A lot of people request I put all three stories, in one…so I decided to do it! I'm deleting Needing You and Late Night and making it all, Three's a Crowd. This fic is completed, so just give me some time to upload all the chapters! Hope you enjoy!!!
Three's A Crowd
Chapter 1
Sixteen-year-old Harry Potter stormed out of the Burrow as his temper started to rise. He tried to count to ten, hoping it would calm him, as he made his way to the trees. They were doing it again. The Weasleys....the only family he had left....they were treating him as if he was same fragile China doll. Constantaly walking around eggshells when he was around, hardly ever looking him directly in the eye. Always looking warily at him, as if they expected him to suddenly start to yell and scream like some crazy person. Something which he was guilty of doing in the past, which he will be the first to admit, however if they kept it up, he would sure explode all right.
Harry bit back a scream as he pressed his hands on a tree trunk, pushing it hard hoping that all the tension would come out of him. He knew they had his best interest in heart. He had lost Sirius. The only father he ever knew. His Godfather. It hurt. The pain he felt in his heart every time he thought about his loss was unbearable. The Weasley's thought that distance was the way to go...taking it easy, giving him space. Couldn't they understand that he didn't want that? The last thing he wanted was to be alone. He wanted to laugh, he wanted to goof off with his friend Ron....he wanted to do...something...ANYTHING, to keep his mind off of what he had witnessed just a few months ago.
Mrs. Weasley was the worst. She treated him like he was some scarred little baby who had been through a traumatic experience. Okay, so he HAD been through one, but that didn't give her the right to treat her that way. "are you sure you're okay, Harry?" Why don't you go like down, harry? Would you like to make you a cup of tea, Harry?" It was enough to make anyone stark raving mad. He wasn't a baby, he was sixteen years old, he didn't want her to behave that way towards him. Every time she looked at him he could see how much she felt sorry for him....how much she pitied him.....he really wish she wouldn't. He didn't want any sympathy. He just wanted to feel normal again. And Ron. He wanted his friend back, he wanted the goofy guy he knew that would talk Quidditch with him, laugh and play chess with. Not the guy that hardly every spoke two words, not the guy who always looked at him warily as if he expected Harry to start snapping at him for no reason whatsoever. Even the twins weren't themselves when he was around. What he wouldn't give for them to show him a new product for their store. But no....they didn't even crack a smile when Harry was around and when they did, it was quick and uneasy.
"Damn them," he cursed as he kicked the trunk of the tree before whipping around and falling back against it as he continue to pout. And to make matters worse, Hermione would be arriving any minute and he had this gut feeling that she was going to act the very same....why wouldn't she? She worried about him more than anyone he knew? Even Sirius couldn't hold a candle to her worrying. The thought of having to see those familiar brown eyes.....filled with worry as she looked at him, made his stomach flip quite unpleasantly. She had looked at him like that so many times in the past he could clearly picture it in his mind, which he was doing at that moment. He hated it. It was almost as worse as when her eyes filled up on the waterworks.
"Harry?"
Harry's ears perked when he heard Hermione's uneasy voice from just over the hill. Great....here it goes. "Harry!" Maybe if he just stayed there and said nothing she would give up and go away. "Harry, where are you?" He could sense her start to panic, so he quickly pushed off from the tree and made his way over to the hill. He didn't want her to worry.
"Hermione?" he called out as he walked over the slight hill and saw her just outside Mrs. Weasley's garden.
Their eyes met and her face lit up like one of the twin's famous fireworks from last year. "Harry!" she shrieked and started to run at him.
Harry stopped and blinked as he watched Hermione run towards him. She did not look worried or sad.....she didn't have one trace of evidence on her face that she might break down and cry. She looked, on the other hand....happy and excited. The wind was playfully tugging at her long brown hair as it streamed behind her when she ran. Her smile was bright and real. She flew into his arms with just as much force as she did last year, but this time it did knock him over. "Ooof," he grunted he fell onto the grass and Hermione collapsing on top of him. "Ow."
She laughed. "Sorry...oh Harry I'm so glad to see you!" she said as she hugged him.
Harry blushed as he placed his hands on her back. She was on top of him.....he couldn't believe he was lying flat on his back in the grass, hugging his best friend. It felt....it felt great. He was still however....embarrassed that she was on top of him. "Er....it's good to see you too, Hermione."
Hermione lifted her head up and supported herself on her hands as she beamed down at him. "How was your summer? Did the Dursley's take the Order's threats seriously? I'm so sorry I wasn't here sooner, but I was on vacation with my parents, I haven't seen them in forever and...."
"Er...Hermione?" he said with an uneasy smile, hoping to cut her off.
She swallowed her words. "Yes?"
"Um....do you think maybe....er....you could...." He looked down between their bodies and back up at her eyes as his brows were high with questioning.
Her face flushed. "Oh! I'm so sorry, of course," she said as she quickly got up and lent a hand up for Harry. "I was excited to see you and I didn't realize...."
"It's okay," he said quickly with a lopsided grin. "It's really good to see you, Hermione. You have no idea how good." Finally....someone who looked at him.....really looked.
She smiled softly. "Come on, let's go inside. It's rather hot and I've got some unpacking to do."
He nodded. "Okay....I'll come help if you like?" he asked as he followed her back to the house. He wanted to stay with her, he did not want to be left alone with everyone else.
"If you want....we can catch up."
Harry followed her through the back door still smiling and feeling in a far better mood thanks to Hermione. He didn't even look at any of them as he walked passed the kitchen to the stairs. "And where are you two off to?" Mrs. Weasley asked with a slight tone of surprise in her voice.
"I'm just going to pack, Mrs. Weasley, Harry's going to help," she said as she paused on the stairs to talk to her.
"Hermione," Ron said uneasily. "I don't think Harry would want to spend his time pack....."
"I offered," Harry said sharply as he whipped his head towards Ron. "We'll be upstairs. Let's go."
"O-okay," she stuttered as she made her way back up the stairs all the way to Ginny's room. Ginny was currently out of town spending the summer with Charlie in Romania, so Hermione had the room to herself. Harry tried hard not to slam the door, before he stalked over to the bed plopped down on the end of it. He felt a hand on his shoulder and he jerked as he looked up and saw that worried look. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to jump," he said quickly desperate to erase the look on her face.
"Are you all right?" she asked warily.
He sighed. "I'm fine, Hermione...I'm just....kind of annoyed at how they treat me."
She gave him a look of understanding. "Yes, I figured as much," she sighed before she left and walked over to her trunk and lifted it open.
Harry blinked at her. "How do you know?"
"Well," she said as she turned around holding a number of dusty books and went over to set them on her bedside table. "Ron and I talked over the summer....he was worried about how to act around you."
He let out a groan. "I'm his best friend, Hermione, he shouldn't behave differently."
"I know, Harry, but with Ron it's more difficult for him to express his feelings. He cares for you, Harry, but sometimes he can do the wrong thing. I told him not to treat you differently, just be his friend. He said his mom didn't agree and told him to be fragile around you and to give him some time." Hermione shook her head as she sunk down next to him on the bed. "I didn't agree with that. You need your friends more than ever now....I won't treat you like that....I won't."
"Hermione, I think you know me better than anyone," he said with a slight smile.
Hermione let out a laugh. "Oh, Harry, of course I do," she said with a another little laugh as she went back to her trunk to rummage through it. "You're just now figuring that out?"
Harry couldn't help but laugh. "Sorry...a little slow."
"About some things yes," she agreed as she pulled out bottles of soap and shampoo and walked into the bathroom.
"Which things are these exactly?" he called to her.
Hermione poked her head out. "Girls for one," she said with a smile before she popped her head back in.
Harry knew she was talking about his short and disastrous relationship with Cho. "Yeah, yeah...I know I screwed things up with, Cho, I shouldn't have mentioned you I know."
Hermione came out of the bathroom smiling slightly. "You learn from your experiences," she said as she pulled out her Gryffindor cloak and laid it neatly over a chair that was perched in a corner. "Now when you go on dates in the future, you'll remember never to mention me."
"Ridiculous," he muttered. "I should be able to mention you, you are my best friend."
She sighed with a roll of her eyes as she walked over to him. "Harry, you have to understand, it's not the same with me as it is with Ron. I'm a girl. A girl you spend a lot of time with, therefore, while you are on a date with someone, the subject of me should never come up."
He shook his head. "No, if the girl I date can't accept you as a friend, then it's not worth it."
"Harry," she laughed. "They can accept me as your friend....just as long as you give them their full attention when you are on a date with them."
He let out a desperate sigh as he looked at her. "Hermione, you're the only girl I'll EVER understand."
Hermione blushed slightly and quickly turned back to her packing. Harry was wondering why the comment made her blush, he gave her compliments before. He watched her pack and rummage through her trunk and the vision of that awful night at the Ministry flashed in his mind. He saw Hermione fall lifelessly to the floor and his heart dropped just as suddenly. It always did when he thought about how he almost lost her. He closed his eyes to try to get rid of very vivid image of her crumbling to the floor, but it just made it worse. He saw it happen over and over again, like someone kept rewinding and replaying it with their very own personal remote, torturing him for the hell of it. His eyes flew open and let out a shaky breath as he looked over at Hermione, making sure she really was there and he really didn't loose her. [i]I almost lost you[/i]
Hermione turned around. "I'm sorry?"
Harry blinked. [i]Did I just say that out loud?[/i] "I.......it's nothing."
Hermione didn't buy it of course, so she walked over and sat next to him, placing a hand on his arm. "Harry, what is it?"
"I just....I was thinking....about that night...." He mumbled as he looked anywhere but her, but when Hermione bent slightly to try and meet his eyes, he didn't have a choice and flickered his green eyes to her brown ones. "The night I almost lost you."
He watched her expression soften. "Oh, Harry...."
"I thought you were dead," he said in barely a whisper as he looked back down. "It would have been all my fault if you died."
"But I didn't," she assured him as she tilted his chin up so he could look at her. "I'm here, you didn't lose me."
"But what if I did?" he asked as he looked at her desperately.
She shook her head. "Harry, you can't think like that, you'll go crazy."
"But don't you understand," he said angrily as he stood up suddenly walking a few steps away. "I've been like this all summer." He spun around to her. "I've been alone with my thoughts, not having anyone to talk to.....I've watched your fall to the ground over and over again in my head.....I wonder...I wonder how I would react if....if you or Ron were taken from me."
"Oh, Harry...please don't," she cried as tears shone in her eyes.
"If Ron died....I would have reacted the way I did with Sirius." He shoved his hands in his pockets. "I'd be angry and I would yell and scream, track down the killer and make sure he suffered....I wouldn't care how long it took to do it....my whole life if I had too." He looked at her, his stomach clenched when he saw a tear trickle down her cheek. "But with you....Hermione, I don't know if I would be able to go on.....A part of me would die with you....I just....I can't loose you."
She sniffed back her tears as she got up from the bed and ran over to him, pulling him into her arms. "You won't loose me," she whispered softly into his ear.
He returned the hug in full source and buried his face against her neck. "I need you in my life, Hermione," he said as his voice cracked with emotion. "I'm just now realizing it and it scares the hell out of me."
"I need you, too, Harry," she said in return as she started to strum his hair with her fingers.
The feeling comforted Harry as he clenched his jaw and closed his eyes tight, fighting back the tears. Hermione must have sensed this because she calmly told him it was okay....that it was just her and he could cry....he needed to cry. "I never cried in front of anyone before."
"Then let me be the first," she had said and that finally made him break down. The first tear escaped and it dropped on Hermione's neck, followed by many tears after that. All the emotions, all the pain he felt and had been through....he finally expressed them in desperate sobs. He cried for Sirius. He cried for his friends....for putting them in danger and almost losing them. Every feeling, every heartache he had experienced over the years....he cried for. He cried for the loss of his parents....his parents that he never knew and never will. He cried for the loss of Cedric....reliving the night in the graveyard all over again. He wept and mourned and all the while, his best friend Hermione stood patient and still as she held him tight the whole time.
He felt a pair of warm lips touch his temple and a feeling of peace swept over him. His breathing was still shaky, but his sobs were slowing down. He felt her lips again, lingering as she did. Wanting to feel more of this unfamiliar pleasure he slowly lifted his heavy head and was rewarded with another kiss, this time on his scar while pushing back his messy bangs. Knowing she was hurting too, he wanted to return the feeling so he pressed his lips against the soft skin behind her ear and he felt her tremble. Tears were still streaming down his cheeks as he kissed away one of her own tears. He felt her frame his face softly with her hands and rested his forehead against hers.
She swept back a few of his tears as she looked at him mournfully, silently telling him how sorry she was. He was appreciative of this silent interaction, because he didn't want to talk anymore.....he wanted to feel....he wanted the pain to go away, even if it was just for a little bit. He bent his head towards hers slightly and she let out soft sob as she tilted her face so their noses nuzzled and their lips flirted. His forehead leaned against hers once more and he bit his lip when he felt his breath start to quicken. He hesitantly moved his lips closer to hers again and she did the same...slowly....very slowy until finally they met.
He could taste her tears and it reminded him of his first kiss...with Cho. The thought went away just as quickly as it came. This kiss was different. He knew why Hermione was crying...she was crying for him. He let out a desperate sob as he kissed her again, this time pressing harder against her lips. Her arms were around his neck and he pulled her closer from around the waist. He was no longer in pain when he kissed her....it was all gone. His heart was filled with such emotion....new and old...that he thought it would burst. His kisses were short and frantic, their breathing was choppy and ragged as they both clung to one another. Harry didn't know what was going on or why he was all of the sudden kissing his best friend, but he did know that at that moment it felt right and it was what he needed.
He finally tore his lips away and breathlessly buried his face back against her neck. "I'm sorry," he breathed heavily as he held her tight. He took in a shaky breath, taking in her sweet scent....even that was comforting. "Hermione, I'm...."
"Shh, shh," she whispered as her fingers started to strum in his hair once more. "It's okay....it's okay."
He felt a sudden wave of exhaustion sweep over him and his knees practically buckled. "Hermione.....I'm so...I'm tired," he whispered, barley getting the words out as his body started to rely more and more on Hermione for support.
"Let's go to the bed," Hermione said and still held him close as they made their way over to the bed. "Lay down..."
"Don't go," he pleaded as he felt sleep start to take him under. 'Please...."
"I'm not going anywhere," she said and Harry felt her lay down with him. "I'm right here....go to sleep."
He reached for her, making sure she was close before he fell asleep. He could feel her shift onto her side as she got comfortable and his arm went around her waist and pulled her back against his chest. Her soft hair tickled his nose and took one last deep calming breath before he felt his body relax.
He didn't know what exactly happened between him and Hermione, but right now he wasn't going to worry about it. All that mattered was that he felt content and peaceful knowing that she was there next to him. He held her close and when his hand found hers, their fingers linked as sleep finally over came him.
Off far in the distance of his mind, he heard the door slowly creak open then seconds later a familiar voice that said, "I don't think they're coming down for dinner, Mum."