Chapter 6-A Night to Remember
Music lyrics © Universal Records (2003) 3 Doors Down - When I'm Gone
When he saw Luna earlier that night, she was sitting by herself at the Ravensclaw table humming Weasley is our king. Harry laughed out loud and when Luna realized why he was laughing she did too. "Hiya, Luna."
"Hiya, Harry."
"Listen, Luna, I need your help tonight. We have to hurry? I want to tell her how I feel tonight, but I am so clumsy with words in situations like this. I wonder if you'd mind playing Hermione in kind of a role play so I don't feel so self-conscious when I talk to her. Plus there's a bit of magic I want to do and I have to practice."
"Wow, Harry, before long you'll be whistling Hermione is my Queen!" They laughed uncontrollably again. He hoped it would work like that.
They had found an old abandoned classroom to use. Harry wanted to keep the room of requirement out of the picture and, for obvious reasons, so did Luna and Ron. Harry didn't think he needed to have a script, but part of it was saying what ever he said without wavering in his resolve. There were three words that he wanted to be so clear that nothing obscured them. He had tried several different ways of approaching her and each time something very silly would go wrong. He'd say something so sweet it didn't sound like something he'd say or he'd make his eyes roll to one side or the other and Luna would laugh. Either way, he was just getting worse. He was so nervous he thought he should just send her an owl. That was what they were laughing about when Hermione heard them. Harry tried again and the roses appeared just as Hermione did.
He was now at the bottom of the stairs just below where Hermione sat leaning back on the roof. Harry had brought some things with him. He hoped he could pull this off. With the cloak on he carried his surprises up the stairs, sneaking around the roof toward Hermione. He set down the box and put in the CD. It was dark and he hoped he had the right one. Ron wasn't sure what they were for, because he'd never dealt with a muggle CD player before. Fred and George had got all this stuff for Harry. Harry hadn't heard the music, but he knew the titles of the songs. He didn't know why, but he knew he could trust Fred with the music and George with the magic. Now that everything was in place he took a deep breath and started the music. He kept it very soft like it was way off in the distance. He could just hear it himself, the song was perfect. He turned it up slowly and set it to play the first verse again. He moved in closer to Hermione…
When I'm Gone
There's another world inside of me that you may never see / There are secrets in this life that I can't hide /
Somewhere in this darkness there is a life that I can't find / Maybe it's too far away or maybe I'm just blind, maybe I'm just blind /
So hold me when I'm here right me when I'm wrong / Hold me when I'm scared and love me when I'm gone /
Everything I am and everything in me / Wants me to be the one you wanted me to be / I'll never let you down even if I could /
I'd give up everything if only for your good / So there.
Harry had the remote control for the box in his hand so when it finished he played it again a little more loudly. He could see Hermione listening intently to the music and the words. It was unfamiliar to both of them but the words carried a message that made him sure he loved her. She listened too. Something about that song just touched Hermione so deeply that she said, "Harry, are you here?" She didn't know why. In the darkness, she saw Harry emerge from the invisibility cloak.
Harry spoke one word softly, "Lumos." The area was basked in a glow of soft blue light. He tenderly took her hand for her to stand and as she did, he kneeled. His resolve and courage flowed naturally. How could he fear this beautiful girl he loved so much? He looked at her with such a look of love and inspiration that Hermione smiled as tear of joy trickled down her cheek. "POP," she heard as the music suddenly died. In Harry's hand had emerged a dozen red roses freshly bloomed as he said, "Hermione Jane Granger, I love you." He paused for effect and then continued. "I have loved you since I can't remember when." Earlier, he thought he could remember the exact moment. But here, right now, it seemed he'd loved her forever.
Hermione was awestruck at how prepared Harry was. She could barely get out the words, "I love you, too, Harry." She lightly pulled, asking him to stand. As he stood, she threw her arms around him and hugged him. He and Hermione had survived a comedy of errors that nearly cost them their friendship. He leaned her back a little and lightly brushed her lips with his. They shared their first real kiss. All he'd ever dreamed possible in life seemed to be tied to that moment. He had been alone in crowds before when human touch was as foreign as Viktor had been. He had lived with virtually no human touch in his life for much of the first 16 years of his life. She tasted as sweet as the flowers smelled. He kissed her neck and cheek. He smelled her hair. He didn't want to let go. He wasn't alone in that feeling.
As this sweet moment in time passed, neither of them could remember why they had been at odds. It seemed silly now. Hermione thought of the words to the song again and realized that what Harry meant was that he wanted to be the man she needed and wanted him to be. He was a young man of contradictions. Soft and cuddly, but if forced he could be a fierce wizard-warrior to defend her and his other friends, even Cedric Diggory. She remembered his words about seeing the thestrals and realized she never wished to see them. She now knew the bond between Luna and Harry. She helped him because he had been kind to her. Hermione broke the silence, "Harry, I am so sorry for…" Harry put his finger to his lips.
"Hermione, you least of all have anything to apologize for. It was a misunderstanding of people who wanted desperately to be together and the way it was didn't satisfy them." He kissed her briefly. "It'll take about ten thousand more of those to even get close to satisfying me. You can start anytime you like," he whispered softly. His boyish grin had combined with his emerald green eyes to melt Hermione in his arms. He knew his knees were weak too. He was just too macho at the moment to tell her the effect her touch had on him.
"Harry, it'll take ten times that to satisfy me, so there." They laughed so hard they fell to the ground. Hermione finally knew it was right. The laugh they shared now as so private and so much a part of them that she didn't feel the pain growing in her side from the fall. She and Harry would live happily ever-after she thought. She wondered if he was thinking about sex. Harry was too, but he knew he'd had all he could handle just kissing her. She didn't want to throw cold water on the night but she wasn't going to let that happen like this. They were reading each other's minds and the suggestive looks on each of their faces confirmed it. They smiled and shook their heads at one another and almost in unison said, "Someday." They laughed again.
Harry transfigured the box he brought into a small sofa loveseat and they sat down. "Harry, I'm impressed. What was all that crap about Viktor?"
"I had decided that no one else would ever have enough time with you to ask you out ever again. And, I wanted
to know how far it had gone, but I lost my nerve."
He smiled and added, "If you hadn't mentioned the flowers, I would have been forced to ask you. It's too
bad because I know you would have had your radar up then and our misunderstanding would have been avoided."
Hermione laughed heartily, "Oh, it's my fault for giving you too much information then, Mr. Potter? I see."
"Hermione, it actually took you getting shirty with me to get me to act like a man and go after the woman I love. Everything works out is the way I see it." He wasn't sure she deserved all the credit but it was true. She brought out his strengths.
"Harry, how'd you make the flowers appear?"
"I had a capsule in my hand that reacts to positive emotions when they are true. If I didn't love you the flowers wouldn't have popped out. You didn't hear me say, 'I love you, Hermione' to Luna just before you walked in, did you?" he asked. He explained how he got them from Fred and George.
"No," she reluctantly admitted. "Harry, did you notice the red sky with Mars and Venus aligned? They must be our planets."
"Hmmm," he droned. They sat close on the sofa holding hands with Harry's arm around her. Hermione buried her head in his chest and listened to his heart beat. It was amazing. His heart was strong. She knew that in the figurative sense but never imagined how strong it beat in his chest. They fell asleep until they were awakened by the birds chirping the next morning and the sound of their new favorite song playing in the background in its entirety. Thankfully the sun had not quite risen yet and they could sneak back to Gryffindor Tower.
When they arrived, they saw nearly everyone was in the common room asleep. They looked around completely baffled and as they tried to sneak up the steps a voice called to them, "Mr. Potter, Miss Granger! Where have you been?" They were frightened out of their minds, it was Professor McGonagall. She was sitting on one of the sofas with a blanket up to her chin. They were thankful they had put the invisibility cloak over their possessions from the night before and left them on the roof.
Hermione was so embarrassed that she giggled and turned every shade of red possible. Harry just lowered his eyes and frowned. "Go change." She paused and then said, "there has been a murder and kidnapping in the castle. We thought you two were taken too." There had definitely been a little bit of relief in her voice. Yet they were not mislead by her tone, she was angry. And they would have to make a full accounting. Through the fog of their unforgettable night they didn't understand what the impact the news they just heard would have on them. With their whereabouts unknown, they were now suspects in a murder and kidnapping.