Unofficial Portkey Archive

Confused Paths

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, just the plot (is there a plot here?) and the OCs. Don't sue me, JKR; I'm poor and I don't have any money.

Chapter 13 - All or Nothing

Harry got back to the Common Room that night, where Hermione was waiting for him, and quickly told her everything that happened in the library. Before she could make any comment, though, Ron showed up in the room, and headed directly to them. He didn't want to wait until tomorrow.

Regardless of his determination, Ron was very nervous at that time. He said he wanted to talk, and left Harry and Hermione waiting for several minutes before he could actually form a sentence.

"I do not know how to say that," he admitted.

"Just say it, I am sure you know how to speak," Harry said, somewhat playfully. Ron let out a small laugh.

"All right, here I go. I am sorry for what I did. I know I have been a real prat, and that I should not have doubted your friendship. None of you did anything to hurt me purposefully and I just let my jealousy take the best of me. I am really sorry for everything and if I could make something to have your friendship back, I…"

"It is okay, you have it back," Hermione said, smiling. Ron just stood there, his mouth hanging open. "You know, a faerie could fit inside this," Harry said, pointing at Ron's open mouth. Hermione laughed and said, "We are not joking, you know. You have our friendship back. We had time enough to think about it, and we decided we both need you. We just wanted you to realize that."

Ron's mouth, now finally closed, formed a smile. "You guys are the best friends someone could ask for," he said, and enveloped Harry and Hermione on a group hug. After they pulled apart, Harry just said, "I know I am the best. You'd better never waste me again." The three of them laughed heartily.

From that day on, the Wonder Trio was back. The three of them were back together in classes, in corridors, in meals, in everything. Of course, Ron would give Harry and Hermione some space, when they wanted to be a couple; but, as the two of them were relatively quiet about that, it didn't happen too much. Harry and Hermione would never show any affection in public, unless the public was Ron, Ginny, Neville, Johan, and Rafaelle. Ron became friends with the Garnier siblings too, and found in Johan someone that could listen to his never-ending ramblings about Quidditch.

Three days had passed since Ron had made amends with Harry, and Valentine's Day was just one day ahead. The three friends were sitting in the Great Hall, having breakfast, while Ron was talking about his date with Luna Lovegood. He was narrating one of his meetings with her, for the fifth time, when he was suddenly interrupted by Professor McGonagall.

"Sorry to interrupt your tale, Mr. Weasley. Mr. Potter, the headmaster wishes to talk with you in his office, when you are finished with your breakfast," she said, and walked away. Ron looked at Harry, as if asking the reason of that meeting. He just shook his head, but gave Hermione a meaningful look. It was probably about Voldemort's actions.

When he was finished, he gave Hermione another meaningful look, and then muttered a quick "See you later" to his friend and girlfriend. He could hear Ron's voice asking, "What is the meaning of that look? Did you devise some new codes I am not aware of?"

Harry walked to Dumbledore's office, pondering about what Voldemort had in store for him now. 'It should not be too much,' he thought to himself. 'After all, he is using the Death Eater children, and I can take on Malfoy in my sleep,' he concluded. He arrived at the entrance.

After muttering the password (it was still the same, fortunately), Harry found himself in the headmaster's office. The old wizard was standing there, petting his phoenix.

"Good morning, Harry," the headmaster said, and smiled gently.

"Good morning, professor," the boy replied. "Hello Fawkes," he added, turning to the phoenix. Dumbledore sat on his desk and motioned for Harry to sit, too.

"I noticed that you have made amends with Mr. Weasley, Harry," the headmaster started. Harry saw the usual twinkle in the old wizard's eyes. "I am very proud of the two of you. It is good to see you have put your problems aside in the name of your friendship. We will need you and your friends to be closer than ever."

"Does this have anything to do with Voldemort's plan, professor?" Harry asked. "Did you find out anything else about it?"

"Yes, the subject of this conversation relates to Voldemort's plan. We did not find out anything else about the plan itself, but we discovered very important information. In fact, Mr. Garnier found it, so I believe you may want to thank him later. He discovered that the students involved with the plan received minor instruction on the Dark Arts," the headmaster answered. "He also discovered that plan should not be put into action until the Easter Break. So, I decided you and the ones close to you should also receive additional instruction, while we have the time," he continued.

"I am still running the DA, professor," Harry said. "All my friends are also there. Ron said he will be back at the next meeting," he added.

"I think the DA is an excellent idea, as I have told you and Miss Granger already, but it has one main flaw in our plan. The flaw is that you and Miss Granger have to learn by yourselves, and that slows your learning process. My idea is giving you private lessons on the defense subject," Dumbledore answered.

Harry had no answers to that. It was true; he would learn a lot faster if he had a private teacher instead than having to read books. But these classes would draw Hermione, and Ron too, for that matter, closer to the danger. He didn't want that. He was the one that had to kill Voldemort, in the end. He was the target of Voldemort's new plan. Hermione and Ron didn't have to be in danger for his cause.

"Harry," Dumbledore said, interrupting his thoughts. "Miss Granger and Miss Weasley are already a part of this. I suppose you did not tell them about the prophecy yet. You should tell them, Harry. Their closeness to you makes them very likely to be targets of the plan," he continued, gravely.

Harry didn't like the way Dumbledore said his last sentence. He stared into the headmaster's eyes and saw his answer there. Dumbledore had suspected Harry wasn't the target, but kept this hidden all along.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Harry asked. He knew the headmaster would understand his question. Dumbledore sighed heavily. "You and Mr. Weasley were not in good terms then. If I had told you about my suspicions, it was very likely you would avoid him. Not to mention the effects this could have on your relationship with Miss Granger," the headmaster said sternly. Harry felt his temper flaring inside him.

"So, now I am supposed to tell them everything, then ask them to have classes with me because I have thrown them into danger," Harry said venomously. Dumbledore didn't answer. That was enough to Harry. "That is a very nice way to resolve everything! Thank you for your wonderful guidance, professor," the boy said, before storming off the headmaster's office. He heard Phineas Nigellus voice saying, "This time you have got it bad, Dumbledore…"

Harry didn't mention the meeting with Dumbledore later. When he met with Ron and Hermione, at Charms, he told Hermione that Dumbledore just wanted to inform him the Slytherins had instructions with Dark Arts. He promised Ron to explain everything to him later. Hermione just said, "At least this time he is keeping you updated." Harry had to hold a sarcastic snort.

Harry realized later that regardless of his anger at the headmaster, that wasn't the main reason he was avoiding to mention the conversation. The thing that really bugged him was one of Dumbledore's last sentences. "Not to mention the effects this could have on your relationship with Miss Granger," he had said. Dumbledore had implied that Harry could abandon Hermione and Ron for their own safety. 'That is ridiculous,' Harry thought, dismissively. 'I would not abandon Hermione for anything.'

Unfortunately, it wasn't so easy to dismiss that train of thought. Harry's dreams, that night, were filled with Dumbledore's words, replaying incessantly. Harry reassured himself that he wouldn't do that. He just couldn't. Hermione was everything to him. He couldn't even remember the time when she wasn't there. Then, he was sudden hit with realization. This time, it was like being hit with the two bludgers at the same time.

Hermione had told Rafaelle, one month ago, that she loved Ron in a different way than she loved Harry. She had said, somewhat, that she loved him; and he had never said it back. At that time, he was confused about that. How was he supposed to say he loved her, if they had just started dating? How was he supposed to know the meaning of "love"? He had the answers to those questions now. You're not supposed to know. You feel it. It's there. His love for Hermione had been just there, since the first day. It just changed into the amazing thing it was now.

He got up from his bed. He looked at the window; it was still dark outside. He wanted to tell Hermione he loved her, now he was sure of it. He wouldn't sleep in peace if he didn't. He grabbed his cloak. Boys cannot climb the stairs to the girls' dormitories, he reminded himself. He grabbed his broomstick, too. A few minutes later, he was at Hermione's side. 'She is beautiful while sleeping,' he thought, and chuckled to himself. He shook her gently. Slowly, she sat on her bed. Harry smiled at her surprised expression when she saw him there.

"Harry! What are you doing here? You are not supposed to…" Hermione began, but was interrupted by Harry. "Let's go down to the common room. I will explain you there," he said. She nodded, and the two of them left the dorms together. Hermione gave Harry an amused smile when she saw him fly over the stairs.

"You are not supposed to do that, like I was trying to say before," she said, still wearing the smile on her face. Harry smiled back and said, "I am sorry, but this is important. And I got the bonus of seeing you asleep. You are very beautiful while doing so." Hermione blushed slightly, and then pouted. "Does that mean I am not beautiful otherwise?" The girl asked playfully.

"No, of course not, that means you are beautiful anytime," he said, trying to correct himself. She smiled and said, "I am just joking, you prat. But that was just the answer a woman likes to receive." Harry smiled again. "I am glad to be helpful," he said, and sat down at his usual chair. Hermione promptly sat next to him.

"So, what is the important thing you wanted to tell me?" Hermione asked. Harry was serious for a while, before answering. He decided that before telling her he loved her, he should tell her about the prophecy and everything else Dumbledore told him today. If Hermione wanted to back away from him, for her safety, he would give her the chance.

"Do you remember the prophecy Voldemort wanted me to withdraw from the Department of Mysteries?" Harry asked her. She nodded. "Well… The prophecy was broken in the fight, so Voldemort did not get to hear it, but that was just a register of it," he continued. Hermione nodded again. "The real prophecy was told to someone, and I happen to know who heard it. It was Professor Dumbledore," he said gravely. Hermione gave him no answer, but squeezed his hand, coaxing him to continue.

"He told me what the Prophecy said. I can not remember the words properly, but it said the following: The one that can defeat Voldemort will be born at the end of July, and he will have a mark from Voldemort. He will also have a power that Voldemort does not know, and one must kill the other. Now… Just guess who "the one" is," Harry said sarcastically.

Hermione froze in shock for some seconds, before hugging Harry tightly. "You will not believe that, will you?" She asked. "It is a prophecy. You know as well as I do that Divination is imprecise," she added, and looked at him expectantly. He looked into her eyes and said, "I would love to believe this is just a joke, but I can not. Dumbledore showed me in a pensieve. The seer was in a trance at that time. It was a true vision." He thought it would do no good telling Hermione that Trelawney made that prophecy.

Hermione stayed silent again, and then started to sob on Harry's shoulders. Harry held her closer to him. "I wish I could not believe that," Hermione said, finally, "Why does everything seem to happen to you? Why can not you just have a normal life like everyone else?"

"I do not know," Harry answered. "Sometimes I think the same. A lot of times," he added. The two of them stayed like that for several minutes, before Harry spoke again.

"This was not the main reason I called you here," he said, and she raised her head to look at him. "I want to tell you something that I think it is very important… But I wanted you to know about all the danger you will have to endure if you stay with me," he continued. "Harry," Hermione said softly. She cupped his face with her hand to make him face her. "I will always stay by your side, no matter against who or what. You mean everything to me. I will not let you go," she continued.

"That is what I wanted to tell you," he answered. "Today, Dumbledore called me at his office to discuss one of his ideas. He thinks you and Ron can be the main targets of the plan, and not me. He said he suspected that all along, but he did not tell me because he was afraid I would back away from you and Ron."

"I thought that idea was ridiculous, and I kept thinking about it the whole day. I just realized that no matter how much effort I must put into it, I am willing to do anything as long as I have you by my side, because you mean everything to me," Harry continued, and he saw Hermione's eyes welling again.

"I love you, Hermione," he finally said. Hermione couldn't hold her tears. "I love you too," she said, and pulled him into a kiss. That kiss was nothing like any of their previous kisses. It was similar to the first one, that had lots of emotions put into it, but even that one seemed weak near this. This had all the love they didn't express before, all the desperation and fear of losing each other, all the intimacy of two people that needed each other more than they needed anything else.

Harry felt his body melt with Hermione's. She was hot. He knew he was burning, too. They had never had a powerful kiss like this one. Harry started to feel the calling from his hormones, and tried to pull away. He had always respected Hermione, and he would feel like taking advantage of her if he didn't stop now. Hermione held him against her. He wouldn't be able to hold it any longer.

"Hermione…" Harry said, more like a moan than a word. She looked into his eyes. Her sweet cinnamon eyes were dark brown. He knew what that meant. He just didn't know how he made it back to his room that night. And who cast all the charms.

A/N: It's been one week, isn't it? I've had one hell of a block with this chapter. This was the second version of it, and I don't think it's good enough.

Last Saturday I posted a one-shot nonsense called Cluelessness. I would like to thank everyone who reviewed there. Just by the way, they remembered what happened… After all, they did everything again. ;)

Yey! JadeLMSkywalker gave me an autograph! * runs around showing the autograph *

werdhani: About that scene, I was a bit unsure about that, but I decided to keep it. They weren't in front of complete strangers; they were in front of two people who are aware of their feelings, so, they could be more comfortable with themselves. I think it isn't all that out of character since we don't have a canon "Harry and Hermione in love". Hope you aren't mad at me, anyway.

HPFan5000: Hmm… Thanks for the compliments, really, but I think you aren't doing justice to Portkey. I think this is the best fanfiction site around (getting an application is really something; I think it's a big honor to be a writer here) and I could name a whole list of authors who are better than me. I even have a top 10. ;)

zaxxon: I think you're completely right. I'm trying to portrait my Dumbledore like that, because it's a really good point of view. By the way, it just gave me an idea for my next story… When I post it, I'll remember to give you your credit. ^_^

Thanks to everyone else who reviewed. I think there are just 2 or 3 chapters remaining now… I'll try to have them as fast as I can. R/R, please. ^_^