A/N: This is hermioneclone12, Victoria, and here is the first chapter, written by *me*. Yay! Next chapter will be written by Nickle!!!! Yay!
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Hermione sat resignedly out the window of Gryffindor common room. As much as she hated to admit it, she did have something she loved more than homework, and that was her best friend, Ronald Weasley. Sure, she loved her other best friend, Harry Potter, but not in the same way that she loved Ron.

She looked around to the now deserted common room around her. Why did she even bother? Ron was a friend, nothing more, and would never be anything more. It was a lost cause, as she had repeated to herself so many times.

Pressing her hands to her eyes, she was suddenly aware of how extremely tired she was. "How long have I been up? What time is it? And what is that annoying creaking sound?" She withdrew her hands from her face, her eyelids now drooping slightly. Another creak…no, maybe she imagined it.

Her eyelids began to close, but she was trying with all her might to stay awake, to find the cause of the creaking noise getting steadily louder….closer. She allowed her head to rest on her arms. What was the shadow in front of her, coming closer, and closer? Who was it? Before she could answer these questions in her head, she drifted off into sleep as the shadowed figure of somebody stepped out of the shadows…

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Hermione’s eyes fluttered open, puffy from staying up so late into the night and waking up so early, the sun hadn’t even risen yet. How long had she slept? She quickly glanced around her, and found herself, once again, alone in the common room. "Story of my life," she thought, yawning. It was then that she noticed a long, rectangular package in front of her on the table. Was it for her? She looked around her once more, as if to make sure no one was watching her, and slowly pulled the package nearer. Written in messy handwriting, that she couldn’t quite make out who belonged to, was ‘To Hermione Granger’ with the ‘I’ dotted with a heart.

At first, she was hesitant on opening it. Who knows what could be inside? It could very well be something as harmless as some sugar quills, but it could also be something dangerous, meant to harm her. Curiosity got the better of her, and she slowly opened the package. After she had taken of the plain beige wrapping, a single rose, followed by some papers, folded neatly to take the shape of the box, fell out.

She picked up the rose, and held it tenderly in her hands. Who had sent her this? She brought the rose to her nose and took in the sweet fragrance. She laid it down and picked up the top paper. Carefully, she opened it, and read:

"A Red, Red Rose"

O my Luve's like a red, red rose
That's newly sprung in June;
O my Luve's like the melodie
That's sweetly play'd in tune!
As fair thou art, my bonnie lass,
So deep in love am I:
And I will love thee still, my dear,
Till a' the seas gang dry:
Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear,
And the rocks melt with the sun;
i will luve thee still my dear
When the sands of life shall run.
And fare thee weel, my only Luve,
And fare thee weel a while!
And I will come again, my Luve,
Tho' it were ten thousand mile.



Her eyes darted from left to right, rereading the poem. A small smile played across her lips. She immediately recognized the poem she held in her hand as a muggle one. It was one she knew by heart, as it was one of her favorites.

She set the paper down, next to the rose, and picked up the next paper. In it, in large letters covering the full length of the parchment, was ‘When you smile, my heart melts’ in large, shining letters, bewitched to have each letter light up individually in different colors.

She placed this down on top of the first one, and picked up the third and final. This one caught her attention.

‘Others say it’s just a crush, but I say that it’s love. Sometimes when I feel upset or lonely, all I have to do is look at you from across the common room, look into your beautiful cinnamon brown eyes, and I know everything’s all right.’

Did this mean that, whoever this person was, was in Gryffindor? "It has to," she decided, "It couldn’t be anyone but a Gryffindor." For a second, for some odd reason, she thought of Dobby, the house elf, but she doubted that the he had fallen in love with her.

Outside, it was breaking day, and she could see the sun, in the distance, rising above the ground. She turned the rose over and over again, contemplating who this mystery person could be. She assumed that whoever this person was, was male, but she couldn’t be sure. It was never specified in any of the papers, or on the box or wrapping paper for that matter.

She was determined to find out who had sent her this; it would most certainly bother her to never find out. Closing her eyes, she forced her mind to recall the events of last night. What had happened. She remembered trying not to fall asleep, and wondering what time it was. She also remembered the creaking noise that had annoyed her, and trying to figure out where it was coming from. Then one thing came rushing back to her: the shadow that was moving steadily toward her before she fell asleep. This shadow had to be whoever gave her this package, it had to be.

Once again, she tried to force herself to think back again. "If I could only remember which direction this person came from, then I would know if they were male or female" she thought. She started to get a headache, and gave up her attempt. She took to staring out the window, as she did the night before, watching the sunlight roll over the grounds and creep up the side of the castle. She heard something. What was it? She spun around in her seat, to see Ron walking toward her, smiling.

“G’morning, Hermione,” he said groggily, as Hermione hastily tried to get her package and its contents out of sight. “What’s that?”

“Nothing…nothing,” Hermione lied, “A package from mum and dad.”

Ron sat down across from her, trying to catch a glimpse of the package. “Your mum and dad sent you a rose?”

“Yeah…yeah…they always send me a rose this time of year,” she lied again.

“How come I never saw one before this?” Ron asked.

“I always….er….,” Hermione sighed. “All right, it isn’t from my mum and dad. I just found it here…when I woke up. I don’t know who it’s from, is just said, ‘To Hermione Granger’.” Ron looked at her a moment.

“It looks like you have a secret admirer,” Ron said, before standing back up. “But just watch out Hermione, it could be one of those old brutes who go around stalking people for their own sick pleasure.” A worried look spread across his face, and his ears went red. “I gotta go get dressed.”

"I don’t think it’s any kind of stalker…It’s too good to be that. But…a secret admirer," Hermione thought. "I like the sound of that."

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After Harry and Ron had come down fully dressed, and Hermione had placed her new gifts on her bed, they headed down to breakfast. She didn’t say anything about it to Harry, and Ron didn’t seem to have told him either. They entered the Great Hall, and all the excited noise stopped immediately. Hushed voices whispered as they passed, and Hermione soon understood why. A huge banner, with a beaming picture of herself, looking around at the Great Hall, brandished the words, ‘I LOVE YOU, HERMIONE GRANGER’. Hermione looked up in awe at it, and saw that she wasn’t the only one; some were pointing at it, and some, like Malfoy, looked up at it and laughed.

Speaking loudly, so as to be heard, he said, “Hermione Granger? Who would love a mudblood like her?” The whole Slytherin table burst out in laughter. Hermione blushed, and ran out of the Great Hall. She was used to them laughing at her by now, but the fact that her ‘Secret Admirer’ had done something so big and obviously something that took so much time, embarrassed her in an odd way. She wasn’t used to this kind of attention; the last person to give her so much attention was Viktor, but then she at least knew who was giving her the attention.

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Her last class of the day was History of Magic. Although it was halfway through the year, she still couldn’t believe that both Harry and Ron had scraped an OWL and had to take the class this year. She tried to concentrate on her notes and the lesson, but her mind kept drifting to the banner, the rose, the gifts. It was all very unnerving, because she still had no clue as to who it was, but it was sweet all the same. She tried to concentrate on the lesson.

“…and Saint Valentine, although recognized as a Priest in the muggle world…”

Hermione still had trouble concentrating on the lesson. She tried to pretend it was just a dream, none of this happened, just so she could concentrate.

“…but we as wizards and witches know that Saint Valentine was the originator of Love Potions in history, and was the first to bring up the idea of a secret admirer, having been one himself…”

Hermione had had it. She needed to find out who this person was, and she needed to know now. It was driving her crazy. She looked around her and noticed that all eyes were on her; she had stood up sometime during her thoughts, and sheepishly sat back down. Hermione sighed, and stared down at her parchment. She had barely written any notes. What was the point of taking notes, anyway? She could, just as easily, go to the library and get the information, or just get the notes out of her textbook. She let her mind wander willingly now, and doodled on a scrap piece of parchment.

She sensed someone looking over her shoulder, she could feel their breath on her neck. She turned her head around to find Harry, who had been sitting to her right, trying to look over her shoulder. He tried to look at the parchment, but Hermione’s hair was in the way. Hermione looked down at her parchment, and to her horror, had Ron’s name scribbled all over her paper with little hearts. She snatched the paper up off the desk and stuffed it into her bag, and turned to Harry. That had been a close call. Harry almost saw it.

She looked at Harry, who was still trying to look over her shoulder. He looked to her face, just now realizing that she was aware of his spying, and grinned sheepishly. He sat back down and adjusted in his seat, glancing up at Hermione. “What exactly were you trying to do, Harry?” Hermione demanded, still nervous at almost being caught.

“Nothing…you just had this weird look on your face…” Harry murmured.

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Hermione lied in her bed in the girls’ dormitory. It had been a long, tiring day. Harry had almost found out, she couldn’t figure out who her secret admirer was, and the teachers still couldn’t figure out how to get the banner down. Hermione was mentally exhausted. She hadn’t even had so many thoughts running through her head when she was studying for OWL exams. She drifted off into a deep, dreamless sleep…


A/N: Diclaimer: The poem is by Robert Burns, NOT me or Nickle!

By the next morning, Hermione still couldn't figure out who her 'Secret Admirer' was. She didn't know whose handwriting it was, because apparently the person used a 'Quick Quotes Quill' or something of the sort. She hoped it was a boy, for several reasons. The first being that she wanted it to be a boy, the second being that if it was a girl, she wouldn't know what to do or say; she'd never been in this situation before. “Man!” she thought to herself. "I have to find out who is sending me this."

When she got dressed, she went down to the Great Hall. She was going to wait for Harry and Ron, but after a long wait, they never woke up. "They sleep like logs,” she thought. As she walked in the Great Hall, she stared in horror at the banner that had recently said, 'I love Hermione Granger'. Today it said, 'Who could love a mudblood like Hermione Granger?' and had her picture being swallowed up in flames over and over again. Her eyes had gone all red and they had tears in them, threatening to spill. The Slytherin table was howling with laughter when they saw her come in. Harry and Ron came in, and Hermione turned to see them enter.

They stared at the picture going up in flames with wide mouths and humongous eyes. Hermione, who turned to them, gave them one last look, and ran out of the Great Hall sobbing, while the Slytherins' laughter grew louder. Ron was about to chase after her, when Harry grabbed his arm and said, "Let her go, mate. She's really mad and I wouldn't go near her if I were you."

Ron nodded in silence and yelled, "You'll pay, Malfoy!" in his direction.

Hermione had gone by the lake and had decided to sit under a tree. She put her legs up to her chest and started crying into her legs. "I hate Malfoy! Why does he HAVE to torment me like this?" she said out loud to herself. She sat alone, crying, for quite some time. At one point, she must have fallen asleep, because she was awakened by a package that had fallen by her feet. She looked up just in time to see an owl fly towards the direction of the castle.

She picked it up off the floor and quickly read the envelope that was tied to it. 'To Hermione Granger-From Your Secret Admirer’. She smiled and opened up the box. It said, 'Chocolates For the One I Love'. The box also contained two pieces of paper in it. She read the first piece of paper that said,

'Dear Hermione,

I'm really sorry that they used my banner to say what they said. I hope that you can forgive me. These chocolates, I hope, will make you feel better. I always eat chocolates and think of you when I feel bad. Even though we are separated when we sleep, sometimes eat, and when we're not in the same classes, I still think of you.

Love,

Your Secret Admirer.'

She smiled again and started to read the second piece of parchment, which contained a poem. One of her favourites, I might add.

I hid my love when young while I
Couldn't bear the buzzing of a fly
I hid my love to my despite
Till I could not bear to look at light
I dare not gaze upon her face
But left her memory in each place
Where 'ere I saw a wild flower lie
I kissed and bade my love goodbye

I met her in the greenest dells
Where dewdrops pearl the wood bluebells
The lost breeze kissed her bright brown eye
The bee kissed and went singing by
A sunbeam found a passage there
A gold chain round her neck so fair
As secret as the wild bee's song
She lies there all the summer long

I hid my love in field and town
Till e'en the breeze would knock me down
The bees seemed singing ballads l'er
The fly's buzz turned a Lion's roar
And even silence found a tongue
To haunt me all the summer long
The riddle nature could not prove
Was nothing else but secret love



"Wow!" she thought, "This guy knows every poem that I like! And now I can call him a guy."

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When she went back inside, Ron caught up to her. Harry had told him that he would see him back in the common room later. "What's that?" he asked rather suspiciously.

Hermione looked up at him and simply said, "Something."

Ron sighed and said, "Could you be a little more specific?"

She looked at him up and down and finally said, "Why do you care? I mean, if you can care at all." Ron looked at her with a hurt expression. He was just concerned!

"Is it from your 'Secret Admirer'?" She looked up again. "I told you, Hermione! That guy could be a lunatic or some bloody maniac!"

She sighed and said, "Well, I don't see why you are so scared that I might get hurt. It's my life and I don't need you to protect me. I can do that myself, thanks." He looked at her with the same hurt expression he had on the last time.

"I just don't wanna see you hurt. That's all! In case you haven't noticed, Hermione, we have been friends for five years and I still don't see how you can't see that I do care about you! I'm a friend! Friends care. I know that you said I had the 'the emotional range of a teaspoon' but apparently, you don't know me that well!" The second the words came out of his mouth, she felt terribly bad. It was true. He really did care about his friends and he did often show how much he cared. It wasn't always the best way to show how much he cared, but he did. It just took a little time to realize it.

"No", she thought. "He doesn't have the emotional range of a teaspoon."

Ron quickly ran up to the common room after what he had just said. When she got there, she looked everywhere for him. She really wanted to apologize for what she had just said. As she looked up the stairs to the boys’ dormitories, she saw Ron going up them. She was just going to call up to him but she heard a door slam before she could say anything. "I'll just have to talk to him later," she whispered to herself. She sighed and went to the common room to think a while.

During classes that day, Ron wouldn't talk to her. And every time she would come up to him, he would hurriedly walk away.

She tried to concentrate but she'd always go back to the letter and the fight she had had. She would always try to ignore the little voice in her head that kept saying that she wished the boy would be Ron, or at least that he would be somewhat like Ron. She would quickly put the thought aside and try to concentrate on the lesson.

Hermione kept studying the letter that night, right before going to bed. Before she was going to turn off the light, she took out the box of chocolates from her dresser and ate one. She then turned off the light and drifted off to sleep with the thought of a huge land covered in chocolates.

A/N: OOOH!!!! sorry, I'm a little obsessed w/chocolates so that last part might of sounded cheesy, but who hasn't had a dream where there is a land full of chocolates?!?!?!? Bye-bye and PLEASE review!! THANKS!! You are THE best!!

Poem by John Clare A/N: I had to change a little part in the poem because it said, 'it kissed her bright blue eye' and Harmione has brown eyes. So I had to do that little change. That's all.

A/N Hey! It's Vick (hermioneclone12) again! Yay! There's only one chapter left after this, so hope you enjoy...this is the longest chapter of any story I have ever done....so, yay! lol
next chapter to come soon (hopefully on the 14th). Please review!

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Hermione woke again that next morning, feeling just as happy as she did the night before, if not more. She wondered if this would become a daily routine for her ‘Secret Admirer’, and hoped it would; she quite enjoyed these gifts and tender words, even if she still did not know from whom it came. After dressing, she headed down to the Gryffindor common room, and sat down in the chair in front of the fire. Today was a Friday, and she did have class, but she didn’t feel like going to breakfast; too much was on her mind.

She gazed into the fire, her mind set on the gifts, and sat entranced by the flames. She was jerked out of this trance when she received a small tap on the shoulder. She broke her gaze, and turned slowly around to look at whoever had disturbed her.

“Hermione, are you okay?” Ron asked with concern.

“What do you mean, am I okay?” Hermione asked, as she saw no reason as she shouldn’t be; she was incredibly happy.

“Well, it’s just that you had this weird look on your face, and I thought something was wrong."

Hermione replied with a simple, “Oh.” Hermione continued to sit in the chair, and Ron proceeded in standing, looking down upon her. After a long, awkward pause, Ron cleared his throat.

“So…are you going down to breakfast?” He asked, shuffling his feet.

Why did he act so brave one minute, then sheepishly the next? Hermione wondered, before answering him. It always seemed she knew the answer to everything, but things about Ron. In fact, it made her feel rather stupid not to know what to say, or think for that matter, about these things. “But what about Harry?”

“Oh, um…he said that he was tired, and was going to be down…soon.” Ron answered slowly, with long pauses. Hermione thought a moment, but decided to think nothing of it.

“Okay,” she answered, and then stood up. She wasn't quite sure if he was telling her the truth; it was hard to determine. She headed towards the Portrait, but suddenly, Ron said something.

“Uh, Hermione, can you head on down yourself for now? I forgot to get something…” Ron trailed off. Hermione nodded and turned before she had a chance to see which way he had gone.

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Down at breakfast, Hermione took a seat about halfway down the table, where the small bit of Gryffindors who were at breakfast were sitting. They were one of the few who had woken up early enough to be at breakfast at the time, although students were slowly making their way into the Great Hall. She dreaded the look the Slytherins will have on their faces, because of their alterations to the sign, but she decided she’d just ignore; she had to eat, and they’d eventually find something else to torture her with.

She didn’t look at anything except her plate for a time, before looking up. For some odd reason, the Slytherins weren’t sneering and laughing, those who were up (Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy, and a few others). She shifted her eyes to the sign hanging on the wall opposite her, and was shocked to find that it had changed again.

This time, it read, “Malfoy, the AMAZING Bouncing Ferret’ with a large picture of a sleek, white ferret bouncing across the bottom of the sign. Every so often, it would stop, and its head would be replaced with Malfoy's. The Malfoy ferret would turn his head and smile, and change back into a ferret head, returning to its bouncing.

A smile broke out across her face as she took her seat, and saw the look on Malfoy’s face; it looked as if he had just learned he had lost the whole Malfoy fortune. Hermione couldn’t see why he would look this way; after all, it was just a banner, he would most likely think of a comeback.

She studied the Great Hall more carefully, looking for something she may have missed. She scanned the teacher’s table, and all were there except for - Snape! Where was he? She turned to Neville, who was seated next to her. “Neville, do you know where Professor Snape is? He's usually at the head table by now, but he's missing...” Neville turned to her, a broad smile on his face. He was laughing joyfully, tears in his eyes.

“He’s - he’s - he’s down in the dungeons. Cleaning up.” Hermione’s expression of confusion and interest made him continue, which he eagerly did. “Someone had jinxed large pictures of Snape and Draco all over the dungeon walls, with the picture showing both of them -” Neville burst out laughing. He clutched his side, and tried to catch his breath. “Someone jinxed the picture to show them snoggin’ their heads off.” Neville burst out in another fit of laughter, and fell off his chair. Hermione smiled and laughed hysterically. She knew she shouldn't; after all, she was a prefect and this sort of thing was unacceptable, but the fact that it happened to two people she disliked with every fiber of her being forced her to not think about it on such terms.

One thing stayed on her mind, however; who did it? Was it the same person who put up the banner? Was it her 'secret admirer'? No, she thought. There are around 1,000 students, anyone of them could have done it. But, Hermione couldn't help but think that it may be the same person; placing removable banners/posters on walls did seem to be his specialty. It seemed like too much of a coincidence to her.

She turned back to Neville once more. “Does anyone know who did it?” Neville turned around once again, still laughing his head off; it wasn’t everyday that your least favourite teacher and daily torturer was embarrassed beyond measure like this.

“Well, most people think it was whoever did the sign,” Neville said, with a different smile; he looked at her in a different way. Hermione felt a bit relieved that she wasn't the only one who saw the similarity between the handywork, and that she wasn't just getting her hopes up that it was the same person. As soon as Neville's smile had come, though, the strange look and smile had vanished.

Hermione thought this weird, but Neville didn’t seem the type to be her secret admirer and do these things. He didn't seem to have enough courage, even though he was in Gryffindor, to do this type of thing, Hermione thought, especially something as big as this. Neville turned back around, and continued to laugh heartily, retelling the look on Snape’s face when he saw the pictures.

Hermione sat in her chair, not touching any of the toast, marmalade, butter, jam, pumpkin juice, or any other of the food items in front of her. It’s about time Snape and Malfoy got a taste of their own medicine, Hermione thought bitterly, remembering all the times that Snape acted unfairly and unjust, and the times Malfoy was a git and called her names and picked on her.

She watched around the Great Hall, and her eyes shifted to the entrance; Harry and Ron had finally entered, and she watched amusedly as their gaze went to her, they smiled, and then looked up to find the sign. Harry looked pure delighted; Ron, well, Hermione couldn’t quite decide what he looked like, although he did smile when Harry looked at him, laughing.

They walked over to her and took seats across the table from her, their backs to the sign. “It‘s about time he got what he deserved, but I was hoping I‘d be the one to do it.” Harry said, laughing.

Hermione broke out into another smile. “Harry, you know that whoever did this has no right to do this; they could get into serious trouble, and this must be against the rules!" she said But, when she found she was unable to be contained to her usual rule-abiding self on this matter, she said, "But, that’s not all, Harry. Someone put a bunch of posters up all over the dungeon.”

Harry looked at her for a moment, his smile wavering slightly due to puzzlement, and so Hermione continued. “Whoever did it bewitched two pictures of Draco and Snape to...snog.” Harry barked even louder in laughter, clutching his side as Neville did.

“Who - did - that?” Harry managed through gasps of laughter.

“Neville told me that most think it was whoever put up the banner,” Hermione replied, nodding towards the banner behind them. She blushed a little, and continued. "But, even though I think that Snape and Malfoy both deserved it, it still must be against the rules."

Harry gave her a look as if to say, 'are you crazy?' and Ron looked slightly put-out. Hermione wasn't quite sure why he looked like that, and though that it may be perhaps that he, as usual, was thinking she was crazy for being so rule-abiding.

Harry stood up, “I’m going down to see it before Charms, Ron, you coming?”

"Be careful, Harry! You don't want Snape to catch you!"

Harry nodded at Hermione, and looked back at Ron.

Ron sat blankly for a moment, blinked, looked up, and said, “Yeah, in a minute mate.” Harry nodded and turned on his heel, bounding out of the Great Hall.

Hermione looked at Ron for a moment, and asked, “What’s wrong? You’re unusually…quiet today. You’re not even eating!”

Ron looked at her, and said, “It’s nothing. Just…anxious, is all.”

“For what?” Hermione asked, leaning in closer.

“For Sunday.”

“Sunday?” Hermione thought aloud, racking her brain. What was on Sunday? “Oh, Valentine’s day. Why are you anxious about that? You never were before.” Why on Earth would he be anxious for that? It comes and goes every year, but I never saw him pay it any mind before...Most likely, he has something planned, she thought with a slight frown.

Ron hesitated a moment, but then said, “I’m anxious because I plan on asking someone out. I don’t know what she’ll say.” His ears went pink and he stared determinedly at the bread pudding in front of him. Hermione’s heart sank. He was already planning on asking someone out, he already liked someone else.

How could I have been so...stupid? she thought. Ron doesn’t like me, he likes someone else. I assumed that he did, but he doesn't...I knew I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up, but I couldn't help myself...

Hermione felt her eyes sting and knew she was on the verge of tears. She knew that she shouldn't got her hopes up, as she thought over and over, and that it wasn't something like a test, and that you could assume you got a good grade. People aren't tests, and you can win them over by assuming that you are.

Ron could see it to, because a look of concern washed over his face as he studied Hermione. “Hermione, wha-” he began, but was cut off by her.

“I've...I've got to go to the library...for...the Potion's essay...,” she said, and stood up and walked toward the door as fast as she could without attracting too much attention. He liked someone else. Now she knew for sure that whoever it was that was sending her the amazing gifts that she had come to enjoy receiving every day, were not from him.

"But you already finished it!"

***

She swept through the Fat Lady’s portrait after saying the password, (cupid's arrow) and sat in the chair in front of the fire. She gazed once again into the flames, flickering, as if dancing, in the fireplace. Hermione willed herself not to cry - she wouldn’t, not this time.

She tried to calm herself by thinking that, if it wasn’t Ron, she still had the joy of figuring out who it was, and possibly finding him as funny, cute, sweet, and adorable as she found Ron. That maybe he was somebody that she could like back, as well. Yes she thought I won't dwell on it, I'll just concentrate on who it is, not who I want it to be. Distract myself.

Then, a thought crossed her mind. What if someone was doing all this as some cruel joke? What if it was some scheme cooked up just to play with her emotions? She tried to shake the idea, but it was the sort that once thought of, was hard to get rid of.

She tried to think of something else - the Transfiguration test the next day, or - wait. “I’m late for class!” Hermione said aloud to herself, realizing it had only been breakfast and she still had a full day’s lessons. Breakfast was bound to be over by now, and she knew the lesson must have already started.

She bounded up the steps to the girls’ dormitory, retrieved the things she would need for class, and raced to the classroom. She opened the door, and snuck to her seat. She looked up at Professor McGonagall, who had her back turned. McGonagall turned stiffly around and set a cross gaze on Hermione.

“I would appreciate if you were not late for class, Miss Granger. And please refrain from sneaking in when you are late. 5 points from Gryffindor.” She turned back around on her heel to the chalkboard and continued to explain the diagram on how to transfigure a flamingo into a chess board.

Hermione sighed and took a seat, next to Harry, away from Ron. Her mind wandered back to the thought she had before realising she was late, and forced herself not to believe it. No one is that cruel, except for the Slytherins, and this sort of trick doesn't seem the type they'd pull. Whoever is sending me the gifts likes me, and aren't tricking me. she thoght, determined not to believe otherwise.

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Hermione lay exhausted in her bed from another day of rigorous class work. She had avoided Ron at all costs; she sat on the opposite side of the room during classes she had with him, and sat with Ginny and other 5th year Gryffindors during lunch. She turned on her side, and tried not to think of the sinking feeling she felt, and the great flop she felt from her heart. Why didn’t he like her? Who was the girl that he did like? This train of thought followed her into a deep sleep.

That night, she dreamt a strange dream. She was in Hogwarts, but where, she couldn’t tell. She was peering around a corner at someone with flaming red hair - Ron. He was sitting at a small elegant table, adorned with a beautiful lace table cover, candles in wire holders, and a small, velvety box. She watched as he wrung his hands nervously, darting his eyes around every so often, as if he was looking for someone - or waiting.

Hermione saw something in the corner of her eye move, and saw Gryffindor robes sweep past her. It was a girl - she could tell by the shoes, and she was walking at a slow pace, as if somehow lost and couldn’t find her way. Hermione looked up at the girl, now to her left, and saw small dainty hands poking out of the sleeves of the robes, and bushy brown hair. The girl nervously rounded the corner in which Ron was waiting at the small table, and Hermione strained to see her face.

Still, the girl’s bushy brown hair was in the way. She was familiar, yet Hermione knew she hadn’t met her before, she was sure of it. She walked behind the girl, sticking close to the wall, so as to not be seen, and watched as she opened a door that had suddenly appeared, blocking Ron from view. The door opened, and Hermione swore she heard the girl’s heart leap, and saw Ron’s broad, yet nervous, smile on his face as he stood up from the table.

He approached the girl, and stood about two feet away from her. He talked to her, saying something, but Hermione couldn’t hear anything - it was like he wasn’t talking at all, that he was just moving his lips soundlessly. He stopped talking, and the girl started to. Still, Hermione couldn’t here. She moved a step closer, and strained her ears. She watched as they continued to converse for what seemed like an eternity, and they continually got inch by inch closer.

A smile played across Ron’s lips again. He took the final step toward the girl, and put his head forward - he kissed her. They held for a moment, and he pulled back, an even broader grin than the last.

He took her hand in his, and lead her over to the small table. Before she sat down, he hastily stuffed the small box in his pocket, as if he didn’t want the girl to see it, and took his seat after her. Hermione felt herself waking up, and the scene before her slowly faded away.

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Hermione woke up, and confusion overcame her. Who was that girl? Was this the girl Ron spoke of? What was in the little velvet box? Who was that girl? The first two questions, Hermione was sure she knew the answer to: it was the girl, and the velvet box contained some kind of jewelry, probably a ring or earrings, by the size.

Hermione swung her legs over the side of the bed, and they hit something. She looked down, and saw another package. She bent over the bed, and picked them up, a smile on her face and the dream pushed away, temporarily forgotten.

Inside, was another set of letters, and a gift. This time, the gift was a book of love poems, and a drawing of what looked to be her. It was actually quite good, and she knew that whoever this ‘mystery man’ was, was an artist.

The first paper was another love ‘note’.

I don’t know how I ever lived without you, my love.

She smiled even more, and looked up to make sure no one else in the dorm was awake and watching. She opened the second letter, which turned out to be another clue.

I thought I was no match for Krum, 2 years ago in our fourth year. I was still even jealous about those long letters you write - can you ever forgive me?

“Of course I’ll forgive you,” Hermione whispered to herself, knowing that no one would answer her. So, now, she knew it was a Gryffindor boy, and that he was jealous of her and Krum. That does narrow it down a bit, but there were still a lot of boys jealous of me and Krum, she though, straining to remember all the Gryffindor boys who had shown signs of jealousy.

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Hermione went through another day of avoiding Ron. All day, she barely bothered with notes, and instead thought more about the hint. By keeping her mind on this subject, she could easily forget about the hurt she felt when it came to Ron's 'mystery girl'.

Who could it be? It was starting to agitate her a bit, not knowing, and not being able to guess who. She knewe if she used reason, observed things, and thought logically, she could easily figure it out, but emotions got in the way; the happiness she had an admirer, the joy of being like (or loved), and the thrill of meeting this person.

Just before going to bed Hermione put out the light of her wand and fell asleep with the previous night’s dream in mind, hoping to have the same dream, but get to see the girl.

However, Hermione slept a dreamless night that night; she was so mentally exhausted, how could she dream anything?

The Final One


When Hermione awoke the next morning she soon realized that she was having a terrible head-ache.

"Ugh!" she moaned. She was so tired the night before and now this. "Could this day get any better?" she asked herself.



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As soon as she got dressed she went down to the Great Hall and had some breakfast. She would have normally sat down with Harry and Ron, but she didn't want to talk to Ron. At least not at the moment. She was too sad, hurt, angry and tired. Sad because she hated the thought of Ron going out with another girl. Mad because of the same reason. She was also sick and tired of seeing the same banner every morning. It was getting kind of old and she would have rather taken it down.

"But, my 'Secret Admirer' did have to do a big job putting up there", she reasoned. "Well, I need to go take a nap after I am done with classes."

Just as she had finished her sentence the owls came in from around everywhere. She looked up just in time to see a brown owl drop a package right in front of her plate. She picked it up and read what it said. 'For Hermione-Love Your Secret Admirer.' She smiled and quickly left the Great Hall. She wanted to open it in private.

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When she got to her dorm and checked if anyone else was in sight she ripped the paper from the package. When all the paper had fallen off, she saw that it was a cute teddy bear holding a little, fluffed up pillow with the shape of a heart. It had 'I Love You' written on it in a hot pink colour. She stared at it for a few moments in deep thought about how wonderful this person must be. She couldn't help but think that maybe Ron had sent it. But she quickly dismissed that idea. She had been acting very weird lately. Thinking about Ron and another girl with him, dreaming about him, staring at him from a distance and she had even written 'Ron Weasley' on 5 pieces of paper during class! She soon pushed all those thoughts away as she saw the envelope with the delicate writing on it. As soon as she had opened the envelope two pieces of paper fell out of it.


Of Pearls and Stars



The pearly treasures of the sea,
The lights that spatter heaven above,
More precious than these wonders are
My heart-of-hearts filled with your love.

The ocean's power, the heavenly sights
Cannot outweigh a love filled heart.
And sparkling stars or glowing pearls
Pale as love flashes, beams and darts.

So, little, youthful maiden come
Into my ample, feverish heart
For heaven and earth and sea and sky
Do melt as love has melt my heart.




Hermione giggled a little and then started to read the next piece of paper. She read it over and over again till she could probably say it in her sleep.

‘Dear Hermione,' it read. ‘I wanted to wish you a Happy Valentine’s day! As you can see, the teddy bear and the pillow really do mirror my feelings towards you. The reason I am writing is because it would be an honor for me to have you as my dinner date tonight. I know it’s kind of an awkward invitation. But if you accept, please come to the North Tower at 7:00 p.m.

‘Love, Your Secret Admirer.

‘P.S. I have another present I would like to give you tonight.’


She sighed and got up. She had to go to classes at the moment but once she came back to her dormitory she would take the whole entire time to get ready for tonight. Hermione sensed that today was going to be the longest day of her life.

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All during potions Hermione was messing up. She put a wolf’s eye in her Vampire Soup when in truth she had to put frog blood in it. All the students, including Ron and Harry, could tell that she was really out of it.

In Transfiguration class she actually got a detention for being out. When she got it she sighed a sigh of relief because thankfully the detention was going to be for the next day.



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When all the classes were over, Hermione went up to her room to get ready. She had never been so nervous in all her life. As soon as she closed the door she locked it. She knew her roommates wouldn’t be in till later in the day.

Like all girls would have done, the first thing she did was get in the shower. When she got out, she quickly put on just a little bit of make-up. She knew that the natural look would look the best on her. As soon as she was out of the bathroom she went to her trunk and tried to look for something decent to wear.

‘This is going to be harder than I thought,’ she thought to herself.

Hermione quickly put on her new dress robe. She didn’t think that it would look the best for tonight, but it was all she had. She put her shoes on, glanced at the clock one more time, fixed her hair with a simple spell, and put some perfume on.



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Hermione was climbing the stairs and going through doors to reach the Tower. As soon as she closed the last door to the tower she remembered!

"This is exactly like my dream. I am the girl in the dream," she thought.

She quickly scanned the tower and smiled to herself. The tower had been decorated by ‘someone.' The place was covered with roses, pink and red hearts, and hot pink balloons. She was looking around for her ‘Secret Admirer', but since it was so dark she could hardly see anything. She sighed. Hermione didn’t really know if the sigh was one of relief or one of disappointment. She guessed it was both. She glanced around one more time and finally saw some movement near the table. The only thing that lit the place were a few stars and two candles on the table. Hermione gasped as soon as she saw the movement and closed her eyes. She was really nervous and because of this she started biting her bottom lip really hard. When she finally opened her eyes she finally saw who the person was.

Ronald Weasley.

Hermione laughed. It was one of those nervous and happy laughs.

"You came," he said sheepishly.

“I came, but after all that bagging, it was you after all. Wasn’t it?” she realized that after she had said this that it was obvious that Ron was her Secret Admirer. He was all dressed up and he smelled good too.

“Well,” he started. “I couldn’t let you know that it was me. It would have ruined everything. The surprise, I mean. I-I-well-I mean-Everything could have gone wrong. I mean, you- Listen, Hermione-Well, I-Do you want to sit down and talk?” he was talking way too fast and he was kind of shaking.


“Yeah, that sounds fine. I don’t mind.”

Hermione couldn’t keep the stupid smile off her face. She tried to hide it a little, so it wouldn’t look like she was overdoing it. She sat down on the chair facing the view of the mountain slopes and little brook. Hermione wasn’t really paying any attention to the view; she was preoccupied with the red-headed teenager sitting across from her.

“So, what do you want to talk about, Ron?” Hermione asked a little too sheepishly. It was kind of obvious to her what this conversation was about. She had been sitting there staring at him without noticing and when he started to chuckle a little, she came out of it.


“I wanted to tell you that I love you, Hermione. I don’t remember exactly when I started loving you, but I know that this feeling has been haunting me for a long while. I asked you to come here for a reason. I want to know what you feel towards me, Hermione. I know I could be throwing our whole entire friendship out the window. But I’m taking that risk because I need to know what you feel towards me and I couldn’t keep the feeling in any longer. Hermione I-”

He was stopped short by Hermione’s lips covering his own. Hermione hadn’t realized what she had done until it was too late. But she was glad she did do it. Neither one of them wanted it to end right now. It was a really long kiss. But like all human beings, one had to breathe.

Hermione smiled and said, “You have no idea how long I’ve waited for you to say that. I love you, Ronald Weasley!”

Ron laughed. Then, “Well, you have no idea how hard it was to contain myself from doing what you just did.”

“You could have done it any time. And now, you may feel free to do it at all times.”

They kissed again. After they had stopped kissing Ron said, “Hermione, in my last letter I said I had another gift-”

“Ron, you didn’t have to buy me anything. I don’t need anything from you. Except maybe your kisses, hugs and you telling me everyday that you love me. But that’s it.”

Ron smiled and said, “Well, as long as I can, I’ll try and do what you just said. Because that’s basically what I’ve been hoping to do. But, I did want to give you something. This present is a symbol of my love for you. It signifies that I love you and that nothing and nobody would ever make me not love you. I will love you till the day I die. And nothing will change that. And as corny as it may sound, I mean it. I know it’s typically not normal for a boy like me to be this strange when it comes to feelings, but Ginny helped me some. I knew what I was feeling, but I didn’t know in what words to put them in.”

Ron reached in his pocket and took out a little velvet covered box. “I would ask you to marry me right now. Except for the little details. Like, the fact that we’re both in 7th year. But, I have to satisfy myself with giving you this and making this promise. Hermione Jane Granger, I promise that I will never love anybody as much as I love you. And I promise that I’ll always be true to you, and nothing will come in between you and me. I will protect you, love you, kiss and hug you till the day I die. Will you wear this ring forever?" he stopped so he could open the box up. "Well, until I will be able to ask the big one?” Ron smiled sheepishly.

Hermione was ecstatic by the time he was done. Never in her dreams had she thought that somebody as wonderful as Ron Weasley would love her. She smiled and said, “Of course I will!”

Ron grabbed her hand softly and put the ring on her left hand, on the third finger.

“I love you, Hermione.”

“And I love you, my ‘Secret Admirer’.


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*Poem by Heinrich Heine*


Hey guys! I'm sorry this is a short chapter...but I didn't have Vicky to help me w/some stuff...I haven't heard from her in ages...so, my professional helper isn't here....and I'm sad...But if you DO like my writing and you think that it's still OK w/o Vicky's help, then PLEASE tell me so. And if you do like it, I'm gonna start writing another story...Anyway, I hope you liked it...!!!! Love you guys!!! ~Nicky