Note: Harry Potter is a book series created by J. K. Rowling and is a film series owned by Warner Bros.

Harry Potter was on his way to class. While walking around the hallways, he waved to some of his fellow classmates. Most of them didn't wave back. Harry was one of Hogwarts' least respected students and he didn't understand why. After all, he had saved Hogwarts from Voldemort's wrath. Harry didn't feel the need to be the most popular kid at school, but he did want his classmates to stop scowling at him and to stop acting like he's an outcast.

Harry saw one of his best friends, Roland Weasley. Harry smiled and asked, "How's it going, old friend?"

Ron frowned at him and asked, "Why are you calling me old? We're the same age. I can't believe you'd say such a thing."

Harry stuck his arms in the air and replied, "Ron, I wasn't trying to call you old."

Ron responded, "Well, you did and you should be ashamed of yourself."

Harry could hardly believe he had to explain what he really meant. He said, "I was just saying you're a good friend and our friendship has lasted a long time. It's not like I want to send you to a retirement center or anything."

Ron sighed and replied, "Okay. You are my best friend, so I'm forgiving you."

Harry was thinking about asking what he needed to be forgiven for, but he didn't want the arguing to continue, so he said, "I'm glad our little argument is over." He and Ron shook hands.

Harry pointed to Ron's backpack and said, "Ron, your backpack isn't zipped."

Ron replied, "I don't see why that'd be a problem." Ron's textbooks fell out of his backpack, along with his lunch.

A moment later, Hermione Granger went into the hallway. She usually got ready for class, before Harry and Ron did. However, she was distracted by her newest book, so she was running late. She rarely ran in the hallway, because Hogwarts had a strict rule about running, so she quickly walked. She wasn't paying much attention, which led to her tripping over one of Ron's textbooks.

Ron was arguing with Professor Severus Snape, so he didn't see Hermione. However, Harry turned around and saw that she was about to fall to the ground. He ran to her and held her in his arms, to keep her from falling. Harry asked, "Are you okay?"

Hermione said, "Yeah, thank you for the rescue."

Harry replied, "No problem. If you ever fall, I'll always try to catch you."

Hermione responded, "Thank you. Can you let me down?"

Harry said, "No problem." He gently placed Hermione on the ground.

Hermione said, "I should of been more careful, while walking."

Harry replied, "It's okay. I don't mind you falling for me."

Hermione raised an eyebrow and said, "Excuse me?"

Harry nervously chuckled and replied, "I meant to say, that I'm glad I was able to catch you, so you didn't fall. I need to be more careful, while talking."

Hermione responded, "We both need to be more careful."

Harry said, "We're not the only ones. Ron needs to be more careful, when it comes to zipping his backpack. His silly textbooks fell to the ground. That's what you tripped over." Hermione was tired of Ron's immaturity, so she angrily growled. Harry looked amused, while asking, "Are you alright?"

Hermione said, "I'm mad at Ron."

Harry sarcastically replied, "What a rare event."

Hermione asked, "Why can't Ron be more like you?"

Harry felt flattered, while saying, "I guess I'm one a kind."

Ron walked by and replied, "Eh, I've met a few guys who act like you."

Harry handed Ron his textbooks and said, "Those fell out of your backpack, because you ignored my warning, about zipping. Hermione tripped over one of them."

Ron looked at Hermione and replied, "I'm sorry."

Hermione responded, "It's okay. Harry saved me, like a knight in shining armor."

Harry raised an eyebrow and asked, "A knight?"

Hermione blushed and said, "I'm sorry. That was a weird way of wording myself."

Ron grinned and replied, "Seems like I'm the one, who has the most impressive vocabulary."

Hermione responded, "Considering you don't know the difference between a state and a country, I doubt that."

Ron replied, "You're one to talk. You don't know the difference between Superman and He-Man."

Harry asked, "What is the difference?"

Ron said, "He-Man can't fly, but he's also not allergic to Lex Luthor's Kryptonite."

Hermione glared at Ron and asked, "Can't you ever talk about a more relevant and worthwhile topic?"

Ron defensively replied, "Hey, I'm Ron Weasley. It's not like I'm some kind of philosopher, like Lelouch Lamperouge."

Harry, Hermione, and Ron went to Professor Gilderoy Lockhart's class. Harry and his friends looked around and saw that Lockhart looked more serious than usual. They could tell something was on his mind and they wanted to know what it was.

Hermione raised her hand and said, "Professor Lockhart, is something wrong?"

Professor Lockhart answered, "You guessed correctly, as you always do. I'm afraid one of my students has gotten some of the worst grades, of any student. If this pattern of cringeworthy grades continues, this student is going to fail this class and might get kicked out of Hogwarts."

Ginny Weasley raised her hand and asked, "Who is it?"

Professor Lockhart answered, "Harry Potter."

Harry and his friends were surprised to hear that. A few other students were also shocked, but a majority of them were laughing. Draco Malfoy felt like the luckiest guy in the world, while saying, "My arch-enemy, Harry Potter, is also the arch-enemy, for good grades. I knew he was a lousy dirtbag. It turns out he's also a dummy."

Hermione angrily replied, "Watch your tongue."

Draco said, "My tongue is so charming, I often use my mirror, to stare at it. Anyways, what is Harry's current grade?"

Professor Lockhart took a look at the scores, that Harry got on his recent assignment. He said, "He's gotten an F, on the last five assignments."

Harry asked, "What about the last test?"

Professor Lockhart answered, "You got fifteen-percent." Harry put his hands over his face, while Draco giggled like a maniac. Hermione felt bad for Harry and hoped there was something she could do.

After class was over, Harry walked up to Lockhart and asked, "Are you in trouble?"

Professor Lockhart said, "You sure are." He paused and said, "Look, I don't hate you or anything, but you're an embarrassment to this class. After all, I have my own book, promoting all the impressive things I've done. If I have a student, who gets some of the crummiest possible grades, it makes me look bad and that's not okay."

Harry replied, "I don't understand how my grades could be so bad. I know I'm not as smart as Hermione or anything, but I thought I had a decent amount of intelligence."

Professor Lockhart sighed and responded, "Harry, I think you need some tough love. I know you try, but you often make mistakes. For example, you sneak out, during the night and try to use an invisibility cloak, to hide yourself. I used to wonder why you'd do such silly things, but after seeing what your grades are, I understand what's going on."

Harry asked, "What is it?"

Professor Lockhart answered, "You're dumb."

Harry looked a little offended, while asking, "You think I'm dumb?"

Professor Lockhart nodded and said, "Let me say something, to make you feel better: It's better to be dumb, but nice, than to be smart, but rude. Because of that, you may not be smart, but you're not that bad of a guy."

Harry sighed and replied, "Thank you." He paused and asked, "Is there anything I can do, in order to get a passing grade?"

Professor Lockhart shrugged his shoulders and said, "That's a tough one. If you did tons of studying, got a tutor, and worked really hard, your grades might go up. However, I feel I should warn you, that I think your time at Hogwarts is at an end. Hogwarts is a place for magic and you don't seem to have that much of it."

Harry looked a little sad, while saying, "I see. Thank you, for the brutal honesty."

Harry went into the hallway, while moping. Hermione had a concerned look on her face, while asking, "Are you okay?"

Harry answered, "I'm not sure about that. My grades are dreadfully bad and Lockhart thinks I'm going to flunk Hogwarts."

Hermione couldn't stand the thought of Harry leaving Hogwarts, so she said, "I'm not going to let that happen. You look really worn-out. How about you take a short nap and after you've done that, I'll tutor you?"

Harry replied, "Okay, but I'm not sure if that'll work. Lockhart thinks I'm a hopeless case."

Hermione put her hand on Harry's shoulder and said, "Lockhart may be our teacher, but I know you better and I know you can pass the class. You better start believing in yourself, because I believe in you."

Harry lightly smiled and replied, "Thanks." He went into his room. He laid on his bed and closed his eyes. However, Harry started having a nightmare.

Harry's nightmare:

Harry was outside of Hogwarts. His uncle, Vernon Dursley, stepped off the train. He had an evil smile on his face, while saying, "Greetings, my least favorite relative."

Harry replied, "Uncle Vernon, what's going on?"

Vernon responded, "You did more than just disappoint me. You disappointed all of Hogwarts, by being their dumbest student. Your grades are so bad, that they've given up on you. You're never going back to Hogwarts. You're going to move back to my house."

Harry said, "Oh no."

Vernon pranced around Harry, while saying, "You're going to be grounded, for the rest of your life." He did an evil laugh.

Hermione and Ron walked up to Harry, so they could say goodbye. Hermione hugged him and said, "I'm really going to miss you, old friend."

Harry replied, "I'm also going to miss you, but I'm sure we'll see each other, on Christmas and days like that."

Vernon shook his head and said, "In order to visit your friends, you'll need a ride and I'm never going to get you one."

Harry had a tear come down his eye, while looking at Hermione and Ron, and saying, "I guess this is the end of our friendship. In my heart, you'll always be my friends."

Harry tried to hug Ron, but Ron asked, "Is your dumbness an infectious disease?" Harry and Hermione sighed.

Professor Albus Dumbledore walked up to him and said, "Harry, I think I speak for all of Hogwarts, when I say, that we've never been more disappointed in a single student. I thought you had potential, but you proved me wrong. Goodbye, nerd."

Harry knew Dumbledore would never call him a nerd, so he woke up and breathed a sigh of relief. He was thankful the dream wasn't real, but he still felt a lot of anxiety.

Ron looked at him and asked, "Are you okay?"

Harry said, "I don't really feel like sleeping. I'm just going to go to Hermione's room and do some studying."

Ron replied, "I would tell you to have fun, but studying's one of the most boring things, of all time."

Harry sarcastically said, "Thanks for putting a positive spin on it."

Ron replied, "Anytime."

Harry went out of his room and walked to Hermione's room. He knocked on the door. Hermione opened it. Harry quickly noticed that Hermione's hair was combed and she had makeup on, so he asked, "Did you make yourself look fancy, for studying-time?"

Hermione shyly said, "Studying is something I take seriously, so I wanted to look nice. That's probably a silly thing to say, isn't it?"

Harry replied, "Not at all. You look really pretty." He blushed and said, "I didn't word myself, as well as I should of. Anyways, I should try to make myself look nicer." He grabbed one of Hermione's brushes and tried to brush his hair, but he accidentally tore off a few pieces of hair.

Hermione responded, "No need for brushing your hair. You already look very nice."

Harry said, "Good, that means we can start studying."

Hermione and Harry sat down. Hermione handed him a piece of paper and a pencil, while saying, "This is a practice quiz."

Harry asked, "Where did you get this?"

Hermione explained, "Professor Lockhart started having me make the practice tests for his class, because he claimed to not have the time for such things."

Harry replied, "If you made it, the questions are probably super hard."

Hermione responded, "This isn't going to be a piece of cake, but I'll always believe in you, so give it your best shot." Harry nodded and started doing the practice test.

Several minutes later, Harry finished the practice test. He handed it to Hermione, while hoping he didn't get a bad grade. Hermione graded it. A smile came upon her face, while saying, "Harry, you got eight out of ten."

Harry was surprised to hear that. He said, "I don't know how that's possible. If I keep this up, I might avoid getting kicked out of Hogwarts."

Hermione asked, "Do you really think that'll happen?"

Harry looked a little sad, while saying, "I had a dream, where I was getting kicked out of Hogwarts and had to live with Uncle Vernon. In my dream, I was seeing you and Ron, for the last time."

Hermione could tell Harry needing some cheering up, so she hugged him and said, "Don't worry. No matter what happens, I'll make sure we don't lose contact with each other. Ron and I are always going to be a part of your life."

Harry replied, "I couldn't ask for anything better." He and Hermione smiled at each other.

Hermione said, "One thing, that puzzles me, is if you did so well on the practice test, how did you fail the last five assignments?"

Meanwhile, Ron walked to the vending machine and saw Draco dancing. Ron looked amused, while asking, "What's up?"

Draco grinned and said, "My sneaky plan paid off."

Ron asked, "What was your plan?"

Draco said, "I can tell you, but you're not allowed to tell Harry."

Ron replied, "Okay then. What's up?"

Draco responded, "I'm not the type of person, who likes to work hard on classwork and tests. Because of that, I just scribble a bunch of nonsense, which usually leads to me getting the wrong answers. In order to not fail, I wrote Harry's name on my assignments and wrote his name on my own. Because of that, I have great grades and that nerd is going to flunk Hogwarts."

Ron was disgusted, by what Draco had done. He said, "I'm sorry, but I need to tell Harry."

Draco grabbed Ron and replied, "Listen, I know I've been a bully to you and I'm willing to cut that out. If you don't tell Harry or the teachers what I've done, I'll go easier on you." Ron was desperate to avoid Draco bullying him, so he nodded and started skipping to the vending machine.

The next morning, Harry and Ron got up and started getting ready for class. Harry tried to be optimistic, but he was still worried, about his grades. He said, "I don't know why my grades have been so bad, but I'm hoping things will change."

Ron nervously replied, "You shouldn't worry. I don't know if your grades will get better, but I'll always think you're a good friend."

Harry responded, "Thank you. I can always trust you and Hermione."

Ron whispered, "I'm flattered, but I'm not that trustworthy."

Harry and Ron went into the hallway. Once again, Ron refused to zip his backpack. Ron had borrowed Professor Severus Snape's lengthy dictionary. The dictionary fell out of his backpack and landed on the floor.

Hermione came into the hallway and tripped over the dictionary. Harry rushed to her and grabbed her, before she fell. Hermione said, "Thank you."

Harry jokingly replied, "You need to stop falling for me."

Hermione smiled and responded, "I could never stop falling for you." She blushed and said, "I'm sorry. That was probably a dumb thing to say."

Harry replied, "Not at all."

Hermione noticed Harry was still feeling scared about his grades, so she held his hand and said, "Everything's going to be okay. I'm going to make sure you don't fail."

Harry replied, "Holding your hand feels nice." He paused and said, "Wow, talk about being dorky."

Hermione replied, "I don't mind being dorky." She and Harry continued holding hands, while heading to class.

A few minutes later, Harry, Hermione, and Ron got to class. After sitting down, Hermione looked at Ron and said, "I don't understand why Harry's grades would be so low."

Ron replied, "I know the reason, but you can't tell Harry. Draco switched his and Harry's names, on their recent assignments. That way, Draco would get the credit and Harry would fail."

Hermione raised her hand and said, "Professor Lockhart, I have something important to say."

Professor Lockhart replied, "Very well then. What's going on?"

Hermione said, "Draco's been taking credit, for Harry's work, and has been giving Harry the blame, for his own."

Draco stubbornly replied, "That's not true. In fact, I have evidence of the truth." He walked up to Lockhart's computer and played a video clip.

The clip starred Draco, who was wearing a brown wig and glasses, in order to look like Harry Potter. He said, "I'm Harry Potter, Hogwarts' dumbest student. My grades are going down and I'm probably going to get kicked out of Hogwarts. In order to keep that from happening, I need to get my girlfriend to lie." He got out his cellphone and pretended to call Harry. He said, "My fellow dork, I need you to lie and blame the awesome and handsome Draco, for my bad grades."

Draco did a terrible impression of Hermione's voice, while saying, "Okay. Even though I'm a nerdy rule fangirl, I'm a jerk to Draco, so I'll do it."

After the clip was over, Hermione said, "Draco, that clip looked like a parody, not evidence."

Even Professor Lockhart could tell the evidence was fake. Because of that, he looked at Draco and said, "You need to go to Professor Dumbledore's office. You're getting a lot of detentions and you might get kicked out of Hogwarts." Draco shook his fist at Harry, Hermione, and Ron, before walking out.

After class was over, Ron walked up to Harry and said, "I'm sorry, for keeping the truth a secret. I should of been a better friend."

Harry replied, "You are one of my best friends, so I'm forgiving you." He and Ron shook hands.

Harry said, "Do me a favor and start zipping up your backpack."

Ron replied, "That seems like a fair request." Ron finally zipped his backpack.

Harry walked to Hermione and said, "Thank you for comforting me and saving me, from getting kicked out of Hogwarts."

Hermione replied, "You're welcome. You saved me from falling to the ground, so it seems like we need each other."

Harry said, "Yeah, I'd be lost without you. If it weren't you speaking up about Draco, I might of gotten kicked out of Hogwarts. How can I thank you?"

Hermione shyly replied, "Step closer."

Harry responded, "Um, sure." Harry walked closer to Hermione. Hermione kissed his cheek. Harry looked surprised, while saying, "Hermione, why did you do that?"

Hermione answered, "I wanted to."

Harry shyly replied, "Thank you."

Hermione responded, "Anytime. Anyways, I better go back to my room and finish my newest book."

Harry said, "Hermione, before you go, there's something I want to say to you. Considering how poorly I word things, this'll probably sound awkward, but I feel I have to say it." He paused and said, "I love you."

Hermione replied, "I love you, too." The two of them blushed at each other, while having an awkward moment.

Harry said, "Well, I think that's enough awkwardness, for now. I'll see you tomorrow."

Hermione replied, "Goodbye for now, but never goodbye forever." Harry nodded and walked away. Harry and Hermione went into their rooms, while knowing whatever happened, they'd never have to say goodbye, because their love will last forever.