The Proposal

Angel-Wing

Rating: PG
Genres: Romance
Relationships: Harry & Hermione
Book: Harry & Hermione, Books 1 - 5
Published: 03/11/2003
Last Updated: 30/08/2004
Status: completed

(Sequel to MY BEST FRIEND'S WEDDING) Harry and Hermione are the perfect couple. Now, as everyone is expectant about when Harry will pop the big question, and unexpected arrival won't make things easy for Hermione.

Chapters

1. One Year is Enough Time, isnt it?

2. Arrival

3. The First Step

4. Plans

5. Misleadings

6. Wrong Way

7. Clueless

8. A Look Inside

9. The Seed of Doubt

10. Platonic

11. The Storm After the Calm

12. Conspiracy?

13. Two Steps Back

14. It

15. Conclusion

1. One Year is Enough Time, isnt it?

A/N: Hello! So, after receiving a lot of pleas, I decided to write a sequel to “My Best Friend’s Wedding.” So, if you haven’t read that one, I suggest you do.

Chapter 1 – One year is enough time... Isn’t it?

He checked his watch for the fifth time. Twenty minutes. His best friend had actually spent twenty minutes babbling about Quidditch! He sighed and leaned back on his chair, trying to be patient. He was going to say it, eventually, wasn’t he?

“And that was when Willis announced he was leaving the team. You should’ve seen Oliver’s face. I thought he was going to kill him. He yelled half an hour and then locked himself in his office...”

He nodded, wishing that his friend would say already what he had come to say in the first place.

“Really, I don’t know what we are going to do. The Season starts in two weeks and we don’t have a Chaser...”

“Harry,” Ron interrupted, finally, scratching his head. “Could you please just say what you really want to tell me?”

Harry stopped talking abruptly and stared at his best friend, who had the lop-sided grin of someone who knows more than you think. “I- What?” he blurted.

Ron sighed. “Come on, mate. You surely don’t want me to believe that you came to my house on a week day, at ten p.m. to talk about quidditch, do you?” He chuckled at Harry’s disconcerted face. “So, what is it?”

Harry’s eyes widened slightly. He opened his mouth to speak several times, and then closed it again when no sound came up. Ron waited expectantly.

“You’re right,” Harry said, after a couple of minutes. “It’s about Hermione...” he started, warily.

“Now you’re talking,” Ron said, leaning forward.

Harry ran a hand through his hair, as he always did when he was nervous. “Well... It’s just that... I kinda... I want to...” he struggled with himself, looking for the right words. Ron observed him, clearly amused. “Fine. I want to propose to her,” he said finally, and waited for Ron’s reaction.

His friend, however, just raised his eyebrows. “That’s it?” he asked when he realized that Harry wasn’t gong to say anything else.

“What do you mean, ‘that’s it’?” Harry asked, totally puzzled by his friend’s reaction. “That’s all you’re going to say?” he frowned.

Ron laughed. “Well, it’s not like it’s a surprise... I mean, it was pretty obvious you wanted to propose to Hermione from the very minute you two got together.”

Harry blinked. “Am I that predictable?”

“Harry? Would you like a cup of tea?” asked a sweet voice.

Harry looked up and saw that Elizabeth had just came in the living room. Her big belly showed clearly her eight months pregnancy and she was smiling fondly at him.

“Honey, come here,” Ron said, standing up and helping his wife to sit down.

“I thought you were having a guy talk,” Elizabeth said, shifting her gaze from a still perplexed Harry to an amused Ron.

“Not really,” said Harry, glaring at Ron.

“What’s the matter?” she asked.

“Well, it’s just that my friend Harry here, has come to give us a surprise,” Ron said. Harry shot him a nasty look and Ron made an effort to keep his face straight. “He wants to propose to Hermione.”

Elizabeth’s face lit up. “Really?? That’s wonderful news!” she clapped happily.

Harry smiled at her. “Now, that’s the reaction I was expecting. Thank you very much, Liz.”

“I’m so glad you finally decided to do it! Ronnie and I have been wondering for months what were you waiting for.”

Ron started laughing again at Harry’s frown.

“So, when are you going to do it?” asked Elizabeth, a glimpse of amusement in her voice.

“I’m not sure...”

“Why are you even waiting?” Ron snorted.

“It is a big step!” exclaimed Harry, angrily. “I want it to be special.”

“Of course,” approved Elizabeth.

“Do you have the ring?” asked Ron.

“No, not yet...”

Ron eye’s widened. “Are you trying to tell me that you really just came up with this idea?”

Harry sighed. “Well, no... If it were for me, I would’ve marry her a long time ago. But I thought we needed to give this relationship a little time. We have always been friends, but it’s only been a year since we are a couple.”

“Well, that’s more than enough time if you ask me,” Ron commented. After all, he had proposed to Liz a month after meeting her. “Why don’t you ask her tomorrow? You can take her out for dinner and then...”

Harry shook his head. “No, this week is not the best time.”

“Why not?”

“Because, they’re taking inventory in the Ministry... You know how it is. Hermione has to check all the files in her department...”

“Oh,” said Ron, understanding.

Elizabeth, however, looked puzzled. “So what? Why is that a reason not to propose her now?”

“Oh, you don’t know how Hermione gets,” Ron said immediately. “Inventory is like exams back at school... She gets all snappish and stressed, and it is better to stay as far as possible from her,” he explained, his face looking slightly frightened at the thought of Hermione behind tons of reports.

“I was thinking that this Sunday it will be a year since we got together,” Harry said, smiling while he replayed that moment in his head.

Ron cleared his throat loudly. “We know. It’s our anniversary, remember?”

“Since the inventory will be finished this Saturday morning, I could take her somewhere on Sunday and ask her then. What do you think?”

“It sounds perfect!” Elizabeth said, excitedly.

“Then, you have four days to prepare,” Ron said.

“Yeah... four days,” Harry repeated.

***

I had just finished revising the report number 327 when I heard the sound of someone apparating in front of me. Since I knew very well who it was, there was no need to look up.

“Where were you?” I asked, grabbing another report.

“I went to Ron’s,” Harry replied. I heard him going to the kitchen. “How is it going?” he asked from inside.

“Lovely,” I muttered. Although I truly love my job, I don’t enjoy doing paperwork.

“If you’d let someone help you, you wouldn’t have to do all this alone,” Harry commented, coming to the living room again, where I was comfortably lying on my green couch, surrounded by files and reports.

“You know I don’t like to rely this kind of job on other people,” I sighed. “Besides, with the jerks that work with me, I would’ve to do it all over again anyway.”

Harry lifted my feet and sat down on the couch. He put my feet on his lap. “Do you want me to help you? I wouldn’t mind spending a sleepless night reading reports about Death Eaters and criminals.”

I lifted my eyes and looked at him. He had a tired look on his face, probably from the hard training he was having since the Quidditch Season was about to start. He grinned at me, with that adorable smile of his.

“I love you too much to torture you with this,” I said finally, returning to my work. “Anyway, how was your day?” I asked, as I did everyday.

“Willis left the team,” he said.

“What?” I lifted my eyes again, forgetting for a minute about McNair and his sentence. “He left? Why?”

“Well, I’m not quite sure,” Harry said, adjusting his glasses. “I couldn’t hear his excuse with Oliver screaming so loud.”

I smiled slightly, but then frowned. “What are you going to do? You can’t start the Season without your best Chaser!”

Harry smiled at me. I knew what he was thinking. Since when Hermione Granger knows that much about Quidditch? Well, it’s not that I’m totally thrilled by the game, but since it’s Harry’s job, I like to be involved. I know every single player in his team, because I often bring them lunch. “I’m sure Wood will find a good replacement,” he assured.

“But... you won the Cup last year! You have to win it again!” I said.

“You’re amazing, you know?” he said, staring at me with his big, green eyes.

“Why?”

“Because no matter how busy or stressed you are, you always have time to listen to me. Even when we were at Hogwarts you were like that.”

“Well, maybe that’s because you’ve always been more important to me than anything else,” I said, matter-of-factly.

Harry stood up and kneeled beside me. He pressed his lips against mine softly. Who could resist to that? I kissed him back, completely forgetting about my work. As I ran my hand through his hair, several of the files I had on my lap fell to the floor, not that we really cared.

I couldn’t believe that I had realized I loved Harry this much only a year ago. It seemed as if we had always been together, like this. There was no one else, but him...

“Okay, that’s enough,” I said pulling away. Harry pouted with his eyes still closed. “As much as I would love to keep kissing you all night long, I have to keep working or I’ll never finish this for Saturday... You wouldn’t want me to work on the weekend, do you?”

Harry sighed in defeat. “You’re right... Are you sure you don’t want me to help you?”

I shook my head. “If you stay here, I won’t be able to work... Besides, there’s no way I’m letting you stay in my apartment for the night! Now go and have some good sleep for me, would you?”

“Fine, if that’s what you want...” he said, standing up. “I’ll be next door, in case you need me... Or get really, really bored.”

I waited until he left to focus on the files again, now scattered all over the floor. Sighing, I prepared myself for another really long night...

***

The next day, I was at my office, once again buried under a huge mountain of files. It was a luck that this inventories were only once every two years, I don’t think I could handle this kind of rythm every year.

I was starting to doze off, even though I had taken an Energy Potion that morning. I hadn’t slept at all last night. I wanted to finish that tedious work as soon as possible...

My eyes were already closed when someone opened the door. I jumped, startled, and snapped my head to see who was disturbing me without even knocking.

“Geez... You look awful.” The read hair and sparkling brown eyes of Ginny Weasley popped inside my office.

“Thank you,” I muttered, too sleepy to come up with something else.

Ginny closed the door behind her and approached to my desk. She gave a glance to the file I had just revised. “Mmm, no wonder why you’re locked up in here all day. This looks really appealing,” she commented. I groaned. It was bad enough without her telling me that. “I know what you need,” she continued, and the smile she flashed at me reminded me instantly of Fred and George when they offered me one of their ‘experiments’. “You need to get out of here... So I’ll sacrifice myself and take you out, what do you say?”

I glared at her, wondering what was behind that invitation. “What do you want, Ginny?” I asked in the politest voice I could, considering I was in the middle of a terrible week.

“I was thinking,” she continued, as if she hadn’t heard my question, “in going to the Cannon’s pitch.”

So that was it. Of course she wanted something like that. I should’ve guessed from the very moment she came to my office. And I was perfectly aware of what she wanted to see in the Cannon’s Picth, or should I say who she wanted to see.

Ginny had met Alan Wagner, one of the Chudley Cannon’s Beaters in Harry’s birthday party, less than a month ago. Alan was very good-looking and she liked him immediately (No surprise there). However, Alan hadn’t asked her out yet, so Ginny used every excuse to flirt with him and try him to notice her.

“Why do I have to go?” I protested.

“Oh, come on, you always go to the training! We can bring them lunch, so it will be more casual...”

“Ginny, I’d really love to help you, but I have to finish this. I can’t be fooling around, losing time.”

“If you come with me, I’ll personally help you. I’ll revise half of these files if you want! I promise!”

I considered her offer for a second. I could actually trust Ginny, I knew she would do a good job. It would be great if she could help me. Besides, I would get to see Harry...

“Fine,” I said and she hugged me. “Let’s go and buy something for them.”

* * *

We walked through one of London’s busy streets towards Tony’s cafe. I always bought Tony’s special sandwiches, the guy’s favorite meal during their training. Besides, I knew that Oliver wouldn’t let me even step on his pitch without them.

Beside Tony’s cafe, there was a really expensive muggle boutique, which sold mostly party dresses. I never paid much attention to it, but that day in particular, they were showing off some gorgeous wedding dresses in the shopwindow.

I hadn’t even realized I had stopped walking and was staring at them until I heard Ginny’s voice.

“Hey, Herm, you’ve got a wedding dress stuck in your eye.”

“What?” I asked, turning around to look at her.

She looked at the dresses and then at me. “What’s so interesting about a wedding dress?”

“Uhm, nothing,” I said, blushing. The fact was that a longing feeling had come over me. Had I actually imagined myself in one of those dresses?

Yes, of course I had, and it wasn’t the first time either. Since a couple of months ago I had started to think a lot about marriage, even though I tried not to. But it was impossible not to wonder how would it be to be married to Harry... But he hadn’t even mentioned the subject yet, meaning that he wasn’t ready for a step like that. And truly, I didn’t know if I was either. The fact of being a wife freaked me out a little. On the other hand, we have been together for a year already... It was enough time, wasn’t it?

Ginny cleared her throat loudly. “Oh, I see... Hermione, you’re not getting married and hiding it from me, are you?”

“Of course not! I’m not getting married, haven’t even think of it.”

“Then why are you looking at that shopwindow as if it was showing Hogwart’s: a History, The Ultimate Collection?”

“I was not...” I argued, not very convincingly.

Ginny eyed me suspiciously. “Oh my... You actually want to get married, don’t you?”

“What if I do?” I said, trying to avoid her eyes and sound as casual as possible.

“Why on Earth would you want to get married?” she asked, as if the mere idea was unbeliavable. I remembered I had once heard Ginny saying that she wouldn’t get married for all the gold in the Wizarding World. “You’re not pregnant, are you?”

“What!?” I exclaimed. “No!!”

“Then why?”

“So pregnancy is the only reason someone would want to get married?”

“Well, that and money... I know that’s not your reason, though.”

“If I want to get married, and I’m saying IF, it’s because I’m in love,” I said, turning to look at the dresses again.

Ginny chuckled. “Well, then why don’t you just do it?”

“Because...” I started, but, actually, I wasn’t really sure why.

Ginny’s eyes widened. “Wait... Harry hasn’t proposed to you? Still?”

I glared at her, slightly annoyed. “What do you mean ‘still’?”

“Well, it’s just that I was sure he had done it a million years ago, and you had been wise enough to turn him down.”

“I’d never do that!”

“So, it’s true, he hasn’t.” She shook her head. “Why not?”

“I have no idea,” I sighed. “I’ve often wondered the same thing.”

“Then you propose to him,” she suggested.

I almost laughed at the idea. “God, I couldn’t do something like that. I’m too old-fashioned.”

“Okay, then, I’ll give you an advice, just because you’re my good friend.” Ginny looked around, as if she was about to reveal the biggest secret in History. “The best way of having a guy on his knee, offering a ring to you is to pretend that you don’t want him to propose.”

“That sounds stupid. How could anyone dare to propose to someone who doesn’t seem to want to get married?”

“Oh, Herm, Herm,” Ginny said, smiling at my inexperience. “Listen to the Professional, here. This trick has always worked for me.”

“Some has proposed to you?” I asked in surprise.

“Of course, three guys have already. Of course, I wasn’t pretending I didn’t want to get married, it was for real, but they popped the question anyway, and then, well, I had to dump them... But that’s not the point. Follow my advice, in less than a week you’ll have Harry begging you.”

“Whatever, let’s go to the Pitch,” I said hastily. However, Ginny’s words kept sounding in my head.

* * *

“Hey guys! Hermione is here! Food!!” yelled Johnny Bell, the Cannon’s Keeper when he saw me walking towards them with a box in my hands.

The rest of the team, who were flying at lest six feet above, landed quickly and ran to where I was.

“I was wondering why you hadn’t show up this week!”

“Yeah, we thought that Potter had you locked up or something!”

“Did you bring my tuna sandwich?”

“Hey, that one is mine!”

“Great, extra ketchup!”

“Hi Ginny,” Alan Wagner greeted her, grabbing one of the sandwiches. Ginny waved back, flashing him a smile.

When the crowd that was stalking me and my sandwiches dispersed, I finally spotted Harry coming over. He had his broom in his right hand and was wearing the Cannon’s Orange robe. His hair was totally messed by the wind.

“Hey... What are you doing here?” he asked, slightly puzzled.

“Well, if you want I can leave,” I said, frowning.

He finally got next to me and gave me a soft kiss. “Who could want something like that?” he said, smiling. “It’s just that I didn’t think you would come this week, considering all the work you have...”

“I got myself an assistant whom I don’t mind to torture,” I said, pointing at Ginny.

“Oh, hi Gin! Did you come to see Al-”

“Yeah, it’s great to see you, Harry,” she cut him off quickly.

I gave Harry a sandwich and he sat on the grass. “I missed this,” he said, taking a bite.

“Where’s Oliver? I brought him his favorite.”

“He’s at the office,” Harry explained when he swallowed. “I think he’s talking with the new Chaser.”

“You’ve got a new Chaser already? Who is it?” I asked, removing some grass strains from his hair.

“No idea. We have been training all morning...”

“Everyone, please come here!” that was, definitely, Wodd’s voice. We all looked up. He had a satisfied grin on his face. “I have great, great news!”

Harry shrugged and stood up with the rest of the team. They approached to Wood who looked as if he had just won the lottery. Ginny and I remained where we were, but listening still. I was curious to see who they had acquired so fast.

“We have a new Chaser,” Oliver announced. “Transferred directly from the China selection, she’s really quite something...”

Ginny looked at me. “She?” she mouthed. The Cannons didn’t have any women in their files.

“Let me introduce you to her...”

A tall and stunning woman came out of the office and approached to the group. Her long, black silky hair swinging on her back, and her exotic features shining in the sun’s light. I recognized her immediately, of course, and I didn’t need Oliver telling me who she was.

“Everyone, this is Cho Chang.”

********

2. Arrival

Chapter 2 - Arrival

Cho Chang…

A flash of the last time I had seen her crossed my mind...

*** Flashback ***

It was during their sixth year. Hermione and Ron were at the Great Hall having some breakfast. It was their last day at Hogwarts before going back home for the summer. Harry hadn’t come down yet. He had gone to bed late, because he had been Cho’s date for her Graduation Ball the night before.

Even though Harry had pretty much forgotten about Cho at the end of his fifth year, she had kept close to him during that year. She had said she wanted to be her friend, and Harry, for some odd reason, had accepted. That was why she had invited him to her prom. Or at least that was what he had told Hermione and Ron.

Hermione had just sat on the Gryffindor table when an outraged Cho stormed in the Great Hall and walked right towards her.

“YOU! IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT!” she had yelled, startling everyone who turned to look at whoever was making such a fuss so early in the morning.

Hermione stared at her, surprised. “What?” she asked, blinking.

But Cho didn’t say anything else and got out of the Great Hall as fast as she had arrived. Hermione hadn’t seen her anymore after that.

Later, when Harry showed up, she had told him about Cho’s attitude. Harry had looked a little bit flushed, but he said he had no idea what had gotten into her.

**** End of Flashback ****

The last thing I knew of Cho, was that she had moved to China, where part of her family lived, right after Hogwarts... She had played for some Quidditch team there all this time. And now she was back in England...

Why was I worrying, anyway? She was just a regular woman... Of course, she was incredibly beautiful and Harry’s first crush, but that didn’t mean anything. It had been a long time since either of us had seen her.

I felt stupid. There was no reason in the world to feel that tingle in my stomach.

“She’s going to be really good for us!” was saying Oliver, thrilled. “She’s responsible for her team winning four years in a row...”

I looked at the guys. Most of them were staring at Cho pretty dazzled. Probably they couldn’t believe their luck. The one girl in their team could well be appearing in a Playwizard magazine cover. Alan Wagner, however, didn’t seem interested at all, and was swinging his Beater club absent-mindly. I turned my gaze to Harry. He seemed a little surprised, but was smiling anyway.

“My God, I can’t believe I have to see HER again!” muttered Ginny, quite upset. I remembered that Cho had actually stolen her boyfriend when she was at Hogwarts, so it wasn’t weird at all that Ginny would despise her.

“Hello everyone,” I heard Cho’s voice and turned my attention to her. It seemed that Oliver had let her introduce herself. She was beaming at the guys, in quite a flirty-way if you ask me. “I only want to say that I’m really happy to be here, the Chudley Cannons has always been my favorite team.”

The team cheered. I couldn’t believe she was so cynical! Wasn’t she a fan of the Twisters or something? Ron had cornered her once about her loyalty to that Quidditch team...

“I’m sure that I won’t have any problems in getting used to all of you. Let’s win this year Cup, boys!” she finished, and more cheering and applauses followed. Harry was clapping with rest, but at least he wasn’t yelling. Ginny snorted and rolled her eyes in pure disgust.

Most of the players approached to Cho to greet her. Harry turned to us instead.

“Isn’t it unbeliavable? I didn’t think I would get to see Cho again!”

I smiled weakly. What did he mean ‘I would get to see Cho again’? It sounded as if he was hoping something like that would happen... Oh, snap out of it, Hermione. Why are you feeling jealous about someone who’s way buried in your past?

“Hermione!!” Oliver’s voice made me jump. He was approaching to me with big steps, and I noticed Cho following him. “I’m so glad you finally decided to make an appearence!”

“Hi, Harry. Long time no see,” Cho said, smiling at him with the sweetest of smiles.

Harry smiled back. “Definitely. It’s great to have you in the team, Cho. I’ve heard you’re one hell of a Chaser.”

“You bet she is,” Oliver commented, proudly.

“Better than a Seeker, anyway,” Cho said, shrugging and I didn’t believe for a minute her fake modesty. She turned to me and a smile crept in her face, although it was a very different smile from the one she had given to Harry. “Hermione Granger, isn’t it? I didn’t expect to see you here... I suppose you don’t play for the team, do you?” she let out a soft laugh.

“Of course not,” Oliver said, quickly. “Hermione wouldn’t get on a broom even if her life depended on that!” I shot him a nasty look. Actually, I had gotten on a broom once when I was trying to mend the mess I had caused with Ron’s wedding, and it hadn’t been a pleasant experience. “Hermione brings us lunch...” Oliver explained. “By the way, did you get my special ‘Tony sandwich’?”

Cho’s eyes twinkled. “Oh I see... So you’re like the... breeder.”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “Here’s your sandwich, Oliver,” I said, giving it to him and ignoring Cho.

“No, she’s not,” Harry interrupted. “She’s my good luck charm, isn’t she, Oliver?”

“Oh, yeah...” Wood said, biting his sandwich. “Makes us win all the matches!”

I smiled at Harry’s comment. Cho looked at both, a glimpse of curiosity in her face.

“She’s much more than that,” Ginny said, finally speaking, although her tone wasn’t very gentle. “She’s Harry’s girlfriend too.”

It was just a brief moment, but I could swear that Cho’s eyes clouded a bit. Her smile danced just a little, only to be replaced by a huge grin. Ginny on the other hand, looked pretty satisfied by being the one who had told her the ‘big news’.

“Really?” Cho said, now turning to Harry. “I would never had guessed that you two... were together.”

“Oh, but they are,” hissed Ginny, and I realized it was better to get her out of there as soon as possible.

“Hey Potter, since you know Chang way better than me and the rest, I’ll leave it up to you to have her settled. I want you to explain her how we work and make sure she gets a place to live and stuff...”

“You don’t have a place to live?” Harry asked, surprised.

“Well, Oliver called me yesterday and I got here immediately this morning. It all happened very fast...”

“Don’t worry, leave it to me,” Harry said in a friendly tone.

I didn’t really like what I was hearing. Why did Harry have to get her an apartment? Why couldn’t she do it herself? But I was not going to let that tiny thing bother me. Harry was just being nice to an old friend. Isn’t that how he is? Always helping others?

“Well, I have to go back to work,” I said, and Harry stopped talking to Cho and turned to me. He grabbed my arm and led me a few steps away from the others. With the corner of my eye, I saw Ginny giving Cho a really murderous look.

“I’ll see you tonight?” he asked, smiling.

I shook my head. “I’m staying at the office tonight. I still have too much to do...”

He looked at me, concerned. “I don’t want you to overdo it. You’ll get sick if you keep working like this.”

“Just two more days, Harry. On Saturday everything will be back to normal,” I assured him.

* * *

“I can’t believe you, Herm,” Ginny said once we went back to my office.

“Huh?” I asked, sitting behind my desk and looking at the amount of files scattered around.

“No ‘huhs’, missy! You actually left Harry alone with that bitch?”

“Ginny!” I scolded her. “And they are not alone, they are with the whole Cannon’s team.”

“Right, like that’s going to stop her!”

“Stop her from what?” I asked, taking a quill out.

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe from STEALING YOUR MAN!” Ginny exclaimed.

I stared at her calmly. “She’s not going to do that.”

“You don’t know her... Don’t you see it? She’s here for that! She came here for Harry!”

“She came here to play Quidditch,” I corrected her. “Besides, what makes you think she feels something for Harry? They hadn’t seen each other in years. Their relationship lasted less than a sigh, so I really don’t see why...”

“She’s evil, I’m telling you.”

I laughed. “Come on, don’t be paranoid, Gin. And even is she had those wicked intentions, I trust Harry completely, so I really don’t have anything to worry about.”

“Fine, don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Ginny said, and grabbed one of the files.

* * *

“OK, we’re done for today! Good job everyone!” Wood yelled, and a swarm of orange Quidditch robes landed in the grass of the Cannon’s Pitch.

Harry, still holding the golden Snitch he had just captured, put his broom over his shoulder, and started to walk towards the lockers. It was nice to see Oliver in such a good mood after what had happened the day before. But his mind wasn’t precisely in the training... He was thinking about the whole proposal thing. He still had to get a ring. And think about how he was going to ask her. It couldn’t be just a ‘would you marry me?’ question... It had to be something more...

He remembered Ron and Liz’s reaction when he had told them. They’d say they were expecting it. Was Hermione expecting it too? Maybe she was prepared... Maybe she had really been waiting this whole year for him to ask. But he hadn’t do it only because he had thought she needed time... It was her the one who needed to be sure about their relationship, because it had been a long time since he had stopped doubting she was the person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

“It was a good catch, the last one.”

Harry whirled around and saw that Cho was walking beside him. He hadn’t even noticed that someone was near.

“Thanks,” he said. “You did pretty well yourself.”

“I still have to get used to my new companions,” she replied, shrugging. “But I like it here. It’s nice to be back in England.”

“You really didn’t take any time to consider Oliver’s offer,” Harry commented.

“Well, to tell you the truth, I was hoping I would get a chance to come back. China was getting too boring...”

Harry nodded. They had reached the lockers. He opened his with a tap of his wand and got out his clothes.

“Oh that’s right! I said I’d help you looking for an apartment! You know, I think I saw a couple downtown. Do you want a muggle area or a wizard area?” he asked.

“You really don’t have to do this, you know?”

“What do you mean?”

“I really don’t need you to help me. I can do it myself. So don’t feel like it’s your duty.”

“I don’t,” Harry said, closing the locker. “I said I’d help you and I will. Besides, it’s been a long time since you were in England, isn’t it? We want you to feel at home.”

“But won’t you have trouble with your girlfriend?” Cho asked, casually.

Harry look at her, confused. “Why would I have trouble with Hermione?”

“Well, I don’t think she’d like the idea of you hanging out with me... Just the two of us,” she said, looking at her nails.

Harry laughed. “You don’t know Hermione. She won’t have any weird thoughts about this... And why should she, anyway?”

Cho shook her head. “You’re right. Well, then, let’s go and have a look at those flats.”

* * *

“This is where I live,” Harry said, turning on the lights of his apartment and holding the door for Cho to come in.

“It’s lovely... Did Hermione decorate it?”

“No, I did,” Harry replied. “Do you want something to drink?”

“OK, thanks,” Cho scanned the living room. It was pretty neat to be a single guy’s apartment. Maybe Hermione cleaned it for him. She spotted a book on the center table. She grabbed it. ‘Hogwarts: A History’ was marked in golden letters in the front cover. “Do you seriously read this stuff?” she asked, incredously.

Harry looked at the book and smiled. “Oh no. It’s Hermione’s. She must’ve left it there.”

“Oh... She lives here, with you?”

Harry gave her a glass of orange juice. “No, she lives next door.”

“It must be great to have her so close,” she commented. “And where is she now?”

“She’ll stay at her office tonight. I’ll be here on my own... all night,” Harry said, staring at her.

Cho left the glass of juice in the table and approached to him, until their faces were inches apart. “Poor boy,” she said, playing with his hair, “Wouldn’t you like me to stay with you?”

He smiled at her and she closed the gap between them, kissing him with passion...

A loud sound startled me and I jumped. I was at my office... It seemed I had fallen asleep over the desk. What was that sound I had heard? I looked around, still sleepy, and noticed that several books had fallen right under the desk. I bended to pick them up, and when I was lifting my head, I hit myself with the table.

“Shit!” I muttered, rubbing my head.

“So that’s what you do when you’re alone in your office... Sleep and curse,” a slightly amused voice commented.

I looked up. Harry was sitting on a chair, staring at me, with his hands folded in front of him. He had a lop sided smile. I remembered what I have been just dreaming... Cho and him, together, in his apartment... It was just a dream, I repeated myself. Why had I dreamt that anyway?

“Harry,” I said, leaving the books on the desk again, and pulling back the hair that had come to my face. “How long have you been there?”

“About an hour...”

I checked my watch. It was half past 1 o’clock in the morning. Had I been sleeping all this time!? I was supposed to be working. Even with Ginny’s help I was really late with my inventory...

“You’ve been sitting there for an hour?” I asked, trying to awake myself.

He nodded. “When I got here, you were already fast asleep. I didn’t have the heart to woke you up, so I just stayed here, quietly.”

“You should have woken me up,” I said, frowning. “What if I had just kept sleeping until everyone came back to the office?”

Harry laughed softly. “I’m sorry. It’s just that you look so beautiful when you’re sleeping... I guess I was a little bit selfish.”

I tried to hide a smile grabbing a file. “So, what did you came here for?” I asked.

“I wanted to see how you were doing... Make sure that you wouldn’t be tucking caffeine inside your organism to keep yourself awake... Obviously, I was wrong,” he added with a smirk.

I glared at him playfully, but deeply thankful for his concern. He was always thinking about me, while I had those terrible nightmares of him cheating on me.

“Harry, is late, you should go to bed, you have training tomorrow...” I started, but he cut me off.

“I’m not sleeping if you aren’t. I’ll stay here and help you. And there’s nothing you can say that’ll make me change my mind,” he said when I was about to protest.

“Fine,” I sighed. “Here you are,” I gave him a carpet full of files.

We started revising them. I had to admit that having Harry there was making my work far more interesting. Actually, I was having fun.

“Did Cho find a place to live?” I asked, about two hours later.

“Yes, a flat in Diagon Alley, but I’m not sure she really liked it,” Harry said, still focused on his file.

“How long it took you to find it?” I asked, trying to sound casual. Actually, I wanted to know how much time they had spent together.

“Not that long, two hours at most,” he replied. “I helped with her bags and then we had some pizza, that’s all.”

I lifted my eyes and looked at him. “You had pizza?”

He nodded. “Since she doesn’t have anything in the apartment yet, she wasn’t going to cook anything for dinner... Can you believe that she didn’t know what Pizza is? Sometimes I’m really thankful for having some muggle blood...”

Since Harry was looking at the file, he didn’t notice my expression. I tried to forget about my dream. It was ridiculous. He had just ate pizza with her, not ask her out for dinner, for Christ’s sake...

I didn’t want to start acting like a jealous and posessive girlfriend, so I changed the subject. But I couldn’t stop thinking about what Ginny had said about Cho. Her voice was so loud in my head that sometimes it didn’t let me hear what Harry was saying.

“You better be wrong, Gin,” I thought to myself, grabbing another file.

3. The First Step

Chapter 3 – The First Step

“Oy, Harry!”

Harry, who was warming-up a little on his broom before the training started, looked down and spotted Ron waving to him. He grinned and landed right next to his best friend.

“This is a surprise!” he said, shaking his hand. “What brings you here? Aren’t you supposed to be at your own training?”

“I’m on my way there,” Ron answered. “But I thought I might come and see how you were doing. Is Hermione giving you a hard time?”

Harry smiled. “Not really. I think she’ll be done with her inventory tonight.”

“Thanks God,” Ron said. “Then why don’t you two come to the manor tonight? We can all have dinner together, it’s been a long time since the last time we did.”

“If I remember correctly, last Friday we went there...”

“Well, a week is a long time, my friend!” Ron exclaimed, frowning. “Come on, Liz will make something delicious.”

“Sounds great, I’ll ask Herm,” Harry said.

Ron folded his hands in his pockets and stared at Harry curiously. “So...?”

“So... What?” Harry asked, puzzled.

“Did you buy it?” Ron asked, lowering his voice. He was obviously referring to the engagement ring.

“I’ll go today during the lunch break. Remus suggested a great place to find what I’m looking for,” Harry said. He had a very clear idea of what kind of ring he wanted to give Hermione.

“Remus Lupin? The one I know?” Ron asked, amused. “Since when does he know so much about engagements?”

Harry laughed and shrugged. “You should hear some of the advices he gave me.”

“I’d love to hear them, so save it for tonight, now I have to run...” Ron froze in the middle of the sentence, his gaze fixed in something beyond Harry’s shoulder.

Harry looked at him, curiously. “Ron?”

Ron shook his head and turned to his friend. “Sorry, but I would’ve sworn I saw Cho Chang going into the changing room.”

“Well, it was probably her, the training is about to start...”

Ron arched his eyebrows. “What?”

“I said that the training is...”

“No, not that part! What do you mean it was her?”

“Oh, didn’t Ginny tell you?” Harry asked. “Cho is the new Chaser. Remember I told you that Willis left the team? Well, Oliver called her, and next day she was here.”

“Does Herm know?” Ron asked, as if Harry had just told him that someone had just died.

“Umm, yeah, she was here when Cho arrived... Why are you looking at me like that?”

Ron eyed his best friend. “Well, it’s just that I don’t think she is very happy with the idea of you and HER working together.”

Harry frowned, not understanding what Ron was trying to say. “Why?”

Ron rolled his eyes. “And they say I’m thick... Because she’s your ex-girlfriend and...”

“Hey, hold on just a second,” Harry cut him off. “Cho was never my girlfriend in the first place. We only had one date!”

“If I remember correctly, you hanged out a lot with her when we were in our sixth year,” Ron argued.

“Well, yes, but there wasn’t any romantic interest involved then, we were just friends. She was going through a hard time and I...”

“Helped and supported her, I already heard that,” Ron muttered, smirking. “But she was your first crush... That might make Herm uncomfortable.”

“Why on Earth would she be uncomfortable? Hermione is not some jealous freak, Ron.”

“Oh, sure she isn’t,” Ron snorted remembering how many troubles had caused Hermione the last time she had been jealous.

“But she has no reason now...” Harry protested.

“Weasley!” Harry and Ron turned around. Oliver Wood had approached to them with a slight smirk. “Spying on the enemy? Are you afraid we’ll beat Puddlemere again?”

Ron laughed. “Terrified,” he said. “Well, I must go now. Harry, good luck with... erh you know,” he said, rubbing his finger significantly. Then, he noticed that Cho and the rest of the team were already there. “And remember what I told you!” he yelled, before disapparating.

* * *

As soon as Oliver announced they would have an hour and a half for lunch, Harry put his things on his locker and waved goodbye.

The jewerly store that Remus had talked to him about was in a very fancy neighborhood in London. It was a wizard store, named “Bonds”. The dependant was a witch that must have been about 60 years old and squealed when she realized it was Harry Potter himself the customer that had just entered.

“I’m so honored, Mr. Potter!” the woman said, wiping the tears from her eyes, while Harry lowered his head, uncomfortable. “I knew this day would come! I knew that, just like your father, you would once come to my humble store...”

“My father?” asked Harry, now interested.

“Oh, certainly. He came here about 27 years ago to buy an engagement ring... It was such a beautiful wedding,” the woman blew her nose.

So that was the reason why Remus had suggested that store. Harry smiled and started looking at the rings displayed in pretty blue velvet boxes.

“So,” the woman said, regaining her composture, “what kind of ring are you looking for? Gold? Silver?”

“Silver,” Harry said, knowing that Hermione didn’t like gold too much.

“I see... What about this one?” she showed him a pretty silver ring with an emerald on it.

Harry frowned. “No, no green,” he said. It wasn’t that he didn’t like the color, but silver and green reminded him too much of Slytherin.

The woman showed him about twenty different rings, but none of them was what Harry was looking for. The ring he was going to give to Hermione had to be perfect and unique.

“I know!” the woman said suddenly. “I think we might have something you’ll like inside. It was just made a few days ago...” she disappeared inside the store and came out a few minutes later, carrying a red box. She opened it for Harry to see the ring.

It was love at first sight. The ring was absolutely stunning. It had only two small stones, a ruby and a zapphire. It was so simple, and yet so perfect, that he knew right away that had to be the one.

“I’ll take it,” he said, grinning. He had finally found it.

“Harry?”

He turned around, slightly surprised that someone was calling his name. His surprise was bigger when he saw that Cho Chang was standing in the store’s entrance, smiling at him.

“Cho... Hi, what are you doing here?”

“Oh, I was just passing by,” she said, waving her hand, casually. “I stopped here to look at the shopwindow, and that’s when I spotted you inside.” She approached to him and looked at the ring he was holding. “Is that an engagement ring?” she asked.

Harry nodded.

“I didn’t know Hermione and you were getting married,” Cho commented, still smiling.

“Well, I haven’t proposed to her yet,” Harry said. “Hey, maybe you can give me your opinion about the ring,” he added, showing it to her.

Cho took it and looked at it in every angle. “It’s pretty... But don’t you think it’s a little bit plain? Women like big diamonds and stuff.”

“Oh, no, Hermione doesn’t like that kind of jewerly,” Harry said, paying for the ring.

“We still have an hour before we have to go back to the Pitch,” Cho said. “I was on my way to have some lunch, would you like to join me? In that way, you’ll be able to tell me how do you plan to propose to your girlfriend. I’m sure you have a fascinating idea.”

“Ok, let’s go,” Harry accepted. He turned to the old woman. “Thanks a lot, ma’am. Can I ask you a favor?”

“Anything,” she said, eagerly.

“If the press happen to come here and ask you what I was doing, please don’t tell them anything. It would spoil the surprise.”

The woman grinned. “Of course. Descretion is our motto.”

* * *

It was unbeliavable. Thanks to Harry and Ginny’s help, I had been able to finish all my work by 1 o’clock that afternoon. I was free, finally! And I who had though I would have to work the whole Friday.

Liz had just flooed me to the office to invite Harry and me to have dinner with Ron and her that night, and I accepted immediately. It had been a whole week since I had spoken to either of them, and I was starting to miss sharing time with my friends without worrying about those stupids reports.

It was early and I still hadn’t had lunch. I though that maybe I could invite Harry to have lunch with me. I hadn’t thanked him properly for staying with me the whole night. So I went to the Cannon’s Pitch to look for him.

“Hey Hermione!” Oliver greeted me. He was working on some complicated chart he probably was planning to show the team later.

“Hi, Oliver,” I said, smiling. “I’m sorry, but I didn’t bring any sandwiches today.”

He groaned. “Damn, I was hoping you would.”

“I came to look for Harry.”

“He went out. As soon as the break started, he disapparated, and I have not the slightest idea where he went.”

“Oh,” I said, puzzled. Harry almost never left the Pitch during the breaks. Usually, when I wasn’t there, he spent that time flying around or chatting with his teammates. I scanned the place. Almost everyone was there, expect for...

“Where’s Cho?” I asked.

Oliver shrugged. “She went out too, I think. Do you want me to tell Harry something?” he asked, turning his attention to the chart again.

“No, nothing. I’ll talk to him later. Bye!”

* * *

I was reading a book in my living room when I heard noises in the apartment next door, meaning that Harry was home. It was about six o’clock. I immediately apparated there, and he jumped when he saw me.

“Geez, you scared me,” he said, putting his hand in his pocket.

I looked at him curiosly. “Why? I always apparate here...”

Harry blinked. “Aah, of course, it’s just that I thought you were at the office...”

I smiled. “No, I already finished everything.”

“Really?” He grinned and hugged me, kissing the tip of my nose. “That’s great. I don’t have to share you with those reports anymore,” he said.

“Actually, I finished quite early today, thanks to you,” I said, kissing him briefly in the lips. “I was hoping we could have lunch together today, so I went to the Pitch to look for you,” I started.

“You...went to the Pitch?” Harry pulled away. “I’m really thirsty,” he said, going to kitchen and pouring some orange juice in a glass. I followed him.

“Yes. You weren’t there, though,” I said with a casual voice. “Which was a bit strange, since you don’t like to leave the Pitch during lunch breaks. So you must have a had a really important business...”

“Aaaah... well, I went out with...Ron,” he said slowly.

“Ron?” I asked.

“Yes, that’s right! Ron dropped by and we had lunch together,” he said quickly.

I relaxed immediately, feeling relieved. “That’s great!” I said. Why had I even worried?

“Yeah, he want us to go to his house tonight.”

“I know,” I said, “I spoke to Liz.”

“So, are we going?” he asked.

“Of course. I really miss to have a social life, you know?”

“OK, then,” Harry said, caressing my cheek. Then, he smirked. “So, you said that you finished your work earlier with the help of whom?”

“Hey, don’t get so cocky, Potter! Ginny helped me too,” I said.

“But she didn’t stay the whole night, did she? And I’m sure she didn’t have to review the files from 1875, like I did...”

“Oh, so that’s how it is,” I said, pulling away and glaring at him, playfully. “You help me and then throw it in my face. Or is it that you want something in exchange?”

“Mmm, that doesn’t sound bad,” he said, with a thoughtful expression.

“OK, what is that you want for your valuable help?”

“I was thinking something like this...”

He pulled me closer and gave me a long kiss. Oh, how I love this man. I never thought that I was ever going to fall like this for a guy. “Falling in love” had always been on my “to-do-list”, just above of “getting married” and “have a family”, and below “being a professional”. But Harry had changed my world. I know it sounds cheesy, but it’s the truth. Being with him is the best thing that has happened to me.

“So, does this pay my debt?” I asked, when I was able to catch my breath.

“I’m not sure, maybe if I try again...”

* * *

“It was delicious, Liz, you certainly have to teach me how to prepare this,” I said.

“That sounds like an impossible task,” Ron commented, hiding his grin behind his glass of water.

I glared at him. “If Harry’d let me step in the kitchen more often, I could improve my cooking.”

Harry smiled. “I don’t hear you complaining when I cook for you almost every night.”

Liz giggled. “I’m going to wash these...”

“Oh no, you’re not,” Ron said, standing up. “Harry and I will take care of the dishes, won’t we Harry?”

“Uhm, sure...” Harry said.

I looked at both of them. That kind of comments coming from Ron could only mean that he wanted to talk about something with Harry privately. Harry followed Ron into the kitchen and they closed the door behind them.

“Well, what do you say if we go to the garden? It’s a lovely night and we could catch up,” Liz said, standing up with difficulty, due to her big belly.

We sat on a bench, right outside the manor. I remembered all that had happened in that place almost a year ago, and I smiled inwardly. So many things had changed... I used to hate Liz, and now she was one of my best friends.

“So, I heard you’ve been really busy this week,” she said, smiling.

“You bet,” I sighed. “But it’s over. I won’t have to worry about this until two more years. From Monday, I’ll be having a normal day at work.”

“So, you’ll still be working a lot,” she chuckled.

I turned my head to look at the house. “I wonder what they’re doing...” I said.

“You mean Ronnie and Harry?” Liz asked, smiling slightly.

I nodded. “Yeah, ‘Harry and I will take care of the dishes’?” I snorted, mimicking Ron. “They don’t even have to wash them! They just use the cleaning spell, and that’s it. Ron has never been very subtle when he wants to talk to Harry alone.”

Liz didn’t say anything, and kept smiling.

“Do you know something that I don’t?” I asked, staring at her.

“Oh!” she said, touching her belly. “He just kicked me!”

“What?” I asked, turning to her. I knew that probably the baby was moving a lot, after all he was eight-months, but I have never been there when he ‘kicked’ Liz.

“Do you want to feel him? He’s moving,” she said, grabbing my hand.

A little apprehensevely, I let her put my hand on her belly. Although I loved children, I had never been around too many babies, since I am an only child. I felt something moving inside Liz. It was the weirdest feeling, but I grinned excitedly.

“Amazing,” I muttered.

“I know,” she said beaming. “I’m afraid he’ll be as quiet as Fred and George.”

We both laughed, picturing how that was going to be.

“Do you want to have children, Hermi?” she asked me, suddenly.

“Well... Sure I do...”

“You don’t sound very convinced,” she pointed out.

“Oh, no, I’m pretty sure about it, I love children, I would love to have a big family, but I’m not very sure if I’d be a good mother...”

“I understand, I feel the same way,” Liz said. “Actually, I don’t think there’s a woman in the world who isn’t afraid of becoming a mother. But I’m sure you’ll be great. You had a lot of practice with Harry and Ron.” We laughed. “Harry will be a good Dad too.”

My smile faded a little.

“What is it?” she asked.

“It’s nothing, just that I... Well, everyone seems to be so sure that Harry and me will... you know, but...”

“But what? Don’t you want to start a family with him?”

“Yes I do,” I said immediately. “But maybe, we’re not ready yet.”

Liz leaned back, interested. “What do you mean? You feel like you’re not ready to get married?”

“No, actually, I think I am,” I said, lowering my voice. “But I don’t know how Harry feels about it.”

“You think he doesn’t want to marry you?”

“I don’t know... Maybe he does, just not yet. We’ve been together for a year and we have never talked about this. Don’t you think it’s weird?”

She shook her head, smiling. “Not really. There’s not a proper time for a talk like that, until it happens, Hermi,” she said, in that wise tone she always had when we discussed about our relationships.

I sighed, staring at the sky. “I’ve wanted to bring up the subject, specially lately, you know? But I’m afraid of what he might say. What if he thinks it’s too early? Or maybe he just doesn’t want to get married...” We fell silent for a while. “Ron and you were quite brave. I don’t know if I would have the guts to marry someone I had just met.”

Liz laughed. “You know, if someone had asked me two years ago if I would do what I did, I would’ve certainly said ‘no way’. But it was different with Ronnie. He’s such a wonderful person... He cares about me so much. He leaves everything else when it comes to me or his soon-to-be-born son. Like today, for example...”

“What did he do?” I asked, with interest.

“He skipped his lunch to go with me to St. Mungo’s to check on the baby. Can you imagine what it was for him to lose a whole meal?”

I laughed, knowing that Ron hated to miss lunch, but then I froze. “Wait, did you say that Ron was with you at lunch hour?”

“Yeah, he came to pick me up at 1, and we stayed together until he went back to his training...” Liz said, puzzled. “Why?”

Harry had told me that he had had lunch with Ron... He had lied. But why would he lie to me? Unless... Cho Chang wasn’t there...

“What is it, Hermi?” Liz asked, worried.

“It’s nothing,” I said, smiling weakly.

What was going on?

4. Plans

Chapter 4 - Plans

“Well, good night,” I said when we arrived to my apartment. Harry had apparated along with me, as he usually did everytime we went out. Usually, we had a cup of coffee and talk until very late... But tonight I wasn’t in the mood to talk to him.

Actually, I didn’t want to see him at all.

I needed to think about what had happened. It was a fact that Harry had lied to me, but the reason remained a mystery. I didn’t want to jump into conclusions, and that was why I needed a little time for myself.

Of course, I could have asked him straight forward why he lied. But, somehow, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I don’t know why... When it comes to Harry, sometimes I can’t have everything under control.

“Herm, are you OK?” he asked me, not moving an inch. His eyes were fixed on me, studying every reaction.

“Yes, I’m fine,” I said smiling. “Just a little bit tired.”

He lifted an eyebrow. “You’ve been acting weird for a while... Are you sure everything’s alright?”

“Everything’s alright, Harry,” I said, sighing. “I told you, I’m just tired, it’s been a really long day.”

But Harry was still looking at me, not convinced at all. “Call it a hunch, but I feel like you’re not telling me everything.”

I couldn’t believe his nerve! I wanted to yell at him “How you dare!” but I restrained myself. “Well, your hunch is wrong. I don’t know what you want me to tell you, Harry. I’m OK, I’m fine, I don’t have any problems that I don’t want to share with you, and I really, really need to sleep right now.”

Harry looked a little taken aback with my answer. He seemed about to say something else, but he knew me better than that. He had already realized that I was in a jumpy mood, and taunting me could be really dangerous.

“Fine. I’ll see you tomorrow, then.” And quite reluctantly, he left for his own apartment.

I bit my lip. I didn’t want to have an argument with him. I didn’t mean to be snappish and moody. But, deep down inside, I was really angry with him. Angry not only for lying to me, but for making me feel this way... Nervous, afraid and uneasy.

Nervous, because Harry never lied unless he had a really good reason to do it. And I really couldn’t think of any good reasons for him to lie to me, so there had to be a bad one...

Afraid that this reason could take him away from me. Why I was thinking like that? Harry loved me. I loved him. We were happy together. There was nothing that could ruin this relationship.

Uneasy... Why was I uneasy again? An instant image of a woman with long, silky, black heard appeared in front of me. SHE again... Why did I keep thinking about her? She meant nothing to Harry or to me. She was just Harry’s colleague. Nothing more...

“Oh, but she is,” a voice in my head said.

“What do you mean?” I asked the little voice.

“You’re an intituive person, Hermione. Your instincts don’t fool you often.”

“Yes, but I have been wrong before... And wait, who said anything about instincts? I have absolutely no instincts regarding Cho,” reasonable Hermione said.

“If you say so...” the annoying voice said.

I looked at myself in the mirror and laughed. This was so stupid! Now I was actually talking to myself! I sighed and went to my bedroom. Tomorrow I would be able to think with my head straight. I was going to ask Harry. He would have a reasonable explanation and everything would be fine.

* * *

Harry laid on his bed, not able to sleep. He was disconcerted with Hermione’s behavior. She surely wasn’t fine, as she claimed to be. She was upset, or worried about something. He knew her too well to realize when something wasn’t right.

But she was OK when they had gone to Ron’s house. During the whole dinner, she had been her normal self. And then Ron and him had gone to the kitchen. Of course, his friend wanted to hear everything about the ring. They had spent quite a while talking about what Harry was planning to do this Sunday, and then they had gone outside, where Hermione was sitting with Liz...

And then, he noticed she was different. Something about her attitude had changed. She was a little bit colder, avoiding his eyes, remaining silent unless someone asked her something. Ron and Liz didn’t seem to notice this change in her behavior, but she hadn’t fooled him.

Something had happened to her after he had gone to the kitchen with Ron. But what? She had been talking with Liz all the time... Harry also noticed that the strange attitude was only towards him... Had Hermione been talking to Liz about him?

He sat up quickly when an idea crossed his mind. What if Liz had let slip something about the proposal? He was sure she wouldn’t tell her, but maybe Hermione had found out, maybe she had read between the lines as she usually did and had just make the connection... But that couldn’t be. If that was the case, which Harry hope it wasn’t or his surprise would be ruined, why Hermione would be like that? Unless...

Unless she didn’t want to get married.

“Come on Harry, don’t panick now,” he said aloud to himself. He was just thinking the worse. There was no reason why Hermione wouldn’t want to get married to him. They loved each other, they had been together for enough time, they both had good careers and were perfectly mature to have a family of their own.

At least that was what he thought.

He tried to calm himself. He tried to convince his skeptical mind that something else was bothering Hermione and not what he had just imagined.

He would ask her tomorrow, straight forward. Wasn’t that the kind of relationship they had? They always talked to each other about everything. This wasn’t an exception. She would have a reasonable explanation and everything would be fine.

* * *

I woke up feeling a lot better. Thinking things over, I realized I was overreacting. From my experience in the Harry Potter World, I knew that the few times he hid things or lied it was for a special reason. And, I knew that, at some point he would tell me the truth. He always did. Back at Hogwarts, and later. I just had to forget about this incident, and wait for the right moment to discuss it with him.

After all, I was sure that it couldn’t be that he was doing something wrong. And, certainly, Cho didn’t have anything to do with this. It had been just a coincidence that she wasn’t there by that time.

Glad that I had reached this resolution, I decided to go over to Harry’s apartment to apologize for being so unpleasant with him the night before. But before I could even think of apparating there, three soft knocks on the door stopped me.

It was Harry, of course. It had been a while since he had knocked on my door instead of just apparating inside. I opened it right away, and found him leaning against the door frame, smiling sheepishly and eyeing me warily.

“Why did you knock instead of apparating?” I asked before he could say anything.

“Well, you were a little upset last night and I thought that...”

I threw my arms around his neck, cutting him off. He seemed a little surprised, but a second later he wrapped his own arms around my waist.

“I’m so sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean to be like that with you.”

“That’s OK,” he said, backing away a little to look at my face. “I was thinking that maybe I had done something wrong without noticing it. You know I can be an idiot sometimes...”

“No, you didn’t do anything,” I said, hugging him again. That would have been the perfect moment to ask him about the lie, but I had already decided I would let him go on with whatever he was doing.

I knew that he wanted to ask mw why I had been acting in that way. He hadn’t believe the “I’m-just-tired” excuse. But he remained silent and kissed me on the forehead.

“Did you have breakfast already?” he asked.

Before I could answer, a crack coming from the fireplace startled both of us. We looked around and spotted Oliver Wood’s face, smiling to us.

“Sorry to interrupt,” he said, winking. “But since I didn’t find you in your apartment, Harry, I thought that maybe there was a slight chance that you were at Hermione’s... Had a good night?” he asked, grinning.

I rolled my eyes at him and let Harry approach to the fireplace.

“Good morning, Oliver,” Harry said, ignoring Oliver’s winks. “What is it?”

“What do you mean, ‘what is it’? Have you already forgotten what day is today?”

“It’s Saturday, August 30th,” Harry replied, shrugging.

Oliver frowned. “Potter! Today is the Opening Party for the Quidditch Season!” he roared. “All the teams will be there, along with the press and some people of the Ministry... I just called to let you know it’s going to be in the Puddlemere’s Stadium, tonight at 8, SHARP!”

Harry groaned. “Do I have to go?”

Oliver glared at him. “Of course. You’re my star seeker, you idiot! I want to show you off a little. Besides, you’ve never missed one of these parties. Most of your friends go there. Hermione will be there too. Why are you complaining?”

I looked at Harry. Oliver was right. Usually, he enjoyed the Opening Parties. I had gone with him to all of them and they were really fun. But Harry didn’t seem very happy about it... And it was strange he had forgotten about it so suddenly.

“OK, I’ll see you there then,” Oliver said, when Harry remained in silence. “See ya, Hermione!” his head disappeared from the fireplace.

* * *

Harry stormed into his living room, and ran to the fireplace. He had told Hermione he had gone to look for a sweater, but that wasn’t quite what he needed to do.

He threw some floo powder and shouted Ron’s address. “Ron!” he called. The living room was empty. The damned house was so big, that he wasn’t even sure if Ron could hear him. Maybe he was still asleep...

He heard someone coming into the living room from the front door. Two seconds later, Ron entered in the living room. He had a paper bag in his right hand and was wearing a cloak. He had been obviously out.

“Ron!” Harry called him, looking at the same time over his shoulder to make sure that Hermione wasn’t there.

“Hey, Harry,” Ron said, yawning.

“What are you doing up so early on a Saturday?” Harry asked.

“Don’t ask. Liz wanted to eat some muggle stuff... Dontas or something...”

“Donuts?”

“That’s it. I don’t understand...”

“Ron, I need a favor,” Harry cut him off quickly.

Ron stopped babbling and kneeled in front of the fireplace. “Sure, what is it?”

“I need you to take Hermione out for lunch.”

The red headed looked at him puzzled. “Why?”

“Because I had totally forgotten about that stupid Opening Season Party! I was planning to do what you know tonight, but now I have to be there...”

“Yeah, I know, I have to go too, remember?”

“Sure... Well, I will have to do it earlier, or it won’t be ready... But I can’t risk Hermione being here. She could apparate any minute in my apartment...”

“OK, I understand... Don’t worry, I’ll ask her.”

“Thanks, mate, I owe you one,” Harry said, smiling.

“Just one?” Ron teased.

Harry said goodbye and dissapeared. Ron was about to go to where his wife was waiting for the Dontas, when other head appeared in his fireplace.

“Herm?”

“Hi, Ron, I’d never expected to find YOU up this early on a Saturday... I was hoping Elizabeth would...”

“Hey, give me a break!” Ron said. “Do you want to talk to me or to her?”

“To you, actually. I want you to take me out for lunch today.”

Ron lifted an eyebrow. “What?”

“I need to do something, but Harry isn’t supposed to know. I need an excuse to get away from him until it’s done. Please!?”

Ron pretended he gave it a thought. “Alright,” he said finally.

“Thank you so much! See you here at 2 o’clock, don’t be late!” she disappeared.

“What are you laughing at?” Liz asked him when he finally went up to their bedroom with the bag of Donuts.

“Harry and Hermione,” he said, and explained her what had just happened.

* * *

“Who was it?” Harry asked me when he apparated back in my apartment.

“Umm, Ron... He wanted to ask me for lunch... I think he wants me to help him buy a gift for Liz. It’s their anniversary tomorrow...” I said quickly. It was, of course, our ‘anniversary’ too. Tomorrow, it would be a year since I had realized I loved Harry.

“Oh,” he said. “Well, then I guess I’ll have to have lunch on my own.”

“Sorry about that. I’ll be here as early as I can.”

“Oh no, take your time,” he said, smiling.

* * *

When Harry was sure that Hermione and Ron had left, he started. He had everything planned for tomorrow. He would take Hermione to a picnic and then propose to her.

He was going to cook a pumpkin pie, her favorite dessert, and put the ring inside. When Hermione ate it, she would find it and he would pop the question. Simple and surprising. She was going to love it.

Two hours later, the pie was ready. He had made two medium sized, one for each. He had marked Hermione’s. He couldn’t risk to give her the wrong pie. The ring was already inside. All he had to do know, was hide everything in case Hermione went to his apartment that night.

He heard the door bell ringing. For a second, he feared it could be Hermione, but then realized she never rang the bell. She would’ve apparated or at least knock three times. Curious, Harry opened the door.

“Cho?” he asked, surprised to see her there.

“Hi Harry,” she said. “Do you have a minute?”

Harry motioned her to come in.

“I’m sorry for coming without calling first,” she apologized.

“Don’t worry about it. Do you want something to drink?” he offered, politely.

“No thanks, I won’t stay... What were you doing?” she asked, when she noticed that Harry’s face had some flour on it.

“I was making some pumpkin pie,” he said.

“Oh, for tomorrow... The proposal thing?” she asked. Harry had told her his idea when she had met him in the ring’s store.

Harry nodded. “I’m finishing it, would you mind to come to the kitchen with me while I clean? Then you can tell me what is it that you need.”

Cho followed him to the kitchen, scanning the place. “It’s very big,” she commented.

Harry nodded absent-mindly.

“Well Harry, actually I came here to borrow the Quidditch Rule Guide from you,” Cho said, smiling.

“The Guide?” Harry asked. It was a book that had all the rules of the Professional Quidditch in the United Kingdom. Oliver had given one to all the players from the Chudley Cannons. He had said he didn’t want any of his men playing dirty and giving a bad name to the Team. “Didn’t Oliver give you one?”

“He said he was going to, but he never did. And since we start the season next week, I want to be ready. China’s rules are very different, and I don’t want to mess up.”

“You shouldn’t have bothered coming here,” Harry said. “I could have given it to you on Monday.”

“Yeah, but I’m a slow reader, and I thought it would be a good idea to catch up a little this weekend. Besides, I was in the neighborhood.”

Harry smiled. “Well, then, I’ll get it for you, give me a sec.”

He left Cho alone in the kitchen and went to his bedroom. He knew he had the stupid book somewhere... After five minutes looking for it, he found it under the bed. Hermione would kill him if she found out where he kept the books. He chuckled at the thought and went back to the kitchen.

“Here it is.”

“Thank you so much, Harry, you have helped me more than you imagine,” she said.

“I didn’t do anything that special,” he said, blinking.

“That’s what you think,” she whispered. “Well, I have to go. See you tonight at the party?”

“Yes, sure,” Harry said.

Cho smiled at him again and left.

* * *

The place was crowded. We arrived half past eight and the first person I spotted was Liz, standing on a corner, looking at the couples dancing a few feet away. I waved at her, but instantly the flashes of different cameras blinded me.

“Mr. Potter!” the journalists yelled, each one of them trying to catch Harry’s attention. “Miss Granger!” I was already used to this. Being Harrys’ best friend and then his girlfriend had an obvious impact in the press.

“Later,” he said, grabbing my hand and leading me to where Liz was.

“Hey guys,” she greeted, smiling while she looked at Harry’s annoyed face. “Having a hard time?”

Harry sighed and then smiled at her. “Where is Ron?”

“Here I am,” Ron said, approaching with two glasses. He gave one to Liz. “You know, this party is a lot better than last year’s.”

“Do you want something?” Harry asked me. I nodded and he moved to the table where the drinks were.

Ron followed him with his gaze and then turned to me. “So, how did you manage with...him?”

You might be wondering who is ‘him’. Well, *him* is my present for Harry. Ron went with me to retrieve it. I was going to give Harry a dog. A German Shepperd puppy to be exact. It was going to be our pet. I love dogs and Harry does too. This gift would create a special bond between us. My mother had said that it was the first step before getting married (Well, she’s been asking me when I’m going to finally tie the knot with Harry even before we got together). Ron had laughed a lot when he found out that I was planning to give him a dog, but he didn’t tell me what was so funny about it. Now, the adorable puppy was probably destroying my living room.

“He is OK. I don’t know how I’m going to hide him until tomorrow, though.”

We stopped talking because Harry was approaching to us, followed closely by Oliver and the Weasley Twins.

“Ah, there is our favorite lady,” Fred said when he saw me. Then, he grabbed my hand and kissed it gallantly.

“What are you doing here?” I asked. Neither of them was a Quidditch player, nor part of the press.

“You are looking at the brand new sponsors of the Chudley Cannons,” George grinned. “The Weasley Wizard Wheezes have finally set their eyes on one Quidditch team!”

“You don’t miss the chance to go to a good party, do you?” I asked, smirking.

“Who? Us?” they said with a look of innocence.

But looking around the crowd, I realized that most of the people I knew were there. Ginny was talking quietly to a guy I didn’t recognize on the corner. Wasn’t she aiming for Alan? That girl doesn’t change. I spotted Lavender and Parvati too, with some Quidditch players. And, to my great disgust, I saw Draco Malfoy standing with a smug plastered in his face, looking at us.

“Why is that git here?” Ron asked through gritted teeth.

“Who? Malfoy?” Oliver asked, looking at where Ron was pointing. “I heard he’s going out with Lisa Myers, the Chaser from the Vortexs.

“Are you serious?” Ron looked shocked. “How on Earth did he manage to get a date with her?” He shook his head.

“Oh, there comes Chang,” Oliver said.

We all turned to look at Cho, walking towards us. She looked really pretty, with her hair tied up. I tried to forget my stupid intincts and smiled politely at her.

* * *

She had been for nearly an hour there and hadn’t got the chance to talk to Harry. Why was that annoying bookworm always stucked to him? Probably ready to hex anyone who came near him. After all, that was the only way she could stop someone from stealing him away.

“Hi Cho! Long time no see!”

Cho Chang turned around to see Padma Patil smiling at her. She remembered her from Hogwarts. She was a year below her, but they had been good friends.

“Hey Padma, how you’ve been?”

She heard patiently Padma talking about her current life, not very interested. She constantly turned her gaze to Harry and Hermione, who were now walking towards the big table where the food was.

“They are the perfect couple,” Padma said, suddenly.

“Who?”

“Harry Potter and Hermione Granger,” she said, looking at them too.

“Ummm, you think so?” Cho asked, frowning slightly.

“Sure. I’ve watched them a lot. I know all their routine.”

“What do you mean?”

“Look,” Padma said. Cho looked at Harry and Hermione. “They grab a dish and start putting food on it. Then, Hermione gives Harry the one she prepared and he gives her the one he prepared, because they actually prepared the dish for the other.”

Cho looked in amazement when Hermione and Harry exchanged their dishes.

“Now, Harry pulls the chair for Hermione to sit, and he sits by her side. He offers her something to drink...”

“Are they always like this?” Cho asked.

“Sure. But you should see them when they’re dancing.”

* * *

Cho was having her fourth glass of champaign. Just as Padma had told her, Harry and Hermione were even worse when they were dancing. Right now “And I love her”, from The Beatles was playing and Harry was actually singing in her ear. It was the most sickening sight she had ever seen.

“It’s awful, isn’t it?” a voice said right beside her.

She jumped and met a pair of grey eyes. She barely remembered that guy from Hogwarts... He was the Seeker of Slytherin.

“Draco Malfoy,” he said, offering his hand. She shook it warily. He smirked and turned his gaze to Harry and Hermione. “I really can’t understand that,” he said.

“Me neither,” she said, although she hadn’t planned to.

“I know that. But I don’t think you can do anything about it...” Malfoy said slowly.

“Why do you say that? You don’t know me at all,” Cho said, annoyed.

“No, but I know Potter. He’s not going to ditch the mudblood for anything.”

“I wouldn’t be that sure,” Cho whispered.

“Oh... Do you have a plan?” he asked.

She looked at him. It was as if he was reading her mind. How did he know that she wanted to split them apart? She had never even crossed a word with that guy.

“Sort of,” she said, remembering what she had done that afternoon.

“I’ll help you.” It wasn’t an offer. It was more an statement. Cho was about to protest, but he cut her off. “I know exactly what to do. Trust me.”

******

5. Misleadings

Chapter 5 - Misleadings

The place where Harry took me to celebrate this year together was really beautiful. It looked like one of those gardens you see in muggle movies settled in the Victorian times. He led me to the farthest part of it, and we sat on a blanket near a small pond.

Harry had really overdone himself. He had prepared sandwiches and pumpkin pie. I knew he wasn’t going to forget about this day, but I hadn’t expected such an elaborated plan. In that minute I felt that nothing ever could cloud our happiness together.

Our new dog was playing nearby with a squirrel.

“How are we going to name it?” Harry asked, looking fondly at him.

“I don’t know... Any suggestions?”

Harry thought for a while. “Do you remember that book you gave me in our seventh year?”

“The one about Greek mythology?” I asked, puzzled. “The one you never read?”

“I did, actually, and it was a very good book,” he said, with a lop-sided grin. “Don’t tell Ron I said that.”

I chuckled. “Well, what about that book?”

“There was a name on it I liked, the one of the greek hero...”

“Aquiles?”

“That’s the one. What do you think?”

I smiled. “I like it very much,” I said. I moved closer to him to give him a quick kiss, but before I could pull away, he put his hand behind my neck and the short kiss I had planned was forgotten. Something I love about Harry and this relationhip is that every time we kiss is as if it was the first time. There’s always that anticipation and nervousness that a year of being together hasn’t been able to take away.

“That’s what I call a good snog,” he said when we finally parted.

I glared at him, playfully. “You know I hate that word,” I said.

Harry laughed, and leaned against a tree. I leaned next to him and put my head on his shoulder. We stayed in silence for a while, enjoying each other’s company.

“Isn’t it weird?” I asked, suddenly.

“Mmm what?” he asked, distracted.

“Naming a pet together... I mean, is almost as if it was our child...” ‘Hey Hermione, hold on. What are you saying? Are you making suggestions here?’ I thought, slightly panicked.

I felt Harry tense up a bit. I looked up at him. He looked rather nervious.

“I think we should try the Pumpkin Pie,” he said, and gave me one of them.

“...OK..,” I said. Was he uncomfortable for what I had said? Of course he was. Me and my stupid big mouth.

Harry shifted in his position until he was across from me. He was staring at me, expectantly. “Try it,” he said. Probably, he was looking for anything that could change the subject.

I took a bite. It was really good. It wasn’t a surprise, Harry is a great cook. “This is awesome, Harry. Aren’t you going to eat?”

“Sure,” he said, and took a bite of his own pie, his eyes still looking at me.

I took another bite. He was acting really odd. I could even see the sweatdrops on his forehead. The worst part is that I felt totally responsible for his attitude. I had entered in a dangerous area.

A third bite. Harry’s eyes were fixed on me, and he wasn’t really eating.

Fourth bite. “Why are you looking at me like that?” I asked. He shook his head and smiled weakly. Bizarre.

I took the last bite when his stare was unbearable. And then, I noticed that his face had went pale and his mouth was open, as if he had seen a ghost.

“Harry? Are you OK?” I asked, concerned.

He took a while before snapping back to reality. “Um, yeah, I’m fine,” he muttered.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes...” he looked at his watch. “Hey, look at the time! It’s getting late. We should probably go back,” he said, standing up.

Totally puzzled, I grabbed my things and we went back to his apartment.

* * *

When we got there, he went directly to the kitchen. I followed him, getting more confused with every passing minute. He scanned the kitchen’s floor with his eyes. He had forgotten about me. For a minute I thought he was checking if there wasn’t any Death Eaters around.

“Is something missing?” I asked, looking around too, while Aquiles was entertained biting my shoes.

Harry jumped and turned to look at me. “No, why would something be missing? Anything’s missing,” he said, turning to look at me and grinning oddly.

“Well, you look as if you were looking for something,” I pointed, studyng his face.

“No.” He turned his back to me again.

I sighed. “Is it something that I said?” I asked, fearfully.

He frowned. “Something that you said? What do you mean?”

“I don’t know. We were having a great time, and suddenly your attitude changed and now you’re acting really weird...”

“Of course not. This day has been incredible.” He embraced me kindly and I rested my head on his shoulder. “I thank every day for having you with me,” he whispered in my ear.

I smiled and kissed him. But I was feeling strange... Why wasn’t I happy? I couldn’t understand what was happening to me. The day had been perfect, but something had been missing...

* * *

“What do you mean it wasn’t there?”

“What do you mean what do I mean? It disappeared! Gone!” Harry yelled.

They were in Ron’s living room. Ron had called Harry as soon as he had arrived to his house after his own celebration with Liz to know what had happened. But he had found a very upset Harry on his four on the kitchen’s floor, looking for something rather desperately.

“I don’t understand,” Ron said slowly. He had been wise enough to go to the other corner of the room, far away from Harry and his outburst. “How could it disappear? Are you sure you put it inside?”

“Yes, I am sure,” Harry said, annoyed.

“Are you sure you gave her the right pie?”

“I ate the other one and it wasn’t there either.”

“Maybe she swallowed it,” Ron suggested and won a really hard glare from Harry.

“Yeah, like she could actually swallow a ring like that without noticing, Ron,” he said in a tone that reminded him terribly of Hermione.

“Well, maybe the ring had magic properties... Maybe it vanished when the person isn’t brave enough to pop the question right away.”

Harry sighed and sat down. It was past midnight. Ron sat beside him and gave him a sympathetic pat on the back.

“Why didn’t you ask her anyway?”

“Without a ring?”

“I thought the point was proposing to her, not giving her a piece of jewerly, Harry.”

“Well the piece of jewerly is a fundamental thing in a marriage proposal,” Harry argued. “If I popped the question without a ring, what would she have thought? That I wasn’t caring enough to look for a nice engagement ring for her.”

Ron frowned. He was sure Hermione wouldn’t have minded. “You could’ve explained what happened to her...”

“Oh sure. Hermione, there was a ring in that pie you’re eating, I don’t know what happened to it, but hey, do you want to marry me?” Harry groaned.

Ron rolled his eyes. When had Harry turned into such a perfectionist? His attitude was really strange. “Harry, calm down, OK? Just buy another ring and propose to her.”

Harry looked at him as if he was crazy. “Another ring? I can’t! That was THE ring. I can’t give her a second choice ring, Ron. I have to give her the perfect and only one.”

“You’re talking like a girl now,” Ron snorted. “Who cares about a stupid ring? The important thing here is that you ask her, she answers and soon enough my soon-to-be-born baby will have a friend to play.”

Harry blushed a little. “I’ll keep looking for it. Thanks for hearing me out,” he said, waving goodbye.

“Sure, anytime, you lunatic,” Ron muttered when Harry had already gone.

* * *

Ginny didn’t choose the best time to visit me that morning.

“Wow, wrong office,” she said, closing the door and opening it again. I glared at her. “What the hell happened here?” she asked, looking around at my once tidy and neat office. Now, everything was scattered everywhere. “This looks like a battlefield.”

“I’m cleaning,” I replied. “Reorganizing, redecorating, you pick the word.”

I swifted my wand, and a pile of books that was on the floor flew to one of the shelves.

“Umm, OK,” Ginny said, staring at me. “So, one of two: or things in the Ministry are getting really boring, or you have something on your mind and are trying desperately to ditract yourself with other... activities.” She wrinkled her nose, at the thought of cleaning as an entertaining activity.

I didn’t say anything and kept picking up the books. Ginny grabbed a book that was on my desk, and flipped the pages absent-mindly.

“Let me guess...” she started, with that tone she always used when she wanted to get information from me. “I’d say that this has to do with a handsome wizard with black hair and green eyes... Mmmm, Harry, I think it’s the name.”

I sighed in defeat. Ginny had a sixth sense when it came to love relationships. It wasn’t as sharp and accurated as Liz’s, but it worked with me.

“So, what is it?” she asked, closing the book and looking at me. “Didn’t you have a good time yesterday?”

“Yes, we did,” I said.

“Yes, you did,” Ginny repeated, and sat down on my chair, folding her hands behind her neck. “But you don’t look very happy to me.”

“I am happy,” I said, picking up another book. “It’s just that...” I trailed off.

“Come on, you can tell me. Or maybe, you want me to guess. OK, I’ll give it a try. This has to do with the ‘m’ word?” she smirked.

“Why would it have anything to do with that?” I asked, knowing she meant ‘marriage’.

“Because, that is what’s been bothering you. So, I’ll take it that Harry, the slowpoke, didn’t propose to you yesterday.”

I shook my head.

“And you were expecting him to,” she added.

“OK, fine, I admit it. For a minute, the idea that he had prepared all that to propose to me crossed my mind. It would have been a perfect time... But he didn’t. In fact, I think it was pretty clear that he’s not thinking about a wedding now.”

I explained Ginny what had happened yesterday and his strange attitude after my comment. After that, Ginny shook her head and look at me with pity.

“That’s what happens when you don’t listen to me, see? I told you that you had to pretend you don’t want to get married, not be hinting about a proposal. Now you probably scared him.”

“But why would he be scared? He’s 26 years old, he’s not a teenager anymore, I think he should be ready to settle down,” I argued.

“The fact that you are ready doesn’t mean he is. Men are jerks, they have to prepare themselves a lot to take this kind of steps. Just calm down and listen to me this time, OK? Follow my advice, you won’t regret it,” she said, winking.

* * *

Harry threw his quidditch robes inside his locker and shut it with a loud bang. He hadn’t been able to concentrate in the training, thinking about the ring... He didn’t understand what could have happened to it. It wasn’t in his house, he was sure about it, he had looked everywhere for it. He was angry and frustrated. He was hoping that this would be his first day as an engaged man, but now, he was still where he had been before...

“You don’t look very happy,” Cho’s voice said from behind, Harry turned around to look at her. “And I thought that you would be thrilled after yesterday,” she added.

“Everything went wrong,” Harry said, sighing. “I couldn’t propose to her.”

“Oh... you chickened out?”

“No, of course not. You know, the weirdest thing happened...” he told her about the ring’s disappearence.

“I don’t get it, how did that happen?” Cho asked, frowning.

“That’s what I would want to know,” Harry said.

“So, what are you going to do now?”

“I’ll have to buy another ring and prepare something,” he said, shrugging.

Cho took a deep breath. “Maybe you should wait a little.”

Harry arched one eyebrow. “What? Why?”

“Well, maybe you’ll think I’m crazy, but I think this could be a sign... A ring vanishing out of nowhere is too weird to be ignored.”

“A sign? Of what?” Harry asked, puzzled.

“Maybe... This is just an idea, but maybe you’re not ready to do this yet.”

“Of course I am ready, Cho. I’ve been waiting for this a really long time, I have no doubts.”

“OK, perhaps you don’t, but what about Hermione?”

“You think she’s not ready?” Harry asked, slightly surprised.

“I don’t know her that much, but she seems like the workaholic-perfectionist type to me...” Harry nodded, confirming her impression. “Well, that kind of women usually don’t want to get married so young. They want their careers to bloom and then they think about minor things, like a family.”

“I don’t think a family is less important than her career for Hermione,” Harry said. “She’s not like that.”

“Fine, you know her better than me. All I’m saying is that, maybe, you should find out how she feels about this before popping the question. A rejected proposal is most likely to ruin your relationship with her. It has happened to me before. If you ask her to marry you and she says no, nothing will be the same between you two, trust me.”

Harry considered what Cho was saying. He had been sure that Hermione would accept right away... But what if she didn’t? What if she needed more time? He wasn’t sure how he would handle a rejection from her...

He had to find out what Hermione was thinking.

* * *

A/N: Harry and Hermione are really going the wrong way, aren’t they?

6. Wrong Way

A/N: Here’s a shorter chapter. Not much action, but enough to complicate things a little ;).

* * *

Chapter 6 – Wrong Way

That Tuesday I went to the Cannon’s Pitch during my lunch break. As I had suspected, things weren’t really calm in there. That Saturday was going to be their first match and Oliver was on the edge of an emotional break down.

I sat on one of the benches, watching them train. Harry was flying above the rest of the team, eagerly looking for the snitch. He hadn’t notice I was there, his mind was too focused on the the game. Oliver shouted instructions, but I don’t think anyone was paying attention to him. I spotted Cho grabbing the Quaffle. I hadn’t seen her play as a Chaser before. She was pretty good, even I could tell.

Harry caught the snitch and, at Oliver’s sign, he let it go. I couldn’t see his face, but I knew by the way he moved that he was tired and somewhat bored. Oliver was giving them a hard time. My mind drifted to the events on Sunday and what I talked with Ginny the day before.

Honestly, I thought that Ginny’s theory was really stupid. But I had made a decision. I was going to let Harry know that I didn’t care that much about marriage. If he wasn’t ready for it, I wasn’t going to press him. So, I just had to made sure that he knew I wasn’t expecting anything from him. In that way, he would be at ease. I could wait...

“Hermione!” a voice said beside me. I turned to see who had spoken and found Alan Wagner looking down at me.

“Hey Alan.”

“I’ve been calling your name for at least two minutes, but you seemed to be in a really far away place.” He smiled. “Do you mind if I sit here, with you?”

“Not at all,” I said. He sat down and smiled again. This was strange. In all the time I had known Alan, we’d never exchanged more than a “Hello” and “Goodbye”. He seemed to be a really quite guy. “Shouldn’t you be up there?” I asked, pointing at the team.

“Yeah, but I had a little accident this morning,” he said, lifting his bandaged right arm for me to see it. “I just got distracted and a bludger hit me. The nurse says I’ll be OK tomorrow.”

“Oliver must be really happy that one of his beaters is losing a complete day of training,” I commented.

He laughed. “Did you come to see Harry?” he asked.

I nodded. “I’m on my lunch break and thought I could come here to see how was he doing... But I don’t think it was such a great idea. You’re all too busy training.”

“They should be done soon,” Alan said, shrugging. “I’m glad you came. I was getting really bored just looking at them fly.”

It turned out that Alan wasn’t as quiet as I had expected. We talked a lot for half an hour. It was just small talk, but I found he was a really nice guy. I didn’t even notice that the training was over until Harry sat down next to me.

“Hey, I didn’t know you were here,” he said.

“I arrived a while ago. I was waiting for your break and Alan gave me some company.”

“My pleasure,” Alan said, smiling. “Anyway, I think I’ll take this chance to grab a bite. See you later,” he bowed and walked towards the lockers.

Harry arched an eyebrow. “What was that about?” he said. “Did you really spend this time talking with him?” he asked, looking at me with curiosity.

“Yes, why?”

“I had known Alan for five years and he’d never talked to me more than five minutes.”

“Well, you’re not as interesting as I am,” I said, teasingly.

“High ego today, huh?” He chuckled and leaned to kiss me.

“You shouldn’t count money in front of the poor,” a voice interrupted us. Harry and I turned our heads to see Cho smiling.

Harry let out a short laugh. I backed away, uncomfortable. Why did she have to interrupt us?

“I’m sorry, lovebirds, but Wood needs to see Harry in his office,” Cho said, casually.

Harry groaned. “What does he want?”

She shrugged. “No idea. But you better go now, or he’ll go nuts. I’ll stay here and chat a little with Hermione, don’t worry.”

“Fine,” Harry said, standing up with a sigh. “Don’t go yet, OK?” he said, looking at me. Then, he left in Oliver’s office direction.

Cho sat down beside me. What was she up to? We weren’t friends, I didn’t need her company. OK, stop that, I said to myself. Maybe she’s just tryting to be nice. Give her a break, she just arrived from other country, she must be lonely here...

“So...” she started, her pretty eyes studying me. “Are you and Wagner good friends?”

“What?” I asked, totally taken aback with her question. I had expected she would ask me about my job or something.

“I saw you two talking while we were training,” she said, smiling slightly. “I’m sorry, I’m not trying to be nosy, is just that I’ve tried to make some conversation with him and it was impossible. He’s a strange guy.”

“Ehr...” What the hell was this about? “I’ve known him for a long time. I had never really talked to him until today,” I said. Suddenly, Cho’s eyes were making me feel uneasy. Why was Harry taking so long?

“I see,” she said, and made a pause. “Look, I know we weren’t friends at school. In fact, we only shared some time together at the DA when I was in my sixth year...” How could I forget? I never talked to her, but she always found a way to annoy Harry for his friendship with me. I tried my best to focus on what she was saying, and caught the last words. “...but I guess you and I could be friends now.”

“Um, sure...” I muttered. Cho and I friends? Why? I’ve never been a judgamental person, but I couldn’t trust that girl. I don’t know why, maybe it was just chemistry. I knew I was supposed to know her before I could make any statements, but something about her just didn’t feel right.

“Oh, here comes Harry,” Cho said, when Harry approached. “I’ll leave you now. Nice talking to you Hermione.”

* * *

That night, we were invited to the Burrow to have dinner with the whole Weasley family. Liz’s parents had just arrived to London that morning, so Mrs. Weasley had invited them too. She also thought it would be a ‘delightful’ idea to invite my parents as well.

So, there we were, sitting in the huge dining table. The conversation was focused on Liz and her pregnancy. They were talking about names. Ron was really excited with the subject. Back in the living room, I could hear Bill and Charlie’s kids playing cheerfully.

‘The dinner is going smoothly’, I thought. Even when pairing my mom with Mrs. Weasley wasn’t a very good idea. They seemed to love making comments about Harry and me, but tonight, they hadn’t said anything. Yet.

“What about you, Hermione?” Mrs. Greene said suddenly. “When are you going to give your parents a grandchild?”

Uh-oh. I knew it was too early to feel relieved. I knew my face was turning red, because Ginny was making huge efforts not to laugh. Harry grabbed his glass and finished his drink quickly. My mom and Mrs. Weasley turned to look at me, both with the same twinkle in their eyes.

“Oh come on, Mrs. Greene,” Fred said, before I could talk. If it had been anyone else, I guess I would feel relieved that someone was saving me, but if it was one of the twins, it couldn’t be good. “Surely you are not suggesting that Harry and Hermione should start making babies before they get married, do you?”

See what I mean?

George, Ginny, Bill, Charlie and even Ron started laughing. Harry’s face was like a tomato, and probably mine was too. Mrs. Weasley shot a glare to her son and then turned to Harry and me.

“Well, dears, now that we’re talking about it, when are you finally going to get married?”

“Mom, shut up,” Ron and Ginny said at one time.

“It’s just that I don’t understand,” Mrs. Weasley said. “When my Ronnie was getting married, you two were engaged. Why are you waiting so long to have the wedding?”

Harry and I exchanged a brief look. The only ones in the Weasley family that knew that all that engagement thing had been a lie, were Ron and Ginny. My mother, who seemed delighted that someone other than her had started her favorite subject, smiled at me satisfied.

“See? I’m not the only one who thinks like this. It would be so lovely to see you two in your wedding ceremony.”

“Mom!” I said and turned to my father for support.

“I think the day I lead you the altar will be the happiest one of my life,” he said, chuckling.

Thank you dad.

“I think this is Harry and Herm’s business,” Ron said quickly. “We don’t have the right to meddle in their things.”

“Silence, Ronnie,” George said. “Even I am curious about this. I want to know what Hermione and Harry have to say. I’ve been wanting to attend to another wedding, there’s always great food in them.”

“Why don’t you get married, then?” Ginny said, trying to help me. “You’re 28 years old and don’t even have a steady girlfriend.”

“You’re one to talk!” he retorted.

“Well, I don’t plan to get married anyway,” she said.

“That’s enough!” Mrs. Weasley cut them off. She turned to Harry. “Come on, tell us, Harry. You and Hermione look so good together. I’m sure you don’t have any doubts in your relationship. When are you going to give the big step?”

I looked at Harry from the corner of my eye. He was nervous, and kept exchanging looks with Ron, who was sitting across from him. His hand was on his pocket. I decided to do something. This was my chance to let him know that I wasn’t expecting him to propose. That I wasn’t interested in marriage at all.

“Well, we are not planning to get married for now,” I said and everyone turned to look at me. I felt Harry’s gaze fixed on me, and I could tell he was surprised. “We are fine as we are now, so I guess you’ll have to attend to some other wedding George.” I smiled to everyone and took a bite of my salad. My mother was shaking her head, Mrs. Weasley looked shocked and Ginny was smiling proudly at me. I didn’t look at Harry, so I couldn’t say which was his reaction. I guess he was relieved.

“But why not?” my mother asked, not wanting to leave things like that.

“Because, it’s not the right time, mom,” I said, tired. “I’m focused on my career now,” I added, knowing it was a terrible excuse. But I rather them blaming me than Harry. Of course, I didn’t think like that. But I wanted Harry to believe that I thought like him. That we weren’t ready. And I had to go to the extreme for that if I wanted him to believe it.

* * *

Ron couldn’t believe what he was hearing. How could Hermione say that with such a straight face? Wasn’t she aware of Harry’s feelings?

Of course she wasn’t. If she knew, she wouldn’t have said that. He looked at Harry. He was looking down to his plate, eating slowly. Ron sighed. He knew that Harry had planned to propose to Hermione during the dinner. It was obvious that her mother or Hermione’s would bring up the marriage subject and Harry would use the oportunity to drop the question... Argh, he felt like hitting Hermione for doing this!

The mood in the table had changed. Bill had been wise enough to change the subject and now they were talking about some new law the Ministry had just created. His mother and Mrs. Granger were talking quietly, and Mrs. Greene was looking at Hermione disapprovingly. Ginny was grinning for some strange reason. He turned to look at Liz. She was smiling to herself.

“Why are you smiling?” he whispered.

“Am I?” she whispered back.

“Yes,” Ron said. “What are you thinking?”

“Nothing... I’m just thinking this whole situation is very funny.”

“Funny?” Ron said, puzzled. “What’s so funny about it? I don’t think Harry thinks it’s funny!”

“Of course he doesn’t. Neither does Hermione. THAT’S why it is funny.”

Ron frowned. “I don’t understand.”

“I know you don’t, honey, you’re too dense,” she said, lovingly and kissed him quickly.

“Well, are you going to explain it to me since I’m that stupid?” he said, offended.

“No,” she smiled sweetly at him. “And I didn’t say you are stupid, I said you are dense.”

“What are you two whispering about?” Ginny said, standing up. “Come on Ron, help me with the dishes.”

“I’ll help too,” Hermione said, eager to leave the table.

Ron followed Ginny and Hermione to the kitchen.

“Hermione,” he said, before she could go to the dining room again. “Did you really mean what you said?”

“What?” she asked.

“About the... not wanting to get married thing.”

“Did it look like I was joking?” she asked.

“No, but-”

“Leave her alone, Ron,” Ginny interrupted. “Hermione knows what she’s doing.”

* * *

“Harry, wait up,” Ron said, when Harry was grabbing his cloak to leave. “Are you OK?”

Harry looked around. Hermione was saying goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. “Yeah...” he said. “I’m glad I got to know what she thought before I made a fool of myself.”

“Don’t say that, you weren’t going to make a-”

“Right. I almost asked her in front of your whole family and in front of her parents and she was going to say no!” Harry said, sighing. “I guess I’ll have to wait. Maybe next year she’ll be ready.”

“That’s ridiculous. You don’t have to wait, just ask her.”

“Hello? Did you hear what she said?”

“Well, maybe she just said that because she doesn’t know you want to propose to her. If you ask her, she could change her mind.”

“I’m not going to ask her,” Harry said. “I can’t believe Cho was right.”

“Cho? What does she have to do with this?”

“She said I should find out how Hermione felt before asking her. That if I asked her, and she rejected me, it was going to be bad for our relationship. She even said that maybe Hermione was focused on her carreer now. And I said that Hermione wasn’t like that.” He let out a sad laugh and Ron looked at him with pity. “I’m OK, Ron. This won’t change things. I still love her more than anything and I know she loves me too. It’s just isn’t the time.”

* * *

7. Clueless

A/N: Hey! I’m sorry for taking so long to put up this chapter. I have had a hard time these last few weeks, and I hadn’t been able to write until now. But, to make it up to you, I’m posting Chapter 8 way sooner.

Chapter 7 - Clueless

Cho Chang threw herself on the bed in her apartment. She was beaten. Wood was ruthless, and since the first match would be the next day, he had keep them training until night. It wasn’t a nice way of spending a Friday evening. As much as she liked Quidditch, she didn’t enjoy training over, and over, and over again while hearing the screams of that maniac.

Her eyes moved through the room, and fell on a shiny thing on her nighttable. She grabbed it and a small smile crept in her lips. She twirled the ring thoughfully. It was a beautiful ring, indeed. Too plain in her opinion, but it didn’t matter since it was him the one who had bought it.

She hadn’t been sure what would happen when she stole the ring. Scratch that, she hadn’t stolen it, she had just took it until Harry realized he was about to make a huge mistake wanting to marry that loser. She would give it back to him once she got what she wanted. Everything had turned out very well for her that day. She had taken the ring away, but that didn’t mean that Harry wouldn’t go through the proposal thing. However, he was more predictable than she had ever imagined. He hadn’t felt sure without the ring, and had chickened out.

Cho put one arm behind her neck. Something had happened this week, she knew it. Harry’s face was gloomy during the trainings, he always seemed to be in deep thought. However, when she – that stupid bookworm – showed up in the Pitch, he changed his attitude. He smiled, laughed and was his usual self. When she left, it was back to the previous mood.

So, he was hiding something from her. Harry didn’t want Granger to know that he was upset or worried about something. There were troubles between them, but they weren’t admiting it. Just perfect. Cho hadn’t asked Harry what was going on, not because she didn’t want to, but because Malfoy had advised her not to, at least not yet.

Cho had to admit that she had her doubts when Malfoy approached to her in the Opening Season Party. She had never talked to him at school, although she was aware of his fame as Harry’s enemy. She had never trusted Slytherins. But this time was different. They weren’t at Hogwarts anymore, and if she wanted to get Harry, she had to make some sacrifices...

When had she become so obsessed with him? Yes, she had kinda liked him when she was in her sixth year. He was sweet and head over heels for her, she could tell by the way he blushed every time she talked to him. She had thought that maybe Harry would help her forget about Cedric. But nooo, even then, that girl had been in the middle. Cho knew that Harry was telling the truth when he said she was just a friend. And, in her more rational times, she thought that maybe Hermione didn’t have the intention to break them apart. But she, somehow was always on his mind, and he didn’t even notice it.

Everything had ended that time before it had started. It was only later, when she was on her holidays before her seventh year that she had realized what a huge mistake she was making. Harry was nice, honest and brave – not to mention hansome and popular – and he liked her. She shouldn’t throw away the chance of being with him over some minor things like Hermione Granger. She had come back to Hogwarts, with the idea of telling Harry that she was willing to forgive him and have a serious relationship with him...

Only that Harry didn’t look like he wanted that. Something was different about him. He wasn’t nervous around her anymore. Cho couldn’t believe he had actually got over his crush for her. She didn’t want to lose!

She observed him a lot, and realized that he was all the time around his friends, specially Granger and the Gryffindor Keeper – she couldn’t remember his name. It seemed that friends were important for Harry. Well, she could be his friend. Get close to him and then have him at her feet once more.

It had worked out. Harry at first was a little bit suspicious of her friendly attitude, so she decided to made up a complicated drama. He wasn’t very good comforting people, but he cared about others’ problems. They became friends. Harry was a really good listener and he was always worried about her. Cho invited him to his Graduation Ball, ready to tell her feelings for him...

But Harry had turned her down. HE had turned HER down!!

“I’m sorry, Cho. You are a great girl, and for a long time I really liked you... Or I thought I did. But now... I’m in love with someone else,” he had said. “Only she doesn’t know,” he added.

In love with someone else. Cho didn’t need to ask who, she already knew it. She pretended to be understanding. She even offered her help! As if...

The next day, she remembered yelling at Hermione in the Great Hall. She didn’t know what she had said, she was too frustrated at that time to think clearly.

Anyway, she had moved to China. But after spending almost nine years there, she started to get bored. She followed Harry’s life through the Daily Prophet that arrived from England. He had defeated You-Know-Who. He was the star seeked of the Chudley Cannon’s. He was engaged to Hermione Granger...

Those last news didn’t arrive in Cho’s best moment. She had just broken up with a guy. She was bitter and tired of living there. How come Hermione Granger had such a wonderful life, with a great job and fiance, while she was living a miserable existence? That was when she asked her agent to find her a position in a Quidditch team in England, and a few days later, Oliver Wood was calling her...

Cho Chang believed in destiny. And somehow, the destiny had led her to the Chudley Cannons, the exact same team of Harry Potter. That had to mean something.

Truth to be told, she hadn’t thought about getting Harry at first. But seeing him with Hermione, had changed everything. Cho had never lost at anything she had proposed in her life, except at getting Harry. She couldn’t stand that a woman that wasn’t even as beautiful as she was stole him away. She was going to fight.

And then came Draco Malfoy. Cho didn’t know his motives, and she wasn’t sure if she cared. He certainly knew a lot about Harry and Hermione. It looked like he had spent a lot of time watching them.

“OK, Chang, listen very carefully. You won’t be able to get in the middle of Potter and the Mudblood, that I can assure you. He doesn’t have eyes for anyone else, and the same goes for her. So forget about hitting on him, because he will never even notice you in that way as long as he is with Granger.”

“Then what do you suggest?” Cho asked, frowning.

Draco smiled nastily. “The best way to break a couple apart is suspicion... Break their confidence... Have them all paranoid until they can’t take it anymore. Even if Potter is not doing anything wrong, you have to make Granger believe he is... The same goes for him.”

“And how do you expect me to do that? They have been friends forever, I don’t see how someone like me could accomplish to break the confidence they have.”

“One thing is friendship, and other is a romantic relationship. I’ve watched them. They act different now that they are a couple,” Draco said.

“How come you know so much about them when they both hate you?”

“Potter and I go way back... Same for Granger,” he replied, mysteriously. “Focus, Chang, will you? The point is you’ll have to be smart enough to find a way to do what I’m telling you... For now, you should do anything to stop Potter from proposing to her, that could ruin everything. Make Potter believe that Granger doesn’t want to get married...”

Cho had a feeling that things were going to work out. She had been planning for four days and she was sure that Harry would ditch Granger very, very soon...

* * *

“The only thing I’m saying is that I don’t understand you. You have the perfect boyfriend and you insist in staying single! I assure you, sometimes I don’t know how you can be my daughter...”

I rolled my eyes, cursing the minute I had the brilliant idea of asking my mother to help me make some dinner. However, I knew that without her help, I would have probably burnt everything already. The thing was giving Harry a nice surprise, to wish him luck for his first match the next day. Besides, I had noticed that he had been a little down the last few days... Maybe Oliver was going too far in his training schedule.

“Hermione, are you listening to me?” My mother squaled, putting the roasted chicken inside the oven. “Where are the matches?!” she exclaimed, looking for them all over the kitchen.

I grabbed my wand and light the oven for her. “I don’t need matches,” I reminded her. “And yes I am listening to you, but I have nothing to say, since we have discussed this subject a million times.”

“And you still haven’t given me a good reason for this nonsense,” my mother pointed, folding her arms.

“I don’t have to give you any reasons, mum, I’m 25 years old, I think I don’t need to give you excuses for what I decide to do with my life.”

“You will be 26 next week... It’s a good age to get married dear.”

“Mum, please...”

“Look, I think I know you well enough to know that the excuse of your career first is not what is stopping you. I want to know what’s wrong. You still love Harry, don’t you?”

“Of course I do, more than ever,” I said, sighing and tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

“Then?”

“OK, if you really want to know, it’s not me the one who wants to wait, it’s him,” I said, defeated.

My mother’s eyes widened. “Harry doesn’t want to get married yet?”

I shook my head.

“And why?”

“I wish I knew,” I said, sitting down on a chair.

“What do you mean? He must have given you a reason...”

I looked at her. “No, he hasn’t, because we have never discussed about it.”

“OK, this is getting really confusing.” She looked around for a chair to sit down. I summoned one from the living room. My mum thanked me and sat down. “You said you’ve never discussed about this...”

“No, we have never talked about marriage,” I said. “I don’t know why, maybe we both have been to afraid to bring up the subject. Anyway, I know that Harry isn’t thinking about getting married yet, and I want to be supportive. If he’s not ready, that’s OK with me, I just want us to be together.”

“But how do you know that’s what Harry thinks?” my mum asked.

“Because...” I hesitated. Actually, the proof I had wasn’t very consistent. “I can tell by his attitude. And don’t you think that if he wanted to marry me now, he would have asked me to already?”

Suddenly, my mother smiled. “Then, he had never said he doesn’t want to get married.”

“Not to me.”

“Then you can’t be sure about his feelings on this. And you won’t know unless you talk to him.”

“I’m not going to talk to him about this, mum.”

“Why not?”

“Because... I don’t want to hear he’s not ready.”

“Hermione, consider this for a moment. What if Harry had been thinking about proposing to you? What if he was waiting for the right moment? Are you picturing that?” she asked sweetly, and I nodded. “OK... Then, what if he decided against it for the stupid thing you said at the Weasleys’?” she added harshly.

“I only said that for him! I thought it would be better if he saw I was in the same stance he is,” I protested.

“Only that you don’t know which is his stance!” My mother said, matter-of-factly.

“The chicken is ready,” I said, standing up and opening the oven’s door. It smelled really nice.

“Honey, I’m telling this to you because I want you to be happy. You should talk to him,” she insisted.

“I’ll think about it,” I said.

* * *

When Harry arrived past ten o’clock, I had the table set in his apartment.

“Good night,” I greeted him.

He looked really tired. He left his broom by the door and looked at the table, then at me, unsurely.

“Don’t worry, my mum helped me,” I said. “I didn’t want you to be ill before your first match.”

He laughed and kissed me. “Thank you.”

“Your welcome. Now sit down and eat.”

For the most part of the dinner, we only did small talk. I wasn’t very focused on what he was saying. I was still thinking about what my mother had said. Her advice was the total opposite from Ginny’s. Not that I really thought that Ginny’s advice was good, but what my mother was suggesting was too hard for me at the time. Why? I don’t really know.

“Harry?” I said, interrupting him in the middle of some story about Oliver and his charts.

“Yes?” He asked, looking up and staring at me.

“Is there... Is there something you’d like to say to me?”

Harry lifted an eyebrow. “What?”

“I was just wondering... If you wanted to tell me something, you would, right?”

He blinked. “Sure,” he said after a long pause, and I got the feeling he had actually thought a lot about my question. “And you?” he asked.

And me? What about me? I should tell him what is on my mind. I should say something about what had been going on this last few days. I should ask him straight forward how does he feel about getting married.

Of course, I don’t always do what I should. That’s why I nodded. He stared at me for a second, and then returned to his food.

Later, when we had just washed the dishes and I was thinking in going back to my apartment to let him rest, he grabbed my hand firmly.

“You do know I love you, don’t you?”

I stared at him surprised. He was really serious. “Of course, Harry. I love you too.”

“Just wanted to make it clear,” he said. “I want you to know that you are the most important thing in my life. That’s why I’m willing to do anything as long as you are happy.”

I stared at him somewhat shocked. Why was he saying those things right then? And when he wrapped his arms around me, I got an idea. He had realized I was pretending that I didn’t care about marriage. And he was ready to sacrifice and go for it because I wanted. I couldn’t do that to him. This was something we both had to be sure of.

“Harry,” I said, looking at him. “I’m happy because I’m with you. I don’t need anything at all. We are fine as we are now, aren’t we?”

He nodded. His eyes held an emotion hard to describe... Was it understanding? Acceptance?

“Now, you should rest,” I said.

And I left his apartment once again keeping inside me what I was thinking.

* * *

The Stadium was very crowded. It wasn’t a surprise, really, since the Chudley Cannons were one of the most popular Quidditch Teams in England. I was sitting in the middle row, rubbing my hands nervously, while I waited for the match to start. Even though I have gone through this so many times –with both Ron and Harry- I’m still not able to control myself when they play... There’s so many chances to suffer an accident!

“Is this seat taken?” someone asked me and I shook my head absent-mindly, lost in the thought of Harry falling off his broom.

The person that had spoken to me sat down, and two seconds later chuckled. “You don’t change, do you? I can’t believe you still get nervous during Quidditch matches.”

I turned my head and found Ron grinning at me. He was wearing a black baseball hat and a pair of sunglasses that covered most of his face.

“What are you disguised of?” I asked, frowning.

“I’m not disguised. I’m just trying not to be recognized when I cheer for Harry. After all, I am playing for another team,” he explained.

“I didn’t thought you would come... After all, Liz could have the baby anytime.”

“Don’t worry about that,” he said, and showed me a red band he was wearing on his right wrist. “This was her idea. It turns really hot if she needs me. So I can apparate back home anytime. And, her mother is with her, so she’s not alone.”

Before I could say anything else, we were interrupted by screams and cheers that could only mean that the game was starting. Ron and I turned to look at the Pitch and I spotted Harry entering along with the rest of the Cannons.

They got on their brooms and the game started. I could see Oliver pacing frantically with his eyes fixed on his team’s movements.

Ten minutes later, the Chudley Cannons were beating the other team 90 – 10.

“She is really good,” I heard Ron muttering next to me.

I knew he meant Cho, and he was right. She had scored five times already. I nodded.

“Herm, I’ve been meaning to ask...” Ron started suddenly, drifting his attention from the game to me. “Are you and Harry alright?”

I turned to look at him, surprised with his question. “As far as I know, yes we are. Why, do you know something? Has he said anything?” I asked, and realized immediately how anxious my voice sounded.

Why was Ron asking about Harry and me? Did he know something I didn’t? Had Harry said something to him about us? OK, Hermione, don’t get paranoid here!

Ron shook his head hastily. “No... I was just asking.”

“Well, that’s not just a question, Ron,” I pressed. “There must be a reason why you asked that.”

“I don’t know. Is there a reason why I should ask?” he retorted.

I lifted my eyebrows. Ron and I had never done this kind of talk before. We usually asked and answered immediately, and didn’t dance around ourselves like that. “I can’t think about anyone.”

“OK then,” he said, and we both turned to watch the game, just when Alan stopped a bludger from hitting Johnny Bell (The Cannon’s Keeper). Harry was flying around, looking for the Snitch. “What about what you said in the Burrow the other night?” he spoke again.

“What?” I played dumb, knowing that he meant the ‘not wanting to get married’ speech.

“Do you really feel that way? You don’t want to marry Harry?” he asked.

I looked at him. “I didn’t say that. I said that I wasn’t planning on getting married yet, which is completely different.”

“But why not? I don’t understand.”

“Ron, stop acting as if you don’t know what’s going on, OK? I know that Harry talks to you,” I said, annoyed. “I know how he feels.”

He stared at me. “You know?” he asked.

“Of course, you think I don’t know Harry? I know what he’s thinking. That’s why I said what I said at the Burrow. Happy now?”

Ron blinked. “So you actually said that for Harry to know that you didn’t want to get married yet?”

I nodded. I was about to add that I didn’t want him to feel pressed, when the Stadium fell silent. That could only mean one thing. Ron and I snapped our heads to look at the game and saw Harry doing a breathtaking dive and catching the Snitch.

Ron and I cheered and hugged, celebrating Harry’s victory and forgetting for a minute what we had just been talking.

I turned to look at Harry. He had been surrounded by his teammates, who were hugging him happily. I also noticed that Cho somehow made her way to him. Were my eyes fooling me? She seemed about to kiss him... She approached to him from the side. Harry turned to her... She wrapped her arms around his neck and...

A fat man stood up in front of me covering my view for just a second. When he finally moved, Cho was hugging the rest of her teammates and Harry was buried under a mass of people.

“Let’s go Hermione,” Ron said, beside me. “We have to congratulate Harry.”

“Sure,” I said, looking at Cho again.

There was nothing to be jealous about, right? They were celebrating! It was normal that she had such an efussive attitude when they had just won. Right?

Right?

A/N: OK, if you’re thinking this is going slow, that’s the idea! I can’t start with the complicated stuff yet, had to give them time to shake things a little... So now you know a little more about Cho (wow, I’m really amazed how much you hate her!). There will be more Cho/Draco interaction, of course.

So, this fic is full of awful misunderstandings! There will be more of that! (That is what happens when everyone meddles in this kind of things.)

I hope you liked this chapter. I know there hadn’t been much action yet. I’ll work on that. It’s just that I don’t want to rush things, or else it wouldn’t be realistic.

Comments, suggestions, criticism, everything is more than welcome. And thanks a lot for the reviews. They light up my life!

8. A Look Inside

A/N: Please, read the author note at the end.

Chapter 8 - A Look Inside

It was a tradition that, after the first match of the Season, a party was held in Oliver’s house. That was, if it was a victory for the team, of course. So far, the Chudley Cannons had won every first match since Harry had entered in the team. I liked this parties better, because they were smaller and there was no press - or Harry’s fans – around.

“Hi guys!” the high pitched voice of Ginny Weasley greeted us as soon as we entered in Oliver’s House.

“And what are you doing here? You are not a member of the team,” Ron said.

“Neither are you.”

“No, but I’m a friend of Oliver, which happens to own this house.”

“I’m a friend of Oliver too.”

“No, you are not,” Ron smirked.

“Well... I’m a friend of Harry and he is the Seeker of the Team,” Ginny pointed. “Isn’t that right, Harry?”

Harry rolled his eyes and laughed. I wasn’t paying too much attention to the sibling’s quarrel. I was too focused on that kiss I had seen... Well, I hadn’t really seen it, so I couldn’t be sure if she had kissed him... But it looked so much like that...

I was deeply uncomfortable with the situation, to say the least. I was jelaous, I hated to admit it, but that was a fact. But I felt ridiculous feeling jealous over some stupid little thing, and that made me mad at myself. There was no way I was going to talk to Harry about it. It was absurd. I had to get over it. The problem was I couldn’t got it out of my head.

“Look, Snape and Trelawney are snogging!”

“What?” I asked immediately, waking up from my confusing feelings and looking everywhere to see the shocking scene.

The only thing I saw, though, was Ginny grinning at me. “I finally got your attention.”

I realized that Harry and Ron had left us alone... As usual, I was so deep in thought that the outside world had shut down. I smiled sheepishly at Ginny and tried to push all my worries to the back of my head.

I looked for Harry and spotted him near the bar, talking to Ron while he served butterbeer.

“Isn’t he the most gorgeous guy you have ever seen?” Ginny asked.

“Yes, he is,” I replied, smiling to myself.

Ginny let out a sigh of exasperation. “I’m not talking about Harry. Geez, give me a break, don’t you ever stop thinking about him?”

I gave it a thought. “No.” I laughed when she rolled her eyes. “Well, who is supposed to be the most gorgeous guy I have ever seen then?” I asked, mimicking her.

“Alan, of course,” Ginny said dreamily. I followed her gaze and saw Alan, leaning against the fireplace, quiet as ever.

“I thought you had forgotten about him,” I commented.

“And what gave you that idea?”

“You seemed pretty happy with that other guy last week, in the Opening Season Party...”

“Pu-lease, Hermione, you can’t be serious. He was just... an entertainment,” Ginny said shrugging.

“Entertainment? Lovely.”

“Whatever. It’s different with Alan... He’s... I don’t know... different.”

I was perfectly aware that the main reason why Ginny was becoming so obsessed with Alan was because he didn’t pay any attention to her. I was about to say something else to her, when Ginny’s expression changed and she frowned.

“Great, my night has been ruined,” she said through gritted teeth. “Why is she here?”

I didn’t need to look to know that she was talking about Cho. She had just entered in Oliver’s house and was now greeting some people.

“I think she’s here because this is a party for the team,” I said, smiling at Ginny’s frown.

“Just look how she flirts with everyone, the bloddy sl-”

“Gin,” I cut her off. “Let her be, what do you care?”

She stared at me with widened eyes. “Are you kidding me? How can you be so cool about this? Don’t you care that, among the huge amount of guys she flirts with, is Harry, your boyfriend, and future fiance, or so you wish?”

My smile faded a little whe I remembered the kiss, or whatever it was. The truth was that Cho was a little flirty and maybe a bit annoying. I scolded myself. I shouldn’t be thinking like that.

“Well, I have nothing to worry about. It’s not like I can really be jealous of Harry. I trust him.”

Ginny snorted loudly. “He’s a guy, how can you trust one of them?” I glared at her. “OK, fine, maybe you’re right, Harry is not a regular guy... But Cho is a professional. I mean she’s the kind of women that would do anything, and I mean anything to get what she wants... She could give him a Love Potion, or cast the Imperius Curse on him... Or even make him believe that you asked your father to write a letter to an old friend to keep him where you wanted and then kiss him on your wedding day...”

“Hey!” I stopped her, furious. “You didn’t have to bring that up!”

“Couldn’t help it,” Ginny said, holding her laugh. “But on a more serious tone, don’t you hate her?”

“No.”

“Dislike her?”

“No.”

“Despise her at least a little?”

“NO.”

“I can tell when you’re lying,” she said in a satisfied tone.

“OK, FINE, maybe she’s not my favourite person on Earth... But I have no reason to think bad of her. It’s not like I have the right to be jealous, and I don’t see why I should get all paranoid just because she’s working with Harry and seeing him everyday and smiling at him and hugging him when they win a match!” I said, louder than I had expected.

Ginny looked at me proudly. “See? I knew you had it in you. You’re jealous!”

“I’m not,” I protested, in vain.

“Hey, a little of jealousy is healthy.”

“Last time I got jealous wasn’t very nice, as you kindly reminded me a minute ago,” I said, sighing. “I almost ruined Ron’s wedding. And I don’t want to be judgamental with Cho, when I don’t really know her. Last year I hated Liz and look what a great person she turned out to be.”

Ginny gave me look of disbilief. “Uh, ok, first, Cho isn’t and will never ever be a great person... And, my, Herm, you are totally traumatized.”

“Excuse me?”

“The whole Ron thing really affected you. You haven’t been able to get out of your head that all that happened because you weren’t able to control your emotions as you usually do and let them got the best of you... You don’t want that to happen again and that’s why you are so desperate to be a perfectly calm person, always reasonable and understanding...”

“You could earn a lot as a shrink,” I commented with sarcasm. Inwardly, though, I was slightly frightened of her ability to see right through me.

“This isn’t good, Hermione,” she said, ignoring me. “You can’t be just ‘all head’ and no heart. You have to let your emotions flow, express your feelings. If you’re angry, sad or jealous, you have to let it go out of you, or else you are going to explode.”

“I think that’s enough psychoanalisis, Ginny.”

“For instance, you should tell Harry how you really feel about the marriage thing...”

I lifted my eyebrows. “This coming for the person that was suggesting I should pretend I didn’t want to get married?”

“Well, I guess that works for me but not for you and Harry. Come on Hermione, you two used to talk about everything, you never doubted to tell him if something was on your mind... You’ve always have the guts to confront him, even when everyone else, including me, is too scared to do it... Why can you do that now? Why can’t you just tell Harry that-”

“Tell me what?” Harry’s voice said.

Ginny and I looked up. Harry had just come with butterbeer for Ginny and me. Ron was standing behind him and I noticed he sighed. Harry eyed Ginny and then me.

“Tell me what?” he repeated.

“Tell you...” I started, desperately trying to think of a good excuse.

“Hi, Hermione!” Cho suddenly said. I hadn’t even realized she had approached to us. “It’s so good to see you again,” she added, smiling at me.

“Yeah, hi,” I said, a little confused with her attitude. However, I was kinda thankful for her interrupting us and drifting Harry’s attention from the conversation Ginny and I were having.

Talking about Ginny... She was glaring at Cho with disgust.

“I guess you can’t be more proud of Harry,” Cho continued. “He was wonderful today.”

“It wasn’t anything that great,” Harry said, with modesty. “You, on the other hand, were amazing.”

Ginny gave me a side glance. “Come on Harry, don’t be shy. We all know that the Seeker’s job is the toughest. Not anyone can do it... Some people even change their positions when they realize they are not good enough...” she gave a quite obvious look at Cho.

Ron turned around violently, and I knew he was making a huge effort not to laugh. Harry stared at Ginny, blinking, probably wondering if she had said that on purpose. Cho, who had certainly caught the indirect, smiled at her in a strange way.

“Oh yes, you are... Mmm, sorry, I forgot your name.”

“She’s Ginny Weasley,” Harry said, when Ginny didn’t answer. “And this is Ron, do you remember him?” he added.

“Sure,” Cho said, giving one more glance to Ginny, before turning to me again. “Well, I hope we can chat a little later. See you around!” she said, leaving us alone.

“Chat a little?” Ron asked, confused. He turned to me. “You two?”

“She probably wants to try and hex Hermione or something,” Ginny said.

“Why do you say that?” Harry asked, surprised. “Cho wouldn’t do that.”

“She wouldn’t have the chance, you mean,” Ginny pointed, looking at Harry with a frown. “It’s not like she could hex Hermione.”

“Still...”

“I can’t stand her,” Ginny said, stating the obvious... Well, at least the obvious for Ron and me, because it was fresh news for Harry.

“Why do you dislike her?”

“Let’s see, where should I start? She’s annoying, flirty, cynical, pathetic, and oh, don’t forget desperate-”

“You don’t even know her,” Harry cut in.

“Why are you defending her?” Ginny asked, upset.

“Because she’s a nice girl, and she’s anything like you just described her,” Harry said, calmly.

“Please, Harry, you’re so naive. And I do know her quite well.” Ginny turned to me. “Hermione, say something.”

“I think this whole conversation is pointless,” I said, wanting to change the subject. I was, however, a little shocked that Harry was about to get in an argument with Ginny to stick up for Cho. I shot a glance to Ron for his backup.

“I feel like dancing,” he said. “Come on, Gin,” he added, grabbing her hand.

“Hey, what’s teh fun in dancing with your brother?” she protested, but followed him anyway.

Harry turned to me. “I didn’t know that Ginny hated Cho so much. Why? I mean, they have never talked too much.”

“Well, she’s a Weasley after all... They tend to be a little... extreme when they dislike people. She must have her reasons,” I said, shrugging.

“You’re right.” He grinned at me and offered his hand. “Let’s go and show off a little in the dance floor, shall we?”

I laughed. “Where did that sentence come from? Besides, I don’t see how we’re going to show off if none of us is a great dancer.”

“Ouch, that hurt my ego,” he teased, and led me to the place where the rest were dancing.

* * *

Ron looked at his two best friends dancing next to him and Ginny. They were smiling and wrapped in a hushed conversation. He couldn’t help but feel a little better, although he was still worried.

Ever since they had left the Stadium, he had been debating with himself wether he should tell Harry that Hermione knew all along he pretended to propose to her. When they had left Ginny and Hermione alone in the party for a while, he almost told him. But then, moved by a better judgement he had learnt from his wife, he hadn’t. He decided he would talk to Liz first. She always knew what to do, specially in cases envolving relationships.

He wasn’t a very intuitive person. His theories concerning pretty much anything were always wrong and he didn’t have a sixth sense to help him see things the others didn’t. But, even without those qualities, he still knew Harry and Hermione like he knew himself, and it was getting really hard to understand what was going on with them. He just wished someone could explain it to him!

Why Harry was so afraid of proposing to her? Even before Hermione said what she said at the Burrow, he was having troubles with it. Too much preparation... He made it sound as if was the hardest task in the world. It was Hermione, for Heaven’s sake. They’ve been friends forever and they loved each other!

And why Hermione didn’t want to get married? It couldn’t be the career thing, he was sure about it. Besides, it wasn’t like marrying Harry could stop her from accomplishing great things. They were practically married after all. They lived right next to each other and spent most of their time together. He couldn’t think of a good and logical reason for her attitude.

“Ron, I swear to God, if you step on my toes one more time, I’ll hex you!” Ginny said, annoyed.

Ron snapped back in reality and looked at his sister. “Ooops, sorry, I wasn’t paying attention,” he apologized, darting his eyes to Harry and Hermione again.

Only Harry wasn’t dancing with Hermione anymore. He was with Cho.

* * *

“Hey Potter,” Oliver said, approaching to us during the dance. He was dancing with his wife, Laura, a really nice brunette who cooked wonderfully. “I’m sorry to interrupt you two, but do you think you could ask Chang to dance? She’s been sitting there all by herself and we did promise her we would make her feel comfortable here. You don’t mind, do you Hermione?” he asked looking at me, hopefully.

For a second I considered answering “Yes, I do. Why don’t you ask her?” I knew that Oliver wanted Cho to feel good in the team, specially after her great performance that day. I looked at Harry, who was looking at me in return, expecting me to say something.

“Of course not,” said my practical side. I let go of Harry’s hand. “Go, Harry, you were supposed to make her feel at home,” I added, trying my best not to sound sarcastic.

He looked at me a little unsure, but before I changed my mind, I left him on the dance floor and walked towards the bar. I knew that Ginny would go mad yelling at me afterwards for being so ‘understanding’.

Harry approached to Cho and offered her to dance. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but she looked surprise, and after a quick exchange of words (probably she was asking him what about me) they started dancing. Thanks God it wasn’t a slow song.

“What are you doing here all by yourself?” asked someone beside me.

I turned to look at Alan. “Hi,” I said. When I realized he was expecting an answer, I added “Harry is dancing with Cho.”

“Oh,” he said, staring at me quizzically. “Are you and her good friends?”

“No, not really,” I answered. “Why?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know, it’s just that she talks so much about you--”

“She talks about me?” I asked, frowning. “What does she say, exactly?”

“She speaks highly of you... To me at least. She says you’re smart, funny... you know, that kind of things.”

I blinked in surprise. Surely, there had to be a hidden motive for her to do that. I couldn’t help but wander what could that be.

“Would you like to dance?” Alan asked next.

“I wasn’t aware you danced,” I said. “I’ve never seen you doing it, and I think he have attended a few parties together.” I’ve never seeing him talking like that to anyone either, but I avoided to mention that.

“I usually don’t, but I can make an exception if I’m in good company.”

I smiled and accepted his offer. I was hoping I could get near Ginny and Ron and switch partners, so that Ginny could finally have a moment with Alan.

I noticed that Harry was looking at us with surprise, and he raised his eyebrows at me. Probably, he was just as surprised as I was with Alan’s attitude. I shrugged at him and led him right next to Ginny and Ron.

Both Weasleys looked at us a little bit shocked.

“Hello,” I said, as if I had just seen them.

Ginny found herself out of words and just smiled at us. We kept dancing for another five minutes. All the way, I tried to hint Ron giving him looks that I wanted him to ask me to dance and leave Ginny with Alan. Of course, he didn’t get it.

Finally, they started playing a slow song and I took my chance. “Oh Ron!” I squaled and he jumped alarmed. “This was our song, remember? You just have to dance it with me, come on.”

Before he could say anything, I grabbed his nahd and gently pushed Ginny towards Alan. He stared at me confused, but started dancing with Ginny anyway. I led Ron a little afar from them.

“I didn’t know this was our song,” Ron said.

“We never had a song, silly. I was trying to get Alan and Ginny to dance together.”

“So now you’re playing matchmaker! Who said he was OK for my sister in the first place?”

“I did. He’s a nice guy, Ron.”

“Why are you dancing with him and now with me when you should be with Harry? And why is he dancing with her?”

“The fact that he’s my boyfriend doesn’t mean he has to dance only with me. Cho is his friend, and she was alone...”

“What a good samaritan you are,” he snorted. “You two are acting really weird. I’m started to get a little bit scared?”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know... You just don’t feel like Harry and Hermione anymore. I mean, you are Hermione and he is Harry, but you don’t look like Harry and Hermione...”

In that complicated way Ron has to say things, I understood completely what he meant by that.

And it was because, inside, I was feeling exactly the same thing.

* * *

A/N: OK, as you could see, this chapter is all about dialogues. Not much action, just talking, talking, talking.

I’m really sorry if you don’t like conversations too much, but I really needed to explain Hermione’s attitude a little. I needed to settle her motives and feelings to be at ease, because I was finding all this very unreasonable.

Now that I have written this, I feel better and able to move on with the story. So, from the next chapter, there will finally be some action and movement!!

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed. It’s really important to know your comments, suggestions and constructive criticism. See you!

By the way, my e-mail got all weird and I lost most of the messages I had... Including someone who had offered to beta for me. So, if you read this, please e-mail me again, because I really need someone to check this for me since english is not my first language!

9. The Seed of Doubt

Chapter 9 – The Seed of Doubt

Headaches… You’ve got to hate them. They have a tendency to attack at the worst moments…

Currently, I am rubbing my temples, trying hard to focus on the new assigment Mr. Weasley had given me. I had tried a few painkiller spells, and none of them are working. I suspected that it is because the source of my headache wasn’t really physical...

It was Tuesday, three days had passed since that awful party. Nothing had really changed between Harry and me. I hadn’t talked to him about what was bothering me, and he was acting like he always does, but my sixth sense told me something was going on.

It will get better, I kept repeating. It was just a stage in our relationship.

The door opened and Ginny popped her head inside my office. I immediately grinned at her. I didn’t want another lecture from her, so it was for the best to pretend that everything was perfect.

“Am I bothering you?” she asked.

“Not at all. Come in,” I said. She did and sat down on a chair. “I was wondering when you’d come to tell me all about Saturday,” I added. I hadn’t seen or talked to Ginny since the party and was eager to hear what had happened with Alan.

“OK,” Ginny said. “What exactly do you want me to tell you?”

She didn’t seem very happy, so I guessed things hadn’t go as she had planned. “I take it you and Alan are still in the same place.”

She snorted. “I don’t think we are in any place at all. He’s a git. And of the big ones.”

I dropped my quill and gave her my full attention. “What happened?”

“Nothing! Nothing happened. That guy is annoying! He doesn’t even talk! You know, we danced like ten minutes and the only words he directed to me was actually one question... About you.”

“Me?” I blinked.

“Yeah. He asked if you were a good friend of mine. I mean, how stupid can he get? He has seen us together thousands of times!”

“Maybe he was just trying to break the ice,” I suggested.

“Don’t think so, because after I told him you were one of my best friends, he said he was tired and left the party,” Ginny explained, slightly upset. Then, she glared at me. “I think he likes you.”

I laughed. “Are you kidding me?” She shook her head. “Ginny, don’t be ridiculous. He barely knows me. Besides, he knows I’m with Harry.”

She shrugged. “I still think he likes you.” She looked at the clock in my wall. “It’s getting late. I should go. I only came by to say hi to my dad and to you. See you!”

She left my office and I sighed. That girl was getting crazier everyday. I tried to go back to work, but half an hour after Ginny had left, I received another visit, this one much less expected or wanted.

“Good day, Granger,” Malfoy sneered, entering in my office without even knocking.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, not hiding my disgusted expression.

“Just visiting a colleague,” he replied, sitting down.

“I don’t remember offering a chair to you.”

“That’s OK, I don’t need you to. We’ve known each other for too long to bother in those formalities.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. What was he doing here? He couldn’t have good intentions, that was for sure. The last time I had talked to Malfoy had been the previous year, when he had offered his ‘advice’ to stop Ron’s wedding. That memory haunted me until this day.

“What do you want?” I asked rudely, after a whole minute passed.

“I was just wondering...” he said, folding his arms behind his neck. “How are you doing?”

“That’s so sweet of you,” I said, making a face.

“I’m a sweet guy. But I’m serious. I’ve noticed that lately you’ve been in a bad mood. Something I hadn’t had the chance to see in a long time. What is it? Getting bored of Potter already?”

“You wish,” I said, going back to my work. I wish I could hex him. But certainly, Mr. Weasley wouldn’t approve me cursing one of his employees.

“But it has to do with him, doesn’t it?”

I did a huge effort to remain with my head down. How come Malfoy always knows what nerve to hit?

“You know Granger, no matter how much people say that you two are meant to be... I don’t think so. In fact, I believe that you and Potter are totally wrong for each other.”

“Well, thanks for your opinion, Malfoy, not that I asked you for it.”

“I mean, he’s Harry Potter after all... He’s famous and popular - not that I understand why people like that whiny scarface so much - while you are not... Well, you’re not even pretty. You don’t help his image too much.”

My hands gripped the quill so tight, that my knuckles turned white. I was furious. But I wasn’t going to let him know that.

“He’d look much better with... I don’t know. Cho Chang, maybe.”

I couldn’t help to look at him this time. He was smirking, analyzing all my moves. I was about to reply, when the door opened and Harry appeared. His smile faded when he noticed who was sitting in front of me. He frowned, and gave me a confused look before turning to him again.

“Malfoy,” he muttered.

“Potter,” he replied with a smirk. He didn’t budge from his seat.

“What are you doing here?” Harry asked, slowly.

“I do work here, for your information,” Malfoy said.

Harry turned to me. “Is he bothering you?”

Before I could say anything, Malfoy stood up with a smug smile plastered on his face. “Of course not. Granger and I are just having a little conversation. For old time’s sake. Aren’t we, Granger?” he asked, looking at me.

I glared at him. “Sure,” I said, not hiding the sarcasm in my voice.

“I think you should leave, Malfoy,” Harry said.

Malfoy made a face. “Should I? I don’t think that Granger minds my presence here, after all, we’ve had our friendly moments, haven’t we? I have been kind enough to provide her some help, when she needed it...”

I gave a sideway glance to Harry, who looked at me puzzled. I had never told him that it had been Malfoy the one that gave me the idea of how to ruin Ron’s wedding. He would’ve freaked out that I had actually been willing to listen Malfoy before him. And I was too embarrassed of my weakness at that time.

“What is he talking about?” Harry asked, when he noticed my face.

“Nothing, Harry. Malfoy, get out.”

Malfoy was about to comment something else, when my office’s door opened again. This time, it was Alan’s head that popped inside. Harry and I looked a him with surprise. Alan spotted Harry, then Malfoy, and finally turned to me.

“Uhm, hi,” he said, not entering. “I see you’re a little busy. I can come back later...”

What was Alan doing there? And where was my secretary when I needed her?

Malfoy laughed softly. “Well, well, Granger, it seems that your office got a little crowded. I’d love to stay and watch this, but I have more important things to do. Bye Potter, have a nice day,” he said, passing beside Alan, who looked at him, not really understanding.

“Hello, Alan,” Harry said. He was still frowning, probably because the encounter with Malfoy. “What are you doing here?” he asked politely, although I could heard a hint of annoyance in his voice.

“Hi Harry,” Alan said, looking nervous, “I didn’t know you’d be here.”

Harry turned to look at me with a questioning look and I shrugged. “Come in, Alan,” I said.

Alan hesitated and finally stepped inside the office. “I wanted to talk to you about something, Hermione,” he explained, “but I don’t think this is the right time,” he added, giving a quick look at Harry. “I’ll come some other day, OK?”

Before Harry or I could stop him, he left quickly.

“What was that about?” Harry asked, finally, sitting down. “First Malfoy, then Alan Wagner in your office?”

“I don’t know,” I said.

“But why was Malfoy here? This is the first time I’ve seen him in your office.”

“You know how he is, Harry. He always finds an excuse to bug me.”

“And Alan?”

“What about him?”

“Why did he come here?”

“I have no idea. He didn’t get to tell me, you heard him. He wanted to talk about something...”

“About what?” Harry pressed.

“How am I supposed to know that?”

“I don’t know. You tell me.”

For a second, I thought he was joking. But when I saw his serious expression, I frowned.

“What are you trying to say?” I asked.

He remained silent for a moment and then shook his head. “Nothing. Nevermind.”

* * *

Cho observed Harry polishing his broom in the corner of the Pitch. It was getting late, he should be heading home by that time.

But no. He was there. And the frown in his face told her that something was bothering him. She didn’t need to be a Seer to know that it probably had to do with Hermione.

Cho was very surprised that they had reached this point so fast. She had expected it would take her much longer to start the trouble between the so called perfect couple. She knew she couldn’t feel victorious yet, though. It seemed that neither of them was facing their doubts, as she had realized when she had seen them together in Oliver’s house. They probably believed that they were facing only tiny troubles in their relationship.

She would make sure that those tiny trouble became huge turmoil.

Besides, some unexpected ally had come into the game: Alan Wagner. Cho had never talked to him more that a few lines, and she wasn’t even sure what his motives were, but her intuition told her that he could be a useful element. She had commented iy with Malfoy. Wagner was going to be observed by Cho, and she would find out what he wanted.

She approached to Harry and sat down beside him.

“I think that broom is shiny enough,” she said, softly.

“I know,” he replied, and kept polishing it. “But it’s kind of relaxing.”

“Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t think that you need to relax because of Wood’s training.”

Harry looked at her. “You’re not wrong,” he said, after a pause.

Cho held her breath, waiting for him to say something else. She didn’t want to be pushy. She knew that Harry wasn’t very open with people apart from Ron and *grunt* Hermione. It would be up to him if he told her or not what was going on.

Harry remained silent. Cho accepted the defeat and was ready to change the subject when he surprised her.

“I think... I think I have a problem with Hermione,” he said, slowly. The expression in his face made Cho guess that he had actually reached that conclusion while he was polishing the broom.

“You think?” she repeated, knowing that she had a big chance in her hands.

“Yes... It’s not something we’ve noticed... yet. I don’t know, but things have been weird between us lately. I know that she feels it too, but she hasn’t said anything.”

“How weird?” Cho asked, deeply interested.

Harry sighed. “It’s hard to explain. You see, Hermione and I have always connected in some special way, even when we were kids. She understands me like no one else... But lately... I don’t know, but I keep having this feeling that we aren’t communicating like we always have.” Harry scratched his head. Cho arched her eyebrows, inviting him to continue. “I think we want different things, but we are both trying to do what the other wants and... This is getting really confusing, isn’t it?” he asked with a smile.

“Not really. I understand what you mean. You are both doing what you think the other wants. And do you know what she wants?”

“She doesn’t want to get married,” Harry said.

If Harry hadn’t been looking at her, she would have grinned of satisfaction. But somehow, she managed to keep a straight face. Now she definitely had to know more.

“She told you that?” she asked. She couldn’t believe that girl was so stupid. Who wouldn’t want to marry Harry Potter?

“She didn’t tell me, that’s the worse part. She said so to the whole Weasley family and her parents during a dinner. You were right when you said I should know how she felt about the proposal thing. I would have made a fool of myself if I had asked her.”

Cho couldn’t help but thinking that this was too good to be true. When she had suggested to Harry that Hermione might not be ready for marriage yet, she hadn’t believe it for a second. It was just a statement to gain some time until she had a better plan. But, if she had said so in a family dinner, it had to be true... She would have to investigate further on the matter.

“I don’t know why I’m telling you this,” Harry said then. His comment wasn’t rude. To Cho, it looked like he was actually surprised that he was confiding in someone.

“I’ll tell you why. You’re telling me this because, right now, you need a friend. Considering that all your friends are also Hermione’s, it’s hard to get an opinion from the outside. Everyone is too involved in your relationship to be impartial. And since I’m an outsider, I can offer you a more practical advice.” She was good at this, that couldn’t be denied.

Harry listened to her and finally nodded in agreement.

“So, what are you planning to do?” she asked.

Harry considered the question for a moment. “I honestly don’t know. I suppose that the best course of action is to forget about it and keep going...”

“I guess so... But you shouldn’t let it go that easily, Harry.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know if I should say this...” Cho started, putting her best doubtful expression.

“Please, go ahead.”

“Fine. Something similar happened to me in China. I was involved with this guy... Everyone said we were the perfect couple. I loved him and he loved me. Everything was so perfect... But after a while, I realized we were going in different ways. I wanted a family and he didn’t. He always said “later, now it’s not the time.” At first I tried to be understanding. I thought that, as long as I had him, everything would be alright. But after two years together, I understood that we would never move forward. There was no way we could be happy together like that. So we both decided we should stay as good friends and find someone with whom we could share what we really wanted...” she made a pause, studying Harry’s reaction. She had made up that story a while ago, in case that she ever got the chance to tell it to him.

Harry seemed very impressed. “Wow, I had no idea... But I don’t think that’s what’s happening with us, Cho. I know that Hermione wants to start a family eventually. There’s no rush.”

“That’s what I thought for a long time too.”

“Well, maybe, but... I know I couldn’t be with anyone else than her, Cho.”

“That’s okay,” she said, sweetly. “I’m not saying anything. Just wanted to tell you my experience so you’d have a point to compare. I’m sure that you and Hermione are different.”

Harry sighed. “Maybe I should talk to her about this.”

“No, that’s not a very good idea,” Cho said quickly. As long as Harry and Hermione didn’t talk to each other, there would be better chances to confuse them more. “Hermione could think that you’re being pushy, and believe me, we women don’t like to feel under pressure. Trust me, leave things like they are for now, and you’ll see that everything will fall in its right place soon. You are meant to be after all, right?”

Harry didn’t say anything, but Cho was sure she had won a few points with their conversation. She couldn’t wait to tell Malfoy.

* * *

10. Platonic

Chapter 10 – Platonic

I don’t like to have lunch alone. But no one was available. Ginny had gone with her mum to Hogsmeade for the day, Ron was too busy with training since he had a game against the Chudley Cannons that Saturday - very interesting thing to watch, indeed - and Harry... well, I could have gone to the Cannons Pitch to look for him, but I didn’t feel like it. Harry had been in a bad mood since the night before. I had asked him what had happened, but he didn’t gave me a straight answer. That morning we’d had a small argument about a stupid thing. Harry and I didn’t have many quarrels, so I was really upset that something so little could force us to have one.

No, it was definitely better to leave him alone.

So, there I was, in the “Happy Hippogriff”, a nice restaurant in London’s downtown, having a nice and boring lunch.

But soon enough, I was hoping I could have stayed eating alone. And that moment was when no one else but Cho Chang, followed by Padma Patil, entered in the HH. I tried to cover myself with the menu, but it was too late. Padma spotted me and elbowed Cho. If I didn’t knew better, I’d say that her face brightened when she saw me. Two seconds later, they were by my side.

“Hello, Hermione! It’s such a coincidence to find you here!” Cho said. “Are you alone?”

“Yes,” I said, hoping they would think I was some kind of lonewolf and leave me alone. Padma and Cho weren't really the best company to have for lunch on a Wednesday... Or any day, for that matter.

“Then, do you mind if we sit with you? Then we could gossip a little!” Cho said, not waiting for my answer and sitting beside me.

Padma giggled and followed her.

Oh, what the hell. Better eat fast and run away as soon as you can, I told myself, leaving the menu on the table and taking a deep breath.

The first minutes, things went pretty well. Cho and Padma were wrapped in a conversation of they own, and I barely interjected a few words. But then, the subject focused on our respective love lifes, and that’s when I seriously wanted to leave the place.

“You heard me, I broke up with that git right away!” Padma was saying.

“Well done, he wasn’t right for you. I can’t believe there are so many jerks in this world,” Cho said.

“Of course, not all of us are as lucky as Hermione to find such a perfect guy like Harry... right, Hermione?”

“Aha,” I replied, extremely bored.

“I agree with you, Padma,” Cho said, turning to me. “You are really lucky, Hermione, Harry is a wonderful guy. I can’t believe you two haven’t got married yet. What are you waiting for anyway?” she asked, and though her question sounded casual, I had the feeling she had wanted to ask that for a long time.

“Just the right time,” I replied curtly.

“The right time? When is that?” Padma asked, rolling her eyes. “If I were you, I would have said “I do” a long time ago.”

But, thankfully, you’re not me, I thought and refrained myself to say it out loud. I have never liked Padma very much, and I remember she didn’t like me either when we were at Hogwarts, probably because of what had happened in the Yule Ball during our fourth year.

“Padma, don’t be so nosy, I’m sure that Hermione and Harry must have their own reasons to wait... Because it’s a decision of both of you, isn’t it?” Cho asked, turning to me.

“Of course it is,” I lied.

“Well, that’s nice to hear. I mean, it would be terrible if one of you wanted to get married and the other didn’t!” Padma commented, giggling.

I looked at her trying hard to suppress a glare.

“Besides, Harry and Hermione don’t really need to get married yet,” Cho continued, now talking to Padma. “They practically live together, but they don’t have the pressure of the attachment that comes with marriage, am I right?”

“We don’t live together,” I said, slowly. “We’re neighbours. And I don’t see why marriage should be a pressure.”

“You’re neighbours? Well, that is certainly convenient,” Padma said, with another giggle.

“Padma!” Cho scolded, with a very fake laugh.

I looked at them, puzzled.

“I’m sorry, Hermione,” Cho said, when she noticed my face. “Padma can get a little out of line sometimes.”

“Oh, come on!” Padma said. “There’s nothing wrong with talking about it. We’re all women after all. What do you think, Hermione?”

“I have no idea what are you talking about,” was my answer.

They exchanged a look. “Playing dumb, aren’t we?” Padma asked with a wink. “I meant how convenient it is for... over night visits.” Another wink.

Oh, now I got her point. “We don’t have over night visits,” I stated, annoyed.

“You don’t? What’s the point in living right next door then?” Padma asked truly surprised.

“Oh Padma! Of course, Hermione meant that ‘over night visits’ doesn’t sound too classy,” Cho said. “It doesn’t mean that she and Harry don’t... you know.” She arched her eyebrows suggestively.

I blushed at her insinuation. “You’re wrong, Harry and I have never...” I trailed off, regretting opening my mouth. Why was I telling them that anyway?

Padma and Cho looked at me eye-widened. “You mean you two... you’ve never... You don’t...” Padma stammered.

Well, the damage was done already. “No,” I replied.

She snorted and then composed herself. “Why?”

I didn’t feel like having to explain to her, but since I noticed that Cho was very interested as well, I decided to. “Because we decided to wait.”

“Wait until when?” Cho asked briskly.

“Until marriage, of course.”

“Is it a religious thing?” Padma asked, still ver surprised.

“Not really... Is something I decided a long time ago. It’s a very important principle of mine, something I swore to myself I would accomplish.”

“And Harry is okay with that?” Cho asked, her expression unreadable.

“Yes, he is. He agrees with me.”

“Hmmm,” she said, taking a sip of her orange juice.

“Hmmm what?” I couldn’t help to ask. There was something in her tone I didn’t like.

“Nothing, it’s just that... Well, forgive me, but I do think it’s kind of... special that a man of Harry’s age would agree to something like that.”

“And why would it be so special?” I asked.

“Well, he’s 26. And you’ve been together for a year... Men don’t like to wait that much, don’t you think?”

“I totally agree,” Padma said, before I could reply. “But at least he must have his bursts of passion every now and then, doesn’t he? It must be difficult for you to control yourselves.”

I looked at her disgusted. “No, he doesn’t. And it’s not that hard either.”

“You mean he has never tried to cross the line?” Cho asked and I shook my head, What was wrong with them? Cho looked at me with pity. “Oh honey...” she said in a tone that reminded me of Liz, except that it was coming from someone I didn’t really like.

“Oh honey what?” I asked, not trying to hide my annoyance anymore.

“I’m not trying to imply anything,” Cho said, “but I think that you’re having the typical problem of couples that have been together for a long time. It’s completely understandable in your case, considering that you have been friends for so long and there’s that platonic issue...”

“What are you trying to say?” I cut her off.

“That your relationship lacks of passion. You should be careful, it’s one of the biggest causes for divorce nowadays,” Cho said casually.

I’ve had enough of that talk. I excused myself - raher rudely - and left the restaurant.

* * *

The whole afternoon I kept grumbling about what had happened during lunch. Who did she think she was to give opinions about my relationship with Harry? Lack of passion? That was ridiculous. We were passionate! And just because we have decided to wait it didn’t mean we... Ugh! Why was I even thinking about what she had said? It didn’t make any sense. She didn’t know Harry. She didn’t know me. She didn’t know us.

Then again, I’d never actually considered Harry’s feelings on the subject. Surely, I have discussed it with him when we had started our relationship and he had agreed with me. But had he done it because he wanted to or because I wanted to, and he just wanted to please me? Did it actually matter?

Yes, it did matter. Because, now that I though about it, Harry had never done anything improper, never had even tried to “cross the line” as Cho had said. Well, wasn’t it that one of the reasons I loved Harry so much? That he was a perfect gentleman? What if he had “crossed the line”? I would have probably been very disappointed of him. Then why was I thinking that she could be right about us?

You must think it’s not very me to be this insecure about something. I can’t help it when it’s about Harry, though, and considering what has been happening lately, I’m sure you can understand my state of mind right now.

He doesn’t want to marry me and he treats me like a porcelan doll.

I checked my watch. Ron should be home by now. I needed his opinion about this.

* * *

Ron was dreaming about a hot bath and his warm bed. He was so tired that it was hard to even keep his eyes open. He apparated in the front yard of and walked slowly towards the big house, rubbing his eyes.

Someone was sitting in the porch, apparently waiting for him for the way she stood up when she spotted him.

“Hi Ron,” Hermione greeted in a tone that let him now she was disturbed about something. “You don’t look very well,” she said then, looking at him carefully. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” he said. “Just beaten. Were you waiting for me?”

“Yes. Liz is not home, I think she went somewhere with her mum, so I decided to wait for you here. You look like you really want to sleep right now, but I wanted to talk to you about something. I won’t take long, I promise.”

Ron sighed. “I can’t remember saying no to you ever,” he said, sitting down on the bench they had in the porch. “Okay, I’m listening.”

“Don’t you want a glass of water?”

“Hermione...”

“A cup of coffee, maybe?”

“Herm...”

“Do you think that Harry and I aren’t passionate enough?”

It took Ron a couple of seconds for the question to sunk in. “What?” he asked finally, blinking.

“It’s a simple question, Ron, just say yes or no.”

“Where is that coming from?”

“Don’t you think we are strange? I mean, we never have this bursts of passion and heat...”

“Umm, Hermione,” he interrupted, “I’m kind of lost here. Why don’t you start from the beginning so maybe I can try to understand what the hell are you talking about?”

She took a deep breath. “Fine. You know that Harry and I... We don’t... You know,” she moved her hands desperately, waiting for him to nod.

“I don’t,” Ron said. “You and Harry don’t what.”

“Oh Ron!” Hermione sighed in frustration. Then she noticed he was grinning and hit him in the arm. “Get serious, will you!?”

“Okay, okay, go on,” he said laughing. Hermione was so uptight when it came to this kind of talk, and it was very fun to tease her.

“Well, do you think it bothers him?”

Ron leaned back on the bench. “Shouldn’t you be asking this question to him?”

“You know he’ll say no.”

“Then there’s your answer.”

“But how can I know he’s saying the truth? Maybe he’s just trying to please me.”

“And why would you care? Even if that was his reason, he’s still okay with waiting, isn’t he? That’s what it matters.”

“Yes, but... Sometimes I doubt that he wants me. I mean, I know that he loves me... But how can I be sure he also wants me? Don’t you think our relationship it’s too... platonic?”

Ron smiled. “No, I don’t Hermione. The fact that you and Harry have never slept together,” Hermione glared at him and he chuckled, “doesn’t mean that he doesn’t want you. He knows the waiting thing it’s important for you, and he accepts it because he loves you and he wants you to be happy.”

“If Liz had asked you to wait... What would you’ve done?”

“Well, for your information, I waited until we were married.”

“Yes, but you only waited a month,” she said. “Harry has been waiting a year.”

“And more,” Ron stated. “You surely don’t think that he was sleeping around while he was in love with you, do you?”

Hermione smiled slightly at what he said, and Ron grinned. “Herm, I don’t know why you started thinking about this, but you can be sure of one thing. Everything that Harry does is for you.”

* * *

I waited for Harry in his apartment. I had almost forgot that we had had that argument in the morning and that he probably was still upset. He arrived past nine o’clock. He didn’t notice me until he had already hung his cloak and left his bag on the table.

“Oh hi,” he said. He didn’t seem angry, but he wasn’t very warm either. “Have you been waiting for long?”

I had made a decision in all that time I had been waiting for him. I was going to test him, see if he really wanted me. Hopefully, I would prove Cho wrong.

“Hermione? Are you listening to me?” he asked. He was standing in the kitchen’s door frame, staring at me with a dumbfounded look.

Before he could do anything, I throw myself at him kissing him forcefully. He gasped in shock but I didn’t back away. Soon, he was returning my kiss with the same force. I wrapped my arms around his neck and his arms encircled around my waist.

I parted from him, trying to catch some air.

“What was that ab-”

Once again, I didn’t let him continue. I kissed him again with all the passion I could. Harry was surprised, I could tell by the way he tried to speak with my mouth on his, but the moment got the best of him, and until I backed away again, he didn’t try to stop me.

“Hermione, I would re-”

Yes, you guessed. I kissed him again. I was enjoying this, specially the fact that he was totally puzzled. This time, I grabbed him by the collar and led him to the bedroom. He followed me clumsily, tripping every now and then with my feet. Without breaking the kiss, I laid on the bed pulling him so he was on top.

In case you’re wondering, I wasn’t planning on betraying my principle. I wanted to wait until marriage. But I also wanted to see how far we could get, or how far he would go. And let me tell you, this was the first time we had gone so far.

He finally broke the kiss against my will and looked at me in the eyes. I tried to start again, but this time he stopped me.

“Alright, what is this all about?” He asked, breathing heavily.

I bit my lip and he backed away from me and sat down on the bed. He stared at me, waiting for an answer.

“I just...” I started. What was I supposed to say?

“If you’re doing this because of what happened in the morning, I’m-”

“It’s not about that,” I interrupted him, sitting up too. “God, this is embarrasing.”

“It doesn’t have to be. You can tell me anything, you know that,” he said, slowly.

“I wanted to know if you wanted me like this,” I blurted.

“What?”

“You heard me. You agreed to wait because I wanted to, but I’ve never really even tried to know how you really feel about this. You’re always so correct and respectful, that I was starting to think that your love for me had something ‘victorian’ in it and that you’d never really desire me...” I explained, blushing.

He blinked and then laughed softly. He took my hand. “Hermione, I don’t understand how that thought ever crossed your mind,” he said, slowly, rubbing his thumb in my palm. “Would you have rather me being unrespectful to you and trying to force you to do something you didn’t want?” he asked me, raising an eyebrow.

“Of course not. But-”

“Yes I know,” he said. “I understand what you mean. When I told you I wanted to wait too I didn’t do it just to please you. If it’s important for you, it automatically becomes important to me too. We share the same principle now. I don’t want you to betray the way you feel for anything in the world, you hear me? I want us to wait. And I’m respectful and correct with you because you’re the woman I love. I’m sorry if I ever made you think that I didn’t desire you, I-”

“Shhh,” I hushed him. “Thanks Harry.”

I kissed him. This time, it was a sweet and slow kiss, one that was perfect to show how we loved and cared for each other.

“Would you mind if I stayed with you tonight?” I asked.

“I’d love you to.”

I laid on his bed and he laid beside me. Soon we were both asleep.

***

11. The Storm After the Calm

A/N: Hi everyone. As you can see, I haven’t forgot this story. I was just going through a huge block when it came to writing it and I’m not sure if it’s over yet. I wanted to delete it and forget I had even started it, but that wouldn’t be fair for the people who like this story, ight? So here is the Chapter 11. Considering how hard it was for me to write it, it didn’t go out that bad. I hope you’ll like it. The good news is after this, the story will be faster (it’s not that long, by the way.) So, forgive me for the long, long, update.

Special thanks to all the people who has e-mailed me or left me reviews nagging me to continue this. And to Kris, who offered her help with this chapter. She even took time to correct the grammar mistakes. *Hugs to Kris*

Chapter 11- The Storm After the Calm

When I woke up the next morning, I felt wonderful. It was as if every problem in the world had faded and now there was only happiness. Sure, Harry and I hadn’t even talked about what was bothering us (because I know he was, and is, hiding something), but at least there wasn’t any doubt that our love was as strong as ever. With that, we couldn’t be going wrong.

Harry’s arms were tightly wrapped around me and I could feel his soft breathing in the back of my neck. I looked lazily at the clock on his nighttable. It was almost 8 in the morning. I rubbed my eyes.

“Harry,” I said.

He buried his face deeper in my hair and mumbled something.

“Harry,” I repeated, smiling to myself.

“Mmmm?”

“We have to get up.”

“No,” he protested and his grip around me tightened.

“Yes, you have practice and I have to work,” I informed him, trying to keep my voice in a bossy tone, but it wasn’t easy when all I wanted to do was kiss him.

“Can’t we call in sick?” he asked, his voice muffled. I couldn’t see his face, but I was sure his eyes were still closed.

“We could, but then Oliver would come here and dragged you out of the apartment, you know that. Being sick is not an excuse to miss a Chudley Cannons practice, specially not when you have to face Puddlemere this Saturday. And Mr. Weasley would get worried and—”

“Alright, point taken,” he chuckled, and he backed a way a little, giving me space to turn around and face him. “Can’t we just stay like this just a little longer?” he asked, pouting.

“No,” I said, kissing him quickly and getting off the bed, “because if we do, then I’m sure we won’t be able to get up at all.”

“Fine!” he said, getting up too. “I’ll go and take a shower then.”

“I’ll make some breakfast... And don’t you dare say anything about that!” I warned him.

“I wasn’t going to,” he said, walking towards the bathroom. He closed the door behind him, and two seconds later popped his head out. “Hermione?”

“Yes?”

“Don’t burn my kitchen, please,” he smirked and closed the door quickly to avoid my wrath.

Despite myself, I laughed and went to the kitchen. I gave food to Aquiles, and then I put some water to boil. The mail had been left on the kitchen table. I scanned the envelopes quickly. Bills, fan letters, one from Sirius, and the Daily Prophet, which was actually directed to me. Harry wasn’t subscribed, because he usually read mine. Below everything, was another newspaper. I looked at the title with surprise. It was “Whiz in the Spot”, a really unworthy tabloid which based all its information in what the “Celebrities” in the Wizardring World did, and most of the things they said were a lie anyway. It was hardly something I would ever even look at, and I was positively sure that Harry would never subscribe to such a newspaper, especially considering that he was more likely to be in a lot of its articles.

My first thought was that it probably had been a mistake. Maybe the owl had mistaken the adress... That until the Head Title in the first page caught my eye.

HARRY POTTER: NEW ROMANCE ON THE HORIZON? By Cassandra Miller.

I rolled my eyes. Over the years, I have gotten used to the press making up romances for Harry, considering he didn’t have a steady girlfriend. But one would have thought that since I had come into picture, they could be a little more respectful. Then again, journalists (if they could be called that) in that magazine probably didn’t care about that. They didn’t even know how to write an article, for that matter.

I would have thrown the newspaper into the trash if it hadn’t been for the picture that was below.

I blinked a few times, thinking I wasn’t seeing correctly. For a moment, I thought I saw Harry sitting with Cho Chang in some restaurant, laughing heartily, while she leaned forward to whisper something to him.

Maybe I should get glasses?

But no, it wasn’t my imagination, and my sight was as good as ever. That was exactly what the picture showed. I stared at it in disbelief. But then I brushed away all the thoughts that were coming to my head. So what if they were eating together? They were team mates. I sometimes have lunch with the guys in my office. Of course, none of them is like Cho Chang.

Cursing myself for letting a magazine like that catch my attention, I started reading the article that followed the picture.

The Boy Who Lived and Star Seeker of the Chudley Cannons (oh, that’s an original way to start an article about Harry) is also well known for being extremely reserved with his love life. There have been many speculations about several relationships, but the only one confirmed by himself so far has been the one he shares with Hermione Granger. (And here comes a brief description of myself, where I work, how Harry and I have been best friends since school, hints about our relationship in the past, etc. Nothing I’ve never read before). But, as our special reporters were able to find out, it seems that the so-called “perfect couple” could be over.

About a year ago, there were rumors about an engagement between Potter and Granger, but so far, nothing has happened. And it seems that our favorite Quidditch player has found a replacement for Hermione Granger in Cho Chang, the new chaser of the CC, who also happens to be Harry Potter’s first girlfriend, back in their Hogwarts time.

Cho Chang and Harry Potter seem to share more than their mutual like for Quidditch. Potter has been seen coming out of Chang’s flat in London. A close source to both of them said: “Harry is absolutely nuts for Cho. She’s all he ever wanted. I think they make a great couple.” Another source told us: “Hermione and Harry have been having a lot of troubles lately, and most of them are because of Cho.”

I read the rest of the article with a frown. There were a lot of statements from “anonymous” sources, and three pages of a lousy investigation about Harry’s love life and his relationship with Cho and myself. Normally, this wouldn’t have upset me. It was stupid to even think in believing this junk. But the fact that it was Cho Chang who was mentioned bugged me. Still, I would have laughed if I hadn’t read the lines below the picture with Harry and Cho.

This photograph was taken Friday 29th, August 2006.

I’m proud of my good memory, and the date ringed a bell in less than a second. That day was when I finished the inventory and went to look for Harry in the Canon’s Pitch. He wasn’t there and he had told me he had been with Ron. I knew he had lied to me about that... And finding out he had actually been with Cho, was not at all comforting.

“I hope you cooked something decent because I’m starving,” I heard Harry’s voice approaching to the kitchen. Two seconds later he came in with wet hair and a big smile that disappeared in a flash when he saw the table wasn’t set and the look on my face.

“Something wrong?” he asked.

I threw the newspaper at him and he caught it in mid air, staring at me confusedly. After a second of hesitation, he looked at it. His eyes widened, then he frowned and his lips became a smirk.

“What a piece of crap,” he said, shaking his head and leaving the newspaper on the table. “I can’t believe you spend money in this stuff, Herm—”

“I didn’t. It arrived along with the mail.”

“Oh,” he said, looking confused at the cold tone of my voice. He sat in front of me and grabbed my hand. “I suppose... You don’t believe it.”

I withdrew my hand and stood up. “You lied to me,” I accused.

“What? What are you talking about?”

“You said you were with Ron.”

He stood up with his mouth slightly open. “I really don’t know what—”

“That day I went to look for you to the Pitch,” I interrupted. “You weren’t there. I asked you and you said you had had lunch with Ron.” He remained silent. “I knew it wasn’t true, because Ron had been with Liz. But still, I didn’t say anything because I thought that if you had lied to me there had to be a good reason.”

He looked startled. He cleared his throat a couple of times and approached to me slowly. “I’m sorry about that. I didn’t mean to lie to you... There is a good reason.”

“Really,” I said, glaring at him. “I suppose sharing some time alone with Cho Chang is a good reason to you.”

He frowned. “No, you’re mistaking everything.”

“Then why don’t you explain it to me, because I don’t understand!” I said, raising my voice.

“You’re jealous of Cho?” he asked, as if the mere idea was the funniest thing in the world.

“That’s not the point!” I spat. “Who said I was jealous? I’m angry because you lied...”

“I told you there’s a good reason for that!” he exclaimed.

“Then tell me what it is!”

He fell silent and scratched the back of his head. I waited with my arms crossed for an answer. A whole minute passed. Finally, he looked at me with a hesitating expression.

“I can’t.”

Now I was angry.

“You can’t. Wonderful! You don’t need to say anything else, Harry, it’s all perfectly clear to me now—”

“It’s not like that,” he cut me off. “I can’t tell you now.”

“Oh, that’s fine!” I said, sarcastically. “Let’s schedule some time when you can, shall we? Let’s see in your agenda... Maybe you can give me a date when it doesn’t bother your meetings with Cho Chang!”

“Hermione, you’re being unreasonable,” he sighed. I could see in his eyes that he was concerned, though.

“It’s late, I have work to do,” I said, storming out of the kitchen and grabbing my purse. He followed me to the living room.

“Wait, let’s talk about this,” he was saying. “Don’t leave like that—”

I didn’t hear anything else and I shut the door behind me. I went immediately inside my apartment. I was so mad! I felt stupid, feeling all happy because of what had happened last night... I actually thought that all our troubles were over. I took a quick shower and left for the Ministry, where I locked myself in my office and gave instructions to my secretary to not let anyone in.

* * *

“Weasley! You can’t be here! We are playing against you this Saturday, I won’t let you spy on us!” yelled Wood, trying to stop Ron from moving forward.

“Sod off, Oliver. Why would I want to spy on you? I pretty much already know all your strategies. This isn’t the first time I come here, you know?”

“So you’ve been spying on us!!” accused Oliver, outraged.

Ron rolled his eyes. He really didn’t have time for this. He had his own training to do. He was only there because Liz had told him to go and check on Harry. Apparently, she had seen something that had worried her in one of those crappy tabloids she liked to read (he would never understand how his wife could like to read that kind of stuff. Hmmm, maybe because she had inherited the gossip side of her mother). She hadn’t even told him what it said!

He spotted Harry flying a few feet away from them. One look at him, and Ron could tell something had happened. He looked down and deep in thought and didn’t seem to care about the Snitch, which was fluttering around him, angry for the lack of attention the Seeker was giving her. Ron sighed. If Harry had a problem that Quidditch couldn’t put out of his mind for a while, it had to do with Hermione.

He passed by Oliver, who was still yelling at him and waved to Harry. He saw him and landed immediately.

“Potter, get back up there now! We have an important match coming soon!” Oliver ordered, glaring at Ron.

“Just a minute, Oliver,” Harry said tiredly. He turned to Ron. “I take it you read that article too, right? Or did you talk to Hermione?”

“Neither. Liz told me to come and check on you. What is it? Are you guys having trouble again?”

Harry sighed and led Ron a little afar from Oliver’s stare and the rest of the team. He sat on the grass and Ron followed. He told him what had happened in the morning.

“You told her you were having lunch with me, but you were with Cho?” Ron asked, shaking his head.

“No! That’s not why I told her that! I was buying the engagement ring. I just ran into Cho and we had lunch together. I didn’t even remember that until I saw the picture today.”

“And what does she say about this?”

“I already told you, Hermione is—”

“No, I mean Cho.”

Harry gave him a puzzled look. “I don’t know, I haven’t talked to her. Why should she say anything, anyway? That article was pure crap. Hermione would think so too if I hadn’t told her I was with you.”

“Why didn’t you just tell her the truth? It would have been a nice opportunity to propose.”

“I couldn’t ask her then, Ron. She was looking at me as if she wanted to kill me.”

“She would have changed her expression once you told her what were you really doing.”

“I already told you, I want this proposal to be perfect. There wasn’t a good atmosphere...”

Ron snorted and looked at him as if he came from another planet. “Atmosphere? I’m seriously worried about you, mate.”

“For women this is one of the Top 5 important moments in their lives.”

“Wait... You’ve been talking to Liz, haven’t you?”

Harry shrugged. “Maybe...” Ron raised his eyebrows and Harry looked aht him sheepishly. “All right, yes, a couple of times. She have been giving me some advice, so what?”

“So what? Look, Liz is my wife, and I love her, but she is a woman, and a very cheesy one if I may add. She’s one of those girls who wants her life to be a romance novel! Listen, you and Hermione always teased me in Hogwarts about my thickness, but you are scoring a new record here. Just. Tell. Her. Dammit!”

“But she doesn’t want to get married yet, Ron!” Harry argued.

“Maybe she’ll change her mind once you ask her. The worse thing that could happen is her telling you to wait a little. It’s not like your relationship is going to end. I’m sure that Hermione wants to marry you, Harry. If it’s not now, maybe next year, but at least she won’t believe that you’re cheating on her.”

Harry frowned. “You know, that is so unfair! Why would she think I’m cheating on her? I have never ever given her any reason to believe that! She’s supposed to know me, isn’t she? I would never think that she was doing that.”

Ron chuckled. “You two are impossible. Do you realize that even I’m starting to make more sense than Hermione and you? The world is going crazy.”

Harry smiled half-heartedly. “Actually I’m starting to get worried. Don’t you think you are too grown up now, Ron?”

Ron stood up. “I knew all along that I was more mature than you,” he said, grinning. “Promise me you’ll propose to her tonight. Please, so that Liz will give me a break, alright?”

“So now I have to propose to make your life easier?” Harry teased, standing up too.

“Yes.” Ron shook Harry’s hand and then became serious. “I mean it, Harry. It’s time you get a grip.”

“You’re right,” Harry nodded, feeling a lot better. “Thank you.”

“Anytime.”

Cho observed the two friends from her broom with concern. Harry had arrived with a glumly expression that morning, which meant that the article had worked. She would have to thank Cassandra for that. She had been very nice saving up the article until she asked her to print it. But now that Weasley had visited him, he was smiling. He had probably given him some good advice to work things out with Hermione. She couldn’t let that happen. This was her golden opportunity.

As soon as Oliver gave them a break, she approached Harry slowly.

“Hey,” she said.

“Hi,” Harry replied taking off his glasses and cleaning them with his robes.

“Harry, I’m sorry.”

He looked at her. “Sorry? For what?”

“A friend of mine called me and told me about the article. I hope that didn’t cause trouble for you. If you want, I can send an statement...”

“Don’t bother,” he smiled at her. “It’s a bunch of lies anyway. I don’t think anyone took it seriously...”

“But... Wasn’t Hermione upset?” Cho asked. She had to be upset.

“Well, to be honest, she was, but not because of the article.” Cho looked at him quizzically. Harry gave her a brief explanation of what had happened and what he had decided to do.

“You’re going to do it tonight?” she asked, flashing him a smile.

Harry nodded. “Yes. I’m sure this time it will turn out well.”

Cho bit her lip. She had to think something, quick. If Harry managed to propose to Hermione, her whole plan would fail. Her brain was working at top speed. She hadn’t been a Ravenclaw for nothing. She was smart.

“So what are you planning to do? For the Proposal, I mean,” she asked.

“I’ll prepare a nice dinner.”

“At what time does Hermione get out of work?”

“Around 6. Why?”

“We finish the training around that time too,” Cho said. Finally she had an idea.

“I know...” Harry said, confused.

“You won’t have time to prepare anything. If Hermione arrives about the same time you do, she’ll probably want to talk about this, won’t she? How will you manage to keep her out of your apartment?”

Harry’s mouth formed a small ‘o’. He had been so busy thinking about how to propose to Hermione, that he had forgotten that small detail. He cursed under his breath. Cho smiled sympathetically.

“I have an idea,” she said. “I could go to Hermione’s office and entertain her a little. Invite her to have a drink or something. I could take the chance to explain to her that we just ran into each other that time when they took the picture. You know, soften her a little.”

“You’d do that?” Harry asked, smiling at her. She had forgotten how charming he could be when he smiled.

“Of course. You’re the only friend I have here, I want to help you.”

“Thank you,” he said sincerely. Cho was a nice girl after all.

“You’re welcome,” she said, barely able to hide a grin.

“OK everyone! Get your arses back in those brooms!” Wood yelled.

“Oh, Cho,” Harry said, grabbing his broom. “You might want to consider where you take Hermione. She doesn’t like to drink.”

Perfect.

* * *

What a hell of a day. I couldn’t concentrate at all on the research I was doing and even Mr. Weasley had gone to my office to ask if something was wrong. Harry hadn’t even showed up, and that only made me feel madder and frustrated. It’s not like I wanted him to go crawling in here, but I thought I deserved an explanation. If he had a good reason, as he claimed to, why wouldn’t he tell me?

Liz had called. She had heard my ranting, looking at me patiently through the fireplace. The only thing she had said is “be patient, Hermy.” Patient for what? Until he decided to tell me how he felt?

Damn! Who is knocking on the bloody door?

“Come in!” I growled.

“Sorry, your secretary already went home...”

I looked at Cho’s head popping inside my office. It had to be an illusion. What was she doing there?

“Cho?” I asked stupidly.

She smiled and came in. “In the flesh. Listen, I was wondering if you had some time to—”

“It’s not necessary,” I said rudely. I scolded myself for my bad manners. “I mean, if you came here because of that article...”

“I didn’t. Well, if you want me to explain, I can, but I wanted to talk to you about something else. If you don’t mind, of course.”

I was oficially curious. What could Cho possibly want to talk to me about? The last time we had ‘talked,’ it hadn’t been nice. At least it hadn’t been for me. And now that I was not in the best of moods – and she was somewhat involved in that – it was probably better if I refused her invitation.

But my curiosity won the battle. I wanted to hear what she had to say. Besides, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to face Harry yet. It was a good chance to postpone my return home for a little while.

“Alright,” I agreed, grabbing my cloak. “I don’t have much time, though.”

“Don’t worry,” Cho said, smiling. “This won’t take too long.”

* * *

Cho led me to a wizard pub that I had never even heard of. As soon as I stepped inside, I wanted to leave. I usually don’t like those sorts of places; they’re too noisy and smelly. But, after all, I was there just to talk to her; I could leave soon. There was no point in arguing about the place.

“Go and find a seat, I’ll get the drinks,” Cho said.

“A butterbeer for me, please,” I said, but I’m not sure if she heard me with all the noise in the place. Shrugging, I went to sit down to the farthest corner, where I could be somehow secluded of the rest of the customers there.

What was Harry doing? Was he worried because I wasn’t home yet? He hadn’t even called me! Was he planning to tell me the truth or had he spent the day making up a good excuse? Harry is not like that. Even when I was really angry with him, I still trusted him. Probably the thing that upset me more was the fact that he had ruined all we had solved the night before.

But had we solved anything? We just had a nice moment... But what was there to solve? I still couldn’t figure it out. Why things were so strange?

“Here you are,” Cho said, placing a reddish liquid in front of me and sitting down in front of me with a similar one.

“Uh... This isn’t a butterbeer.”

“You wanted a butterbeer? I’m sorry, I didn’t know... But Hermione, you can’t come here and have a butterbeer!” she laughed.

“I don’t drink... what is this, anyway?”

“It’s just a soft drink, you won’t even notice it has alcohol.” I looked at it, hesitating. “Look, if you don’t want to, don’t drink it,” Cho said, a little more serious.

“What did you want to talk about?”

Cho made a long pause while she played with the straw in her drink. I waited for her to start, while I held my breath. It was weird enough that she wanted us to talk, considering she never really liked me when we were at school...

“It’s about Harry,” she said then, staring at me.

Oh Lord. This can’t be good. Absent-mindly, I took a sip of my drink, getting nervous. Hey it didn’t taste bad...

* * *

Harry lit the last candle and took a few steps back to look at what he had done. The table looked nice, with fresh flowers. Hermione would love it. He sat on a chair, tapping the floor with his foot nervously. The ring was in his pocket and he couldn’t help but take it out every minute to see if it hadn’t vanished like the first time.

He had been trying to think of what he was going to say. He had spent at least an hour in front of the mirror, practicing. Now, he was still trying to figure out how was he going to propose.

Hermione, this time with you has been the happiest in my life. I want it to be like this forever. Would you marry me? No, too cliché.

Hermione, I don’t see myself spending my life with anyone else. Please, be my wife. Too plain.

Hermione, I want you to be with me for all eternity. Marry me. Too pushy... And too cheesy... Wasn’t there a way to propose that could be romantic but not corny? He was starting to think those two things just went together.

Where was Hermione, anyway? Cho was supposed to entertain her for a little bit, but it was getting late. Was she still angry with him? Was she trying to avoid him? He started to get anxious, and his eyes travelled constantly from the door to his watch.

A knock on the door startled him and he stood up with a jump. Hermione! Was his first thought, but then he realized that wasn’t possible. She wouldn’t knock like that, even if she was angry with him. Ron? Nah, he knew that this was the night, so he would never show up...

Another knock, more insistent. Harry walked towards the door, and opened it slowly.

He couldn’t hold back his surprise when he saw that outside was, in fact, Hermione. But what shocked him the most was that she was completely drunk.

* * *

A/N: I know that you all hate Cho, and as Kris put it “while editing it, I wanted to rewrite it and kill Cho on the spot.” Trust me, the thought has crossed my mind, but it wouldn’t be fun. So, I promise I’ll try to have the next chapter sooner. Thanks!

12. Conspiracy?

Author note: Hey people, yes, it’s me again! With another chapter that took me forever to write! Oh well...

I just want to clarify a few things:

1) I know that it’s annoying when author’s don’t update quickly, but I do have a life besides writing fan fiction, you know? I have University, friends and family, so I can’t dedicate all my time to this story. I’ll try to be faster, but it’s not a promise.

2) There are two other stories named “My Best Friend’s Wedding” as I have seen. Hence, some people’s confusion. This is a sequel to my own My Best Friend’s Wedding, which was written a long time ago. So Draco and Ginny are definitely not married in this story ;)

3) I’m sorry, but this chapter has no good stuff happening to H/Hr.You’ll probably get irritated and annoyed and more murderous thoughts towards Cho will come up... But hey, I am a H/Hr shipper so it won’t be like this forever. Just have to develop a little conflict. And this story is plenty of it. The main topic of this fic is the misunderstandings. So please, keep that it mind.

Oh and I’ve never been drunk, so I just have to be very observant to write the following scene =D

Okay, that was too long for an A/N, but was needed. I thank you all for you reviews and sticking up with me. Also to Nousia (Nitya), who beta read this, and I also want to thank her and Psy_Girl (Ana) for enduring my ranting while I was writing this.

Chapter 12 – Conspiracy?

“Hermione?” Harry asked dumbly. But he needed to confirm it was her and not someone playing a joke on him. That couldn’t be his girlfriend...

“Hiya ’Arry, luv,” Hermione said incoherently and let out a strange laugh.

Only then Harry realized that Hermione wasn’t alone. She was leaning against Cho Chang, who had a very anguished expression in her face, while she tried to help Hermione keep her balance.

“Cho... What is this?”

“I’m sorry, Harry,” Cho said, while Hermione stared at Harry with a blank expression, smiling like a mad woman. “I couldn’t stop her... As soon as we arrived to that bar, she started drinking...”

“A bar? I told you she didn’t drink!” Harry exclaimed, feeling angry all of a sudden. He caught Hermione just in time when she fell forward.

“Hey, don’t blame me,” Cho said, looking affronted. Harry dragged Hermione to the couch in his living room and Cho followed them. “It was the nearest place... Since you told me she wasn’t a drinker, I thought she would order a butterbeer or something. I just did what we discussed in the afternoon. I was trying to give you time to prepare...” she trailed off when her eyes fell on the table Harry had set and then looked at him apologetically. “Forgive me,” she said, looking down.

Harry’s expression softened a little. It wasn’t Cho’s fault; she had just wanted to help. He turned to Hermione, running a hand through his hair. He was still shocked. He had never seen Hermione drunk before... In fact, he was sure she had never gotten drunk in her life... If it was a different situation, he would have considered it was quite funny even, but not on the night he was supposed to propose to her! And especially not after they had had a nasty argument...

“What are you going to do?” Cho asked. “Do you need help with... anything?”

Harry sat down beside Hermione, not sure what to do.

“Um... Hermione?” he asked tentatively.

Hermione, who was lying in the couch, smiled. “Hi.”

“Er- Hi... I think we need to take you to your apartment...”

“Atarpment? This is a pretty amarptent!” Hermione said, standing up and stumbling a little. Harry rushed to her side and prevented her from falling. “Oh, and you have a dog!” she exclaimed, when Aquiles, probably curious about the noise, came running to the living room.

“Yes, I have a dog, you gave it to me, remember?”

“And where’s your cat?”

“I don’t have a cat.”

“Oh. Why not?”

Harry rolled his eyes and look at Cho. She just shrugged.

“Hermione, you’re not very well, let’s take you to bed, alright?”

Hermione let out a high pitched laugh that startled both Harry and Cho.

“You’re taking me to bed?” she asked him, winking. “Now?” she added, leaning on him.

Harry blushed and tried to remind himself that Hermione was not Hermione right then. “How many cups did you drink?”

“’Arry, how long have I and you been together? Oh wait, it should be you and I...”

“A year,” Harry said, trying to take Hermione back to the couch, but she resisted. “Hermione—”

“Who are you again?” Hermione asked, turning to Cho.

“Uh...” Cho looked at Harry. “I’m Cho Chang...”

“Cho Chang?” Hermione put a thoughtful expression. “Aren’t you Harry’s girlfriend?”

“No, you are,” Cho said.

“No, I’m sure you are,” Hermione insisted. “You kissed him in the Room of Requirement—”

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Harry interrupted, feeling slightly uncomfortable. “I’ve seen drunk people, but this is beyond... Not even Fred and George...”

“He’s have a crush on you since we were thirteen,” Hermione whispered to Cho, walking towards her. She looked at Harry and then at Cho, conspirationally. “And he only made a move two years later... Well, you see, Harry is kind of slow.”

“Hermione, come on...” Harry said, a little desperate.

“Well, you are, love, face it,” Hermione told him sweetly, stumbling in her own words. She turned to him. “If I hadn’t... you know... done that with Ron, or to Ron, whatever, we would still be just friends, right?” Hermione turned to Cho again, who was listening with great interest. “He took eight... no nine...” she counted with her fingers “well, he took a lot of time to tell me how he felt... What am I saying? He didn’t tell me. I found out. Didn’t I, Harry?”

“Cho, I think I can handle it,” Harry said, his face red. Cho could tell he was starting to get annoyed, but from the look in Hermione’s face, she was down the same road.

“Oh no, Cho, you don’t have to leave,” Hermione said. “I’m sure that Harry will enjoy your company. He certainly looked like he was having fun in that picture.”

Harry sighed. He knew that had something to do with this.

“Oh, a CD player!” Hermione exclaimed, walking towards the stereo Harry had in his living room. Actually she had given it to him a long time ago. She started pressing the buttons.

“Stop,” Harry said, kneeling beside her. He didn’t know what to do and was seriously thinking in taking out his wand and stun her.

Hermione found the play button and Frankie Valli’s voice singing “Can’t take my eyes off of you” filled the room.

“You know, Cho,” Hermione said, grinning, “this is my song.”

“Is that so?” Cho asked, looking at Harry who had stood up again.

“It is... Harry once sang it for me... When he was trying to tell me he loved me, but was too cowardly to actually say it.”

Harry looked hurt with her comment, but she didn’t seem to notice.

“Honsilty, Harry, you were brave enough to kill Veldomort... Why don’t you just say it, then? Say that you... Hey that’s my favorite part!”

Hermione tried to sing along, but she was terrible, off key and kept forgetting the words. At one point, she grabbed Harry’s hand to dance, but she tripped and fell forward. Harry caught her and turned off the radio.

“What is wrong with you!” he exclaimed, with frustration. Cho realized his control was about to break.

Hermione shoved him away, angrily. “What is wrong with me, you say? Do you really want to know?”

“Yes, so maybe I can understand why are you doing this!”

“Harry, remember she’s not—” started Cho.

“Cho, stay out of this,” Harry said, rudely. She looked crossly at him. “Look, I’m sorry, I thank you for your help, but I need to talk to Hermione alone.”

“You can’t talk to her like this,” Cho said. “In case you haven’t noticed, she can hardly stay on her feet. And you don’t need to take it out on me, I’m just —”

“Oh, stop whining and get the hell out of here! I’m tired of you ruining everything all the bloody time!” Hermione yelled. Harry and Cho looked at her with surprise.

“Excuse her, Cho, she doesn’t know what she’s saying...” Harry muttered.

“I know. I hope you realize she won’t know what you’re saying either, so save yourself the pain and don’t try to... you know,” she answered, walking towards the door. “Good luck, Harry. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Harry waited until Cho left to turn to Hermione again. Her face was very red and her hair was falling all over the place. For a moment, none of them said anything. Harry wasn’t sure of what he could do. Cho was right, there was no point in trying to talk to Hermione like that. But he couldn’t help but feel a little angry. Sure, she was drunk, but she had said some hurting things... Did she really think he was a coward?

“You should lay down,” he said finally. “I’ll make you some coffee.”

“I don’t want coffee, I’m fine,” Hermione babbled. She stumbled back in the couch. It was then when she noticed the table, where the candles were already melted. She looked at it with her eyes narrowed, and Harry guessed she was trying to focus her sight. “There’s a table settled.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Harry walked to the table. “I prepared this for you. I thought that it would be nice to talk to each other, so I could explain you why I lied... And I wanted to tell you something...” he turned around and noticed that Hermione was fast asleep. He summoned a blanket and covered her, sighing. If someone had warned him this would be that complicated...

* * *

Priceless. That was the only adjective she could think of. Harry’s face when he had seen Hermione had been priceless. She did feel a little bad for causing him this pain, for ruining what he had taken so much effort planning, but she comforted herself thinking he would thank her someday. Hermione Granger wasn’t right for him, and if he couldn’t see it for himself, someone had to help him.

She would have expected Draco Malfoy to show a little more excitement with the news. He had thought that what happened to Hermione and Harry was indeed hilarious (personally, she only agreed as far as she was concerned), but he had told her she was being too confident. Ah, what did she care about what Malfoy had to say? He wasn’t doing anything, after all. And she still didn’t know why he was so interested in breaking Harry and Hermione’s relationship.

Alright, enough thinking about Malfoy. Cho had a lot to do. She had noted the tension between Harry and Hermione... They were keeping things from each other, bottling up their feelings and she had to use that to her favor. She had a couple of tricks up her sleeve. She was sure she’d accomplish what she had promised herself.

* * *

Someone was splitting my head with an axe... Or was it a hammer? Considering the sound it was making, it could very well be a drill...

I tried to open my eyes. I swear, I’ve never had this trouble to just separate my eyelids. When I managed to do it, the light coming from somewhere blinded me and I had to blink several times to adjust my eyes.

Between the headache and the pain I was feeling all over my body, it took me a while to realize I was in Harry’s living room. How I got there or why was a mystery to me. I rubbed my temples, trying to think... Okay, I remembered I was working... Cho had come to my office... She wanted to talk about something. We went out... to a bar... I bit my lip, trying really hard to remember what I had done after that, but my mind had gone blank.

I tried to stand up from the couch, but I felt dizzy, so I sat down again. I was wearing the same clothes from yesterday. I heard steps and looked up to see Harry coming out of the kitchen. He was carrying a cup with something steamy inside. He saw I was awake, and handed it to me.

“I’m not very good at making this Potion, I only brewed it once for Fred a couple of years ago, but I think I got everything right.”

I looked at him, dumbfounded. “What’s this?” I asked.

“It’s a potion for your hangover.”

“My... What?”

“Your hangover,” he repeated. “Considering the state you were in last night, I’m sure it must be pretty bad.”

“Wait, I don’t understand what you’re saying... You are talking as if I arrived drunk last night or something.”

He snorted loudly and went back to the kitchen. I was still confused about what was going on... And what was that about a ‘hangover’? I stood up, ignoring the dizziness with the cup in my hand and followed him to the kitchen. He was rummaging through the fridge and I realized he was in a very bad mood.

“Harry, can you please tell me what’s going on?”

He looked at me, disbelief in his eyes. “Are you pulling my hair?”

“Of course not! Are you pulling mine?”

He stood up and looked at me in the eye. “You don’t remember, do you.” Apparently, my expression gave him the answer. “Last night, you showed up here, completely drunk.”

For a moment I thought he was joking, but he was too serious. I looked at him, confused. “That’s not possible... I mean...” I tried to remember. “You know I don’t drink, Harry.”

“Yes, I know that, so maybe you can imagine my reaction when I saw you stumbling into my living room.”

The situation was so absurd, I couldn’t help but let out a shaky laugh. There was no way I could have gotten drunk. I only remembered having one drink... Actually I couldn’t remember anything else after that. Okay, maybe I’m not used to drinking, but I certainly don’t lose my head with just one.

“I only had one drink,” I said.

“One drink! You certainly didn’t look like you had one drink, Hermione.”

I tried to think. With the headache I had, it was hard to focus, though. Why couldn’t I remember anything?

“Look, it’s not a big deal if you got drunk,” Harry said, in a softer voice. “The thing that worries me is the reason behind it.”

“Reason?” I asked, still lost in my thoughts.

“You’ve never even stepped in a bar before, why did you do it yesterday?”

I stared at him. There was something about the way he said ‘yesterday’ that caught my attention. I was still too confused about what had happened; I didn’t even remember what I had done, if I had done something... But Harry’s attitude had to mean something. He didn’t get angry for no reason.

“Is it because of the argument we had in the morning? Do you still think that I’m hiding something from you?”

I hadn’t even remembered about the argument. The events of the morning before came to my mind. That dreadful picture... Harry’s reluctancy to give me a decent excuse...

“Oh right, so you think that I suddenly decided to drown my sorrows in alcohol?” I asked, feeling the anger raise inside me. “My boyfriend is lying to me, so hey, let’s go and get pissed.”

“I’m not lying to you!”

“So you say!”

“You see? You’re still angry about that! Why don’t you just admit that’s the whole reason behind the little show you pulled last night?”

I slammed my fist on the kitchen table. “I can’t believe you are even suggesting something like that! You know me better than this. You know I wouldn’t be drinking just because of what happened...”

“Then why... Just for fun? You suddenly decided that, instead of coming home and talk to me, you’d be going to a bloody bar?”

“Look, it wasn’t my idea to go there in the first place and...” I trailed off, a new idea coming to my mind. Sure it was somewhat out of proportion, but it made perfect sense.

Harry eyed me, understanding that I had just realized something. “Are you remembering now?”

“I wasn’t drunk, Harry.”

A sarcastic smile appeared in his lips. “Of course you weren’t. Right, I must have been imagining things. It wasn’t you the one who—”

“It was Cho...” I said, more convinced than ever and ignoring his irony.

“Cho? What does she have to do with this!?”

I didn’t answer and started pacing. Why hadn’t I thought about that before? She had given me that drink... She had wanted to ‘talk’ about something, but I couldn’t remember any conversation... What had she used? A potion, probably... I’d have to do a little research...

“She did something to me,” was the only information I gave Harry.

He shook his head. “Hermione, I can’t believe you are blaming her for that... Don’t you think you’re getting paranoid?”

“Just tell me something. Yesterday, did I smell like alcohol?” He fell silent and I realized he was thinking about my question. “Well? Did I? Was I sick? Did I throw up? Huh? If I was so drunk like you claim I was...”

“I don’t have time for this,” he interrupted, angrily. “I have a big game tomorrow, and I should be training. We’ll talk about this later, that is, if you decide you actually want to tell me what’s on your mind.”

Before I could answer, he grabbed his cloak and left me alone in the apartment.

* * *

Harry tried to avoid thinking about what Hermione had said until he was on his broom, flying in circles around the pitch, warming up for the training session. He was very upset, as his teammates had noticed when he slammed the door of his locker and tied the noose of his cloak so hard that he almost strangled himself.

He was perfectly aware that 90% of his anger was because Hermione had ruined his proposal for the second time. Sure, it had been unconsciously, but still... Why of all nights, she had to choose that one to lose her head? He had thought that his anger would have released entirely in the moments he had spent cleaning what he had made for her, after she fell asleep on his couch... He had broken three plates in mere frustration.

That wasn’t the only thing that made him angry, of course. It was what she had said... She had called him a coward. Surely, someone would tell him not to pay attention to the babbling of a drunk person, but he suspected she had been bottling up that thought for a long time. What had she said? “Why don’t you just say it, then? Say that you...” He wondered what she meant. He sighed, remembering with melancholy those times when they actually told each other what they were thinking...

Charlie Weasley had once told him that a romantic relationship between people that had a friendship like Hermione and his could only turn out very well or into a complete disaster. Harry refused to believe it was the second outcome. He just knew that he and Hermione would work out perfectly... They were only going through a stage. They had never had troubles, not when they were friends, not when they were a couple... Apart from a few arguments and ocassional mess ups that were quickly solved. This time, however, it felt different. None of them was openly making a mistake... They were just going through misunderstanding after misunderstanding...

Harry made a turn and his eyes fell on Cho, who had started practicing with the other Chasers. He remembered Hermione’s words.

“Just tell me something. Yesterday, did I smell like alcohol?”

He couldn’t remember... Why would he notice a detail like that when she was saying such stupid things? But now that he thought of it, he would have probably reported on that fact if she smelled like most of the clients of Hog’s Head.

“Was I sick? Did I throw up?”

No, she hadn’t. That, he was sure of. But not every drunk gets sick... Or so he had heard, he really didn’t have much experience in the area, except for a couple of times when he had seen his teammates after a celebration.

Hermione had said something about Cho. She had said she had had only one drink. Considering that she couldn’t remember at all what had happened last night, couldn’t she just have forgotten about the fact she had drank? But no one gets like that with only one drink... And if she says she had only one, he should believe her. He always believed her. She always believed him. And now, they were both treating each other as liars... As if they were two strangers that had just met.

Harry stopped flying and gazed at Cho. “I couldn’t stop her...” Harry had no reason for not trusting Cho. Why would she lie about that? But then again, he would never doubt Hermione’s word.

Geez, when had his life gotten so confusing?

* * *

I came out of the Wizarding London Library feeling triumphant. I had found the potion she had used. Everything fit. That sneaky little... What would Moody think of me if he knew I had been so stupidly fooled? I was ashamed. She had caught me flying low. But I would straighten this no matter what. I had to know why she had done something like that. I didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but I was pretty sure it had to do with Harry. Maybe Ginny was right. Maybe she did want to steal him from me. But what was the point in drugging me? Had she thought that Harry would be embarrassed and dumped me just because he thought I had gotten drunk?

Or was there something else? Harry’s reaction this morning wasn’t reasonable. Maybe there was something else I was not aware of...

“Hermione, wait!”

I whirled around and was faced with Alan Wagner, who came walking quickly towards me. He was breathing fast when he reached me.

“I saw you from across the street,” he said, trying to catch his breath. “I tried to get your attention, but you were walking so fast and deep in thought that I don’t think you’ve noticed if a train passed by you.”

“Alan, what are you doing here? I thought you were training. Don’t you have a game against Puddlemere tomorrow?”

“The team does, but I won’t be playing,” he replied, starting to walk along with me. “Remember I told you the other day a bludger hit me and the nurse said it would be fine? Well, turns out that it’s not... I can’t swing the bat in a week.”

“That’s terrible!” I exclaimed. “What’s the team going to do now? Oliver must be going crazy!”

“We have Rivers, the reserve player... I thought Harry told you.”

I shook my head. Harry and I hadn’t had much time to talk about Quidditch lately.

“Anyway, why aren’t you working?” he asked.

“I took the day off. I needed to solve some issues.”

“Sounds serious,” he said, his face concerned. “Can I help with anything?”

“No, I don’t think you can, but thanks for the offer, anyway,” I replied, smiling at him.

“Ah, does it have to do with Harry?” I wasn’t quick enough to hide the expression in my face and he quickly apologized. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry...”

“It’s okay,” I cut him off. Alan was a nice guy, but he wasn’t my friend. I didn’t feel comfortable talking about my troubles with Harry with him.

“Um, Hermione, now that I see you here I was wondering if I could talk to you for a second...”

I stopped walking and turned to look at him. We were in London’s downtown, surrounded by people. It was hard to keep a conversation with all the noise coming from the streets. And I was in a hurry... I needed to see Ginny and tell her about what had happened. I was trying to delay my encounter with Cho until I was 100% sure of what was going on and what were her motives.

“Alan, right now it’s not the best time... But hey, I’ll tell you what. Let’s talk tomorrow after the match. I can give you all the time you need there. I’ll be all yours.”

He beamed at me. “That sounds perfect.”

* * *

As I had expected, Ginny’s reaction really stood up for her family name. After letting out an incredible amount of insults to Cho she had asked me to repeat the story for a second, and then a third time.

“No matter how many times you tell me, I can’t believe that you, Hermione Granger, were so stupid to go with her anywhere.”

“It’s not like I thought she would be capable of doing something like that, Ginny. Well, I’m not completely sure yet she did it, that’s why—”

“Of course she did it! That sounds like the kind of things that tart does!”

“—I’d like to go to that bar and ask people there if they know something. Maybe the bartender can give me a hint,” I continued, glaring at Ginny. “And I’ll appreciate it if you don’t refer to Cho Chang in those terms...”

“Oh, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to insult that bi—”

“Hermione, dear!” Mrs. Weasley squealed, coming into the living room. “I’m so glad you’re here!” she said, pulling me into a hug. “Are you here alone? Didn’t Harry come with you?”

“Er—no, he is training for tomorrow...” I said, knowing that by this time, Harry was probably going home.

“Aww that’s too bad... Well, I understand he’s busy. Would you like to stay for dinner?”

I would have wanted to say no... I was actually wanting to see Harry and explain things to him, but one look from Ginny made me think it wasn’t such a good idea to discuss this yet. I was angry, he was angry, and it would lead us nowhere but another argument. It was better if I gave him some time to think about things... And I really wanted to go and visit that bar afterwards.

Of course, I had to let him know I would be staying there for dinner. I scribbled a quick note and sent it to him with Ginny’s owl.

* * *

Well, turned out that our visit to the bar wasn’t successful. The bartender didn’t remember me or Cho... How was he supposed to remember all the clients that went there? He had said. So I guess I wouldn’t have confirmation through there. But I was so sure about my theory, that I decided to ask her straightforward. I would have to end this nonsense. But I decided to wait until after the match against PU, when I would get her full attention without jeopardizing the team.

Guess you’re wondering about Harry. When I got home that night, I found a note that said Oliver had called for a late training, so he would arrive home late and probably very tired. It was hard to tell if he was trying to avoid me, but I decided to leave it at that. The next day we would have more than enough time to talk and solve everything.

That was what I’d been thinking all Saturday morning. Harry had left early to get ready, and he hadn’t even let me know. I let it go too... I knew that his concentration was easily shattered when he was troubled, and I supposed he was thinking that if we talked, we’d end up arguing again. I was supposed to meet with Liz and her mum at her house and then we would go together to Puddlemere’s Pitch, where the match was being held.

When I arrived there, I found Liz waiting for me outside. I was wondering if it would be all right for her to go to a Quidditch match in that state; she looked as if she was going to spit the baby any minute. I was about to ask her this when I noticed the serious look on her face.

“Hi Liz... Where’s your mum?”

“She left with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. I waited for you because I wanted to ask you something.”

I stared at her confused. “Sure, what is it?”

“Have you seen today’s Whiz in the Spot?”

“You know I don’t read that rubbish. And after what appeared there the other day I certainly don’t want to have anything to do with it again... Hold on. Don’t tell me they’ve published a bunch of lies about Harry again.”

“Not quite. This time is about you,” she said, giving me the infamous newspaper.

On the cover there was a huge headline that said: CONFIRMED POTTER’S BREAKUP. HERMIONE GRANGER HAS A NEW LOVE, by Cassandra Miller. Below, there was a picture of me and Alan Wagner talking. We had been talking yesterday, it seemed. In the picture he was smiling at me. I looked up at Liz, not knowing if I should laugh or get very, very worried.

“What the hell? How can they make up something like this? I mean... Alan?? We just ran into each other yesterday!”

“Well, Hermy, that’s the way these people work, you should know by now...”

“Did Ginny see this?” I asked, staring at the headline in disbelief. The article that followed was quite similar to the one that had related Harry and Cho.

“I think she did, yes. But she didn’t say anthing to me... Don’t worry about her, you can explain and it will be fine...”

“Harry saw it too, didn’t he?”

Liz nodded. “He came here very early... Apparently, a copy of “Whiz in the Spot” arrived by mistake to his apartment.”

By mistake... sure. Now a lot of things started to make sense.

“What did he say?”

“He said it was the most absurd thing he had ever read.”

“Then why are you looking at me with that concerned expression?”

“Well, I am a little worried about you two, Hermy. If you don’t want me to meddle in your business, it’s fine, but I can see that you’re having trouble. Aren’t you?”

I nodded. There was no point in hiding that kind of thing from Liz anyway.

“Let’s go and I’ll tell you on the way,” I said sighing.

* * *

We arrived just in time. The match was about to start. I spotted the Weasleys in the first row. Liz and I struggled among the crowd to get there and we sat down. Liz beside Ginny, and I next to Liz. As soon as I sat down, Ginny leaned forward to talk to me.

“I’m guessing, because I know you, that you have a good explanation for this,” she said, not caring to lower her voice.

“Of course I have one Ginny,” I said, leaning forward as well. Liz was in the middle and she looked from Ginny to me. “And that is there’s nothing to explain. We ran into each other yesterday and we just talked a little. You aren’t thinking I have a ‘new love,’ are you?”

“And here comes the team of Puddlemere!” a voice was heard in the stadium and people started cheering. I barely noticed the seven figures that came flying, while the announcer named them.

“I don’t think bad of you, Hermione,” Ginny said, raising her voice for me to hear her above the screams and whistling. “But I was right... Alan fancies you.”

“Don’t be ridiculous!” I exclaimed. In that moment the Chudley Cannons were announced. I spotted Harry who entered the last. He was expresionless. I turned to Ginny again. “We barely know each other.”

“That doesn’t mean anything. He obviously likes you a lot... He’s even smiling in that picture!”

“Even if he did,” I said, my voice raising as well, “it’s pointless! I’m with Harry and he know that.”

“Shhhhhh,” an old man from the upper line said, annoyed.

Ginny ignored him. “It’s very well known that the fact that a woman has a boyfriend doesn’t mean she’s dead...”

“Ginny! I can’t believe what you’re saying!”

“I’m just worried that this whole problem with Harry will get strange ideas in your head...”

“I don’t think Hermy...” started Liz, between us, but neither Ginny or I were aware of her presence.

“Virginia Weasley, take that back right now or I’ll get really angry with you!”

“Stay quiet!” the old man said. And again, Ginny ignored him.

“I’m just—”

“And Chang scores!! The newest addition to the Chudley Cannons has proved to be one of the best players this Season. Keeper Weasley does not look too pleased...”

I looked at Ron. In fact, I could tell he was upset. I couldn’t see his face, but I knew he was glaring at Cho.

“WHY DON’T YOU JUST PUSH THAT—”

It took both Liz and Mrs. Weasley to make Ginny sit down, with a huge frown on her face.

“Ginny,” I said, “You really don’t need to worry about Alan and me... I mean, I’m sure he does not... he doesn’t...”

“Fancy me,” Liz apported. “I mean, you,” she corrected, and I nodded.

Ginny’s eyes narrowed. “Would you be willing to stake your life?”

“Hey, shut up already!” the old man shouted.

Ginny turned around and glared at him. “Are you watching the match with your ears?? Huh? Why the hell do you need us to be quiet? Everyone is shouting!”

“If you have a problem sir, I suggest you move to another seat,” I added. Liz smiled and shook her head. “Ginny,” I started again, when the man sat back, looking very offended. “I assure you that Alan Wagner has no interest in me.”

“Well... I guess you’re right... After all...” Ginny trailed off and fixed her eyes in something behind me.

I turned around, confused. Of course, it had to be Alan.

“Hi Hermione,” he greeted. “Hi,” he said then to Liz and Ginny. Liz waved and Ginny just nodded.

“Hullo Alan,” I said, feeling embarrassed all of the sudden. Was he going to mention the dreaded article?

“Do you mind if I watch the game here? Oliver is really getting on my nerves with his screams.”

“Er- No, not at all,” I muttered, gazing at Ginny who was glaring at us.

For a while, we just watched the game. Cho scored two more times, but Ron also stopped the Quaffle several times.

“Harry is kinda slow today, don’t you think?” Alan commented.

I nodded absentmindedly. Alan was a weird guy. Why was he so friendly towards me when he barely talked to the rest? I knew that Ginny’s theory was completely out of the question. Then why...?

“Hermione, are you still free to talk to me after the game?” Alan asked then.

“Er—”

“Please, it’ll only take a couple of minutes...”

I was about to answer whe a small gasp coming from Liz interrupted me. I looked at the pitch and saw that Harry and the other Seeker were flying at top speed in search for the snitch. Harry caught it, and for a moment I was so happy cheering that I forgot about everything.

Harry landed, surrounded by his teammates and Cho hugged him. I felt like hexing her right there. I would probably had if I had found my wand quickly enough. Harry let her go and his eyes searched for me. He saw me and smiled, but then his eyes darted to Alan and he frowned.

A/N: I was planning to end this in a different way, with a mean cliffhanger you all love so much. But, considering I haven’t been updating quickly, I decided not to. I‘m not that mean, see?

13. Two Steps Back

Author Notes: Phew. I’m back. I know this one took quite a while, but I’ve been very busy. Good news is I’m going on winter break this Friday, so I expect to have the next two chapters (which are the last ones) soon.

Thanks: to all the reviewers, for being so understanding. And to answer to a couple of you, I’m not planning on abandoning this story, just didn’t have time to work on it.

To Kris for being such a little bugger :P And to Nitya, for her beta read and support.

Chapter 13 – Two Steps Back

“Okay, Alan, what did you want to talk about?”

We were in a secluded spot in the pitch. It was an office, it seemed. Alan had insisted he had to talk to me in private and I really didn’t want to be seen with him and appear in another tabloid. I hadn’t missed Ginny’s glare when I had excused myself. I was hoping that I could explain everything to her later. I didn’t know if Harry had noticed I had left my seat, but at least he wouldn’t go thinking there was something between Alan and me.

Alan stared at me. Suddenly, he was nervous and seemed loss at words.

“Well... It’s complicated.”

“Complicated how?” I asked impatiently. I just wanted to go out there and talk to Harry and choke Cho to death.

Alan sat down in a chair. “It’s not easy for me to tell you this...”

“Well, you’ll have to say it eventually, won’t you. What is it?”

“You’re right.” He took a deep breath. “You see, I like... this girl. A lot, actually.”

“You like a girl?” I blinked. I stared at him trying to forget about Ginny’s words. It’s not you, Hermione, don’t be stupid. “And how can I help you there?”

Alan let out a chuckle and stood up. “I think this girl is out of my league,” he said, folding his hands in his pockets and looking at me in the eye.

“Why?” was the only thing I could ask. I had the feeling this conversation would mean trouble and the urge to get out was increasing by the second.

“Because...” he trailed off. He felt silent and became very interested in a trophy that was on a shelf.

“Do I know her?” I asked, trying to bring this to a point quickly.

He turned to look at me. “Yes, you do. Very well, actually. It’s—”

He didn’t get to tell me, though, because in that moment the door of the office opened and none other than Harry entered. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw us and his mouth dropped slightly. I spotted Ron’s head behind him, staring at us confusedly.

Alan looked at them nervously. He had gotten pale all of a sudden. A long silence came when no one said anything. I realized how stupid it was, I wasn’t doing anything wrong after all. But before I could talk, Harry spoke.

“Alan, Oliver was looking for you.”

His voice had that cold calm that was definitely more frightening than when he was yelling. Alan nodded and left the office so quickly, I barely noticed. Harry stared at me for a moment and then entered in the room. Ron followed, still looking at me strangely.

“Congratulations, Harry,” I said. “And I’m sorry, Ron...”

“Ah well, I guess it’s fine considering I’ll probably be part of the Cannons next year,” Ron said, grinning and obviously trying to lighten the mood. Harry cleared his throat.

“I’m very tired so I won’t be going to the party tonight... I’ll go home.”

“I’ll go with you,” I said quickly.

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay? You looked like you were having fun,” he said, smiling, but I could notice the reproach in his tone.

I glared at him.

“Oh, here it is, the thing we came looking for Harry!” Ron said, walking over to the desk and picking a piece of paper. “It’s the... uh... list.”

I looked at Ron and his pitiful attempt to disguise the fact that probably Ginny had told Harry I had left with Alan and they had been looking for me. Honestly, it wasn’t as if I was snogging the guy! Harry was still looking at me with that typical “there’s-nothing-wrong-with-me-really” expression he used to hide what he was actually thinking.

“Bye, Ron, talk to you later,” Harry said. “Hermione, are you coming or staying?”

“Coming, I mean going,” I said. “Just a minute.”

He nodded and disapparated. As soon as he was gone, I turned to Ron. “Did Harry believe what that article said?”

Ron look taken aback. “I... well... he... no...” He sighed in defeat. “He said he didn’t believe it, although you’ve been acting very strange lately... He said you don’t seem yourself anymore.”

“I have been acting strange? He’s the one that’s hiding things from me!”

He sighed and leaned against the desk. “Look, I know I usually don’t caught up to things as fast as you do, but this time I’m really having a hard time to get what is going on...”

“I’ll tell you when I figure it out myself,” I said.

“What were you doing with that Wagner bloke here anyway?” Ron asked, with a frown.

“We were just talking, Ron.”

“Locked in an office?”

“It wasn’t locked... And what exactly are you implying?” I asked in an angry tone.

He looked at me sheepishly. “Nothing. But you know that Harry didn’t exactly like the fact that you and him were at some place, together and alone.”

“Harry really has some nerve to get upset when he’s the one meeting Cho Chang while pretending to having lunch with you.”

“He wasn’t doing that!” Ron said defensevely. “He was—”

“He was what?” He bit his lip and shook his head. “Ron, you know that if I want to, I can make you tell me whatever it is that you’re not saying, right?”

“I think my wife is calling me,” he said hastily. He walked to the door and turned to look at me before going out. “You two need to talk this out.”

“I know,” I said. He winked and left.

I apparated back in Harry’s apartment. He was waiting for me, sitting in the living room. He had a stern look on his face and hadn’t changed from his Quidditch robes.

For a moment, none of us said anything. Harry seemed to be debating what to say and I guess I was doing the same. There was a lot I needed to discuss with him and I wasn’t sure where to begin.

“What’s the deal with you and Alan?” he asked suddenly.

“What?”

“I’m asking,” he said, slowly, “what is going on between you and Alan Wagner.”

I let out a laugh. And it was a very sarcastic one. Harry looked at me with raised eyebrows. Finally, when I stopped laughing I turned to him. “I can’t believe you’re asking me that.”

“He doesn’t talk to anyone and suddenly starts approaching to you at parties and at the pitch and even goes to your office, then a tabloid publishes pictures of you two and now I find you locked in an office with him, alone... How can I not ask what the hell is going on?” he blurted, frowning.

“Alright, first of all, we weren’t locked in an office... He just wanted to talk to me, he needed help with someone... Since when I am not allowed to have friends?”

“Of course you are allowed to have friends,” he said, standing up, “but you can’t deny that he wants something else from you.”

“Look, Harry, I barely know Alan, we’ve just talked a few times... You can’t be jealous of him!”

“I’m not jealous!” he exclaimed and I looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “Okay, maybe I am a little,” he granted, with a frown. “I don’t see why he’s suddenly so interested in you.”

“I could say the same thing, you know? How can you even mention Alan when you have Cho all over you all the time?”

“She has nothing to do with this.”

“She has everything to do with this. Since she arrived we’ve only have trouble--”

“Our troubles have nothing to do with Cho!” Harry interrupted me. “I don’t know why you insist on bringing her up in every conversation we have...” he looked at me with a mixture of confusion and irritation. “I mean, Cho is just a member of the team--”

“She’s much more than that! She’s your first crush—”

“I was thirteen!”

“—And your first kiss—”

“I was fifteen for Heaven’s sake! That was eleven years ago, you can’t be jealous of Cho now...”

“Harry if you weren’t so bloody dense you’d notice that for her it doesn’t matter how many years have passed... She still wants you.”

Harry looked at me if I had grown two heads. “That’s abs—”

“Don’t say it’s absurd like I’m only being paranoid, I know what I’m seeing!” I spat angrily.

“Of course it’s absurd! I’ve never given you motives to be jealous in the first place!” Harry yelled, pointing his finger at me.

“Oh, but I have, haven’t I?” I yelled back. “Because you can make an scene because of a guy that I have talked to a couple of times and I can’t say anything about your ex-girlfriend that is obviously trying to get you back!”

“Trying to get me back?” Harry asked, with a hint of sarcasm. “She must be doing quite the poor effort, because I don’t feel the urge to jump to her arms yet.”

I ignored his comment. “She knows she can’t do that with a bat of her eyelashes, Harry. That’s why she’s being so sneaky—”

“Right, so now she has this master plan to break us apart, huh!? Doesn’t that sound a little too familiar? Like you trying to...” he trailed off when he saw the look in my face.

“I can’t believe you’re bringing that up,” I said in a low whisper.

He stared at me for a long moment. For a moment, I thought he was going to apologize, but when he frowned, I realized this wasn’t over yet. “You’re no one to complain about bringing things up.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Of course you don’t remember... I believe your exact words were that I was too cowardly to actually tell you how I felt about you--”

I didn’t recall saying that. I didn’t even remember thinking that Harry was a coward... I was angry at him for not telling me how he felt about the marriage thing, though. Maybe that night I had let my frustration show...? Suddenly, I was very scared of what I had said. I remembered Hary’s reaction the morning after...

“What else haven’t you said, Hermione?” Harry asked, probably noticing my troubled look.

“You say it as if it’s me the one hiding things,” I retorted. “What about you and your “I-was-having-lunch-with-Ron” little story?”

“That again!? I told you there was a reason for that!” he exclaimed, his glasses slipping to the tip of his nose. He didn’t bother to adjust them.

“Well I haven’t heard it, so why should I believe it?”

“So now you don’t trust me? Is that what you’re saying?!”

Before we knew it, we were screaming at each other like we never had. Usually, our arguments are either one of us yelling and the other calm, or just quiet exchange of opinions. I don’t think we’d ever argued like that before, and a few minutes later the road of the conversation didn’t have anything to do with why the argument had started in the first place. I don’t think we were even listening to what the other was saying... Or what we were saying in the first place. Aquiles started barking and Hedwig flipped her wings nervously while we went on and on...

“—you said that—”

“—it was you!”

“OY!!!”

“Stop yelling!!”

“You’re the one that’s yelling!!!!”

“STOP IT, YOU TWO!!!”

Harry and I shut up at the same time, staring at each other surprised, wondering which one of us had said that. It took us a few moments to realize it was neither, and we turned to look at the fireplace, where Ron was staring at us with his face red and a ver annoyed look.

“For Merlin’s sake, I’ve been trying to call your attention for more than five minutes!” Ron exclaimed, looking at me and then at Harry with widened eyes. “What the hell is wrong with you two!? You were about to kill each other.”

Harry and I were breathing hard, and our faces were red because of the anger mixed with embarrassment. None of us could answer.

“Whatever,” Ron said with a glare. “I’m flooing to let you know that we’re at St. Mungo’s. Liz is about to have the baby.”

* * *

When Harry and I apparated in St. Mungo’s, the whole Weasley family was already there. So was Liz’s mum, sitting right next to Molly. The two of them were talking excitedly, probably about their mutual grandchild.

“I’m glad you’re here,” Mr. Weasley said, greeting us with a huge smile. “Ron and Liz just went inside.”

Harry sat down in a couch a little afar from the Weasley family. I wasn’t sure if I should go and sit with him after the argument we had just had. I couldn’t help but feeling even more crushed that the reasons for that fight were so weak. It was all misunderstandings, rumors and unsaid things... And also because of that woman...

“So what did Alan want?”

That question came from Ginny. She was standing by my side, not really looking at me. When Ginny is jealous or angry (in this case, both things) you really can tell she is Ron’s sister. I sighed.

“He wanted to talk.”

“About what?”

“I don’t know, he didn’t tell me.”

“Why not?”

“Because Harry and Ron interrupted him, and I would really appreciate it if you stop interrogating me as if I had done something wrong,” I said, in an annoyed tone that wasn’t really because of Ginny, but because I was still jumpy after my fight with Harry.

Ginny remained silent for a while. “You had another fight with Harry?” I nodded. “Why this time?”

“The same reasons as before, plus Alan, something I apparently said to him when I was “drunk,” what I did last year before Ron’s wedding... Want me to continue?”

Ginny shook her head. “Shouldn’t you be talking to him now?”

“It seems that we can’t talk without fighting lately,” I sighed.

“Well, they say that arguments are good for couples,” Ginny commented, with a comforting tone.

I didn’t think that anything in that argument was good for us. But I appreciated that Ginny at least was putting our friendship before her jealousy, so I smiled at her.

We spent the next couple of hours waiting. I was trapped by Mrs. Weasley and Mrs. Greene and their talk about babies, weddings and cooking tips... Harry was in the corner with Bill, Fred and George. I caught him looking at me more than once. He didn’t look angry, but he didn’t seem happy either. I was afraid to go over there and confront him. I didn’t want to start arguing again. For that reason or any other, he stayed away from me too.

Finally, when I was starting to think I wouldn’t be able to stand it anymore, Ron came into the waiting room. He had a huge smile plastered in his face. We all stood up and surrounded him.

“They are both fine,” he said. “Liz is resting now.”

Between the squeals and hugs, I heard Mr. Weasley asking if we could see the baby and the mother. Ron nodded. “Of course... But don’t come all together. The nurse will go nuts.”

Harry and I stepped back and let the family go. After all, it was their grandson and nephew. We went back to the waiting room and sat down in silence. It was very uncomfortable. Neither of us was saying anything and we were avoiding looking at each other. I hated that situation, I was still a little upset about the things he had said, but it didn’t feel right to be like this. We were Harry and Hermione. Not this pair of strangers strangling each other.

Harry had his eyes fixed on the floor. He didn’t seem willing to talk to me, and I guessed he was angry too. I didn’t think it was fair that I had to apologize when he was the one that had started the whole thing. And knowing him like I do, I bet he was feeling the same way. So we waited in silence, alone in the waiting room, in an uncomfortable silence until the Weasleys came back, with big smiles and talking animatedly. Ron was among them and he approached to us.

“Aren’t you two going to meet your godson?” he asked, looking at Harry and then at me with a reproachful look I could swear he copied from me when I used to scold them back at Hogwarts.

We both stood up and followed Ron to the room where Liz was. Ron opened it softly and motioned us to come in.

“Are you sure this is alright?” I whispered. “Liz must be tired, she probably wants to get some sleep...”

“Yes, but she asked me to brought you two here first,” Ron said, closing the door behind us.

Liz smiled at us from the bed. She looked exhausted, but incredibly happy. Beside her, was a small cradle with the most beautiful baby I’ve ever seen (call me biased, if you want). I could feel my eyes watering at the mere sight of him, and all of the sudden I was turned into sappy Hermione.

“Do you want to hold him?” Liz asked in a soft voice, exchanging a happy glance with Ron.

“Can I?” I asked, uncertainly.

“Of course,” Ron answered for her. “I think Brendon would like that.”

I approached the cradle and slowly picked up the new Weasley. I knew I must have looked really weird lifting Brendon with so much hesitancy, but I felt as if it would broke as soon as I touched it. I heard Ron’s chuckle when Brendon made a noice and I gasped. It wasn’t the first baby I ever had in my arms, but it was certainly the smallest.

While I held him and looked at him, I felt Harry coming from behind to look at him better. We exchanged a look and Harry smiled at me warmly... I didn’t know if my lip was trembling because of that or the emotion of seeing my best friend’s son... Or maybe both. Harry carressed Brendon’s cheek and then his hand lingered in mine.

I left Brendon in his cradle and kissed Liz on the cheek. “Congratulations,” I said. “I’ll come to see you tomorrow, okay?”

Harry kissed her as well and followed me to the door.

“Harry, Hermione,” Ron said before we left. “Could you please wait outside for me a bit? I need to talk to you.”

We nodded at the same time, knowing very well what he would say.

* * *

Ron waited until Harry and Hermione had come out to let out a sigh.

“What is it?” Liz asked, from the bed.

“Nothing.” His wife raised an eyebrow. “Okay, something is going on, but it’s not time to talk about it... you have to rest now.”

“I’m not tired,” Liz protested. Ron smirked. “Maybe a little... But if this is about Harry and Hermione, the sleep time can wait.”

Ron sat at the edge of the bed. “When I flooed them today to let them know we were here, I found them screaming at each other. I mean really screaming. Not even my mum could reach that volume. I’ve seen Harry angry like that, but Hermione too? God, you should have seen them, Liz.”

“Well, sometimes couples argue, Ron. Even Harry and Hermione. They are not different just because they were best friends before...”

“I know. But this was so weird... Everything is so weird now with them. I don’t get what is going on between them. Harry and Cho, Hermione and Alan, Harry who wants to get married but then Hermione doesn’t and the Hermione calls Harry a coward---” Ron stopped when he realized how confusing all that sounded. “I wish I could do something to help them, I’m used to be one of the fighters, not the mediator.”

Liz grabbed his hand. “Ronnie... Can I tell you something?”

Ron looked at her and nodded.

“Swear to me that you won’t tell anyone about this.”

Ron looked at her suspiciously, but nodded again.

“Swear to me that you won’t do anything about it either.”

“What with all the swe---”

“Just swear,” Liz said, serious.

“Alright. I swear.”

* * *

Only Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Mrs. Greene and Ginny were still in the waiting room when Harry and I went back. We exchanged a few words and then we silently headed to a couch in the corner. We sat down and we both waited for the other to say something.

Five minutes passed.

How incredibly absurd the whole situation was.

Hermione, who cares who started it? Just finish it. Now.

“I don’t think there’s anything between you and Alan,” he spoke suddenly.

I turn to look at him.

“I know there isn’t... I’m sorry about what I said. I was a jerk. I shouldn’t have brought up those things up, let alone yell to you...”

“I’m sorry too,” I said, swallowing. “I wasn’t very nice myself.” My voice shook a little.

Another silence followed. “Do you really think I would cheat on you with Cho?” Harry broke it.

“I never said that. Of course I don’t think so, Harry.”

“Good. Because I can’t see why you’d think I would want to be with her when I have you.”

I looked in his eyes and I knew he meant it. He smiled again and grabbed my hand. He kissed the back of it and then squeezed it. I moved closer to him and kissed him softly on the lips. Harry stole a glance at where Mrs. Weasley was with the rest and then kissed me again. Then, he backed away and sighed.

“Hermione... There’s something I need to ask you.”

* * *

A/N: Okay I know! You hate cliffies! But I promise I won’t leave you waiting too long for this!!

Thanks to Nitya for suggesting me Ron’s son name!

14. It

Author Note: I know, I took really long again. But it was only because I wanted this update to be the last one. Yes, you read right, the story is finished! Finally! Took me almost a year, which is totally unaproppiated for such a short fic, but I lost interest in the middle and started really hating this story. I’d be satisfied if at least you had fun while reading it.

That said, I want to thank Nitya for betaing this and Kris, because if it hadn’t been for her nagging I would have taken much longer to finish this.

Chapter 14 – It’s All Over

“What is it, Harry?”

Harry hesitated . . . Those words had come out of his mouth without him planning it. Hermione was looking at him expectantly. Was he about to propose? Why not? Why keep procrastinating? But once look around him made him desist. He was in a hospital, with Ron about to come in any minute now and there were too many eyes on them. Not to mention that he wasn’t carrying the ring with him and there were still things that needed to be cleared up between him and Hermione. They had apologized because of the things said during that fight, but the problems behind it were still there. Certainly not the romantic environment he had planned all along.

“Umm . . . Here is not the right place to talk about that,” Harry said, stealing a glance at Mrs. Weasley, who was whispering something with Mrs. Greene and pointing at them.

Hermione followed Harry’s gaze and understood what he meant. Harry could tell she was curious and wanted to ask, but maybe because they were still shaky after their fight, she didn’t. Instead she leaned back on the couch. “We indeed have a lot to talk about,” she said in a low voice.

Harry nodded his agreement. “Tomorrow we could go out of London for the day . . .”

Hermione shook her head. “I can’t. I have to help my parents, remember? They’re moving.”

The Grangers were moving to a new house and had asked their daughter for help, since her spells would definitely help to make the work faster and easier. Harry had offered his help as well, but Hermione had insisted he should rest on Sunday after the match. He was still in the middle of the Quidditch season and needed all the rest he could have.

Harry thought that having Hermione away for the day could be a good thing to clear up his thoughts a little. He was very confused by all the things they had “discussed” earlier in the day and he wanted to make sure there would be no sore spots between them when he finally asked what he had been wanting all this time.

* * *

Ron stared at Liz with a perplexed expression.

“You mean that Hermione is waiting for Harry to propose?”

Liz nodded.

“And she thinks he doesn’t want to get married yet?”

Again, she nodded.

“And Harry, on the other hand, thinks that Hermione doesn’t have plans to marry yet?”

Liz sighed and nodded for a third time.

“And all this time they’ve been fighting because of that misunderstanding?” He stood up. “Honey, if you knew this, why didn’t you say something? You’re letting them act like that just because they’re too stupid to realize that they want the same thing.”

“Ronnie, it’s not my position to solve this.” Ron opened his mouth, and she shook her head slowly. “And as much as you love them, you can’t meddle either.”

“You’re asking too much. I can’t stand seeing them like that with no motives. If only I could tell Harry that Hermione . . .”

“No,” Liz interrupted. “They have to do this for themselves.”

“Obviously, they alone can’t do it, Liz,” Ron said, rolling his eyes. “It wouldn’t be meddling, just encouragement.”

Liz patted the spot beside her on the bed and Ron sat down. “Don’t you see? All their relationship had been on everyone’s eye. Not only the press, but their friends, Hermione’s parents, your family . . . even us. If someone interferes in this, then they will never learn to shut the door.”

Ron looked confused. “I wish I knew what you mean by that.”

Liz laughed. “It’s okay if you don’t. The important thing, Ronald Weasley, is that you promised you wouldn’t say a thing. So I’m expecting you to keep your word.”

“Fine,” Ron sighed. “I better go and knock some sense into them now . . . And I mean because of their fight,” he added when she glared at him.

“Ron?” Liz called when he reached the door. “I would look out for that Cho Chang.”

* * *

“Be careful with that honey, it’s the only memory I have from my grandmother,” my mum said looking apprehensively at the crystal vase flying over her head.

We had already unpacked everything and I was helping them to move the things around the house. I was in a particular good mood that day. I had talked to Ron in the morning, who had said that Liz had been allowed to go home but was supposed to rest for a few days. Harry and I had been on very good terms. I was glad we weren’t angry at each other anymore, although I knew our argument wasn’t really solved. Only on the surface. The motives behind it still needed to be discussed. But I was hopeful that everything would turn out fine this time. Harry had said he would have dinner ready when I came back. I was looking forward to that.

It was almost six o’clock in the evening and I was helping my mum to organize her photo albums. That task was taking us a lot more time than all the previous things we’d done, because we opened every album and commented on each picture.

“Look, here is my wedding album,” my mum said, looking at the white book fondly. I had seen that book a million times, and as much as I loved it, I had learnt to back away from my mum when she started thinking about the word wedding.

She must have sensed my vacillation (mothers know everything, don’t they), because she said “Don’t worry, I won’t bring the subject of your engagement to Harry up.”

“Mum, we’re not engaged,” I said, grabbing another album and flipping the pages. It was from my fifth birthday party.

“But you will be sometime, won’t you?” she said, smiling at me.

I didn’t answer and kept looking at the album.

“You know what your problem is?” my mum asked, taking the album from my hands and forcing me to look at her in the eye. “You’re too schematic.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“it means that you have all this outlines of what do you want in your life . . . You overanalyze things, and if I didn’t know better I’d say you even have charts for all your moves. You’re obviously expecting Harry to go and propose to you in some traditional way and you can’t take to break that scheme . . .”

“That’s not exactly true—” I tried to protest.

“It is, and you know it. You know, you should just sit down and tell him what you’ve been thinking. So what if he doesn’t surprise you. So what if he doesn’t get on his knee with a ring and ask you to marry him. Sometimes, women have to take this matter into their own hands.”

I didn’t give my mum the satisfaction of knowing her words had made more sense to me than most of the things I had heard lately.

* * *

When I arrived to my flat that night, I had decided something. Who cared about old fashion? It would be better to just talk to Harry and ask him how he felt about our relationship. Was he ready for the next step? Did he think we needed some more time? I was sure that once I got out off my chest all my doubts and concerns, thing would start to get better. Much better.

I quickly changed my clothes – which were full of dust, honestly, I had forgotten how dirty and messy was the basement of my parents’ house – and apparated in Harry’s flat. I felt like this would be a great night for us.

I should have known I was expecting too much when I heard that first sob.

Because, you see, the first thing I saw when I set foot in Harry’s living room was the person I wanted to see the least.

Yeah, you guessed who it was.

Cho Chang, looking a lot less beautiful that she always does. She was sitting on Harry’s couch, clutching a glass of water and sobbing. She looked very distraught, and it took me a whole minute to forget my soft heart and remember who are we talking about.

Harry was kneeling in front of her, looking extremely complicated. He was obviously trying to comfort her, but his face revealed that he didn’t know exactly what to do. He noticed I was standing there and looked at me, helpessly.

“What’s going on?” I asked aloud and Cho turned her head to look at me briefly.

“Er . . .” Harry stood up and walked towards me. “Cho is crying,” he said in a barely audible voice.

“Really.” I folded my arms. “Why is she here?”

“She got kicked out of her building. She has nowhere to go, and she came here . . .”

“Of course she came here! Why would she go to any of her other friends’ houses? To Padma’s, for example?” I asked, not caring if she heard me.

“Hermione,” Harry said, looking at Cho, “she’s in trouble.”

“And why do you have to help her, Harry? I’ve already told you that she’s not a nice person! And you and I were supposed to have a conversation tonight, remember?”

“I didn’t know she would come,” Harry whispered furiously. “Look at her, she’s not alright!”

“That’s not my problem!”

“Hermione, you’ve always been the first to offer a helping hand . . . I can’t believe what you’re saying now.”

“I’m willing to help anyone, but not her! Not after what she’s done to me!”

“I can let her stay here and I can’t go to your flat tonight—” Harry started, but I shook my head.

“If she stays here, I’m leaving.”

“What are you asking? I can’t just throw her out!”

“That’s an idea.”

“But . . .” Harry fell silent and gave me an anguished look.

I glared at him. “Fine,” I whispered and disapparated.

* * *

“I’m sorry if I caused you trouble,” Cho managed to say between sobs. “I can leave--- if you want.”

“It’s okay,” Harry said, still looking at the spot where Hermione had just disappeared. “You can stay here if you want. I have something to do.”

And before Cho could say anything else, he disapparated too.

* * *

Ron was having his second piece of cake when the banging on the door startled him. He shot a look at his wife, who was resting on the sofa near the fireplace, and stood up quickly to open the door and whoever was causing so much noise. He was ready to tell off anyone who was daring to wake up his son on his first day at home, but the angry words stayed inside his mouth when he saw it was Hermione, teary eyed and rapidly breathing standing in the doorway.

She saw it was him the one who had opened the door and quickly jumped into his arms, crying. Ron had seen Hermione and her emotional outbursts more than once and he had never been sure what to do in those cases. He managed to close the door behind them.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, although he had the feeling it involved Harry.

“He’s a prat, Ron,” Hermione said, pulling apart from him and wiping the tears that were on her face. “He’s the thickest, most insensitive arsehole in the world!”

“I thought those lovely adjectives were reserved only for me,” he commented, but knew in an instant that she wasn’t in the mood for jokes. “What happened now?” he asked, sighing.

“She is staying at his apartment!”

“Who?”

“Cho!” Hermione exclaimed.

“Cho is staying at Harry’s apartment?”

“That’s what I said, Ron,” Hermione said, rolling her eyes.

“Why?”

“Do you have time to hear it?”

* * *

Ron nodded and motioned me to follow him to the living room. I sighed, and discarded my cloak. I didn’t want to go back to my flat, and though I knew I shouldn’t be barging into Ron and Liz’s house like that, it was either that or going to my parents’ and facing a million questions I didn’t feel like answering.

What I didn’t expect was seeing Remus Lupin sitting on Ron’s couch, talking to Liz and having a cup of tea.

They both looked up when I entered, and I realized I must be quite a sight. My cheeks were red with anger and my eyes accused that I had been crying.

“Hello, Hermione,” Remus said, smiling and acting as if nothing was going on. “I came to meet the new member of the family and Ron and Liz were nice enough to invite me a cup of tea . . .”

I greeted him, trying to smile, but it was easy to tell I wasn’t in a cheerful mood.

“Ron,” I said, pulling him to a corner, “do you mind if I stay here tonight?”

He gave me a look. “You know I don’t, but wouldn’t it be better if you went back and talked to—”

“I don’t want to talk to him now! I don’t want to be close to them.”

He knew he wouldn’t get anywhere pressing the situation, so he nodded and led me to one of the many rooms in his house. I thanked him and promised I would explain everything in the morning.

Needless to say, this was going to be one awful night.

* * *

“What happened?” Liz asked as soon as Ron came back to the living room.

“Guess,” Ron supplied, sitting down.

“Don’t tell me she and Harry had another row.”

Ron nodded. Remus looked at both with raised eyebrows.

“Harry and Hermione are having trouble?”

“As weird as that sounds, yes.”

“I had no idea . . . Why?”

Ron and Liz explained the situation to him. Remus was trustworthy so they told him everything they knew, including Liz’s theory about the non meddling thing.

“Well . . . It’s understandable, I guess,” Remus said when they finished, leaving his now empty cup of tea aside.

“Understandable?” Ron asked, surprised. “Care to explain to us?”

“Harry is not used to see everything going right in his life, Ron,” Remus said, simply. “That’s why he is so insecure about proposing to her. He still can’t believe that he is living a peaceful life with the woman he loves. Somewhere in his mind, he believes that it could disappear any minute. And Hermione . . . well, she must have insecurities of her own. Besides, she can sense Harry is insecure, and she must be interpreting that as an insecurity about their relationship . . . It’s strange how the mind of those in love works, really.”

Ron looked at him slightly confused, but Liz smiled. “You’re right, Mr. Lupin. That must be it.”

“I still think we should just tell Hermione what Harry has been doing, or tell Harry what Hermione wants so they can stop this nonsense now!”

Both Remus and Liz shook their heads. “If they don’t overcome those insecurities by themselves, they will most likely have trouble later. Trust me, they’ll come up stronger after this,” Remus said.

“How come you know so much about this stuff Remus?”

“The fact that I’m not married does not mean I don’t know about how relationships works, Ron,” he replied patiently.

* * *

I was aware that Ron and Liz were looking at me while I was picking at my food. I could see them making signs at the other to say something. We were having breakfast in their big dining room. Ron was already up, ready to go to training and Liz, who was supposed to be resting, had insisted on having breakfast at the table. Brendon was sleeping in his cradle. According to Ron’s first comment in the morning, he spent half of the night crying, but I didn’t hear him. I guess I was too focused imagining what Cho could be doing in Harry’s apartment . . .

“Hermione . . .” Ron started, finally, “are you going to talk to Harry?”

“Maybe,” I replied curtly.

“He must be really worried . . .”

“You think so? I think he’s too busy with Cho,” I said, scowling.

“You don’t mean that,” Liz cut in.

I looked up, defeated. “What am I supposed to think? After all that has happened lately, he should know that her presence in his apartment is not exactly the way to fix this relationship.”

“Come on, Hermione, try to put yourself in his place,” Ron said, in a small voice. “If Cho arrived to his flat crying, what was he going to do but let her in? You know how he is. He wouldn’t have kicked her out even if she was Snape.”

I knew that. My logic had been shouting that at me all night. But the emotional side had evidently won, as I felt angrier at him for letting her get in the middle with every passing minute.

“Maybe this is a sign . . .” I said, sighing.

“A sign of what?”

“That maybe this was never meant to happen.”

Ron snorted. “That’s crap.” Liz elbowed him in the ribs. “Ouch!” he exclaimed, looking at his wife. “It is! Hermione, you really don’t believe that.”

“I don’t know, Ron,” I said, shaking my head. “I mean, look at us. Friends for fifteen years and we rarely ever argued. And now we can’t even be in the same room without having a go at each other. I always thought that this was the future I would have with you . . .”

“Hermy, everything would be solved if you and Harry just talked about it.”

“Well, tell that to him . . . I was ready to talk to him yesterday—”

My rant was cut off by a loud banging on the door. Ron grumbled and stood up quickly before Brendon was awakened by it. Three seconds later, I heard Harry’s voice clearly.

“She is here, isn’t she? Please, Ron, tell me she is here!”

“Calm down, Harry,” Ron’s muffled voice said.

“I know she didn’t go to her parents’ and she didn’t go back to her apartment last night—”

Harry’s voice disappeared and before I had the chance to wonder why, Ron and him came inside the dining room. Ron drank the last sip of coffee before saying a quick goodbye and Liz apologized and left the room with Brendon, while Harry and I just stared at each other.

After a long moment of silence, he said: “I was worried.”

“You shouldn’t have been,” I said slowly, playing with my toast. “I’m alright.”

“Yes, but you didn’t come home last night,” he said, sitting across from me. “Before you left, I went to your flat and waited for you there . . .”

I didn’t say anything. At least he hadn’t slept in the same place than Cho, or so he said.

“Hermione, I am really sorry for what happened. When she came to my place, crying I really didn’t know what to do—”

“You don’t need to explain me anything, Harry,” I said.

“Yes. Yes I do, or else you wouldn’t be here, would you?” he sighed. “Look, I know you are upset—”

“You know what makes me upset, Harry?” I interrupted again. He waited. “That after I told you she’s been clearly doing something to create trouble for us you still keep letting her do it.”

He was silent for a second. “Do you really think that any trouble we might have is because of Cho Chang?”

Something stung in my eyes, but I forced myself to look at him. “You’re right. It’s not her. It’s us.”

I stood up and he followed me. “I—I didn’t mean . . .”

“No, Harry. I think that’s exactly the problem. We don’t know what we are doing anymore.” He opened his mouth to speak but I waved my hand. “Let me finish.” I took a deep breath. “I think . . . I think we need some time apart.”

“What? That’s not . . .”

“I’m not saying this is a definite thing. We just need to be alone and think about this . . . I’m afraid that if we keep pulling the string it will all fall apart, Harry. I don’t want that. I couldn’t bear to lose you. So please, please just take sometime to reflect on what you really want to do, okay?”

Harry looked at me, shocked. He stood up too and walked over to where I was. I had to look down to avoid his intense green gaze.

“Are you sure about this?” he whispered.

Not finding my voice, I nodded.

“Fine.”

Looking down, he left Ron’s house.

* * *

It had happened. Somehow, she knew it had. The breaking down she had been expecting was there. She had to be quick before they fixed it. She wished she had had more time to plan something better. But really, who cared about originality when what she had in mind would be effective anyway?

Cho gazed at Harry talking quietly to Wood in the corner. He looked awful. He hadn’t even apologized for leaving her alone at his house all night. She guessed he had been too busy with Hermione. Cho couldn’t describe how good it felt to turn the tide. Long ago, it had been her who was getting jealous over Hermione. And now, she had taught that petty witch a lesson.

She had observed Harry most of the day. He seemed pretty off . . . even angry. He didn’t talk to her, and she knew it was wiser to keep a little distance. The last thing she needed was Harry snapping at her. During a training match, Harry somehow had managed to throw a Bludger to Alan square in the head. He had muttered an “oops, sorry,” but anyone could tell he didn’t mean it. Oliver had yelled for half an hour. Alan had looked really confused. Harry had stormed out of the Pitch to the locker room and had only come out a half hour later.

In the state Harry was in, it would be all easier for her.

* * *

I couldn’t stop thinking about Harry all morning. Had I made the right choice? Thinking about it, the idea of taking some distance was quite absurd considering we lived right next to each other and we had the same friends. Maybe it was better to settle this right away. Argh! Why did it have

to be so complicated?

At lunchtime, I closed my office and went over to the Cannons’ pitch, determined to talk to Harry and tell him my new resolution. The sad look that he had in the morning had been haunting me until it had become unbearable.

When I apparated there, they were still training. Only Oliver and Alan were on the ground, Oliver with his arms folded and looking quite upset, while Alan was holding a bag of ice to his head.

The last thing I wanted was to talk to Alan after all the troubles that had caused our last conversation, but, to my dismay, as soon as he spotted me he approached, smiling slightly.

“Hello Hermione,” he greeted.

“Hey Alan,” I said half heartedly.

“I didn’t know you’d come here today.”

I didn’t say anything and my eyes searched for Harry who was flying up. I couldn’t see his face but their lunchtime was about to start. The last thing I wanted was for him to see me talking to Alan, and I racked my brain to find a good excuse to get away from him without being rude.

“Listen, Hermione, we never got the chance to finish our conversation . . .”

“Hermione, fancy seeing you here.”

I turned around and looked at Cho Chang who had just landed next to us. She had a small smile and I felt the urge to take my wand out and wipe it from her face.

“Am I interrupting something?” she asked, looking at Alan and then at me.

“No,” I said.

“Yes,” Alan said at the same time.

Cho’s smile went wider. It was then when Harry appeared out of nowhere. I didn’t even notice when he landed, but he has obviously seen us from above.

“Hermione, what are you doing here?” he asked quietly, his eyes more fixed on Alan than on me.

“I . . . came to talk to you,” I said in a low voice.

“Right. Then what are you doing here with Wagner?”

I felt my face growing hot, and I’m not sure if it was because of the anger or the embarrassement.

“We were just talking, Harry,” Alan said in a calm voice before I could respond.

“I’m not talking to you,” Harry snarled in a tone I hadn’t heard in a long time. I noticed that Oliver was coming closer and the rest of the team was landing close to us.

“Hey, calm down, what is it—”

But before Alan could finish that sentence, Harry hit him square in the face and he stumbled backwards, looking at Harry with widened eyes.

“Potter, what the hell are you doing!?” growled Oliver stepping in front of Harry.

“Stay away from this, Oliver,” Harry said, still looking at Alan. “My patience has a limit.”

“I have no idea what are you on about,” Alan said, touching the place where Harry had hit him and wincing.

“I’ll tell you what this is about,” Harry said, and took a step towards him.

“Harry, stop!” I exclaimed, with the intention to get in between, but it wasn’t necessary, since Oliver and the rest of the team got in the middle and a heated argument began.

“Unbelieavable, isn’t it?” Cho asked. She was standing beside me, looking at the scene with an amused expression. She didn’t wait for me to say anything. “How can a man like Harry even bother for a witch like you?”

“You’d want him to care about you instead?” I asked, turning to look at her in the eye. She just smiled. “I know what you are doing. And if you think I’ll let you, you obviously don’t know me at all.”

“Oh, but I do know you, Hermione. I know what kind of woman you are. Strong and smart, but full of insecurities.” She chuckled. “You may be a great witch, but you know you are not what Harry needs.”

I stayed silent, looking at her dark eyes while they twinkled.

“Harry, whether he likes it or not, is a celebrity. People look up to him and soon enough he’ll realize that he needs another type of girl at his side. You know you are not good enough for him,” she whispered in my ear and then walked away.

“Hermione, I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you to leave,” Oliver said, walking to me. He gave me an exaspearated look before going back to where the argument kept going.

He didn’t need to say any more.

* * *

I don’t know how much time passed after I left that place. I was sitting in a small cafe that was next to the Ministry, trying hard to control my emotions. I was angry at myself for not having been able to retort to Cho like I had pictured so many times in my head, but when she had said those things, my mind had gone completely blank. Now I wanted to say so many things to her, that I would have gladly went back to the Pitch . . . But I couldn’t.

And what the hell was wrong with Harry, anyway? Why did he react with such violence? Everything was going so disgustingly bad . . . I felt like my relationship was going directly to the trash can and I was helpless to do anything about it.

“They told me in your office that you were here.”

I looked up at the sound of that voice that I didn’t want to hear again. There was Alan, standing in front of me. His face was a little flushed, and he looked slightly unnerved.

“Alan, I really don’t want to talk right now,” I said, taking a sip of my already empty cup of tea.

He sat in front of me, as if he hadn’t heard me. “Look, I must say I’m extremely confused about what happened today . . .”

“That makes two of us,” I said. “Listen, in case you haven’t noticed, I’m not having the best of days, so could we please leave this for later? You have caused me enough trouble already,” I blurted. There went my politeness.

Alan blinked and look down. “It was never my intention to cause you any trouble,” he said. “I just needed to talk to you about this thing I’m feeling.”

“Alan, please . . .”

“I don’t understand!” Alan interrupted. It seemed that he wasn’t even hearing what I was saying. “First, Harry throws a Bludger to my head, and then he hits me because I was talking to you . . . I mean, I knew I would have trouble with Weasley, but not with him too.”

I looked at him blankly . . . That didn’t male any sense.

“Are you talking about Ron?”

He nodded.

“Why would you have trouble with Ron? He is not my boyfriend.”

He looked at me strangely. “I know that,” he said. “But he is Ginny’s brother.”

“. . . Ginny?”

“Yeah... I’ve heard terrible stories about him hexing the men that approach his sister . . .”

“You fancy Ginny? Is that what you are saying?” I asked in disbelief.

“Yes, that’s what I’ve been trying to tell you all this time! I don’t know how to talk to her, and I doubt she would ever notice me, that’s why I thought that maybe you, who are her best friend could . . . Why are you laughing?”

I couldn’t stop the laughter. The whole situation was so ironic that if I didn’t know better, I would have said that someone was playing a prank on me. Alan stared at me with confusion while I laughed so hard that the people at the other tables were probably wondering if I was drunk. Of course, there was a lot of bitterness mixed in there . . .

“For Merlin’s sake, Alan,” I said, when I was finally able to talk. “Ginny fancies you . . . She has for a long time. All you have to do is go and ask her out. And those stories about Ron . . . Well, they were true before he got married. Now I think you are safe.”

“Really?” he asked, his eyes lit up. I nodded. “I know you would help me . . . And I didn’t mean to cause you trouble with Harry . . . Although I still can’t figure out what his problem is.”

I shook my head and watched him leave; wondering what would Ginny say when she realized that her beloved Alan wasn’t really a very bright guy.

* * *

Harry was flying in circles on his broom. He remembered fondly those times when flying had the ability to take his mind off his problems. Everyone was gone already, but he didn’t feel like going home yet. The least he wanted to do was to be close to Hermione if he couldn’t actually be with her.

But she had come to the pitch today. That would have given him a little hope if he hadn’t acted like such a prat. What had gotten into him? Punching Alan . . . He couldn’t remember punching someone before, except Malfoy, maybe. But he couldn’t help it. He was upset because of Hermione wanting to take some time off . . . And that bloody Wagner taking advantage of that was something he wasn’t willing to accept.

And to think that only a week ago he was thinking about proposals. He couldn’t even have a normal relationship.

He got tired and landed on the ground. Maybe he could go to Ron’s . . . Although Hermione might have had the same idea. He wasn’t sure if it would be good to run into her now. Perhaps visiting Hagrid. Yes, that would be nice . . . He started walking towards the lockers when he noticed Cho standing by them, her arms crossed and a serious look on her face.

“I was waiting for you to come down,” she said. “There’s something I’d like to talk about with you.”

Harry eyed her warily. Ever since Hermione had told him about her suspicions concerning Cho, he had tried to keep his distance. Even more that day, now that Hermione was on the brink of dumping him forever, thanks to her brilliant idea of showing up at his house.

“I’m in a hurry,” he said. “Can it wait?”

Cho shook his head. “Please. It’s really important.”

“But . . .”

“I wouldn’t be asking you this if it wasn’t crucial, Harry.”

Harry looked at her pleading eyes, hesitating. It seemed really important, but he didn’t want to have more problems with Hermione . . . After a moment, he made a decision. “I’m sorry, Cho, but it will have to wait,” he said, passing by her.

“I love you, Harry.”

* * *

The breeze had turned colder and I was still sitting in the same spot. The momentary amusement that had enveloped me after Alan’s confession had been replaced with even more bitterness. To think that Harry and I had argued about an inexistent problem!

But that wasn’t the root of it and I knew it. With or without Alan, Harry and I would probably still be like this. I wasn’t even sure if it was Cho’s fault anymore . . . Her words, that at first had sounded so absurd, were eating me up inside now. What if she was telling the truth? What if I wasn’t the woman that Harry needed? Sure, I had done a great job as his friend, but what about as his girlfriend?

Maybe that was the reason why Harry didn’t want to get married.

“Excuse me, young lady.”

I looked up and saw an old woman smiling at me. “Yeah?” I said, wiping a tear and trying to hide the fact that I was feeling miserable.

“Would you mind if I sit down? I’m waiting for my husband and all the other seats are taken.”

I motioned for her to sit down, not very happy about it. I wasn’t in the mood for chatting with a complete stranger.

She sat down, and for a while remained silent. I was entertained looking at my already cold cup of tea, but after a moment I looked up to find the old lady staring at me.

“You look sad,” she said, opening her bag and lending me a tissue. I took it, still looking at her. “May I ask why such a young and beautiful girl is sitting by herself, looking so gloomy?”

“I have problems with my boyfriend,” I said reluctantly.

“Ah, figured it was a problem of the heart,” the old lady said.

“We’ve been together for a while . . . We were best friends before . . . And for sometime everything was wonderful,” I started babbling. It actually felt good to tell this to an objective person that didn’t know me or Harry, and could actually say what she really thought. “But now all is a mess. His old girlfriend came back and is determined to take him away from me.”

“Is she succeeding?” she asked gently.

I pondered the question. “I don’t know. But with or without her, things are bad,” I said, blowing my nose. “I think he’s having second thoughts about us.”

“Why would you think that?”

“Well, he seems terrified of getting married, for example. After all we’ve been together, he is still unsure about our relationship to hold back . . . Don’t you think that’s strange?”

The lady shook her head. “Sometimes we only see what we want to see, don’t you think so?” I looked at her strangely. What kind of answer was that? “I have some experience in this engagement area, you know?” she continued, giving me another tissue. “I happen to have a store . . . I sell engagement rings.”

“Really?”

She nodded. “It’s called ‘Bonds’.”

The name was familiar but I didn’t know the store myself. “You must know a lot about this kind of problem between couples then,” I said. “Although you get the easiest part, when they have already decided to commit.”

The old lady smiled. “I’ve seen everything, dear. Sometimes, I see men that are so nervous about buying the ring, that I have to choose it for them. Others have a woman who’s the one who drags them there. But I’ve also seen young men determined and very much in love. With one look in their eyes, I can tell they are making the right choice. The other day, for example . . .” she paused for a second and asked for a cup of tea to one of the waiters. Then she turned to me again. “Where was I?”

“You were going to say something about the other day . . .” I said, my head in my hand and looking at the lady with interest.

“Oh yes! Well, I was saying that there are some men that are able to make a right choice. For example, Harry Potter.”

“Who?” I snapped.

“Harry Potter. You surely know him, right?”

“Yeah . . . What was he doing at your store?” I asked, a strange feeling inside.

The old lady looked around. “I shouldn’t tell you this, after all, discretion is our motto at ‘Bonds’. But he bought a ring for his girlfriend. He even had it pictured in his mind how he wanted. He took my favorite one. Then, he came back few days later. Apparently, he had lost the ring, so I made another one exactly like the first one for him.”

I looked at her with my mouth opened. “He bought an engagement ring?”

“Yes. And he seemed very happy about it. He even said he’d invite me to his wedding. Can you imagine me? At a celebrity’s wedding?” she said, giggling.

I didn’t know what to say or think. Harry had a ring . . . Could it be possible that I had mistaken his attitude? That he was, actually, planning to ask me to marry him while I was thinking he didn’t want to? I remembered that night in the Burrow when I had said out loud that I didn’t want to get married. That I wanted a career. I had followed Ginny’s stupid advice . . .

That’s where things had started to go wrong. We both wanted the same, yet were thinking the other didn’t. It was a terrible mess!

I stood up and almost knocked the chair. “Thank you,” I said to the old lady.

She looked up at me and winked. “No problem, Miss Granger.”

“You . . . you know who I am?”

“Of course. Now go, child, I’m sure he is waiting for you.”

* * *

Kudos to the smart readers that had figured out about Alan and Ginny =D!

15. Conclusion

Chapter 15 – Conclusion

Harry stopped dead in his tracks and turned around to look at Cho. “What?”

“I do.”

The first thought that crossed Harry’s mind was that Hermione had been right about that. He was suddenly reminded of that time before Cho left school when she asked him to be together again. He had said no – he was in love with Hermione by then. And he still was.

“Cho, I . . .”

“I know what you’ll say,” she interrupted. “But if you only give me one chance, I’m sure you’d see that I’m the right woman for you. Not Hermione.”

Harry shook his head and walked to her. “Hermione is the right woman for me, Cho.” Cho sighed and sat down on a bench. Harry sat down beside her. “I’m sorry.”

“I don’t understand. Why would you want to be with someone like her?” she whispered, her eyes watery.

“Because . . .” Harry struggled to look for the right words to describe how he felt. “She is the only person that can make me truly happy. I don’t know how to explain it, but I feel empty if I’m not with her.”

“She doesn’t deserve you,” Cho said, wiping a tear. “She ignored you for nine years and now she is still making you suffer.”

“None of this is Hermione’s fault,” Harry said. “I don’t think you’ll be able to understand . . . You don’t know her. But she is the woman I chose and you should be able to respect that.”

Cho bit her lip and looked at Harry in the eye. “If you just let me—” she started, leaning forward.

“No,” Harry said, pushing her back. “Cho, please don’t do this.”

“What are you scared of? That maybe if you kiss me you will feel something?”

Harry looked at her, surprised. “Of course not,” he said sincerely.

“Prove it.”

“I don’t have time for childish games,” Harry said, starting to get up, but Cho held his hand.

“You are so noble, Harry,” she said, smiling. “You reject me . . . But do you think Hermione had this same resolution to stop Alan’s advances?”

Harry didn’t notice he had sat down again. “What are you talking about?”

“Oh Harry,” Cho said, looking sadly at him. “I heard him talking to Blair in the locker room. He said that Hermione had came earlier to tell him you and her were separated. He was going to meet her in some café . . . Haven’t you noticed that Alan fancies Hermione?”

“There is nothing between Alan and Hermione,” Harry said,

“Maybe there wasn’t, until now . . . But Hermione might be very sad for what happened between the two of you . . . ” Cho said. “Don’t you think Alan will take the chance when he sees she is vulnerable?”

Cho’s word had some effect on Harry. He was surprised and seemed to be pondering what she was saying, and before he realized what was happening, she leaned quickly to kiss him.

Her lips have barely touched his when he jerked away. “Hermione!” he exclaimed standing up and looking at the woman who had just apparated in front of them. Cho turned around to catch a glimpse of Hermione. She was looking at both of them with a horrifed expression. Cho smiled triumphantly.

“It’s not what you think . . .” Harry started, cursing himself for using such a cliché, which would obviously get him in more trouble.

Hermione took two steps back. “I’m glad to know that you are not so devastated about our separation,” she said, evidently trying to control the quivering in her voice.

“No, Hermione, you have it all wrong!”

“In that you are right, Harry,” Hermione said, looking at him with a hurt expression. “You have no idea how stupid I feel right now,” she added, before giving him one last look and disapparating.

Harry turned to Cho. “Why did you do that!?” he demanded, angrily.

“I couldn’t help it, Harry,” she said, “besides, I bet Alan--”

“Alan has nothing to do with Hermione!” Harry said, and disapparated too.

Cho sighed, but then a smile crept to her face. She had heard Hermione apparating there and she had taken her chance. Now it would be only a matter of time until Harry was hers.

* * *

Harry tried apparating inside Hermione’s apartment, but she had blocked him out. He tried knocking until he could barely feel his hands, but she didn’t open. Nor answered his calls. He even tried to floo in, but she had blocked her fireplace as well.

He stayed all night awake, trying to think of ways to fix this. He hadn’t done anything wrong, but why would Hermione believe him at this point? They had been involved in so many misunderstandings already that he didn’t know if there was something left about their relationship. It was as if they had turned into different people, two strangers that have just met and not the couple of friends that had been together for so long.

Hermione, on her side, hadn’t been able to sleep either. She had the horrible sensation that Harry and her were over for good. She knew what he would say if they talked. He didn’t want to kiss Cho, she had leaned and he had been too surprised to do anything, blah, blah, blah. But the fact that he had been there with her in the first place was bad enough.

Was this what Liz had felt when Hermione kissed Ron on his wedding day?

She felt terrible. She had been complaining and hating Cho all this time when she had done the same a year ago. She and Cho were the same. And the mere thought made her want to drown herself.

But back to Harry. Why did he let her separate them? After all, if he had bought a ring so many days ago, why hadn’t he proposed yet? Maybe he was having second thoughts after all.

What Hermione needed, she realized, was time to think. But for that, she needed to stay away from Harry. Or else she would never be able to figure out how she felt about this whole ordeal or to analyze if Harry and her actually had a chance or they were to stay as friends only.

First thing in the morning she flooed Arthur Weasley.

* * *

“Hermione, this is madness,” Ron said, looking at her in the eye.

“No, it’s not Ron. I need some time for myself. And I need to do this investigation too. The only place where I can find the information I need is in this library.”

They were sitting in a corner in Hogwarts’ library. Hermione had asked Arthur to send her there so she could use their book collection to finish an investigation she had started long ago. Dumbledore had seemed delighted to have Hermione for a couple of days. And she was happy to be back at the school.

“You are hiding,” Ron stated. “And it’s not fair to Harry. He is desperate, wondering where you are. As you requested, Dad only told him that he had sent you to complete some research. He’s driving me crazy with questions.”

“I’m sorry, Ron, it will only be for a couple of days. I think you should tell Harry to use this time too. Figure out what he really wants.”

“He knows what he wants,” Ron said, closing the book that Hermione was reading at the time.

“I’m not so sure about that,” Hermione retorted, glaring at him and opening the book again.

“Why are you being so complicated?”

“Why do you always take his side?”

“It’s not about sides. It’s about me, knowing him and knowing you and realizing how stupid you both are. At least he wants to solve this.”

“He has a funny idea about solving things,” she commented, ignoring Ron’s gaze on her. “Look, Ron, in the end this will be for the best. We’ll get to know if our relationship is really meant to be or if we should take different ways.”

“Who are you trying to fool? You think I will believe that you actually consider to take a different way from Harry?”

“I need to get back to work,” Hermione said, biting her lip. “But thanks for coming by. Say hi to Liz and Brendon for me, okay?”

Ron sighed and shook his head. He had never been able to win an argument with Hermione, why would now be different?

“By the way,” he said, standing up, “really nice of you to set my sister up with that airhead Alan Wagner.”

She grinned. “I’m glad at least that worked out.”

Ron scowled and kissed her on the cheek. “Bye. Think about what I said.”

“I will . . . And Ron, thanks for coming. Remember, you can’t tell Harry where I am or I will have to hex you.”

He rolled his eyes and left her alone.

* * *

“I’m not sure if this is allowed . . .”

“Who cares? Everyone left. Wood won’t come yelling at you know.”

Alan smiled at her remark and kissed Ginny again, pushing her into the Cannons’ locker room. She giggled and put her arms around his neck, kissing him back.

They had been snogging for some time when they heard a voice approaching. Ginny grabbed Alan by the collar and pushed him against the wall so they wouldn’t be seen by whoever had just walked in.

“I told you, I have him almost eating out of my hand,” a female voice said.

“Bull shit,” a male voice answered. One that Ginny recognized immediately. She froze and tried to hear better. “You know very well that he doesn’t care about you in the slightlest.”

“What do you know?” the female voice said. “I managed to break them apart, didn’t I? I just have to give him some time to forget Granger and we are set.”

Ginny exchanged a look with Alan. He seemed surprised. She managed to sneak her head out enough to catch a glimpse of Draco Malfoy, talking to Cho Chang.

“I don’t really care what you do with Potter,” Malfoy drawled. “I must admit that you did a fair job sending Granger away. But I grew tired of this game, so I’m out.”

Cho shrugged. “Fine by me. Not that you help much.”

He scowled and walked towards the exit.

“Hey, Malfoy,” Cho called him. He turned around. “I was wondering if you’d want this as a souvenir.”

She threw something shiny to him and Malfoy caught it in the air. Ginny narrowed her eyes . . . It looked like a ring.

“You still keep it, Chang?” Malfoy asked, amused. “Why would I want this ring? Potter bought it. For Granger to make it worse,” he said, with a disgusted expression.

“It’s better if Harry doesn’t find out I took it,” Cho said. “He never knew what happened to it.”

“Potter is an idiot. Anyone with more brains would have realized what you’ve been doing.”

“Well, don’t let me entertain you, Malfoy. Go now. It wouldn’t be easy to explain if someone finds you here.”

Ginny watched Malfoy leave and then looked at Cho again. Alan had to grab her by the arm to prevent her from jumping on her throat.

When Cho had left, Ginny turned to Alan with a very angry expression. “Did you hear that?” Alan nodded, slightly confused. “I knew she was onto something, that—Urgh! She is the one responsible for all that has been happening between Harry and Hermione. Come, we have to talk to Harry.”

* * *

The day was lovely, Cho couldn’t help thinking. Hermione had been away for three days, and she had been patiently waiting for Harry to stop sulking so she could approach him. His mood wasn’t better and he remained distracted during training. Strangely, Oliver had refrained from scolding him and just looked at his Seeker with a helpless expression.

Cho had played nice, asking Harry how was he doing every time she saw him. Harry wasn’t exactly talkative with her, but at least he hadn’t yelled her to sod off and Cho took that as a good sign.

She grabbed her broom and walked towards the pitch. Harry hadn’t arrived yet, but all the rest of the team was there, gathered in the middle of the field, while Oliver talked to them. They were playing against the Tornados in two days and he wanted to keep winning.

They had been discussing tactics for half an hour when they heard Harry’s voice. He was walking towards them with a calm pace, and Cho noticed he was being followed by Ron Weasley and his annoying little sister. Beside her, was Alan Wagner, and maybe it was her imagination, but she could have sworn he smirked at her.

“Harry, you finally ar--”

“Later, Oliver,” Harry cut him off, his gaze on Cho.

“Hi Harry,” she greeted sweetly.

“Hi, Cho,” he said, smiling. “How are you today?”

It was a strange approach, considering all the team was around them, but Cho was happy that Harry was smiling at her. “Very well, and you?”

“Pretty good. I have a present for you.”

“Harry, what the hell are you--”

“Shut up, Oliver,” Alan said. Wood looked at his Beater angrily, but remained quiet.

“Really?” Cho said, feeling everyone’s gaze on her.

Harry took something out of his pocket and offered it to her. Cho took it. It was a ring. Her smile only lasted a second when she realized what ring was.

“A ring?” she asked, avoiding his eyes.

“Yes. Isn’t it lovely? I thought you might want to keep it, since you took such an effort to get it in the first place.”

“I—I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean . . .”

Harry folded his arms. His smile disappeared and now only a frown was left. “I think you know very well what I mean. It was you the one who took the ring.”

Cho looked at him with widened eyes. “What?”

“Don’t play innocent, we got you, bitch,” Ginny spoke up, glaring at her. “I heard you last night talking to Malfoy about your little plan. I took the ring when he threw it away after he left you here.”

“And that’s not all,” Ron said, moving forward and glaring at her too. “We also found out that it was you the one who invented those articles that appeared in that tabloid. You were the one who informed that sorry excuse of a journalist about where you’d be so she could take pictures of you with Harry.”

“And also with Hermione and me,” Alan chirped in.

Cho looked around. She was speechless.

“You don’t need to say anything,” Harry said. “You’ve already lied enough. Did you really think I would ever be interested in you if you managed to destroy my relationship with Hermione?” He shook his head. “You know, I was planning to say a lot of things to you today, but I think it’s not worth it. I guess the embarrassment that everyone knows what a pitiful person you are when a certain article that your friend Cassandra wrote appears in the papers tomorrow, will be more than enough.” He turned to Oliver. “I’m taking the day off,” he informed him.

Oliver could only nod, confused.

“Harry!” Cho called after him when he had turned around. “You could at least take in account all the efforts I took for you! You should be flattered that a woman like me would do all this for you.”

Harry turned around and walked up to her. “Don’t think so high of yourself, Cho,” he said. “Your beauty is not enough to cover how empty you are inside. Flattered? Ha! I’m disgusted. Goodbye.”

Cho shot him a furious look and he disapparated. Ron approached to her. “If you ever try to do something to Hermione again, I will make sure you regret it for the rest of your life.”

Ginny waited until his brother had left to finally smile at her. “Hi Cho. Remember me?” she asked sweetly. “Harry was nice enough not to hex you, like you deserve. I would have gladly done it for him, but I guess it’s just a waste of time . . .”

She turned around and had walked three steps, when she stopped. “On second thought . . .”

* * *

Hogwarts had barely changed since she had been a student there, Hermione thought, as she walked on the green grounds near the lake. She had almost forgotten how happy she had been there – even with all that had happened with Voldemort - and she was really glad to be back again. She realized that that castle, that school, was the place she loved the most and just being there gave her a peaceful sensation.

She wondered if she should go back to London. She had finished the investigation Mr. Weasley had asked her for, and there was nothing left to do. But she wasn’t sure if she wanted to face Harry. She’d been thinking a lot, but hadn’t reached a conclusion. Her reasoning was too clouded by her feelings and for the first time in many years she had absolutely no idea what to do.

She reached a tree that had always been her favorite place in the grounds. She had read, studied, and shared meaningful talks with her best friends. She stared at it, a feeling of nostalgia coming to her and for a moment she missed Harry so much that she could barely breathe.

“March 6, 1997.”

Startled at the sound of that voice, Hermione swirled around and she gasped in surprise. Harry was standing a few feet from her. He had his hands in his pockets and was looking at her with a small smile. Hermione opened her mouth to ask him — what he was doing there, who had told him she was there, why was he there . . . She wanted to tell him to go away, that she needed this time to think . . . She wanted to wipe that smile from his face and also tell him that she loved him more than anything . . . But the only thing that came from her lips was a shaky “What?”

“You once asked me since when I’ve loved you,” Harry said, walking past her to the tree. “And I said somewhere between our sixth and seventh year.”

Hermione merely nodded, remembering that conversation. It seemed so long ago, when she was begging him to forgive her for what she had done to Ron . . .

“I lied a little,” Harry said, moving his hand to touch the old tree. “I will never forget the exact date. And it was March 6th, 1997.”

Hermione stared at him. Harry sat on the lower bench and crossed his legs in an Indian style, leaning against it.

“You were sitting right here,” he continued, nonchalant, “with a book on your lap. I think it was Sense and Sensibility. And you were humming . . . How does that song go?” it was a rhetorical question, because he didn’t wait for her to answer. “Why do birds suddenly appear... every time you are near. Just like me, they long to be close to you...” he sang slowly.

Sure. It was one of her favorite songs. But she was still frozen in that spot, not able to articulate a word.

“I’m not saying that I fell in love with you right then and there,” Harry said, standing up. “I don’t know when that happened. I just know that it was that moment when I realized I was.” He walked up to her until they were inches close. “And it was in that moment that I knew something else.”

“And what is that?” she managed to whisper.

“That I wouldn’t be able to spend my life with anyone but you, as cliche as it sounds.”

Hermione let him grab her hand and held it tightly against his chest.

“Do you believe me when I say I love you more than anything?”

She nodded. Not because she had wanted to, but her body was responding more to the commands of her heart that the ones her brain was making.

“I know we’ve been silly. We let other people get in the way because we were too insecure . . . Too scared of losing each other.” He shook his head, remembering all the stupid things that had happened in the last days. “But I won’t let that interfere anymore. That’s why Hermione Granger,” he said, getting on his knee and taking out a ring from his pocket, “I’d like you to be my wife.”

Although she now knew that he’d been meaning to ask the question, she was shocked, nevertheless. Looking at him on his knees, smiling up at her and holding a ring in front of her eyes, she wondered if she wasn’t dreaming. After all, she had wished this for so long, that she could be very well mixing reality and dreams.

But no, Harry was there . . . In the very same place where they had shared so many things, the place that had brought them together and now seemed to reunite them again. Hermione’s eyes filled with tears. She remembered she had once said that when this time came she wouldn’t be like those women in movies who got all sappy when a man proposed to them. But who cared about that now?

“All this time I’ve been thinking how to do this,” Harry said, looking at her in the eye. “I planned a million things. I wanted it to be original and romantic, to surprise you and make it a memorable proposal, so one day you would tell our grandchildren this story with pride. But I forgot the most important thing . . . And that is all I need is for you to say yes to make it perfect.”

Are you sure about this? What about Cho? What about everything that has happened? What about the fact that you didn’t trust me? And I didn’t trust you either. We lied to each other. We hid things—

It had been a long time since Hermione had ordered her mind to shut up. She didn’t want to think anymore, because this time she was sure.

She smiled at Harry and took his hand until he was on his feet again. She threw her arms around him. “Yes,” she said, with the feeling of complete joy she always felt when it came to him and that she had missed these last few days.

Harry embraced her tightly, laughing. Then, he pulled away and placed the ring on her finger. “Let’s get married then,” he said, kissing her hand. Hermione nodded. “I mean now,” he said.

“Now?” Hermione asked, laughing. “Don’t you think it’s too soon? We have to let our friends know. My mum would kill me if I don’t inform her . . . And Mrs. Weasley—”

Harry shut her up with a kiss. “They already know. And they are waiting.”

Hermione eyed him, confused. “What do you mean?”

“I mean I want you to marry me now, here, at Hogwarts.”

“Have you gone crazy?” she asked, her eyes wide.

“No. If you go to the Quidditch field you’ll find everyone . . . Everything is set, Hermione. They are only waiting for us.”

Hermione stared at him, as if waiting for him to finish the joke. When she realized he was serious, she covered her mouth with her hands.

“But . . . I don’t even have a dress . . .”

Harry chuckled. “Ginny and Liz took care of that. They should be waiting for you in the castle.”

She was too amazed to say anything else.

* * *

It was the most beautiful ceremony most of the guests had ever attended. Everyone that cared about them was there, plus the Hogwarts staff (even Snape had decided to sneak his nose out of the dungeons) and every single student of the school.

Hermione was so happy, she thought she’d pass out walking down the aisle with her dad. She hadn’t even had the heart to ask how her parents could be there, being Muggles and all, but later Dumbledore had revealed her secretly that he had done some “arrangements.”

She didn’t know how or when Harry had prepared all this, and how he had managed to gather such a crowd.

“You were pretty sure that I would say yes,” she said to him when they were dancing in the party that had been organized in the Great Hall.

Harry swirled her around. “Not really. But I had to take a chance. I wanted you to see I was completely serious and sure about this.”

“But how--?”

“Ron helped,” Harry said, knowing she was asking how he’d done it. “Everyone did, actually. Arthur told me where you were after I explained the situation and Dumbledore offered Hogwarts . . . The rest was easy. It’s one of the few times I’ve been glad I’m the famous Harry Potter. People are so willing to help when they know who I am.”

She put her head on his shoulder. “This is the happiest day of my life, you know?”

“Mine too.”

“Hey, you, lovebirds!”

They turned to see Ginny dancing nearby with Alan. They were grinning happily at them. “Great party, Harry,” Alan said. “I’m sot sure if Oliver is too keen on letting you get married the day before a big game, but at least he’s not complaining.”

Harry laughed. “I’ll get something to drink. What would you like, Mrs. Potter?”

Hermione beamed at the sound of that name. “Anything you want, Mr. Granger,” she said, winking.

When Harry had left, Ginny took the chance. “Hermione, you haven’t by any chance taken a look at Whiz on the Spot today, have you?”

Hermione frowned. “I don’t want to know,” she said, scowling.

“Oh, but I’m sure you’ll like this edition,” Ginny said, smiling. “I saved you a copy for you to look later.”

“What is this about?” Hermione asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh nothing,” Ginny said. “But you’ll be happy to know that a certain sneaky tarty chaser from the Chudley Cannons should be taking a Portkey now to China.” She grinned evilly. “You don’t have to thank me, it was my pleasure.”

Hermione, who hadn’t wanted to know anything about Cho, looked at Ginny with surprise.

“What did you do to her?”

Ginny winked. “It’s better if I don’t tell you. Let’s say that she won’t want to show her face in a long time.”

~*The End*~

Final A/N: A cliffhanger as the ending, quite me, don’t you think? Well, it’s just that I know that people wouldn’t be satisfied with Cho not getting what she deserved. But let’s be realistic, I couldn’t kill her, like many of you suggested... So I’ll leave it to your imagination what was the punishment Ginny chose for her.

Well, I can only say that I’m happy I finally finished this so I can start with one of my many plot bunnies. I can only say, the story coming up is nothing like this, although it will be H/Hr as ever :)

Thanks for all the reviews and comments, I really appreciate them.