Disclaimer: I do NOT own Harry Potter.

Hermione's Troubles:

"Harry, Harry, wake up! HARRY!" Someone was whispering breathlessly into Harry Potter's left ear.

"Wha?" Harry said groggily, sitting up and looking around his dormitory.

"Shhh. You'll wake everyone else up!" The disembodied voice said. Harry blinked. The voice sounded so familiar…

Suddenly, Ron Weasley's head appeared floating beside Harry's bed.

"Ron?" Harry whispered. "What are you doing? It's the middle of the night!"

"Yes, I know it is! Come downstairs and I'll tell you, quickly!"

"Alright, alright." He replied. "I shan't get a wink of sleep otherwise." He muttered.

Walking down the stairs, Harry saw Ron sitting in an armchair by the fire. He motioned for Harry to take the other one. Harry sat down, grateful for the fire, which was really just a cluster of glowing embers, because it was keeping him warm. "So Ron, what is so important that you feel the need to wake me up in the middle of the night?" Harry said drowsily. Ron raised a hand to stop him speaking.

"Don't want anyone overhearing this." He said. Harry raised his wand and said quietly

"Silencioso. Happy now Ron? Now the only ones who can hear us are us two, and we can't hear them." Ron nodded, his freckles only just visible in the dim firelight. "Now what is it you wanted to tell me?"

"Yeah, it's good now, thanks. Well, you know how you said I can borrow your invisibility cloak sometimes, " He began.

"Yes…" Harry said.

"Well, I couldn't sleep, and I was lying in bed when I heard a noise."

"Yes..." Harry replied again, beginning to get impatient.

"So, I got out of bed and went downstairs to see who was up at such an un-earthly hour.

"Yes Ron, and?" Harry said impatiently.

"I saw Hermione walking down the stairs to the girls' dormitories!" Ron exclaimed. Harry looked confused.

"So? You know she gets up at weird hours to find facts out of books."

"Yeah, but she was crying." Ron said pointedly. I was going to go down and comfort her until I realized she didn't seem to want to be seen."

"Oh my gosh Ron!" Harry said mockingly. "You took a hint!"

"Ha ha. Very funny Harry. Do you want to know what happened or not?"

"Yeah. I suppose so." Harry said grudgingly. "Sorry for snapping at you."

"That's okay. Well, I was curious, and I remembered you said I could borrow your Cloak if I asked you. Well, you were asleep, and I wanted to be quick, and I figured you wouldn't mind. So I ducked up and got your cloak." Harry rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, and…" Harry said imploringly.

"When I got to the bottom of the stairs, I was just in time to see Hermione going through the portrait-hole!" Harry looked a bit bemused.

"And I'm gathering you followed her, Ron?" He stated.

"Of course! What kind of friend would I be if I didn't? Besides, she was muttering to herself, and I wanted to know what she was saying." He smiled, "Talking to herself, I mean, really."

"Well, if you didn't follow and eavesdrop on her, I'd say you were a friend who respects her privacy." Harry said, shaking his head slightly. "But anyway, what was she saying?"

"See! You want to know as well!" Ron exclaimed.

"I know, but would you please just tell me what she was saying!" Harry asked.

"Yeah, soon. Here's the thing I really woke you up to tell you." Ron stated. Harry's attention focused on his best friend.

"What?" He asked. "And what does it have to do with Hermione?"

"While I was following her, she was talking to herself, so I found out a few things.

"Such as…?"

"I think," Ron began, drawing it out to bug Harry.

"Ron."

"That Hermione," He continued.

"Yes?"

"Likes,"

"Ron, please, it's the middle of the night, get on with it. Plus, I want to know who she likes." Harry commentated, grinning.

"Professor Lupin." Ron finished up.

"WHAT?" Harry exclaimed. "NO WAY!"

"Yes way." Ron replied. "I heard her remember?"

"Well you must have got it wrong!" Harry burst out. "Hermione can't like Professor Lupin! What was she saying?"

"Well, she went outside, into the grounds, and looked up at the moon. It's a full moon you know."

"Wow Ron, very observant."

"And she was muttering to herself. I could hear almost every word."

"Yes, but what was she saying?" Harry said impatiently.

"Well, when she looked up at the moon, she said 'Poor Remus, I hope you found someone to make you Potion for you. I'd do it, but…' Then she trailed off. I didn't think anything was strange there though; it was the rest of it that caught my attention."

"Ron, did she really call him Remus? Since when have they been on first name terms? How could you be thick enough to miss that? What else did she say?"

"Well, she said more stuff while she was wandering outside. At one point she said 'Oh Remus, I really miss you. I wonder if I'll ever see you again. Although, even if I did see you, what does it matter?' She was speaking really bitterly at the end of the last sentence. That caught my interest even further Harry, so I edged in to hear more." Harry nodded.

"But what else did she say? She could just miss him. You know, how friends miss each other. Especially in times like these."

"Yeah, well anyway. Then she said 'But even if we do see each other again, what's the point, you won't care about me, you'll never see me as more that a student.' I was a little disturbed here. Then she continued by saying 'You'll never love me.'"

"WHAT?" Harry exclaimed. "Ron, are you making this up! If you are…" He said threateningly.

"No, really! I'm not making this up! It's exactly what I heard! Well, when she said 'You'll never love me,' I was so shocked at I stepped backwards and tripped over a tree root and fell over. I didn't make a sound, but I smashed into the tree, which made a noise."

"Unco." Harry laughed.

"Lucky the Cloak didn't come off though."

"Yeah! If she'd seen you … then … well, I wouldn't feel all too safe."

"She spun around and said 'Who's there!' shining her wand-light all around. As quietly as I could I got up and ran all the way back here, to come tell you what I heard. But can you believe it! Hermione and Lupin?"

"Hey, at least Lupin is a nice guy. Would you prefer Hermione and Draco?"

"No way!" Ron shook his head emphatically. "But he is like, a teacher." Ron looked disgusted. "And old."

"Hey!" Harry exclaimed. "Watch it! He's the same age my parents would be, not to mention Sirius!" Harry glared.

"Yeah, Harry, that's the point. He's old enough to be her father. He's as old as Professor Snape!"

"Yeah, you have a point there." Harry agreed nodding.

"It's just so … eurgh." Ron shuddered.

"Hey, it could be worse! Hermione and Snape!"

"Augh! Nooo!" Both the boys cracked up.

"Ron," Harry began firmly, "Hermione said herself that Professor Lupin doesn't have feelings for her, so…"

"Yeah, but –"

"No Ron. Look, we need to support Hermione. Be nice, okay. She's our friend. You support your friends."

"But –"

"Ron, this is why it's a good idea to tell me these things first. You will act like nothing ever happened, okay, then I will tactfully bring it up. Later."

"Last time I ever tell you this sort of stuff again." Ron muttered darkly. "Besides, Hermione has said loads of times that you aren't tactful or subtle at all!"

"Yeah, but Ron, she always says 'You're nearly as bad as Ron.'"

"Yeah… she does… WAIT! That's an insult! She insulted me!"

"Hey, she did! Ha ha, we never noticed!" They laughed.

"Fine." Ron agreed. "I won't just bring it up in the middle of a normal conversation."

"Good."

"Professor Lupin, really." Ron laughed, shaking his head.

"Yeah, it is a bit weird, isn't i– " Harry stopped speaking suddenly. "Ron, quick, someone's coming!" Footsteps could be faintly heard coming along the passage outside the portrait–hole. "Where's my Cloak?" He hissed.

"It's here!" Ron whispered frantically. "Quick, get under." Harry ran over and stood beside Ron, who threw the cloak over both of them. "Harry, cancel Silencioso, or we won't be able to hear her!"

"Oh yeah!" Harry exclaimed quietly, canceling the spell.

It was just in time. A few seconds later the entrance to the Gryffindor Common Room swung open, and Hermione walked into the room.

She looked as if she'd been crying, there were tear streaks all down her face, and her eyes looked red.

"Why?" She muttered softly. "Why do I have to care about someone who'll never like me back?"

With this cryptic comment she sadly walked over towards the stair to the girls dormitories. Halfway there she stood stock-still. Harry and Ron froze, afraid they'd been seen. Then Hermione pointed her wand at her face, and said 'Sol Aqua Nouveau.' Instantly she looked as fresh as a bright, sunny day. No-one would be able to tell she'd looked so upset a few minutes ago.

But Harry and Ron could still see the pain and sadness behind her bright eyes.

(A/N: The spell 'Sol Aqua Nouveau' is a mix of French, Spanish, and Latin. 'Sol' (Spanish) means 'sun/sunshine/sunlight/sunny,' 'Aqua' (Latin) means 'water,' and 'Nouveau' (French) means 'recent/fresh/another/further/novel', although I am using it now to mean 'fresh'. This is all translated using my Microsoft Word Translator, so it may not be exact.)