"Harry! Hurry up!" Hermione leaned out of the train, extending her arm for Harry to take.

"Now," Arthur seemed oblivious to the train,"you must promise you won't go looking for Black."

Harry gaped at him,"Mr. Weasley, why would I go looking for someone who wants to kill me?"

"Harry!" Hermione called urgently. The train began chugging forwards slowly.

"Thank you, Mr. Weasley, but I really have to go now!" Harry ran to Hermione and grabbed her hand. She pulled him onto the train and slammed the door behind him.

"Cor, take your time, mate." Ron said, stroking Scabbers as the trio looked for a compartment.

Hermione frowned at the struggling rat,"It's strange..."

"What?"

"Well, rats aren't supposed to live for twelve years, Ron. And Scabbers has."

"Do you know everything?" Ron grumbled.

Hermione blinked,"Probably."

Peeking into a compartment, Harry saw a man sleeping in the corner,"Come on," he sighed,"everywhere else is full." Ron and Hermione followed him inside grumpily.

As he sat down, Ron nodded at the sleeping man and asked,"Who's that?"

"Professor R. J. Lupin." Hermione said matter-of-factly.

Ron scowled,"And how the bloody hell did you know that?"

Sighing, Hermione pointed at the Professor's trunk on the luggage rack. There was a peeling red sticker with his name on it just below the handle.

"Oh."

"Ron," Harry changed the subject anxiously,"how was Italy?"

"Didn't go." Ron cracked a grin,"Dad won a trip to Egypt. We've already been, but it was way better than Italy. Think we're going there for Christmas instead, though."

Crookshanks hissed and Scabbers crawled into Ron's pocket.

"You'd better keep that bloody beast away from my Scabbers!" Ron threatened Hermione,"Or else I'll throw him out of the train."

"Calm down, Ron." Harry's tone was serious,"Hermione, are you sure Professor Lupin's asleep?"

Hermione squinted at him and said,"Yes. Why?"

"I need to tell you something."

***********

"Harry! Harry, are you all right?"

"Ugh..." Harry propped himself up on his elbows. Ron was watching Harry nervously from his seat, Hermione was squatting in front of him, nibbling some chocolate and handing him his glasses, whilst the suddenly awake professor was hurrying out of the compartment to talk to the train driver.

"Here," Hermione gave Harry her chocolate as he put his glasses on,"it helps."

"What...happened?" Harry asked blearily through a mouthful of chocolate.

Ron tucked Scabbers out of Crookshanks' sight,"Well...basically, mate...you, er...you fainted."

"What? Why?"

"The dementor." Hermione helped him up.

"The what?"

"That thing that came in. That was a dementor."

"Oh." Harry rubbed his scar,"Did either of you faint?"

Ron shook his head,"I didn't." He smirked,"But Hermione did."

Head throbbing, Harry turned to Hermione,"You fainted too? Are you all right?"

"Harry, I'm fine." Hermione said quickly,"It wasn't at all like how you fainted. The dementor did something to you, and Lupin used the Patronus charm to stop it, but you were unconscious."

"The Pa-what?"

"Think Hermione passed out because she saw you do the same!" Ron cackled, causing Hermione to go pink.

All of a sudden, Harry remembered the conversation he had heard Ron and Hermione having earlier that morning:

"Hermione, why do you always do what Harry tells you to?" Ron had asked her over breakfast.

Hermione shrugged.

"Well," Ron had looked thoughtful,"if Harry told you to jump off a bridge, would you?"

"Yes."

"What if he told you to drop your wand in the middle of a duel?"

"Yes."

"Psh! What if he told you to run into a wall of fire and stay there?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I trust him." Hermione had snapped.

"Well, what if I told you to jump off a bridge?"

"No."

"What if I told you to drop your wand in the middle of a duel?"

"No."

"What if I told you to run into a wall of fire and stay there?"

"No."

"Oh, go jump off bridge, Hermione!" Ron had grouched, carrying on with his breakfast.

"No."

Then, Harry had come downstairs, silencing them both. Luckily, Harry didn't think they had suspected he'd heard them.

***********

Harry and Hermione walked into the Great Hall to a chorus of laughs and sneers from the Slytherin table. McGonagall had called them both into her office to make sure they were all right after the dementor attack and to talk to Hermione about her timetable. Harry hadn't been allowed to stay at that point, but he waited for Hermione outside anyway.

"Potter," Malfoy smirked,"is it true? You really fainted?"

Pansy Parkinson giggled,"Ooh look at them, Draco! They're holding hands!" This time, it wasn't only Slytherins laughing.

"I still can't see why you both like each other so much." Malfoy stood up to ensure that everyone in the Great Hall heard him,"You follow each other around like congenitally stupid dogs on very short leads." He cackled.

Harry furiously wrenched his hand out of Hermione's and charged towards the Slytherin table.

"Harry," Hermione grabbed his robe to stop him,"just ignore them. They're not worth it."

The pair walked to their seats, blocking out the sniggers surrounding them. The feast had only just begun, but they had once again missed the Sorting Ceremony.

Harry helped himself to a leg of roast lamb, passed Hermione the dish of potatoes and grumbled,"How did he find out?"

"I don't know, Harry, but you can't rise to his bait. It's what he wants." Hermione replied calmly.

By the time he went up to his dorm that night, Harry was livid. Finally, he thought, some peace. No such luck.

When he went into the room, all the other boys were there. Neville was already asleep, but Ron, Dean and Seamus were snickering about something. Harry quickly got changed in the bathroom and climbed into bed. He understood at once what they were whispering about.

"Absolute nutter, Hermione is." Seamus was muttering,"Heard she fainted too, Ron?"

"Yep. Hey, you know what she was saying this morning?" Ron's bed creaked as he scooted forwards,"She told me that she trusted Harry and would do whatever he said, even if it would involve death or...uh...other bad stuff like that. Can you believe her?"

Can't believe you, more like, Harry thought angrily.

"Erm..." Dean said,"Harry is asleep, isn't he?"

Harry felt Seamus breathing down his neck,"Yep. He's out like a light."

"Great. Don't really want him hearing that." Dean laughed,"He'd probably faint again!"

Seamus and Ron sniggered into their pillows.

"Ooh, hey! Did you hear her at the feast? 'Ignore them, Harry! They don't mean it, Harry! They're not worth it, Harry! Don't rise to his bait, Harry! Act like they aren't there, Harry!' Bloody hell!" Ron sighed,"Would not shut up."

Seamus' voice got louder,"She never does though, does she? I was telling me mam about her over the holidays and she told me no one likes a bossy little show off, and that Hermione sure as hell sounded like one! Me mam ain't the sharpest knife in the drawer, but she got that one right, aye!"

"And did you hear what Malfoy said when she and Harry came into the Hall?" Dean stood up and mimicked the Slytherin,"'You follow each other around like congenitally stupid dogs on short leads!' I hate the fellow, but he was right this time."

"Nah, mate, he's not right." Ron said.

Thank Merlin, Harry thought, finally someone was sticking up for them.

Seamus had caught onto what Ron was saying,"Harry doesn't follow Hermione 'round. He's just too polite to ask her to piss off. Poor bloke. Must be so hard feeling like he has to be nice to her all the time!"

"Bingo!" Ron laughed.

"Don't talk about her like that!" Harry yelled, sitting up.

The three boys stared at him, bemused.

"Just...just stop." He growled, laying back down.

For a moment, Harry thought they had actually stopped, but they all suddenly laughed very loudly, so he assumed that they were talking too quietly for him to hear. Sighing, Harry ignored them and tried to get some sleep.

The boys laughed again and a sharp knock came from the door.

"Shoot! McGonagall!" Dean whisper-shouted as the three of them threw their covers over themselves.

The person knocked again, harder.

Nervously, Harry got up and opened the door, so as not to make McGonagall more angry. To all of their surprise, it wasn't the professor standing at the door, but a very pink Hermione.

"Can we help you?" Ron asked.

"Yes." Hermione scowled at him,"We can hear you from our dorm and we - unlike you - would really rather appreciate some sleep."

"Good for you."

Hermione went beetroot red,"What I mean to say is would you shut your mouths or I shall go and get Professor McGonagall."

"Fine!" Ron snapped,"We'll shut up if you keep your nosy bum out of our dorm!"

"Fine!" Hermione stomped her foot.

Harry scratched his neck,"Just ignore him," he whispered,"he doesn't know what he's saying..."

"Thank you, Harry." Hermione smiled genuinely at him,"Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Harry shut the door behind her and shot daggers at Ron, Dean and Seamus,"Stop talking about her, or I'll tell Professor McGonagall."

They seemed pretty convinced until Harry turned off his bedside lamp.

"Oh, sure he will." Seamus muttered before they all fell asleep.