Title: If the Truth Be Told

Author:  Magic of Isis

Written for the TrioFQF Challenge:  At Hogwarts-The Trio tests Hermione's illicit batch of truth serum.

Summary:  Hermione is upset by Harry’s mysterious behavior, and schemes to uncover the truth about his activities, with Ron as her reluctant accomplice.  Along the way, the trio makes some surprising discoveries.

Warning: There’s a small amount of cross-gen slash kissing as well as Trio kissing. The plot is contrived with holes about as big as the Grand Canyon.  Please overlook it – I did.

Word Count:  7,886

Rating:  PG-13

Notes:  Mere words can’t express my thanks to Kate, the hardest working beta reader in fandom.  She showed extreme patience with this fic, and with me.  More thanks go out to friends alyndra and shocolate, who fixed my re-writes and offered excellent suggestions as well.  Plus, they were super speedy!  These ladies did the best they could with the material provided, and any remaining problems rest with me alone.  Finally, thanks go out to hpsleuth11 on Fiction Alley who came up with “fateor” and tpetey who also provided a cool list of possible names. 

 

 

* * * * *

 

“No way, Hermione!” exclaimed Ron.  “You’ve finally gone mad from too much studying, haven’t you?”

 

“I am not mad,” huffed Hermione angrily.  “I’m just really concerned, that’s all.  I’ve spoken to McGonagall about it and she’s worried too, but she won’t do anything to try to find out what the problem is.  She seems to think we should respect his privacy.”

 

Ron leaned in as he whispered, “I’m just as worried about him as you are, but I’m not suggesting we brew an illegal truth potion to make him tell us what’s wrong.  That’s so... sneaky!”

 

“You know as well as I do that Harry’s not going to say anything to anyone unless we make him.  He’s been so distant that he won’t even look me in the eye anymore, and I’ve noticed he’s not that much better with you.”

 

Hermione glared at Ron with her most bossy-know-it-all expression.  He knew right then that she was going to do it, whether he helped her or not.  Best to stay involved so that he could mitigate the damage later.  But if Harry ever found out, there would be hell to pay.

 

Ron surveyed the area around them – they were still alone in the Restricted Section of the library.  Hermione had several large tomes laid out in front of her, including their old friend, Moste Potente Potions. 

 

“I suppose I’ve no choice but to help you, but I don’t like it at all.  I mean, Hermione, don’t you think there might be a good reason these potions are illegal?” asked Ron nervously.

 

Hermione patted his arm in a most condescending way.  “Well, of course, Ronald. In the hands of someone like Draco Malfoy, it would be very improper and dangerous.  But we’re his friends, and we’re just trying to help him.  We certainly aren’t going to share anything we find out with anyone else.”

 

Ron watched as Hermione flipped through the tattered pages of Moste Potent Potions until she found the recipe she was looking for.  He read the title over her shoulder – Fateor Infusion.

 

“Fateor Infusion?  I’ve never heard of it.”  Ron furrowed his brow as he tried to make out the list of ingredients.

 

“I discovered it while I was researching my Potions term paper,” she answered distractedly. “It’s much easier to brew than Veritaserum, and we can get everything we need to brew it without arousing much suspicion.  Of course, Fateor Infusion isn’t as effective as Veritaserum: Harry will still be capable of lying if he has some deep dark secret that he really can’t tell us. But the beauty of Fateor Infusion is that it will make him want to tell us the truth.”

 

Ron rapidly lost interest in the potions text, preferring instead to watch Hermione as she pored over every word.  He fought back his desire to brush aside a tendril of her unruly hair that was falling across her cheek.  Sitting as close to her as he was, Ron could practically count the few freckles that were splattered across her nose, which, he noticed, appeared to be extremely kissable.

 

Ron selfishly wished that Hermione would give him the same amount of attention as she was now devoting to Harry.  Ron had wanted to date her all year, but it seemed as if every time he got up the nerve to ask her out, he’d walk in on Hermione and Harry with their heads together, laughing over some Muggle joke that he didn’t understand.  And he saw how Harry looked at her – even Ron could tell that Harry was interested in dating her and, quite frankly, he was shocked that Harry hadn’t already asked her out.

 

Hermione glanced over at Ron and smiled broadly when she noticed him staring at her. “What is it?  Do I have something on my face?” Her eyes sparkled as she asked the question, almost daring him to flirt with her.

 

“Yeah,” Ron replied, grinning. “You’ve got that big smile that you only get when you’re scheming something.  I was just wondering why you were putting so much effort into finding out what Harry’s up to.  Are you jealous that he might be dating someone without telling us?”

 

Hermione looked scandalized at his implication that she was jealous.  “No.  In fact, the idea that he’d be secretly dating someone never even occurred to me.  I told you, I’m just worried.  I’d do the same thing if it were you acting strangely.”

 

“You would?”  Ron’s stomach fluttered at the thought.

 

“Yes, of course,” Hermione said, a puzzled look crossing her face. 

 

She took out a quill and parchment and began to copy down the recipe.  “I’m just going to copy this so we don’t have to alert Madam Pince to the fact that we’ve been browsing through Moste Potente Potions.  I think Friday afternoon will be the perfect time to brew it.”

 

Ron grimaced.  “I have Quidditch on Friday afternoon, so you’re on your own with that, I’m afraid.  Besides, I’ve been messing up so many potions lately, I’m afraid Snape is going to start calling me ‘Longbottom’.”  Hermione snorted.

 

Ron left Hermione to finish copying the recipe while he went to gather his books for his next lesson.  He felt guilty for having been jealous of Harry earlier.  Hermione was right – Harry had been acting very strangely.  For weeks, he’d been disappearing for hours at a time, returning to Gryffindor Tower with terrible headaches and a sour disposition.  The headaches stopped after a while, but the disappearances had continued, and Harry was becoming much more withdrawn.  Ron had tired of the one-word responses he received from Harry every time he tried to find out where he’d been.  The last time, Harry had gotten shirty with him, telling Ron to back off and mind his own business.  Harry’s words stung him.  They hadn’t spoken much since then.

 

The fact was that Harry was his very best friend.  They’d proven their loyalty to each other at least a hundred times, and he thought by now he’d earned Harry’s trust.  But Harry wasn’t confiding in Ron, which left him feeling hurt and highly worried; he thought they’d meant more to each other than that.  Hell, they used to be closer than most couples!  Yeah, it was definitely sneaky to slip a truth potion to your best friend, but Ron really missed Harry, and he was prepared to do anything to get things back to normal. 

 

Besides, thought Ron, I could never refuse Hermione.

 

* * * * *

 

On Friday evening, Hermione was late to dinner, so Harry and Ron had saved the spot between them for her.  Ron knew she’d been brewing the potion, so he said nothing about her tardiness, and Harry never asked her.  Harry was actually talkative – not about anything important, but it was a nice change – and Ron was in very good humor, making his friends laugh through most of the meal.  It was one of those rare evenings that reminded Ron of how things were at the end of their fourth year, before Voldemort returned, when they were all three blissfully ignorant of what was to come.

 

It didn’t last though.  No sooner had the three of them returned to the common room after dinner than Harry disappeared again without telling anyone where he was going.  Hermione and Ron took advantage of his absence to huddle in a deserted corner of the common room to plan their strategy.

 

“Why do I have to take it too?” Ron complained.  “Or why not all three of us?”

 

Hermione sighed.  “Because it will look suspicious if I only have Harry try it – and remember, it’s supposed to be my experimental potion, so I have to appear to be recording the results.  Why are you acting so strange about this?  Don’t you trust me?”

 

Ron laughed uncomfortably.  “Sure, of course I trust you.  After all, you’re about to give a truth potion to a friend without his knowledge and ask him about stuff he doesn’t want to tell you.  Why shouldn’t I trust you?”

 

“Ron…” Hermione said, shooting him a scathing look.  “Just play along, and I promise we’ll get to the bottom of what’s wrong with Harry.  Focus on what’s really important here.”  She stood up, saying, “I need to talk to Ginny – see you in a while.”

 

Ron was a bit miffed that Hermione was leaving him alone on a Friday night when Harry wasn’t around just to gossip with his sister.  “What do you need to talk to her for?”

 

Hermione’s eyes were twinkling again – not a good sign, as far as Ron could tell.  “I need to ask her something.  I’ll be back down here in a little while.”

 

Ron ogled her backside as she disappeared up the stairs to the girls’ dormitory.  How pathetic – as if he didn’t have enough competition for Hermione’s attention from Harry, now he had to worry about Ginny, too.  He picked up a copy of Quidditch Monthly that someone had left lying around and tried to look busy until she came back.

 

* * * * *

 

Hermione cornered Harry and Ron the next afternoon when they appeared in the common room after a particularly grueling Quidditch practice.

 

“What’s going on?” asked Harry, who was a trifle concerned by the determined expression on her face.

 

Hermione avoided eye contact with Ron as she proceeded to spin the tale of her experimental potion.  Ron had to admit that Hermione had done a great job developing her cover story that the Fateor Infusion was a simple variation on a Serenity Solution.  If he hadn’t been in on the plot, he’d have bought the whole story.  Although Harry was reluctant to agree, he caved in when Ron said he’d do it. 

 

“Could you try it right now?” she pleaded.  Ron nodded and Harry shrugged.  “Great! I’ll just run upstairs to get my things.”  She disappeared up the girls’ stairs.

 

“Are you at all worried about this?” Harry asked as soon as she was out of sight.

 

“Nah, we’ll be fine,” he lied.  “She knows what she’s doing.”

 

“It’s not as if I don’t trust her,” he confessed.  “But the idea of an ‘experimental’ potion makes me nervous.  What if something goes wrong?  Even Hermione can’t be perfect all the time.”

 

Ron shook his head. “She’s Head Girl, and I happen to know that she hasn’t messed up a potion since that time in fourth year when Snape forced her to partner with Neville and he added Erumpant horn instead of Bicorn horn.”

 

Harry chuckled.  “I remember that – the potion exploded and Neville had two weeks of detention.  Hermione was really angry about that one.”  Harry paused, and then said, “I just hope she doesn’t poison us, because I don’t fancy having to swallow a bezoar.”

 

“Yeah – that would be disgusting.  But we’ll be fine.  This is Hermione.”

 

A short while later, they had trudged down to the students’ potions lab.  Hermione carefully measured the required dosage into a beaker for each of them.  Knowing Hermione would kill him if he didn’t seem enthusiastic about his task, Ron swallowed the contents in one gulp.

 

“It’s not so bad, Harry.  Go on.” 

 

Bowing to peer pressure, Harry followed suit.

 

They sat in an uncomfortable silence as they waited for the potion to take effect.  After about a minute, Hermione started up a friendly conversation.

 

“You know, I heard that Professor Vector thinks that Laura Madley might have cheated on an Arithmancy exam.  Isn’t that appalling?”

 

Harry nodded.  “Yeah, and pretty stupid to think she’d get away with it.”  Ron said nothing, but shifted uncomfortably. 

 

He’d had his own little cheating episode at the end of last year, with disastrous results. Ron had fallen behind due to Quidditch and had copied Seamus’s Charms homework rather than take an incomplete on the assignment.  Charms wasn’t Seamus’s best subject, however, and Flitwick wasted no time in uncovering the truth, resulting in three nights of detention for Ron.  It was worse keeping the reason for the detention hidden from Harry and Hermione than to serve the detention itself.

 

“I just can’t imagine why she would feel so desperate to get good grades that she’d have to cheat,” Hermione said. 

 

Harry agreed, but still, Ron said nothing.  He wondered why the hell was she harping on about this.  It was almost as if she knew.  But the only person he’d told was Ginny, and Ron had sworn her to secrecy.

 

“You’ve never done anything like that, have you, Ron?”  Hermione’s gazed drifted over to Ron with a blank expression.

 

Merlin, now he was going to have to say something.  He wanted so much to tell her the truth, but he was positive she’d lose all respect for him if he confessed. He wasn’t about to let that happen. “No,” said Ron flatly.  “Never.”

 

Hermione’s expression was very confused; it almost seemed as if she was shocked that he’d said ‘no.’ Ron focused on keeping his cool – his ears didn’t even turn red.

 

They chatted a little more, and Harry voiced a concern that he was not feeling the least bit serene.  If anything, his stomach was becoming agitated.

 

“You know, it’s funny you should say that,” Hermione said.  “Because the last time I went into Hogsmeade – you know, with Terry Boot – he seemed very agitated as well, and he could hardly sit still the whole time we were there.  It was really strange. Harry, do you have any idea why he would have behaved like that on our date?”

 

Harry flashed a sideways glance at Ron, but kept a straight face.  “I don’t know, Hermione.  Maybe you made him nervous.  Or perhaps he’s just a git.”

 

Ron nearly blew Harry’s cover by laughing, managing to cover his smirk by coughing into his hand. The truth was that during a temporary flash of decadent brilliance, Harry had snuck into Ravenclaw Tower and put Wartcap Powder into Terry Boot’s underwear while he was showering before his date with Hermione.  The poor sod must have been horribly uncomfortable, since Wartcap Powder had the very unpleasant effect of making one’s skin hard and crusty.  Fred and George couldn’t have pulled a better prank.  But how had Hermione discovered it?  Harry hadn’t told anyone but him and … Ginny! 

 

Hermione raised her eyebrows.  “Harry!  That wasn’t called for.  Terry’s nice.”  It suddenly dawned on Ron that Hermione must have grilled Ginny last night to come up with questions to test whether the potion was working.  Not only did Hermione appear shocked by Harry’s outburst of honesty regarding his personal opinion of Terry Boot, but also because he’d just lied right to her face.

 

“Sorry, Hermione, but that’s just the way I feel.”  Harry didn’t seem the least bit apologetic.

 

Ron braced himself as an alarmed Hermione pulled out another test question.  “Well, since you’re being so honest, maybe you’d like to answer a question that’s become the talk of the girls’ dormitory…”

 

Ron scowled.  “Uh oh.  Is this like ‘Truth or Dare’?”

 

“Think of it as ‘Truth or Dare’ without the Dare,” she replied, smirking.  “Rumor has it that masturbation is the primary nighttime activity in the boys’ dormitory.  So I just wanted to know if it was true.  Do either of you ever…do it?”

 

“Not me,” answered Harry, completely unfazed.

 

Taking his cue from Harry, Ron chimed in, “Nope, me neither.”  Crap! How had she known about that?  The boys had an unspoken rule that what went on in the dormitory after lights went out was strictly forbidden to talk about.  Were the girls taking advantage of the fact that they could sneak into the boys’ dormitory by spying on them late at night?  He shuddered to think about it, but was distracted when he saw the look of panic on Hermione’s face.

 

“Do either of you feel serene yet?” Hermione barked with annoyance.  Obviously, since both Ron and Harry had been able to lie, something had gone wrong with the potion.

 

“Er, no, Hermione.  Sorry.  My stomach is still churning,” Harry responded.  “You don’t think there is anything dangerously wrong with it, do you?”  He was getting more disturbed by the minute.

 

Hermione stood up, resting a hand on each of their shoulders.  “I don’t think it’s working properly, so I’m going to fetch the Troubleshooter from the Potions classroom.”

 

The Potions Troubleshooter was a large reference volume that listed most known potions and common mistakes and antidotes for them.  Snape kept it locked up in his classroom, and only his NEWT-level Potions students were given the password to it.   Hermione rushed out of the door in a flurry of robes.  Harry and Ron stared after her retreating figure.

 

When she was gone, Harry burst into laughter.  “What do you suppose got into her?  Gee, Ron, do you ever wank in the dormitory?”

 

Ron chortled.  “Amazing we aren’t all blind, isn’t it!  You are quite cool under pressure, mate.”  When their laughter died down, Ron turned serious.  “Harry, can I ask you something?”

 

“Sure.  What is it?”  Harry pulled himself up to sit on the table that Ron was leaning against. 

 

“Well, its personal, so you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.  I was just wondering – who do you think about when you wank?”  Ron’s gaze dropped to the floor.  He didn’t want to embarrass Harry by looking him in the eye.

 

Ron’s stomach began to churn too.  He wasn’t sure he should have asked that question, but he was curious. At that moment, Ron was overcome with an urge to tell Harry who he thought of while he wanked.  He’d never dreamed of confessing anything like that to Harry, but for some reason, it felt important to talk about it now.

 

“Er, well, sometimes I think about Hermione,” Harry started, “but most of the time, I think about you.”  Ron thought he’d misheard.  He couldn’t believe that Harry thought about him too.  Harry caught his eye and bravely continued, “Why?  Who do you think about?”

 

Suddenly, Ron was relieved.  If Harry thought about him, than it must be almost normal that he thought about Harry, right?  And he really did want to tell him. “You.  And Hermione, too.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yeah,” said Ron.  “And sometimes I wonder what it would feel like to kiss you.”  Why had he just blurted that out? Ron felt his ears warm up as they flushed to a brilliant red.  He’d thought about kissing Harry for years, but he had vowed never to tell Harry.

 

Harry paused for a moment before reaching over to turn Ron’s shoulder so that they could look one another in the eye.

 

“’S’all right, Ron.  You don’t have to wonder any more, you know; I’d really like to kiss you, too.  That is, if you’re okay with it.”

 

Ron’s stomach was a bundle of nerves. “Yeah, okay,” he said before he lost his courage.  He leaned in to Harry and they shared a chaste kiss.  It felt a little weird to be kissing his mate, but it was rather nice.

 

Harry slid his hand behind Ron’s neck and pulled him closer.  “No, like this,” he whispered.  He gently pressed his lips to Ron’s, but didn’t release him.  Instead, he deftly ran his tongue along Ron’s lips, and darted it inside Ron’s mouth when it opened slightly.  He broke off the kiss and opened his eyes to find Ron staring at him.

 

“Bloody hell, Harry! Where’d you learn to kiss like that?” asked Ron, feeling both astonished and awed.  That kiss had gone right to his groin; he hadn’t known kissing could do that.

 

Harry blushed this time.  “I…er…from a friend.  But it was only messing around. Just kissing, I mean.”

 

“You made out with someone and you never told me!” Ron snapped as his lust was suddenly turned to anger, his rage completely out of proportion to Harry’s admission.     “Why’d you have to go and do that?”

 

“There’s no need to shout at me,” said Harry between clenched teeth.  “I already told you it didn’t mean anything.  If it had been important to me, I’d have told you about it.”

 

Ron glowered at Harry, but managed to keep his voice down.  “If you were going to make out with someone, it should have been me.” He added as an afterthought, “Or Hermione.”  Once again, Ron was shocked that he had actually spoken his thoughts. 

 

Harry didn’t seem at all surprised.  “But then it would have meant something,” he sighed. “Come on, Ron.  Don’t be angry.  It’s you I care about.” He pulled Ron into another kiss.

 

“What about Hermione?” asked Ron as he broke away again.

 

Harry straightened up.  “Yes, she’ll be back any second, won’t she?”

 

Ron shook his head impatiently.  “I meant, how do you feel about her?  I always thought maybe you liked her.”

 

Harry sat in silence for a moment.  Ron watched him struggle to find the right words.  Well, this was it – Harry was going to admit that he liked Hermione, and now they were going to have to fight over her.  He was more than shocked to hear Harry say, “I love her, too. The same way that I love you.”

 

Ron could hardly believe his ears.  Did Harry just say he loved him?  And how could he love both of them the same?  They were so different!  Besides, you either loved girls or boys – not both, right?  Ron thought he was in love with Hermione, but that was before Harry kissed him and he realized Harry was an option.  He’d loved Harry as a brother for years.  And there was no denying that Ron was attracted to him – he always had been.  Maybe he could see how Harry might want both of them.

 

“I’m confused,” Ron said truthfully.  “I don’t know what to say.”

 

“It’s okay,” responded Harry quietly.  “I don’t expect you to love me back.  I know you have feelings for Hermione.”

 

Ron looked into Harry’s eyes, blinking several times.  “Yes, it’s true, but that’s why I’m confused.  I do love you too.  I just never thought seriously about you, you know, that way.”  Ron’s brain, which had been processing at the speed of flowing molasses, finally realized what his mouth had said.  “Er, Harry,” said Ron, “why are we talking about this?”

 

“I have no idea.  I just really wanted to tell you.”  Harry put a hand on Ron’s cheek.  “Can I kiss you again?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

* * * * *

 

Ron and Harry were locked in an embrace: Harry was mapping the interior of Ron’s mouth with his tongue, while Ron was so excited that he was about come in his pants.  Ron had lost himself in his feelings, and hadn’t realized that he and Harry had both lost track of the time.

 

A loud cough from Hermione announced her presence, and the two boys abruptly stopped their enthusiastic kissing. Ron stole a glance at Harry, noticing his reddened, slightly swollen lips and a guilty expression.  He was sure he looked the same.

 

“Did I interrupt something?” she asked coldly.

 

“No!” Harry and Ron said in unison.  Ron saw that Hermione was so upset that she was shaking.  Was it because they had been kissing each other or that they’d just lied to her about it?  She must have screwed up the potion badly if it was so easy to lie to her.

 

Hermione set the heavy Troubleshooter on the table and frantically flipped through the pages.  She found the entry for “Fateor Infusion” and quickly scanned it, only slowing down when she found the “Common Mistakes” section.  Her finger stopped at the paragraph titled ‘Wrong Stirring Direction.’

 

Hermione rushed over to her bag and pulled out the recipe she’d copied down from Moste Potente Potions.  She read the parchment and let out a defeated sigh as she referenced the Troubleshooter again. Ron watched nervously – Hermione must have forgotten they were there, because Harry was reading over her shoulder, and there was no mention on the page of Serenity Solution.  Even Ron could read the words quite clearly from where he stood.

 

Wrong Stirring Direction.  After adding the roots, the recipe calls for stirring thirteen times to the left.  If the potion is stirred to the right instead, it will not be rendered useless, but it will be only partially effective.  The subject will not feel the least bit compelled to tell the truth about anything factual; however, inquiries regarding feelings, impressions and emotions will be readily shared.  For example, a thief will be able to calmly deny committing a crime, but if asked whether he feels remorse about stealing something, he will feel an overwhelming need to answer.  Emotional reactions may be extreme.  An error of this type is harmless to the subject, but there is no way to restore the Infusion to full effectiveness; it must be discarded and brewed again.

 

Tears were burning in Hermione’s eyes.  She glanced up from the text and saw Harry’s brow furrowed with anger.  Ron cringed, bracing himself for Harry’s outburst, which never came.

 

“I’m sure you have a perfectly good explanation for this, Hermione,” Harry said with a constricted voice.  “It’s not like you to confuse a calming potion with a truth serum.”

 

He looked like he was ready to strangle her, yet his voice was eerily calm.  Hermione looked as worried as Ron had ever seen her, cowering as though convinced that Harry might strike her.  “Look, Harry, I know this looks really bad, but let me try to explain…”

 

Harry glowered at her, his arms folded across his chest and his facial expression unreadable.  Hermione spluttered out the whole scheme, leaving out the matter of Ron’s reluctant participation.  It was decent of her to cover up for him, though the thought did cross Ron’s mind that she was trying to ensure that he would still speak to her after Harry refused.  Regardless of her intent, Ron was extremely grateful for her loyalty.

 

When she finished speaking, Harry said, “You went to all this trouble just because you were worried about me?”

 

“Well, of course.  You weren’t telling any of us where you were going, and I thought you might be in trouble, so I… Anyway, I’m really sorry, Harry.  It was wrong of me.”

 

Harry read through the paragraph in the Troubleshooter that described the effects of the mangled potion, taking some comfort in the knowledge that the potion he and Ron had taken was harmless.  “Emotional reactions may be extreme… yeah, no kidding,” he chuckled. “It certainly explains why you and I felt the need to play True Confessions, doesn’t it, Ron?”

 

“Yeah,” said Ron, who was still reeling from the shock that Harry wasn’t in the midst of a tirade over this.  “It’s kind of a relief, in a way.  Thought I might be getting all ‘girlie’ or something.”

 

Hermione shot Ron a nasty glance, but did not respond to his comment.  Instead, she meekly asked, “Do you think you could forgive me, Harry?”

 

A wicked grin stole across Harry’s face.  “I think you’re going to have to earn my forgiveness, Hermione.  On account of your potion, Ron and I had a very enlightening discussion after you left the room.  I think it’s only fair that you take some too.” 

 

Hermione opened her mouth and closed it again.  Ron had no idea what was going through her mind, but he felt sorry for her nonetheless.  He watched her fumble for a beaker, while he rocked anxiously back and forth on his heels.  On the one hand, Hermione had just graciously accepted full responsibility for the blunder, single-handedly saving him from a major argument with his best friend.  On the other hand, Ron saw Harry’s point – what better way to find out which of them Hermione liked than to make her drink the potion?  He weakly asked Harry, “Are you sure we should make her do this, Harry?  It seems kind of…mean.”

 

“Yeah, I do, Ron. It’s the best way I can think of to clear up some things.”  They watched as Hermione downed her dosage of the potion.

 

After waiting a minute, Harry said, “I think it’s our turn to ask you some questions, now.  Let’s see…” He paused for dramatic effect, though he knew full well what he was going to ask her.  “Hermione, how do you really feel about Terry Boot?” Harry was focused on her, his expression intense, but not hostile.

 

Hermione answered, “I think Terry is basically a nice person.  He’s a little full of himself, but he certainly didn’t deserve to have Wartcap Powder put in his underpants.”

 

Harry nearly wrenched his neck as it snapped up so his gaze could meet hers.  “How’d you know about that?” he asked.

 

“I don’t think it really matters who told me.  The question is, why would anyone do that?”  Hermione’s brown eyes pleaded for the truth.  Harry could not disappoint her.

 

“Jealousy.”  Harry furrowed his brow.  Ron could see that Hermione’s question had gotten Harry off track, so he gave Harry a jab in the ribs, which seemed to refocus him. “Before you came back with the Troubleshooter, Ron and I were talking about some things—”

 

Hermione snorted.  “I’ll bet it was hard to speak, though, when you had your tongue jammed down his throat.”

 

Harry didn’t usually blush, though his face was now crimson like Ron’s.  Ron had to interrupt this torture session; he couldn’t take it any more. 

 

“Hermione, I think what Harry was going to ask is whether you’re interested in either of us – romantically, I mean.”

 

She hesitated a moment, and then answered, “Yes.  Yes, of course I am.”  She quickly put her hand over her mouth as if she’d revealed too much.

 

“Which one of us?” pressed Harry.

 

Hermione’s eyes became as large as galleons as an expression of utter horror spread across her face.  She struggled to articulate her feelings, but became flustered, so she burst into tears.

 

“I don’t know,” she bawled.  “I love you both.”  They could barely understand her words as she sniveled, “I’ve been trying all year to decide which of you I love more, but I can’t, and I didn’t want to upset either of you by choosing the other.”

 

Ron and Harry looked at each other, dumbfounded, as Hermione sniffed beside them, tears silently streaming down her cheeks. This was an unexpected turn.  Harry was closest to her, so he wrapped his arm around her back and held her close.  Ron reached over to hold her hand.

 

“You don’t have to cry, Hermione,” Ron said gently.  “Harry and I think it’s brilliant that you feel that way.”

 

“Yeah,” added Harry, encouragingly.

 

Hermione pulled away from Harry and looked at each of them in turn.

 

“You don’t have to say that,” she whimpered.  “I saw how you were kissing before.  It’s obvious that you’d rather be with each other than with me.  I’ll never get to be with either one of you now.”  Tears began to flow again, so she didn’t see the amused glances that Harry and Ron shared.

 

“Harry,” said Ron smugly, “can you believe that our favorite bossy-know-it-all is so completely wrong?”

 

“Be nice, Ron.  It’s been a rough afternoon for her.  First she messed up the potion and now she seems to be under the impression that she doesn’t have a chance with us.”  Harry grinned as Hermione glared at him through slitted eyes.

 

“Stop making fun!”

 

“Ron, go ahead and show her how wrong she is.”

 

Ron pulled her close and pressed his lips against Hermione’s, catching her off guard.  When she realized what was happening, she opened her eyes quickly, staring at him with surprise.  Kissing Hermione was different than kissing Harry.  Where he was passionate and controlling, Hermione was gentle and questioning.  She tasted like the potion – cloves with just a hint of orange and mint.

 

“Ask me how I feel about you, Hermione,” soothed Ron. “You know I can’t lie because of the potion.”

 

Hermione cocked her head.  She’d forgotten about that.  “How do you feel about me?”

 

Ron gazed into her eyes and answered, “I’ve loved you for ages.  I just didn’t want to say anything because I knew Harry fancied you and I thought you liked him too.”

 

Hermione furrowed her brow and stepped back from him.  “But, if that’s true, then why were you kissing Harry just now?”

 

Ron glanced at Harry and, after receiving a nod of encouragement, he said, “I love Harry, too.  I just didn’t realize it until tonight.  I didn’t really think about him that way because, well, he’s a guy.”

 

“Yes, I noticed.”  Hermione turned to Harry and examined him quizzically.  “So is Ron right – do you fancy me?”

 

“I love you with all my heart,” Harry confessed. “And Ron, too.”

 

Hermione’s moist eyes glistened as she worked through the implications.  The three of them all seemed to be in love with one another.

 

“How can this be?” she mused.

 

“It’s not surprising, really,” responded Harry.  “The three of us have been through so much together, and we’ve depended on each other for our very survival.  It’s only natural that we’d fall in love with each other.”

 

Ron added, “It’s just that instead of being a couple, we’re a…a…trio, I guess.”

 

“But three is so messy.  How would we even do that?  Someone is bound to be left out and feel jealous.” Hermione shifted uncomfortably.  “And, well, I think it might be too weird to watch you two make out.”

 

Harry stepped closer to Ron and kissed him with the same passionate fire he’d had before.  Ron was facing Hermione, and he watched her watch the two of them kissing.  Ron softly moaned as Harry gently sucked on his tongue and rubbed his hip into Ron’s groin, and it was definitely turning Hermione on as well as him.

 

Ron reluctantly broke away.  “Gods, Harry, you’ve got to do that tongue thing to Hermione,” he panted. Ron turned to face her.

 

“You should know that our Harry has been sneaking out to get a little action,” he smirked.  “He claims it didn’t mean anything, but you’ll be amazed at how well he learned his lessons.”  Ron pushed Harry towards Hermione.  “Go on, show her, mate.”

 

Hermione was nervous as Harry leaned in to kiss her, Ron watching eagerly in the background.  And then, good Lord!  Watching Harry kiss Hermione was almost as erotic as kissing Harry himself.  It looked as if her brain turned to mush as he was sucking on her tongue, and a load moan escaped from her throat. Ron couldn’t decide if he was more jealous of Hermione getting to kiss Harry like that or Harry being able to elicit those delicious noises from Hermione.

 

Harry broke the kiss, and Hermione grinned at Ron as she panted, “I guess we know what Harry’s been up to while he’s been away from us.”

 

“That’s not true!” exclaimed Harry.  “Well, not entirely true.  It was only a few times, and it didn’t mean anything.”

 

“So you said.” Ron stepped forward, putting an arm around each of his loves and kissed them both lightly.  “Are you going to tell us who taught you to kiss like this, Harry?  We should thank them properly.”

 

“No.”

 

There was an awkward moment as Ron and Hermione waited for Harry to explain himself.  Realizing that he wasn’t going to say anything more, Hermione clapped her hands together and sarcastically said, “Okay, then.”

 

Backing away angrily, Harry spat, “This is exactly why I’ve been avoiding you. You’re always pestering me to tell you what’s none of your business.”

 

He tried to leave, but Ron and Hermione moved as one to stop him.  They each held an arm so that he was sandwiched between them.

 

“Didn’t we all just confess that we love each other?” asked Ron calmly. “And doesn’t that mean that we don’t keep secrets?”

 

In his frustration, Harry tried to shake them off, but they held him tighter.  “Did it ever occur to you that maybe I can’t tell you?”

 

Ron’s mouth dropped open.  Hermione, though, remembered the potion.  “But you want to tell us, don’t you? You feel bad about not telling us…”

 

“You’ve no idea how much I want to tell you everything.  But I can’t,” muttered Harry.  “Just trust me, all right?”

 

In the blink of an eye, Ron and Hermione both pressed their lips against him. Arms entwined, they held each other for a long while.  No words were necessary; they believed him.

 

* * * * *

 

Ron appeared from the stairway to the boys’ dormitory just as Harry disappeared through the portrait hole. 

 

“Hurry,” hissed Hermione, “or we’re going to lose him.”  They stepped out into the deserted hallway and Ron quickly draped Harry’s Invisibility Cloak around them.

 

Harry was moving rapidly through the quiet halls, and though Ron’s long legs had no trouble keeping up, Hermione was panting as she tried to match Ron stride for stride and failed miserably.  Harry led them down a staircase and through two more deserted hallways before finally darting into a classroom.

 

Noticing he had left the door open, Ron and Hermione inched forward, trying to get close enough to see into the classroom without making their presence known.  Seeing Harry at the back of the room, they entered quickly as footsteps approach in the hallway.

 

The desks had all been pushed to the side of the room.  Hermione led them to the vacant corner where there would be plenty of space to hide and used the distraction of the man entering the room to pull Ron to a sitting position on the floor.  Once they settled in, the two of them were surprised to see who had joined Harry.

 

“Sorry I’m late, Harry.”

 

“It’s all right, Remus.  I only just got here myself.”

 

Ron whispered, “They’re on a first-name basis, I see.” Hermione held a finger to her lips and let out a faint “Shhh.”

 

“Did they question you again tonight?”  Lupin asked as he sat down behind the large desk and motioned to Harry to sit as well. 

 

Harry smiled as he did so.  “No, and I’m a bit concerned about it.  Maybe they’ve gotten used to it by now.  They seemed to accept the fact that I wasn’t allowed to tell them.  Except…” 

 

“Except you want to tell them everything.”

 

“Remus, Ron and Hermione have a right to know.  If they’re going to hang around with me, I should be able to tell them about the dangerous situation I’m getting into.  They don’t even know about the prophecy. It’s not fair – to them or me.”

 

Lupin leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.  “There was a time, Harry, when Dumbledore counseled me on the right precautions to take in order to keep my friends and everyone around me safe during the full moons. At the time, your father, Sirius and I didn’t see any harm to our adventures.  But now that I’ve had years to dwell on it, I see how things could have gone terribly wrong.  We should have listened to Dumbledore.  The fact that no one was bitten during those times was just plain dumb luck.”

 

Harry shifted impatiently.  “So you’re saying that I should be a good boy and do whatever Dumbledore tells me to do.”

 

Lupin moved from behind his desk to Harry’s chair, offering his hand to help Harry to his feet.  “I’m saying that Dumbledore has your best interests at heart. He just wants to make sure that only the three of us know exactly how well equipped you are to battle Voldemort – it lowers the odds that he’ll find out from one of his many spies. But I’ll talk to Dumbledore again.  Maybe he’ll be able to figure out a way to tell them enough to satisfy their curiosity, but not so much to put you at higher risk.”

 

He put his arm around Harry and led him to the center of the empty classroom.  “But that will have to wait until after our lesson.  Have you been practicing?”

 

“Yeah, loads.  I can do it just about every time now.”

 

Ron and Hermione watched in stunned silence as Harry and Professor Lupin bowed to each other and began to duel.  Harry was holding his own and then some, surprising Lupin several times with rapid movements and frightening wordless hexes.  Then, most astonishing of all, Harry twirled around and vanished, only to end up on the other side of Lupin.  Three more times he did this, and each time, Lupin was caught off guard.  It was extremely impressive.

 

Lupin stopped occasionally to evaluate Harry’s technique and offer advice for improvement.  Harry listened and worked harder.  His intensity reminded Hermione of when he learned the summoning charm the night before the first task of the Triwizard Tournament.  Harry was equally driven now, if not more so.

 

After about an hour, Lupin leaned against the desk to catch his breath.

 

“Let’s call it a night,” he panted.  “You know stamina is a problem for us old men.”

 

“Remus, you’re too young to be an old man.  But I do like to wear you out,” said Harry, smugly.

 

“Don’t tease me, young man.  I changed your nappy more than once, you know.”

 

Hermione and Ron were mesmerized watching Harry and Professor Lupin banter easily with each other.  Their rapport spoke more of friendship than of a typical teacher/student relationship. Harry was relaxed with Lupin in a way that he never was with Ron and Hermione.

 

Harry looked up and noticed Lupin grinning at him with sparkling eyes.  “What…”

 

“You’re smiling and joking with me, Harry.  I haven’t seen you laugh in weeks.  Something good has happened, hasn’t it?”

 

Harry couldn’t hold back the grin that spread across his face.  “You could say that.  I think it’s good anyway.  It’s scary, though.”

 

“Scarier than Voldemort?” he asked.  Under the Invisibility Cloak, Ron winced at hearing the name again, and Hermione let out a quiet sigh to signal her disapproval.

 

“Different kind of scary.  Let’s just say that I won’t need you to give me kissing lessons anymore.”  Hermione gasped and Ron quickly put a hand over her mouth, smothering his own instinct to gasp in the process.  Good Lord – it was Professor Lupin who taught him that tongue thing!  He glanced at Hermione, whose shocked face must have mirrored his own.

 

Lupin grinned back.  “I never gave you kissing lessons – just an excuse to practice.  So, you finally talked to them, then?  Which one did you choose?”

 

“Both.”

 

Lupin looked astonished.  Ron and Hermione were stunned as well.  Harry had been snogging Lupin and then talking about them?  It made no sense.

 

“Aren’t you the clever one to pull that off!  I have to say that I don’t think even your father would have been able to arrange a ménage à trois.  Not that he wouldn’t have wanted to try, mind you…”

 

Harry laughed.  “It’s nice to know that I’d have made him proud.  But honestly, I didn’t do anything.  It’s surprising how easy it is to confess your feelings when you’re under the influence of a truth potion.”

 

“Do I even want to know how this happened?”

 

“Probably not.  I’m not entirely sure it was legal.  Anyway, it all worked out in the end.” 

 

Professor Lupin stood directly in front of Harry.  Ron and Hermione could see his amber eyes shining with affection, flecks of gray in his hair and a warm smile on his face.  He gently guided Harry’s chin upwards so their eyes could meet.

 

Lupin said, “Would it hurt to give your old friend one last kiss goodbye?  I expect I’m the only one who can tell you this, but you kiss extraordinarily like James, and I do miss him so.”

 

“It’s the least I can do since you taught me how.  Ron and Hermione seem to like the way I kiss.” 

 

“I can imagine.” 

 

As Harry and Lupin kissed, Ron heard Hermione whimper quietly next to her.  He couldn’t tear his eyes away either.  They could almost see Lupin’s knees turn to jelly, the way his and Hermione’s did when Harry kissed them. It was so wrong to be spying on them, but still, he had to look.  When Harry pulled away, both Hermione and Ron were breathing heavily.

 

Harry and Professor Lupin left the room together a minute later, leaving Ron and Hermione to ponder what they had just seen.  They were both too stunned to speak, but they were clutching each other’s hands.  They’d stumbled onto Harry’s secret all right.

 

Ron found his voice first. “Well,” he said, “I guess we’ve solved the mysteries of where Harry’s been going all this time and who taught him how to kiss like that.  He’s come a long way from Gilderoy Lockhart’s Dueling Club, hasn’t he?  A little too much information about Professor Lupin, though.”

 

“Yes. I wonder why he can’t tell us about the lessons, though.  It’s not like we’d say anything to anyone else.  And what do you suppose that prophecy is all about?”

 

“I don’t know.  But I don’t reckon we can ask Harry about it, since we’re not supposed to have followed him in the first place.”  Ron helped Hermione to her feet, and they started back towards Gryffindor Tower.  “Do you know which part of this I liked the best?”

 

“No.  Which.”

 

“I liked it that we’ve made him happy.”

 

Hermione nodded. “Yes. Me too.” 

 

Freed from the confinement of Harry’s Invisibility Cloak, they walked through the corridors in companionable silence until Hermione stopped short at the stairs on the seventh floor landing.  “Ron, I have an idea!”

 

Ron groaned.  “Hermione, when are you going to give it a rest?  Just let him be happy.  You and your schemes just get us into trouble.”

 

“They’ve all worked out in the end, haven’t they?  Besides, I think you’ll like this one better than the others.  I… I think we should seduce him.” Hermione blushed.

 

“You mean ‘seduce’ as in ‘have sex’?” he asked with eyes wide open.  She nodded.  “Both of us…all three of us… at the same time?”

 

Hermione smiled.  “Well, yes.  That’s how a trio usually works.  He’s obviously training very hard in case he has to fight Voldemort – oh get over it, Ron – so we can help keep his mind off those unhappy thoughts.  You just said we should let him be happy, and I think that would do the trick.”

 

Ron pulled Hermione close and kissed her.  “I think it would make us all happy,” he said. “Do you think that after we, er, seduce him, that you and I could…you know…?”

 

“Absolutely,” Hermione answered.  “I’ve been thinking through the logistics, and it will work best if we all take turns watching every once in a while.  Given the typical recovery time needed after—”

 

Ron’s lips cut off her dissertation, but Hermione didn’t seem to mind too much.  As he kissed her, Ron realized that there were definite advantages to dating a scheming witch who also happened to be brilliant.  And if Hermione’s seduction plan worked out half as well as her last few schemes, Harry wouldn’t mind a bit.

 

 

 

finis