Chapter 4-The Storm Rises
Harry walked back from McGonagall's office replaying the day's events over and over again. He realized he could have been friendlier at breakfast but it wasn't as if he told Hermione she looked terrible. What was her problem anyway? He was just confused enough to get mad at Hermione for being so emotional and fragile. He wanted to make it up to her somehow, but he wasn't going to apologize for asking if she hadn't slept well.
Harry left Gryffindor Tower to go find Ron. It felt strange to go looking for Ron somewhere else in the castle. He had to talk to Ron and Luna. Harry had talked to Ron about getting some of the tricks and treats that Fred and George were so famous for. He wanted to talk to Luna about what might be eating at Hermione. He had no idea if she knew anything at all. This too was strange. Talking to another girl about Hermione seemed like a desperate measure. How girls communicated so quickly with each other and about everything was scary. He was pretty sure that Luna was different than most. She might be the only one besides Hermione who valued privacy and didn't do a lot of gossiping.
He found them both in a little used portion of the castle near the room of requirement they'd used last year for Defense against the Dark Arts training. Then he remembered that this was the room of requirement. Luna and Ron had created a little love nest there and he felt awkward intruding like this. He cleared his throat, "eh, hem."
They both looked at him with frightened, wild-eyed at first as they tried to straighten their clothes and hair. "Bloody hell, Harry, you about scared the ever-liven…" Ron stopped in mid-sentence. He had thought something was wrong yesterday, but today he could see Harry was ready to talk. He changed his toned and asked, "How's it going, Harry? You don't look so good." Luna had now composed herself.
"How are ya, Harry?" Luna asked with a sheepish grin.
Harry was jealous. They had obviously been snogging in there for a while because Ron now had a devilish smile on his face. How could Ron be in a relationship, the way he acted around girls? He talked to them like they were one of the guys and it never phased them. Hermione didn't care and apparently neither did Luna. What was he missing?
"Hi, guys. I am in it deep with Hermione. I don't know what I did either." He told them about the rest of the day and how shirty she was with him. He was still numb.
"Harry, Hermione probably has a lot on her mind like she said. School has always been her priority you know. Besides you have a plan. You have to stick to it. We both think it will work splendidly if you don't act like a sniveling git," Ron motivated Harry better than anyone other than Hermione.
"Go get her, mate," he continued. "Don't sit there feeling and looking sorry. I got those items you wanted from the twins."
"Harry, when do you want to do what we were talking about this morning?"
"Tomorrow. Tonight I am just going to try to talk to her and then get some rest. I have had a horrible day."
Harry did just that. He looked for Hermione to talk to her. He thought about how tough he'd been during the Tri-Wizard tournament and facing Voldemort each time. He was beginning to realize that even though he had been forced to be tough, it was something that came naturally. Courage wasn't the absence of fear, but facing it doing the best you can and not giving in too easily. He had to have the courage to talk to Hermione even though she could hurt him worse than anyone.
He found her in her familiar spot in the library. He walked slowly toward her and spoke her name as softly, yet as confidently as he could. "Hermione?"
She looked at him with an icy stare that chilled him to the bone. "Harry, do I have to spell it out for you? Do you want my promise to answer tomorrow-- in writing? Maybe you want me to write it in blood? Don't you understand that I want you to leave me be?"
"Fine, Hermione," he said with all the loving patience he could muster at the moment. She was still staring at him. He had steeled himself for this moment the entire time he had looked for her. "Hermione, please hear me out. I may not be the brightest guy in the world, but I know when I have done something wrong. I don't know what it is. You are my best friend and have always been there for me. I owe you a lot. No matter what you think you know, trust me that you are my best friend. Somehow I will prove myself to you. I'll do as you ask, right now. This is the first time you and I haven't talked for this long and I'm not handling it well."
He pleaded with his eyes for her forgiveness, but never asked for it.
Harry had emotional tears in his eyes for maybe the second or third time in his life. If it was more he couldn't remember them. Seeing his parents in the Mirror of Ered, watching Sirius disappear and Hermione today were the only times he had felt this kind of emotion. Sadness beyond his recollection was upon him. He was sad for Cedric, his family and Cho. But nothing like this. He decided as he kept walking that knowing he'd given his best to Hermione was all there was left to do. He changed his mind about resting tonight. He had to do what was right and it had to be tonight. He went and got Luna as well as the things Fred and George had sent.
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After dinner Hermione looked high and low for Harry. He had never been this hard for her to find before. She even went to the windows to look toward the Quidditch pitch, but saw no sign of practice out there either. Maybe Ron knew where he was. She couldn't find Ron either. Walking down the third floor hallway she heard hysterical laughter. It sounded like Harry's laugh and she couldn't make out the other voice, until she heard, "They're beautiful. How'd you do that? Ron said you had a surprise for me."
Hermione couldn't believe her ears or her eyes. She walked into the classroom at the end of the hall and found Harry on his knee with a bouquet of red roses and a surprised look as she came in. The disgust showed. Hermione's cheeks and ears were red. She couldn't get the frown off her face as her eyes welled up uncontrollably with tears. Hermione looked at Harry and said, "Harry, why didn't you tell me about her if I am your best friend? I don't know why I should believe anything you say to me ever again." Luna was flabbergasted. She knew Hermione might be jealous, but not to that degree. Harry just stopped breathing and wanted to die. Hermione ran out.
"Hermione! Hermione! Wait. I can explain," he yelled. He had never realized how fast Hermione could run. She just kept running and running. She passed everyone without speaking. She ran all the way to the roof where she sat down next to where the owls were kept. She moved to the other side to get away from the smell. Hermione cried out of anger at Harry. She sat looking at the stars through the early September evening. Mars, she thought the angry planet and Venus, the planet of love. It felt oddly ironic that those two planets were visible, because she was stuck between those very emotions.
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Harry finally figured out where she had gone, so he prepared himself. He went and got his father's invisibility cloak and arranged everything he had planned. She had caught him practicing his speech to her with Luna. Hermione had no way of knowing. He was now kicking himself. He knew what had gone wrong today. He resolved to forget about that for now. He must make a believer out of Hermione.