Fata Morgana

Harry sat back comfortably in a booth between his best friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. The Three Broomsticks was overflowing with students on this day, the first Hogsmeade visit of the year. A student occupied practically every seat in the establishment.

The day had been absolutely perfect so far. Not once had Voldemort or his steady rise to power outside of Hogwarts cross Harry's thoughts. He sipped his butterbeer contentedly, chatting with his best friends as his eyes wandered around the room.

Ernie Macmillan and Justin Finch-Fletchley sat laughing good-naturedly in a corner while Hannah Abbott and Megan Jones whispered conspiratorially nearby. Harry's eyes traveled over the mob of Hufflepuffs, Slytherins and Ravenclaws to a table closer to the door that Cho Chang and Terry Boot occupied. Harry watched with an unexpected pang of jealousy as Terry leaned over to whisper something in her ear. She smiled up at him and they gathered up their things to leave.

"You miss her don't you?" said Hermione softly, following his gaze. He looked up, startled, turning toward her familiar brown eyes. "It's written all over your face, you know?" she said, nudging him slightly.

They had been back at Hogwarts from the summer vacation for over two weeks, but he still wasn't used to the changes that had occurred in Hermione. He had found himself thinking about it often. It wasn't really anything that he could pin point at first. She was still the same old Hermione. The Hermione who worried because she couldn't help herself, Hermione who went to the library an average of ten times a week, Hermione who had been his best friend for the last five years. In the end the answer had been so simple it had hit him like a bludger to the head, leaving him stunned and a little sad. She has grown up. We all have. She was no longer the annoying, know-it-all with large front teeth he had first encountered on the Hogwarts Express. She was now a very pretty girl of fifteen (almost sixteen, he reminded himself) with the mannerisms of someone twice her age.

Harry shrugged and opened his mouth to deny her observation, but found he was unable to. He realized suddenly he was alone with Hermione, as Ron had gone to get them another round of butterbeers, and therefore he didn't have to bother hiding his true feelings. He had always felt more comfortable talking to Hermione about his relationship with Cho than with Ron.

"Sometimes I miss her," he admitted reluctantly. "But it's better with us just being friends. We were all wrong for each other as a couple, too competitive."

She smiled. "Which tends to put a strain on a relationship when you are Seekers on opposing Quidditch teams."

He shook his head in amusement, returning her smile. "She never forgave me for pulling the Wronski Feint on her last year."

"I don't blame her! She barely pulled up in time."

"Yeah, but I knew she would!" said Harry defensively and reddening slightly.

"Would what?" asked Ron, returning from the bar and handing them each another butterbeer.

Hermione heaved a sigh as another long and drawn out discussion on Quidditch ensued. Despite Harry and Ron's love for the game, and the fact that she had dated Viktor Krum, the Seeker for the Bulgarian National Team, until just recently, Hermione had never seemed catch on to the excitement that the game instilled in her closest friends. Harry had never been able to fathom how her disinterest was possible.

After Ron and Harry had polished off a third butterbeer and Harry felt pleasantly lightheaded, the three made their way through the crowded pub and out onto High Street. They made their way through the students going in and out of the shops that lined Hogsmeade's main street.

"Where to now?" Hermione asked of the other two as they stepped out into the midday sunlight.

"Honeyduke's," said Ron darkly. "I have to pick up an order of Fizzing Whizbees and Acid Pops for George and Fred."

"Why can't they get it themselves?" asked Hermione, a puzzled look on her face.

The tips of Ron's ears turned pink. "Well, it's part of a bet that I lost. I have to buy them a month's worth."

"A bet?" frowned Hermione. Harry tried to repress a smile. He knew the circumstances surrounding that particular bet, and he knew Ron preferred that Hermione not know about it. Ron looked over Hermione's head at Harry for help.

"What sort of..." Hermione began but Harry distracted her by suddenly grabbing her arm.

"Oh, look." Said Harry quickly; pointing to the display window of the shop they were currently in front of. He had never noticed the shop that sat next door to Honeyduke's. It looked a little like an antique shop with interesting magical objects in the display. He knew it was a poor attempt at a diversion but he couldn't think of anything else to do. Hermione glanced at the window absentmindedly and then back at a helpless Ron, her frown growing deeper. Then she spun quickly back to the window.

"Oh!" she said breathlessly. "Isn't it beautiful?" She was staring at the display longingly. Ron and Harry stepped up beside her. There on the front display was a striking silver necklace with a unicorn pendant. It's sapphire eyes and studded horn glistened in the waning light filtering through the window. Harry and Ron exchanged a puzzled look behind her back. Harry shrugged. It was nice, but he didn't know why Hermione was getting all excited over it.

"I've only seen those in books before." Said Hermione turning away with a sigh. "The unicorn pendant is given to someone to signify pure love. It's terribly romantic."

Harry thought he heard a touch of sadness in Hermione's voice. He wondered if she was thinking about Krum. After months of dating during Hermione's fifth year they had broken up suddenly before she had returned for her sixth. Hermione had said that the age difference and his busy schedule had just been too hard to work around, that it had been Krum's idea to just be friends, but Harry felt there was more to it than that.

They walked to Honeyduke's in silence. After Ron made his purchase they made their way to what used to be Zonko's Joke Shop. George and Fred's dream of opening a joke shop had become a reality in the summer after they had graduated from Hogwarts. With the help of a "silent" partner, they had been able to buy out the previous owners. Harry quite enjoyed the benefits of being a "silent" partner, as he didn't have to worry about the business side of things, but enjoyed being the to first try out their newest inventions. Weasley Wizard Wheezes or, 3Ws, had a rocky start after first opening, but was now enjoying success in Hogsmeade. Even now it had quite a few Hogwarts students browsing through the shelves of jokes and gags. George and Fred had both apparated away on business and wouldn't return until later, so Ron left the month's supply of candy with Hannah, George's girlfriend and the twin's only employee. She smiled as she took the candy from him. "They told me about this. It's a shame you lost Ron, though you should have known better than to bet against..."

"Yes, well, it's alright." He muttered hurriedly, turning to leave.

Hermione's head perked up, her eyes shining with curiosity. "What kind of bet was it?"

"A stupid one." Said Ron taking her arm and guiding her toward the door. He motioned with his head for Harry to follow. Harry couldn't help but laugh at the panicked look on his friends face.

"Bye Ron! Next time don't bet against Krum in the World Cup, you know he always gets his snitch." Hannah yelled after them as the door shut. Hermione looked at Ron in amazement.

"You bet against Viktor?!"

Ron's ears were turning pink as he avoided making eye contact with Hermione. "Well I don't think his game has been up to standard, he's been ... distracted for the last year and a half."

Now it was Hermione's turn to blush. She snorted. "Distracted! Ha, you could only drag Viktor away from the game for a few hours at a time. But you? I never would have thought you would bet against Viktor, Ron Weasley. I thought you were one of his biggest fans."

"Yeah, well, people change." Said Ron as they made their way to Gladrags Wizardwear. They ran into Ginny and a group of fifth year Gryffindors coming out. The girls giggled annoyingly at the sight of Harry. Harry was used to this and ignored them as Hermione stopped to chat with them for a while. Ron waited impatiently beside Harry for a couple of minutes before finally saying, "Bugger, we'll be here all day! Do you want to go to Dervish and Banges? I hear the Nimbus 3000 is in."

Harry nodded and they made their way across High Street after telling Hermione they would be right back. The bell over the door tinkled softly as they entered the small store and a young man a couple of years older than them emerged. He looked the pair of them over, taking in Ron's second-hand robes and Harry's new ones and addressed himself only to Harry. "May I help you?"

"Yes." Said Ron, "I'd like to see the Nimbus 3000."

"Well," said the man, acting as if Harry had spoken and not Ron. "That is a very expensive model, and we don't actually have it on display."

Harry was growing angry at the way that the man was treating Ron. Ron, to Harry's surprise, was strangely calm. He pulled out a large amount of Galleons from his robe pockets and put them on the counter. For the first time the man looked directly at him. He looked the money over for a moment then nodded. "Let me go get it." He said briskly addressing Ron, then he disappeared behind a curtain.

Harry raised his eyebrows in surprise at the large amount of money. "How did you...?"

"From working all Summer at the Ministry of Magic," said Ron with a grin. "Just enough to buy the fastest broom ever made. I can't have one of the school's brooms botching my tryout again."

Harry smiled at his friend. Last year Ron had tried out for Keeper on the Gryffindor team. He had practiced all summer with George and Fred, and had gotten quite good. On the day of tryouts, however, he had been assigned a school broom since he didn't have one of his own. The broom he was assigned kept going too far left and moved sluggishly, causing him to be a horrible Keeper. Harry had begged Angelina, the Team Captain, to let him have another chance, but the position of Keeper had been given to Seamus.

The clerk returned with a broom that rivaled only Harry's Firebolt. He began his sales pitch as Ron and Harry stared entranced by it. "This new model can go from 0 to 175 in less than a minute. It features a standard streamlined handle of oak, treated with a long lasting polish. The tail twigs of birch, individually selected and honed to aerodynamic perfection, give it unsurpassable balance at high speeds. The choice broom for the Chudley Cannons the last few years, it also has an automatic seat warmer. hovers at exactly the right height to mount, and turns with the lightest touch. If you buy now a free broomstick servicing kit is included."

Harry looked at Ron, who was lost in thought. Finally, to his surprise, Ron said. "Let me think about it."

Harry almost laughed out loud at the scandalized look on the man's face. Obviously, he had thought this was going to be an easy sale. "Certainly," said the clerk quickly regaining his composure, "but remember, only a few of this model have been produced, and they will only be on the market for a limited time."

"Oh, I understand." Said Ron coolly, putting the gold coins back in his pocket. "Thanks, anyway."

Ron was grinning broadly as they walked back towards Gladrags, and Harry couldn't help but mirror his happiness. Hermione was looking at scarves that changed colors every few minutes. "Oh, there you are!" she said. "Are you about ready to get back, then?"

The sun was setting as they made their way up High Street and back towards Hogwarts. Out of the three of them, only Hermione had any packages. Ron stopped abruptly, a determined look on his face. He turned to the other two. "I forgot something."

"What?" asked Harry.

"We had better hurry," said Hermione at the same time, looking at her watch worriedly. "We only have fifteen minutes before we have to be back at the castle." Hermione was a sixth year prefect and had to be on hand to make sure all Gryffindors were accounted for after the Hogsmeade visits.

Ron looked doubtfully at Hogwarts across the lake and shook his head. "I have to ask George something, he should be back by now. You two go on, I'll run back and then catch up with you."

"Are you sure?" asked Harry.

"Yeah, Don't worry, I'll hurry." He called over his shoulder as he dashed down High Street. Harry and Hermione chatted easily as they made their way up to the castle. Once they were back in the Gryffindor common room, Harry collapsed sleepily into a plush armchair as Hermione and the other prefects began making sure all the Gryffindors, third years and up, had returned from the Hogsmeade visit. His eyelids got heavier and heavier as he watched the flames flicker in the fireplace until he finally drifted off to sleep oblivious to the noisy chatter around him.

* * * * *

Hermione sighed as she got out of bed. She had stayed up late studying for McGonagall's Transfiguration test and felt as if she hadn't slept at all. It had been well past two before she had finally called it a night.

She looked in the mirror and saw a pale and tired girl looking back at her. Hermione smiled despite her appearance, suddenly remembering what day it was. Wednesday, of course, a day full of her most difficult classes, but more than that, today was September 19th, Hermione's sixteenth birthday. She was practically a grown witch!

She studied her reflection closely to see if turning sixteen had changed anything overnight. It hadn't. She still had the same cinnamon brown eyes, bushy hair, and worried expression. Some things, it seemed, would never change.

She was met downstairs, in the Common Room, by a bright-eyed Ginny. "Happy Birthday, Hermione." Said Ginny smiling at her broadly and handing her a small and neatly wrapped box.

"Oh, Ginny, you shouldn't have!" she said as she quickly removed the paper revealing a gold box. She opened it and gasped in surprise. There lay a sky blue Quick Quotes Quill. "Now featuring a new thesaurus charm!" said the advertising on the box.

"I thought it would help you take notes in class." Said Ginny nervously.

"I love it!" said Hermione giving her a hug and placing the quill in the pocket of her robe. "Thank you!"

As they made their way to the Great Hall for breakfast Ginny told Hermione how the Quick Quotes Quill had been specially ordered from Scribblus Everchanging Inks in Diagon Alley. At the Gryffindor table she was greeted by two mischievous grins as she sat opposite Harry and Ron.

"Morning," she said, her eyes locking momentarily with the sparkling green ones across from her.

"Happy Birthday, Hermione." Said Ron beaming at her.

"Happy Birthday." Said Harry pouring a liberal amount of cream over his porridge. Hermione looked down as she reached for a piece of toast and froze. In front of her plate were two hastily wrapped packages. She regarded them with astonishment.

She looked up at them bewilderment in her face. Ginny and Harry laughed, as Ron said "Well don't just sit there, open them!"

Hermione picked up the smaller present of the two. She removed the paper it was wrapped in carefully revealing a velvet box. She glanced at up at them questioningly. Harry gave her a small, encouraging smile that made her feel warm all over.

She opened the box and gasped in surprise and pleasure. It was the unicorn pendant from the antique store. The sapphire eyes and diamond encrusted horn sparkled up at her. For a moment all she could do was stare at it.

"It's gorgeous!" said Ginny excitedly.

"Oh, Harry," she breathed. "It's beautiful. I don't know what to say...Thank you!" She tore her eyes away from the necklace to meet his. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she smiled broadly at him. How many times had she dreamed about this moment? The moment when she wouldn't have to pretend or hide her true feelings anymore?

Harry's eyes were wide, as he looked first at Hermione, then at the necklace, then back to Hermione. "Hermione, I...t-that's not from me." Said Harry slowly.

"What?" said Hermione, her smile fading. Her mind began to turn slowly as she started to comprehend the implications of what had just been said. She turned to Ron who was staring determinedly down at his empty plate. His ears stood out bright red on his otherwise pale face.

"Oh, Ron! I'm sorry, I...!" said Hermione, the full realization sweeping through her replacing the warm feeling with something empty and cold. "It's so expensive, I thought ..."

Ron stood up so suddenly that he knocked over his pumpkin juice. Every freckle stood out on his white face, and his hands were balled up into fists at his side. "You thought I couldn't afford it." His voice was barely a choked whisper. He shot a glare in her direction and then stormed out of the Great Hall without saying another word.

Harry, Hermione and Ginny sat in stunned silence for a moment before Ginny stood. She looked uncertainly at Hermione who was staring down at the necklace to Harry who was staring at Hermione. "I'm going to go after him," said Ginny. Harry nodded slightly, glancing her way.

Hermione blinked against the tears that were gathering in her eyes. Now you've done it! She chided herself. She had made a fool of herself, but worse than that, she had hurt Ron. He never bothered to hide his emotions. Ron was an open book. And when he had looked at her, for that brief moment before storming out, she had been able to read the emotions that had flashed across his face like a marquee. Anger, pride, embarrassment, and there had been a pain there too. And the knowledge that she had been the cause of this pain made her feel physically ill.

"Hermione?" she couldn't look at him. He knows now. How can he not after that? The secret she had hidden for so long revealed in a moment of stupidity.

"Hermione, we need to talk." She took a deep breath and looked up at him. He was frowning and his green eyes looked troubled. "Let's go for a walk." She nodded as the tears fell from her face. She followed him blindly out of the Great Hall.

* * * * *

Ron didn't know where he was going. He didn't care. All he wanted to do was get as far away as possible from the Great Hall. He felt sick to his stomach. How could he have been so dense! Of course it was too much to ask that the one person he had ever felt anything towards would feel the same way towards him. She had thought that the necklace was from Harry. That had hurt, but it was forgivable. It was no secret that his family didn't have much money. She had simply jumped to a conclusion. But the way she had looked at Harry...he had known. She had wanted it to be from him.

Of course she couldn't love him, not while Harry was around. Harry outshone him in everyway. He was the hero, the Quidditch Team Captain, the star. But deep down Ron knew that she loved Harry for who he was, not for what he'd done. Hermione was different from most girls, from any girl Ron had ever met. She was honest and sincere and kind and...she had believed in him, even when he hadn't. He remembered the day he had realized he was in love with her. Not that it happened overnight. It had taken years before he had noticed how wonderful she was; before her annoying habits became endearing, her frowns and smiles each took on a meaning of their own. He had started memorizing everything about her in their fifth year, when she had been dating Krum. The way she recopied her notes meticulously, the way she always had to have her books lined up perfectly, smallest to biggest, the way she brushed her fringe out of her face with one graceful movement, the way she bit her lower lip when she was worried or deep in thought; he had them all memorized by heart. Everything about her fascinated him. But it hadn't been until the Quidditch tryouts last year that he had realized exactly what had been standing right under his nose for the last four years.

Ron stood beside Seamus on the Quidditch Pitch. Several yards away the Gryffindor Quidditch Team was huddled together. Ron watched with a heavy heart as Fred and George made wild gestures with their hands. Occasionally, Harry would add something and glance his way uncertainly.

He had just played the worst game of Quidditch in his life. He had practiced all summer with Fred, George and Harry to get good so that he would be ready for the Keeper tryouts in September. And he had been ready. What he hadn't been prepared for was the eccentric school broom that had been assigned to him by Madam Hooch. Because he didn't have his own broom he had been at the mercy of a Cleansweep 7 that had probably been at Hogwarts during Charlie's time. The twigs were all split, and it seemed to have been calibrated off-centre. Ron would aim it directly for the Quaffle only for it to take him to the left of where he was trying to go. He hadn't quite gotten the gist of compensating for this until the tryout was half over. He knew that his performance had been nowhere near as good as it might have been if he had had a Firebolt like Harry.

Seamus, who had tried out before Ron, looked at him nervously from out of the corner of his eye. Ron tried to ignore him, he shielded his eyes and looked out over the stands. Hermione was watching him. She gave him an encouraging smile and he felt his heart sink lower.

The team was coming back now, all he had to do was look at Harry's discouraged face to know what was going to happen. He tried to prepare himself for what was coming. Angelina came over to the two looking very serious. Behind her, George and Fred looked furious.

"Thank you both for trying out for Keeper. It was a difficult decision, given the circumstances," she looked at Ron, "But I've chosen Seamus." Seamus broke out into a relieved grin. Ron felt like punching his teeth in.

"I realize, Ron, that you were thrown off your game because of the broom, I've only heard wonderful things about your Keeper skills since we've returned to school, and if I could I'd let you try again, but that wouldn't be fair to Seamus. I hope you understand." Ron nodded blankly, feeling numb with disappointment.

"Let's practice!" said Angelina, shooting into the air. Everyone but George, Fred and Harry promptly followed her.

"She should let you have another go." said George. "It's not your fault you were given a ruddy awful broom..."

"She's being a prat," said Fred angrily, glaring up at his girlfriend. "Everyone knows you practiced all summer."

"I should have let you use my broom," said Harry apologetically.

Ron half-listened to them feeling empty inside. He was the only Weasley brother who had tried out and hadn't made it on the Quidditch Team. Charlie, George, Fred, they had all made it on the first try...he was a failure.

Angelina called to the three players still on the ground, a warning tone in her voice. The twins ignored her. Harry looked over his shoulder briefly.

"You'd better go." Said Ron finally. They looked at him uncertainly. "I'm fine, honestly." George patted Ron on the back and then the twins finally took off, much to the relief of an annoyed Angelina. Harry stayed a moment longer, looking uncertain.

"Ron..."

"Harry, just GO." Said Ron exasperatedly. He turned and walked quickly off the Quidditch Pitch. He wanted to go somewhere, wanted to be alone. He headed towards the lake where he could sit and think and brood. An uncertain voice broke into his thoughts.

"Ron?"

It was Hermione.

"I don't want to talk about it." He said quietly, not bothering to look up as she fell into step beside him.

"Ron, I know you're disappointed, but..."

"What part of 'I don't want to talk about it' did you not understand? Leave me alone." He snapped. She stopped abruptly in her tracks and he left her behind as he continued towards the lake. He immediately regretted snapping at her, but he couldn't turn back now. He cried out in surprise as she suddenly appeared before him blocking his path. He stopped short to avoid running right into her. Her eyes were bright and her voice stern. Using all her strength she pushed him hard, causing him to loose his balance and fall. He landed with a thud on the green grass.

"Ron Weasley! Grow up!" All he was able to do was gape up at her in amazement. She stood towering above him, the breeze moved her brown hair gently behind her and her eyes were dark and intense. He couldn't tell if it was the fall that had knocked the breath out of him, or the sight of her looking so...so...

"So...what?" he asked himself silently.

"H-hermione..." He stuttered.

"Ron, I'm sick of this! So what if you didn't make the Quidditch Team this year? There will be loads of positions next year. It isn't the end of the world. So stop pouting, and don't take it out on me."

"You don't understand!" cried Ron, sitting up. His surprise was quickly being overcome by anger and frustration.

Hermione's face softened somewhat. She kneeled beside him so that they were eye level with one another. "What don't I understand? That you have to prove yourself. That you want to be more than Fred and George's little brother, more than Harry Potter's best friend...?"

"It doesn't matter." Said Ron pulling up a tuft of grass and throwing it down.

"What doesn't?"

"Everything. No matter how hard I try, I'll always be me. Just Ron Weasley."

Hermione shook her head and stood abruptly. "Oh, Ron, when will you learn?" She held a hand out to him. He took it and she helped him to his feet.

"Learn what?"

"That's all you need to be. You don't have to prove yourself to us. We know that you are the bravest, most loyal, and determined boy in Gryffindor. Not to mention one of the most intelligent, though you usually exhibit that in chess rather than your schoolwork." She added with a frown.

Ron was speechless. He just stared at her. She turned to him, looked him directly in the eye and sighed. "We believe in you Ron, don't you think it's about time you did?"

Ron shook his head trying to forget the day he had realized that he loved her. Not just because she was the smart, kind and gentle Hermione she had always been, but because she had seen something in him he hadn't been able to. When he was around her, he felt like he was someone, not just another Weasley. At least he had until a couple of minutes ago.

He turned the corner and ran head on into the last person on earth he wanted to run into at that moment. Ron fell backwards, the wind getting knocked out of him.

"Watch where you're going, Weasley." Sneered an annoyed Draco Malfoy who was also sprawled on the floor.

"Oh, shove off, Malfoy." Said Ron, getting up, his anger rising. He was tempted to hit him, for no reason at all, except that he would be hitting someone, causing someone else some pain.

Draco snickered. "What's the matter? Did you just find out your mum's pregnant...again? Really, Weasley, just like rabbits..."

Ron swung blindly catching Draco square in the jaw. "Ron!" said a voice from behind him. He turned to see Ginny running towards him. Just then Draco hit him in the stomach, knocking the air out of him and causing him to double over in pain.

Ginny came to a stop beside him, "Ron, are you alright?"

Draco was now pointing his wand at him, with his left hand and rubbing his jaw with his right. "You know, Weasley, people can't say you have absolutely nothing. After all, you have inferiority."

Ginny pulled her wand on him and pointed it at him threateningly. She thought she saw surprise flash in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by his usual calm demeanor.

"Back off, Malfoy." hissed Ginny.

"Letting your little sister fight your battles, eh, Weasley?"

Ron, who was still trying to catch his breath, put out a hand to stop her and stood upright painfully, his face red in anger.

"What is going on here?" hissed an unpleasant voice. The three students turned to see Professor Snape studying them closely.

"He attacked me." Said Draco quickly indicating Ron.

"Detention, Weasley," said Snape, not even bothering to glance at Ron. His eyes were focused on Ginny who still held her wand on Draco. "And Miss Weasley, pray tell me what you think you are doing?"

Draco grinned maliciously at her from behind Snape's back, making her shake with rage. "Sir, he hit Ron."

Snape almost seemed to hide a smile. "Indeed, Weasley? In self-defense, which is clearly evident. That does not explain why you are holding a Slytherin prefect at wand point. I'm not to be led to believe that this was an ambush, am I?" He put up a hand to silence her heated response. "You can join your brother in serving detention. Be in my classroom at ten tonight."

Ron and Ginny watched in silence as Snape disappeared down the hall and Draco sauntered off towards the Great Hall with a satisfied smirk on his face.

"You shouldn't have gotten involved."

Ginny turned on him, anger in her face. "What was I supposed to do, let him hex you?"

"It couldn't have made things any worse." Said Ron darkly.

Ginny studied him a moment in silence. He broke eye contact and looked at his shoes dejectedly. "Ron, it was a simple mistake, I would have thought the same thing if I had been her."

Ron started to walk away without a word.

"At least give her a chance to explain!" he heard her cry from behind. He shook his head and didn't look back.

* * * * *

Harry's mind was desperately trying to catch up with what had just happened as he led Hermione out of the castle and toward the lake. He didn't know how things had gotten so out of hand.

He felt responsible. He had, after all, been the one who had told Ron he should tell Hermione how he felt about her. Harry had meant face to face, of course, but Ron had instead spent a small fortune on the necklace, and then she had thought it was from Harry. All Harry knew was that Ron was disappointed, Hermione was upset, and he was in the middle of it. He had to try to make things right again. He stopped when they reached the lake and turned toward her.

"Hermione, this is all my fault."

"What?" she asked clearly surprised. "What is?"

"This! I was the one who told Ron he should tell you his feelings for you. I didn't think it would get so royally botched though!"

"No," she said slowly, avoiding his eyes, "I shouldn't have assumed it was from you."

"Of course you would!" he said loudly, causing Hermione to look up at him, peculiarly. "Ordinarily there is no way Ron could afford something like that. It was perfectly natural to assume that I..."

She looked away and he had the impression he had said something wrong. "Hermione," he said hastily. "There's no reason to get so upset. Ron will get over it, he just needs some time to cool down a bit."

"It's not that." She said wiping a tear away angrily.

"What is it then?"

"Harry, I wanted it to be from you."

He stared at her, uncomprehending. "You did?"

She nodded and sat down heavily on a bench overlooking the lake. Harry simply stood, unable to drag his eyes away from her. She had wanted it to be from him? A gift that signified true love? He could tell that she was fighting a losing battle to keep the tears back. And he got the feeling that she didn't want him to see her cry, and it felt wrong to watch her, but he couldn't turn away.

Finally, he sat beside her, trying to get the words right. His stomach felt like the bottom had dropped out from underneath it. Please, don't let me mess this up, he prayed silently. She continued to stare unseeingly across the lake, refusing to look at him. He wasn't sure if this made things easier or worse.

"Hermione, you know you are my best friend and one of the most important people in my life." He began at length. "And I, well...I wouldn't ever want to risk our friendship by trying to make it more than it is."

She closed her eyes and nodded slowly, as if she had expected this answer.

"It's not that I don't like you..."

"You just don't like me like that. I understand, Harry." Her voice sounded distant and flat. Harry looked at her nervously; finally she looked up at him.

"It's all right," she said, flashing a small smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Really, I understand."

He didn't smile back. "Hermione, please don't hate me." He said suddenly. He couldn't imagine what it would be like without Hermione as a friend.

"I could never hate you." She said softly. He was silent then. He knew it was the truth. Hermione always told the truth, even when it hurt. He felt awful. In a way he was relieved that she wasn't angry, but there was also a part of him that felt sad. Something had changed between them, and he knew it would never be the same.