A/N: Okay, I was gonna hold off on this chapter a bit…but I felt bad for confusing some people. This chapter should clear things up a bit… Reviews are lovely….
Chapter 2
He sat at his desk, looking over what seemed to be mountains of paperwork. Yawning, he attempted to blink away his sleepiness. He looked at his watch, which read 9:48 p.m. After a few more minutes, he gave up and stood. He thought to himself, I'll just deal with this tomorrow. He retrieved his briefcase, put on his blazer, and strode to the door. Closing it behind him, he used his wand to lock the door and then apparated home. However, unbeknownst to him, a note hung on his office door…
"Meet me you-know-where. They know. Do not go home!"
As his living room swirled into sight, he instantly knew one thing…something's wrong. His sharp eyes searched around the room trying to find the source of his uneasiness. His gaze fell upon a light blinking underneath his table. He instantly fell to his stomach and looked underneath just in time to see "3….2….1…."
Miles away…an explosion was heard shattering the silence.
James gasped and jerked quickly as he awoke. Papers fluttered to the ground due to his sudden movement. He glanced at the clock, 11:03 p.m. Breathing heavily, he attempted to regain a normal heartbeat. He placed his head into his hands and rubbed his forehead…reaching under his desk, he pushed a button.
A few seconds later, an old man with sparkling eyes and a youthful personality appeared in his office. In a teasing voice, he said, "You rang?" His gaze fell upon James behind his desk, still gasping, and his smile disappeared from his face. "Merlin! What happened?"
"Wow! I can't believe this is actually happening!" Mia said.
"I know!" Ginny squealed.
Draco interrupted, "I think this calls for a toast," he said as he poured a drink for each of them.
"Mmm…okay…but only one!" Mia agreed, then giggled, "I have to work tomorrow!"
They drank a toast to Mia's new job. A few minutes later, Mia sensed that the two wanted to be alone. I know when I'm not wanted, she thought. She politely excused herself, "Umm…I'm gonna go take a walk…get some fresh air. Excuse me."
Neither Ginny nor Draco attempted to persuade her otherwise. They sat talking comfortably for a few minutes. Ginny said, "I can't believe how much you've changed, Draco."
He smirked a little bit, "Yeah, I guess miracles do happen."
"What, you didn't know that before?"
"Well, I never exactly imagined I'd owe my life to Pot-," he corrected himself, "to Harry."
Ginny smiled, "Personally, I'm glad you do. It's better than the other option."
"Oh, doubtless…it's amazing how much a life can change in an instant, huh?"
"Yeah, it is…" Ginny said, her voice trailing.
"I mean, think about it. You can get hurt, get a new job, meet peop-," but Draco found his words cut off as a pair of lips were on his. Then just as soon as they met his, they left.
Ginny bit her lower lip nervously, awaiting his reaction.
Dazed, he continued, "Get kissed…"
Ginny couldn't help but laugh at that. Draco, still amazed, gazed at her face with a look of wonder. He looked at that one red piece of her hair that stubbornly continued to fall into her eyes no matter how many times she nervously tucked it back. His eyes moved along to her jaw line, her lips, and then finally back to her eyes. Smiling, he leaned forward and kissed her again. Ginny's mouth opened as Draco's tongue slid in to caress hers. Both of their eyes were closed, allowing them to focus on the feelings coursing through their bodies.
Opening his eyes, Draco pulled back gently and he asked, "Will you go out with me?"
"I knew we missed a step there!" Ginny teased, a smile coming over her face.
He laughed, "Come on, will you?"
"Yes, Draco, I'd love to go out with you."
He smiled and leaned forward to kiss her once more…a kiss she eagerly returned.
"It's happening again. The dreams…I don't know what to think of it."
"What happened?"
He explained the contents of his dream to Dumbledore, who merely listened. Nervously, James asked, "What does it mean, Albus? Is…another Dark Lord rising?"
"No, I don't believe so…not yet, anyway. I think that you're afraid of missing something vitally important…a clue, a sign. What did the note say?"
"Err…'Meet me you-know-where. They know. Do not go home.'"
"Well, there you have it then."
"Have what?"
"You're afraid of your friends finding out about your past because you fear that they'll betray you or shun you."
He fidgeted, "Does that mean they will find out?"
"I cannot answer that. They already think you're dead, or at the very least, missing. I do know that they all miss you dearly."
"Yeah, well, they've moved on, haven't they?"
"Only to some extent, they've never been able to truly put it behind them…particularly Miss Granger. She changed her whole life after you disappeared. I believe it's time now, Harry. You need to tell them you're here…that you're not dead."
"I can't…I'm not ready."
"It's been 8 years, Harry. Recapture your life. I can't make decisions for you, but that's my advice. Good night, Harry."
"All right, I'll see you two lovely women at work tomorrow. Good night!" Draco said as he disapparated home.
"Ahem, so did you two have fun when I left?" Mia asked.
Ginny blushed as she replied, "I kissed him."
Mia's eyes widened, "Did he kiss you back?"
She nodded, "And he asked me out to dinner this Saturday."
"That's so great! I'm so happy for you, Ginny!"
"Speaking of our love lives," Ginny's eyes sparked with curiosity, "What did you think of James?"
"He's…nice," Mia answered evasively, not looking at her.
"Come on, Hermione, get off it! Tell me the truth!"
"It's just…he reminds me so much of Harry."
"That's one reason I thought he'd be so good for you."
"Don't get me wrong, Ginny. I only talked to the guy for about five minutes but initially, yeah, I am attracted to him…I don't deny that. But…it's almost painful. All the feelings I had for Harry are resurfacing with James, but- it's still Harry's face I see…that I want to see."
"Hermione, you need to face your past and move on. I think your problem is that you've never dealt with it…never came to terms with everything."
Hermione looked at Ginny silently as she continued.
"I mean, you created this whole new life for yourself…this whole past without Harry. You even look different! Darker, straightened hair…blue eyes. For crying out loud, you haven't even told Ron who you really are in the last five years. He still thinks you're off in Africa helping kids! And the only reason I even know is 'cause we lived together for three years in college and you couldn't hide it for that long!"
"I know you're right, Ginny…but that doesn't change the fact that I'm still afraid to move on. There's this really big part of me that refuses to believe Harry's dead. That believes he's still out there somewhere and that any day now, when he's ready, he'll come back."
"You always did have more faith that Harry was still alive than anyone else."
"I have to, Ginny. If I didn't believe, I wouldn't know what to do with myself."
"You're never going to give up on him, are you?"
Hermione gave Ginny a little half-smile as she said, "I can't."
"What about James?"
"What about him? He may act a little like Harry, but…he's not."
"James?" Draco called out as he reached his flat, "James, you home?" Where is he, he thought, it's after ten! He walked into the kitchen from the living room, but still didn't find James. He searched James' room and his room…nothing. Then, he heard something coming from the bathroom…it sounded like…breaking glass?
Worried, he rushed to the restroom and opened the door. He was startled by the sight that greeted him. James was furiously throwing whatever he could at the mirror…his shampoo bottles, his toothbrush, anything. Draco looked at the floor and saw what had actually broken the mirror…a metal picture frame. I've never seen that before…Draco thought as he bent down to pick it up. The frame was…beautiful…delicately crafted, yet strong…but even more startling was the picture it held. The glass protecting it had been shattered as well. Three teenagers stood in that picture…each 17 years old. Two boys and girl…Why does he have a picture of "The Trio"?
He glanced up to look up at James, who had by now calmed down and stood there looking at Draco, fighting back the tears that threatened to fall. "Man, James…are you all right?"
"Yeah," James replied, his voice deep with emotion, "I'm brilliant…absolutely bloody brilliant."
"What happened? Why are you…destroying your bathroom?"
He shrugged, "Didn't know what else to do…"
Draco looked at the picture in his hands again and then asked, "Why do you have this picture? I thought you didn't know them…"
"I knew them…about as well as anyone could…"
"So…did you know Harry?"
"Yeah…"
"Man…that must've been hard on you…wait a second, that doesn't make sense. You never went to Hogwarts! How could you know Harry?"
"I went to Hogwarts…"
"What? I thought you went to St. Brutus' Magical School…"
James scoffed, "That school doesn't even exist….I made it up."
Draco was absolutely confused, "Why would you lie?"
"You wouldn't understand…I had to get away…from everything…"
Suddenly, everything clicked inside Draco's mind….Harry's disappearance 8 years ago…James moved in with me 7 ½ years ago… His brain was thinking quickly…rapidly piecing together all the clues to James' real identity, "Potter?" he asked incredulously.
"Right in one…" Harry muttered.
Draco's jaw dropped.
Ginny asked, "Hermione…when we were at Hogwarts….had anything happened with you and Harry?"
Hermione laughed, "I can't believe it took you this long to ask that question…six years…wow."
"Well, did it?" Ginny prodded.
"No…and I've always hated the fact that I never told him the truth. He was gone before I could tell him…" A tear ran down her cheek as she recalled her memories from that time, "I was so in love with him…I was an idiot to not tell him!"
"Why'd you run away?" Draco asked.
"I don't know…I got scared, I guess."
"Scared? Harry Potter, the Brave Gryffindor, scared? Of what?"
Harry's reply came in a whisper, "Love…"
"Love? You were scared of love?"
"No…I was terrified."
"Why?"
"Because…I couldn't stop thinking about what would happen if I lost her. I was worried that my being Harry Potter would make her a target…so…I decided that Harry shouldn't be here anymore. I couldn't put her in danger…I couldn't…"
"I knew it!" Draco laughed and then shouted, "I knew it!!"
Now it was Harry's turn to be confused, "Knew what?"
"That you were in love with Granger!"
"You knew?"
"Who didn't? That's the thing about you Gryffindors…you guys always wear your heart on your sleeves."
"Well, at least we have hearts," Harry joked.
"At least Slytherins' have brains!" Draco fired back.
They both laughed.
Draco said, "Man! Just wait till Ginny finds out who you are! She'll probably die in shock!"
Harry's face suddenly grew grim, "You can't tell her! Please don't tell her…"
"Why not?"
"Bec…because."
"Don't you want her to know?"
"Not yet…I don't want anyone to know yet."
"Then why do I know?"
"Well, how the heck was I supposed to explain breaking the mirror?"
"Well, you could've-"
"Oh, come off it, you know already. Just…don't tell anyone else yet, okay?"
"Yeah, sure…whatever, mate."
"Thanks."
An awkward moment passed between the two and then Draco asked, "Didn't you still hate me when we graduated?"
"Of course I did."
"So…why did you become my roommate in the first place?"
"Well, think about it…no one would suspect me of being Harry Potter because I lived with you…"
Draco nodded, "Good point."
"Yeah…so I guess Gryffindors have brains too."
"Mmm, maybe…but it's very rare."
Hermione unlocked the door to her flat, entered the room and shut the door behind her. She dropped her keys on her coffee table and then walked to her room. She slowly undressed and got into her pajamas, went to the restroom and brushed her hair and teeth. For a couple of seconds, she just looked at herself in the mirror…she didn't look much like she did 8 years ago. Ginny's right, she thought. Sighing, she went back to her room and crawled into bed.
She lay there staring at the ceiling as she tried to ignore the fact that she still went to bed alone.