What? What is it?" Ron asked, seeing their expressions. Hermione was very ready to take all of her anger and frustration out on Ron but all of a sudden she had a feeling that she would say something that she would regret. Instead, she walked quickly past them and out the portrait hole. Maybe she wasn't ready to talk to him yet.

She passed Ginny as she walked into the castle from the light rain outside.

"Hey Ginny!" Ginny gave her a sad smile and kept walking. She had a far-away look in her eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, I just did something really stupid," Ginny said slowly and sniffled.

"Care to talk about it?"

"NO!" she cried. Hermione had never heard Ginny speak so forcefully before. "I'll just see you later alright?" Ginny said dejectedly.

"Yeah, later." Hermione watched Ginny walk away, worried about her. She walked outside and quickly forgot all about Ginny. The cold air and rain felt great. She stood and let the water wash over her like a shower from heaven.

"Hey there," came a lazy, drawling voice. Draco Malfoy was walking towards Hermione and she instinctively took a few steps back. He laughed. "I'm not going to hurt you." Hermione didn't like this one bit. Draco Malfoy, being nice to her...it didn't fit.

"Where are your bodyguards?" she asked coolly, still keeping her distance. Draco shrugged.

"Playing Quidditch in tutus for all I care. Besides, it gets tiresome having two great lumps follow you everywhere."

"Why...?" Hermione couldn't find the right words to express how completely confused she was.

"Does it really matter why? I say, why not?" He paused, and a touch of pink appeared in his face. "Ah...would you like to go for a walk?"

Hermione glanced at Draco, then up to the Gryffindor tower. No one would know, and it's not like they would care. Ron was just using her for good marks and Harry was too busy being a hero. There was nothing for her up there. She smiled.

"I guess, but I do have my wand with me this time!"

He snorted. "I don't. Anyway, I said I wasn't going to hurt you. Well, shall we?" He gestured towards the lake.

"Yeah." They stared to walk and Hermione cast one last look over her shoulder at the lights in the Gryffindor tower and felt a tug on her heart. But she ignored it and forced herself to face forwards.

They walked for hours, unaware of the rain and the wind. They gossiped, discussed homework assignments that Draco just didn't get and she listened as he talked about his parents and his childhood; what it was like growing up in the wizarding world, which Hermione found fascinating. A small part of her wished that she hadn't been muggle-born and had known about magic all her life instead of hearing about it for the first time when she was 11. But she couldn't complain, she had the best of both worlds.

"It's getting dark," Draco remarked, looking around him. "We'd best head back to the castle."

"I guess," Hermione agreed reluctantly. Surprisingly, she was having a good time. They were almost back to the castle when they heard heavy footsteps and saw a swinging lantern. Hagrid! Hermione realized frantically who it was. If he sees me with Draco my life will be over, she thought wildly. In the nick of time, she shoved Draco into a Rhododendron bush that was growing against the stone castle wall.

"What are you doing?" he demanded angrily.

"Shh! Stay there," she hissed.

"Why?" he whispered back.

"Because-"

"Hermione? Is that yeh over there?" Hagrid bellowed.

"Erm...yeah, it's me," she admitted slowly.

"What d'yeh think yeh're doin' out 'ere in the rain? Yeh're gonna catch cold! Come wi' me, I'll make yeh a nice hot cuppa. How 'bout that?" he asked kindly, his bushy face full of concern and anger.

"No Hagrid, it's ok. I just went for a walk to clear my head. But I think I'll go up to the common room now." Hermione felt horrible lying to Hagrid like that.

"Yeh sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure." No, I'm not actually. Hermione bit her lip to keep from telling the truth.

"Alrigh' then. See yeh."

"That was close," came a voice from behind her. She turned and burst out laughing. Draco was standing there, his robes full of dirt and twigs sticking out of his hair at odd angles.

"Come here," she managed to get out between giggles, "let me fix your hair." She pulled out as many twigs as she could but was distracted by Draco's far-away expression.

"What's wrong?" she asked. He looked at her and suddenly got very serious.

"There's still time," he stated simply.

"There's time for what, exactly?"

"We could still be on the same side. We need someone with your kind of brain power. Think about it, you and me, together, on the winning side!"

Hermione froze. She had never thought about it before. Her...for You-Know-Who? The thought made her laugh.

"A mudblood," Draco winced openly as she said that, "on the same side as the Dark Lord?" She laughed again. "Doesn't make much sense, does it?"

"I guess not," he mumbled, staring at the ground. "Forget I even mentioned it. It was just a stupid idea." Hermione took his hands.

"Look at me." He did. "This was fun. It's great to know that you are a real person instead of the rich, snobby, slimy bully everyone thinks you are. But we can never be on the same side. I'm sorry." Draco pulled his hands from hers. Hermione was shocked to see the same smirk on his face that he always wore. The old Draco was back.

"See you around, mudblood," he drawled.

"Goodbye," she said awkwardly as he walked away. She looked up at the Gryffindor tower again. A person was silhouetted in one of the common room windows. She took a steadying breath. She was ready now.

* * * * * *

Ron Weasely sat on a windowsill in the Gryffindor common room, watching the rain beat against the window. There was no one in the common room worth talking to. Fred and George had gone down to the kitchens to nick some food from the more-than-willing house-elves, Dean, Neville and Seamus were all deeply engrossed in their Transfiguration homework, which Ron had long since given up on and who knew where Harry had run off to? Last he'd seen of him Harry had yelled at him and stormed out of the portrait hole. Ginny had run into the common room a few hours ago, in tears, and had gone straight up to her dorm room and slammed the door. Ron thought he should probably go and speak with her, cheer her up a bit, but she didn't want to be caught in a girl's dorm-room. Imagine the Howler he would get for that! There was a group of fifth year girls huddled in a corner that he could go talk to, but they all seemed rather giggly and he didn't think he could handle giggly at the moment. So he was left all alone, staring out the window.

The rain started to ease up, and Ron could see all the way down to the ground below. A giant of a man was standing there, with a great, bushy beard and hair, and he was swinging a lantern back and forth. Hagrid! Ron started to stand up to run down and say hello, but then he saw who Hagrid was talking to. It was Hermione. Ron couldn't see her face, but she kept shifting her weight from side to side and he could tell that she was worried. He forced himself to look at the Quidditch pitch but his eyes kept wandering back to Hermione and Hagrid. Why was she so mad at him? His life hadn't been the same these past few weeks; it was odd having only one best friend. He had gotten so miserable that he'd almost gone up to her and apologized but he'd held himself back. Why should he apologize if he hadn't done anything wrong?

Ron watched as Hagrid walked away from Hermione. She just stood there, as if waiting for something. Just then, Ron noticed that a bush behind her was moving. He blinked a few times and stared hard. It wasn't the bush that was moving, it was someone in the bush! He watched in horror as Draco Malfoy emerged and started to walk towards Hermione.

"Hermione, look out!" Ron hissed. Her back was turned, she had no idea. There was nothing Ron could do but sit and watch. He waited in anticipation for the curse he knew was coming. It didn't. Instead, Hermione turned around, saw Draco and...laughed. Ron's insides turned to lead. Numbly, he watched her as she moved closer to Draco. That's not Hermione, it's just someone who looks like her, he thought wildly. But another voice, from the back of his mind said, It's her. Of course it is. You'd know her anywhere. You used to be able to pick her out of a huge crowd in the Great Hall. It's her. He looked down at them again and they both looked very serious. Hermione reached out and took Draco's hands. Ron's mind started to reel. The room was spinning. What in the world was going on? A multitude of emotions boiled up in him; white-hot anger, confusion, despair...he was barely aware of it when Draco pulled his hands out of hers and walked away. Ron kneaded his forehead with his knuckles. He dreaded Hermione coming up to the common room. Maybe she'll try to find Harry first, he thought hopefully, but that wasn't the case. Distantly, he heard the creak of the portrait swinging open and saw her climb into the room. When she saw him, she smiled. Her hair hung in wet ropes around her face, which was flushed. A brief but intense battle went on inside of Ron between his emotions. Anger won.

"What in the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" he thundered. Everyone stared at him and Hermione's smile faded.

"I've come to change my clothes, if that's alright with you. It's rather wet outside," she said curtly.

"No! I meant what were you doing with - with - him? You know, all these years I thought you hated each other. But maybe mudblood was just an affectionate pet-name!"

"Don't say that," Hermione's face was scarlet now. "Nothing's happened. We just went for a walk! It was his idea."

"Nothing's happened? Do you really think I'm daft enough to believe that?" Ron pointed to the window. "I saw the whole thing!" The common room had fallen eerily silent; the only noise was him shouting. "Why, you're a regular little heartbreaker, aren't you?" he continued in an acid tone. "Krum's, Malfoy's, mine...we're all the same to you, just something to show off." Silent tears cascaded down Hermione's cheeks.

"I didn't know you could break someone's heart if they already had yours," she said in a soft, shaky voice.

"Hah," Ron crowed triumphantly, "so you admit it then!" He towered over Hermione, using every inch of his height against her. She shrank back from him, trembling. He enjoyed being so intimidating, so powerful. Powerful enough to have whatever he wanted. "Imagine what people are going to think. Hermione Granger, muggle-born and Gryffindor, in love with a Slytherin scum."

"She doesn't mean Malfoy, you stupid git!" came a frustrated shout from a corner of the common room. Ron's intimidation, power and pride deflated as he slowly became aware of the others in the room. First years looked at him with fearful eyes, seventh years with great dislike. His attention was drawn to the corner where the fifth year girls had been giggling. They were still sitting there, huddled in their little circle but Lavender Brown was standing in the middle of them, arms folded and frowning. "Trust me, it's not Krum either," she stated simply and narrowed her eyes, daring him to say something else against Hermione.

"Who is it, then?" Ron swung around to face Hermione. She'd stopped crying and appeared very interested in the floor. She mumbled something that Ron couldn't quite hear. "What," he asked and tried to catch her eye but she kept looking away, "I couldn't hear you." Ron let out a little chuckle so as not to let on how nervous he was about her answer. It was the one thing he'd been dying to know and now that he was going to find out he was terrified. Hermione suddenly looked up and Ron was taken aback by her confidence.

"It's you, it's always been you," she repeated slowly. The fifth year girls let out approving whoops. Warmth spread through Ron's whole body, radiating through his fingertips and toes, and his mouth turned up into an uncontrollable grin. He tried to speak, tell her how he felt about her but all that came out was a strangled gargle. Hermione had obviously taken his gargle the wrong way because her eyes clouded and she looked at the floor. "Oh, I'm so sorry," she said, shaking her head, "forget I said anything. I don't want to be a complication for you." She started to walk away. Ron quickly found his strength. He reached out and grabbed her arm and when she turned and looked at him he didn't let her go.

"Letting you walk away would be a bigger complication for me than telling you that I feel the exact same way you do," he said. Hermione looked at him and he saw that she was wearing the exact same wide grin that he himself had been wearing moments before. He took her other hand and the whole common room and everyone in it seemed to fade away. For a few precious moments Ron Weasley's whole world existed only in Hermione Granger's eyes.

* * * * * *

To say that Harry Potter felt out of place was a severe understatement. He was leaning against a wall in the hospital wing watching Madam Pomfrey shrink Cho's warts. Actually, trying to watch is more accurate. The Ravenclaw girls were all huddled around Cho's bed, jostling each other back and forth, trying to get a good look and talking loudly and excitedly. Harry was reminded of a gaggle of hens.

"Out, everyone out! Madam Pomfrey yelled when the shoving crowd caused her to miss and shrink Cho's whole nose. Pouting, the gaggle started to disperse. Harry obediently turned to leave, too.

"Harry, wait," Cho's voice made him stop dead in his tracks, "I need to talk to you."

"Oh..." was all Harry could force his dry-as-sawdust mouth to say.

"Yeah," Cho said with a sigh. "Um...this isn't exactly easy for me."

"Oh..." Harry's whole vocabulary seemed to have shrunk to that one word. He tried to move, but couldn't. He felt rooted to the spot. He wished Madam Pomfrey would leave.

"Look, I know you fancy me and-" Cho was interrupted by Madam Pomfrey, who suddenly stood up.

"I think it's about time for me to check on Miss Brocklehurst," she said quickly in a very false, high-pitched voice and hurried off. They heard the slam of the hospital wing door. Cho sat up and invited Harry to sit on the foot of the bed. He shook his head, he wasn't sure he wanted to risk forcing his unresponsive legs to move. He might make a fool of himself.

"You were saying?" Harry asked quietly, trying not to let his voice quaver.

"Right," Cho took a deep breath and stared at her bed sheets, "I know you fancy me, it's not exactly a big secret, and I did fancy you for a while, too." Harry's pulse quickened. "But then I asked myself why and I realized," she looked up, "it was because of that." Harry's heart sank as Cho pointed at his forehead; his scar. "You're the boy who lived. You're the brave Harry Potter, you're an amazing flyer, everyone loves you, a girl would be nuts to not have ever had some kind of a crush on you. But," she looked down again, "I don't know you at all. If I did become your girlfriend, it would just be because you're Harry Potter, not because I actually love you. I can't let anything happen between us."

Cho obviously expected Harry to be devastated by this news but he was surprisingly calm. He looked at her and noticed that there was still a rather large, ugly wart on her chin and started to laugh.

"What? What is it?" demanded Cho, irritated.

"That's a nice looking wart you've got there," he managed to get out.

"Just about as nice looking as the girl who gave it to me," Cho snapped, "although I think it just might be better looking." Harry stopped laughing. "Honestly, she needs to work on her anger problems. I did nothing to set her off. She's a time-bomb. I don't want to be around when she explodes." As Cho talked, Harry could feel an odd emotion boiling up in him. "I mean, who does she think she is? All she is is a stupid, ugly, little girl, whose robes are hopelessly out of fashion."

"You know what," said Harry through clenched teeth, "you - are - a - snob! I don't know what I saw in you in the first place" He wrenched the hospital wing door open and slammed it behind him, ignoring Cho's cries of protest.

The walk back to the common room seemed quick to Harry, too quick. He had so many different things on his mind. He'd thought that losing Cho would make him feel empty, but he felt strangely normal. The thing he was troubled over most wasn't Cho, it was that odd emotion he'd felt when Cho had been slandering Ginny. What was it, exactly? He couldn't figure it out.

He paused in front of the Fat Lady, unsure of whether to go in or not. He didn't want to face Ron, whom he had yelled at, and he especially wasn't looking forward to seeing Ginny. She probably hated him for what he did to her and he didn't think he could take having another fight.

"Forgotten the password, dear?" the Fat Lady asked kindly.

"Billywig," he said resignedly, knowing that if he didn't face them now, he'd have to do it later.

The Fat Lady swung open, slowly revealing the Common Room to Harry. It was as it had always been. Seventh years poring over their difficult Transfiguration essays, cauldrons bubbling and simmering as the students carefully crush their Unicorn horns, several third years were huddled around Dennis and Colin Creevey, who were playing a rousing game of Exploding Snap, Fred and George had a large crowd roaring with laughter over their ridiculous impressions of certain Hogwarts teachers and Seamus Finnegan was passing a large box of treats sent by his mother around to all his friends. Everything seemed normal and yet, it was different. The atmosphere of the whole room was light and cheerful, as if a heavy weight had been lifted from its shoulders and it could breathe again. The tension that had been in the air for the past few weeks had been lifted. Harry looked around and soon saw why. Ron and Hermione were sitting on a windowsill together, heads bowed, talking in hushed tones. A warm smile forced its way onto Harry's face.

So there is still love in this world, he thought with a smile. He hurried across the common room and started to climb the spiral staircase. He didn't want to interrupt Ron and Hermione's special moment.

As he rounded the corner he almost tripped over a small figure seated on the cold stone steps. Her hair had partially fallen out of her ponytail, creating a thin, red veil over her tear-stained cheeks. It was Ginny.

* * * * * *

Ginny Weasley carefully studied her reflection in a handheld mirror as she sat on her bed in her dorm room. Her cheeks and eyes were still red and puffy but she looked alright otherwise.

Not bad for someone who's been utterly humiliated and had their heart broken in the exact same instant, she thought approvingly. A vision of Harry with his arm around Cho flashed before her eyes, bringing with it a wave of fresh tears. But Ginny swallowed hard and brought herself back under control. She didn't want to cry over Harry anymore. It wasn't worth it.

With one last glance in the mirror, Ginny hopped off her bed and started down to the common room. She was a little hurt that nobody had come to comfort her during those hours that she was in such distress, but she pushed that hurt from her mind too.

An angry shout made her freeze on the stairs.

"She doesn't mean Malfoy, you stupid git!" Is that Lavender Brown? Ginny felt so guilty eavesdropping like this. "Trust me, it's not Krum either."

"Who, then...What, I couldn't hear you." It was Ron's voice now. What in the world was going on?

"It's you, it's always been you," she heard Hermione say. Ginny felt a twinge of jealousy. Those were the words she'd longed to say to Harry for so many years. The thought of Harry brought an unwanted lump to her throat. "Oh, I'm so sorry," Hermione continued, tears in her voice, "forget I said anything. I don't want to be a complication for you." NO! Ginny's whole being screamed against this wrong. Ron, you dolt, she silently shrieked, don't let love walk away from you! She had a sudden vision of Harry's retreating back as he walked back to the castle with Cho.

"Letting you walk away would be a bigger complication for me than telling you that I feel the exact same way you do." The staircase blurred as she let the tears flow freely this time. She slid down the wall and sat with her head in her hands. She was caught between being proud of her brother for doing the right thing at last, and being insanely jealous of his happiness. It wasn't fair! Why was it that everyone else could be happy but her?

A noise on the stairs below attracted her attention. Someone was coming! She quickly dried her eyes on her sleeves and considered running away. But it was too late; the person was coming around the corner. She looked up and her heart stopped. It was Harry.

* * * * * *

Harry Potter didn't quite know what to say. Ginny refused to look at him or say anything. She simply moved closer to the wall, giving him enough room to walk past without touching her. He didn't go. Instead, he stood there, thinking. Scenes were flashing though his head. Ginny; laughing and crying as she ran along with the Hogwarts Express in his first year. That singing valentine she'd sent him. How worried he was about her in the Chamber of Secrets. How angry he was with Tom Riddle for using her like that. How disappointed she'd looked when he said he'd asked Cho to the Yule Ball. How sorry he was for her, having to dance with Neville. Her; throwing her head back and laughing as she raced him and Ron back to the portkey in Privet Drive. The embarrassing remarks he'd made about the length of her hair in the coach at the beginning of term. The panic he'd felt when he'd found her and Neville earlier that very same day. Her face when she'd cursed Cho. The odd emotion he'd felt when Cho was making fun of Ginny. Her coldly moving to one side so he could walk past a few minutes ago.

It was as if the lightbulb had just clicked on. All the pieces fell into place. It's you, it's always been you. Harry knew what he had to do.

* * * * * *

Ginny Weasley wished he would say something, or leave, just do anything other than stand there. It was very awkward. Should she be the first to speak?

Suddenly, he did move, but not in the way she expected. He sat down beside her on the cold, hard, stone step. She looked over at him to find that he was staring intently at her, a smile playing in the corner of his mouth and his eyes were sparkling.

"Ginny, there's something I need to tell you."