Chapter 5
The shrill sound of the dinner bell destroyed the mood…
"Ahh," said Hermione, pulling away, "The dinner bell."
Harry muttered a word that made Hermione gasp and say, "Harry! Come on, let's go eat."
"Fine," said a disgruntled Harry.
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Harry and Hermione were both seated on the couch…on opposite ends. It was obvious that things were awkward between the two, seeing as how they were both wracking their brains for something to talk about in order to break the uncomfortable silence.
Nevertheless, Hermione took a shot at restoring the conversation, "So, Harry, how's Sirius doing?"
"Um…let's see, last I heard from him he was fine. He was busing being an "adorable stray dog" in order to get food, so he couldn't write much. He also said that Buckbeak is fine."
"That's good…real good. I'm so happy that he turned out to be innocent. I just wish that we could find some way to prove it."
"We just need Wormtail for that, but how to get him, I don't know."
"Yeah."
It was obvious that they were running out of things to talk about. So, they just sat for a few minutes without saying anything. Hermione was watching Harry fidget, and tapping his knee when his hair fell into his eyes. It was then that Hermione suddenly had an idea. She abruptly got up, walked to the phone, and dialed a number.
"Yes…Bill? I was wondering if you don't mind…could you bring over a pair of sharp scissors, a comb, and some towels? You will?! Great! Thank you so much!"
After hanging up the phone, Hermione turned to Harry with a somewhat "evil" grin.
"Err…Hermione, what exactly are you planning to do with the scissors?"
"Oh, nothing really…just give you a haircut." Hermione replied matter-of-factly.
Harry's face went pale as she said that, "No…no…definitely not!"
"Oh, come on, Harry! Why not?"
"I'll tell you why not! I happen to like my hair the way it is and I'd rather keep it than to lose it, Thank you very much!"
"You won't lose it! Relax, Harry, you trust me! I've done this millions of time! I'm practically a professional, if not better!" argued Hermione, but then she thought to herself, You never need to know that it was just my doll's hair that I cut…
Harry looked torn with the decision of risking losing his hair…or his friendship with Hermione. Finally…
"Fine…I'll let you cut it! Just…be careful."
Hermione squealed.
"But you had better be telling the truth!"
At that moment, a knock sounded at the door and Bill entered the room carrying the item that Hermione had requested.
"You rang, mademoiselle?" Bill asked with an amused tone of voice.
"Oh, shut up, Bill! But, yes, I did and I appreciate your help so much!"
"Very well, then," Bill said, walking toward Hermione and handing her the towel, comb, and scissors.
"Well, thank you ever so much!" Hermione returned.
Harry just watched their friendly banter slightly amused, but highly apprehensive due to his unexpected haircut. Bill casually glanced over to Harry and noticed the uneasy look on Harry's face.
"You alright there, Harry?" he asked.
Harry managed to say, "Yeah," in a squeaky voice.
Bill was a little confused before he remembered the items that he had brought to Hermione, looked at Harry's hair, and put two and two together.
"Ha ha, I can't believe I've finally become Hermione's partner in crime," Bill laughed. "I honestly never would have thought she'd do something like this!"
Harry gulped.
"Oh, come off it, Bill! I'm only giving Harry a haircut!"
Bill smiled, "I see nothing, I hear nothing, I remember nothing!" and with that he turned and left the room chuckling softly.
Hermione stood shaking her head, watching him leave the room, "I will never for the life of me understand that man…"
"Err…yeah, I guess he's…different."
"Alright…let's grab that chair and move it to the bathroom sink."
Harry groaned.
"Come on, Harry. I'm telling you, don't worry. When I'm done with you, you'll look hotter than Prince William!"
Harry whimpered and picked up the chair, following Hermione to the bathroom. He placed the chair in front of the sink and sat down. Hermione set the scissors and comb on the counter, unfolded the towel and gently placed it around Harry's neck. Harry was so tense; his muscles were practically in knots.
"Harry…relax and just trust me," she said softly, looking deep into Harry's emerald eyes.
As Harry looked into Hermione's eyes, he felt himself let go of his fears and he visibly relaxed.
"That's better."
Hermione reached behind Harry, turning on the faucet, and getting it to the right temperature before she leaned Harry's head back into the sink. She wet her hands and gently ran them through Harry's hair, dampening it.
Harry started talking, "I just realized that my hair never grows when I'm at Hogwarts. Wonder why that is…"
"Honestly, Harry, are you ever going to read Hogwarts: A History?"
"Well, why would I? You've already memorized the whole thing."
"Well, to answer your question, a charm was placed on the school grounds so that hair wouldn't grow unless a person wanted it to because the teachers were finding it difficult to get students haircuts. So, they simply cast it to avoid such difficulties, not to mention allowing more time for studying magic."
"Huh…makes sense. Do you th-"
Hermione cut him off, "Harry?"
"Hmm…?"
"Shut up."
Harry smiled, "Okay."
Hermione had finally gotten Harry's hair wet enough to cut accurately. She turned off the water, and reached for the comb and scissors.
"Okay, you can sit up now."
Harry straightened up and looked at Hermione who had a very focused look on her face. It was eerily similar to the way she observed her homework at school before she began a particularly difficult arithmancy problem.
"God, she looks so beautiful…I really want to kiss her. Whoa…kiss her? She's my best friend! Exactly…she's my best friend…she understands me like no other girl ever has. She's…different."
Harry found himself getting lost in the deep color of Hermione's eyes and the feel of her delicate hands running through his hair.
Hermione found herself thinking about Harry as well.
"Wow…his hair feels really good. Not too soft, but not too coarse, just…perfect. I love his hair, as messy as it can be. It just suits him so well. And his eyes…it's so easy to just get lost in them."
As Hermione continued cutting Harry's hair, a feeling of contentment increased between the two. A deep connection had been formed, the beginning of something much deeper…the beginning of love.
As the two continued staring at each other, Hermione had slowly stopped cutting his hair, forgetting what she was supposed to be doing, but kept her hands running through his hair. Slowly, as they inched closer and closer to each other, she let her hands slide to the back of his neck. Just as they were about to kiss…a faint "Tap…tap…tap," came from the other room…
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A/N: I didn't include the dinner scene because I'm really bad at conversation that takes place at tables…so I'm skipping to after dinner, and Harry and Hermione are in the living room of the guesthouse.