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°~°~°
It's been a few weeks since Harry and Ron went back to Hogwarts.
All the gossip about the "Great Harry Potter" returning to Hogwarts had died down, leaving him and his friends able to have an education in peace.
Semi peace.
Harry regretted not being straightforward with Ginny. Now she had an expectation of him to want to get back together as soon as possible. Apparently, not at this moment meant yes to any other.
While he had been avoiding her, someone had been avoiding him.
Malfoy.
Not that he wanted him to be bothersome, but it was certainly odd that he take extra care not to be anywhere near Harry.
°~°~°
There became an unspoken schedule for Hermione.
She would have breakfast with Harry and Ron, stay with them during classes, and hang out with them during some of her free periods.
During lunch, she would sit with Draco, and talk about schoolwork and such. Sometimes, Draco would come over and talk with her when she was alone with Ron, much to his annoyance. She never mentioned the fact that she knew who he was looking at. She would let him figure it out on his own.
At dinner, she would sit with Harry and Ron again, this time with Luna and Ginny in tow. It was horribly awkward between Ginny and Harry, and Hermione had wondered why. Tonight, Ginny gave her the answer.
They had been waiting for Ron and Harry to come into the Great Hall.
"When do you think he'll come around, Hermione?"
"For dinner?"
"No, not that."
"What do you mean, then?"
"He said he didn't want to get together at 'this moment in time'. When will that moment be?"
Hermione was conflicted. She knew that the moment she was looking for wouldn't come for a long time, if not never.
She recalled the conversation she had with Ron about this.
"Did Harry get together again with Ginny, yet?"
She had asked one day as they walked out of Charms.
"He didn't tell you!" Exclaimed Ron. "But I don't blame him."
What he said made Hermione curious.
"What do you mean?"
Ron took a deep breath.
"He told me first, when we were Aurors, you know? Plus, the fact I'm her brother helps, too. He said he really didn't miss Ginny, that he was really focused on living out his life. He wants to stay single, or at least not stay with Ginny."
Hermione had been shocked, but somewhat expecting it.
"But don't tell Ginny," Ron added, "He had wanted to do it himself, and I doubt that's changed."
And indeed it hadn't. Though Harry hadn't done the best job of it.
Ginny still thinks they're getting back together.
But Ron had said not to tell her.
She heeded his advice and instead tried for sympathetic smile.
"I'm not sure, Ginny, just give him time. It'll come when it comes."
°~°~°
Draco was busy keeping his head down and his nose clean. Sure, the threat that Smith gave might not be fulfillable, but it doesn't hurt to be careful.
He was sure Hermione figured out who he was looking at, leading her to know who he was thinking about. She had this weird twinkle in her eyes that reminded him all too much about Dumbledore.
So he did the only rational thing.
He started to avoid Potter like the plague.
Same hallway? Turn the other way.
Same class? Sit as far away as possible.
Hermione? Talk to her only when he's gone.
Sure, it looked suspicious and sure, it was odd, but he was doing it.
It certainly wasn't his fault that his face looked like something Hermione must be misreading when he thinks about Potter.
It looks like that when he thinks about the war, for Merlin's sake!
It was near midnight, and he was tossing and turning in his bed. His mind was keeping him up with thoughts about school, and Potter, and work, and Potter, and Hermione, and Potter...
So, no, he was not thinking about Potter at all.
He decided to go for a walk around the school. It always helped get his mind off things.
He grabbed a book ( a well-thumbed and dog-eared Quidditch through the Ages ), put on his shoes and went out of his room in his shirt and boxers.
°~°~°
He had just found his alcove, the same one where he ate his apple, when the very same, familiar and still very unwelcome, voice said
"Well, isn't this surprising. Is a little snake lost in the middle of the night?"
°~°~°
Another occupant of Hogwarts was having night troubles as well.
One Mr.Harry James Potter.
Harry lay unmoving on his bed in his room, staring at the ceiling.
What should I tell Ginny, he wondered, she is like a sister to me and like an older brother, I don't want to hurt her.
He rolled onto his side.
You've already hurt her, though. You weren't straightforward and you let her build expectations that you know you won't reach.
Harry rolled over to his other side.
Stop thinking about this!
So he did what he had done many times before. He took out the Marauder's Map.
He lit his wand quietly with a whispered Lumos.
"I solemnly swear I am up to no good" He murmured, tapping his wand against the parchment.
The map slowly appeared in front of his eyes.
He watched as Hermione did her rounds as Head Girl, and Zacharias Smith as Head Boy, as he had done for many nights when he thought too much.
He watched them idly, internally mapping out where they were supposed to go in his head.
Hermione turns that way while Smith is...
He checked the map again.
Where is Smith?
There he was. Stopped in the middle of the hallway.
What are you doing...
He watched as Smith turned the corner into a hallway that wasn't included in either his or Hermione's normal rounds.
Harry forced his suspicions to back down.
It's nothing, Harry...
His feet were already climbing off the bed.
It wouldn't hurt to check...
He already stopped trying to fool himself that he wasn't going out.
He grabbed the invisibility cloak, shoved his feet into his shoes, and quietly stepped into the eighth year wing.
°~°~°
This is what you get for being paranoid, he scolded himself as he followed Smith around, a healthy distance between them, Smith is probably going off to snog a forbidden girlfriend or something like that.
Then he heard Smith say
"Well, isn't this surprising. Is a little snake lost in the middle of the night?"
And saw the signature blonde hair.
Malfoy.