Worlds Apart, Hearts Close
By Hermione Potter
A/N: I can't believe it! 2 more days until Prisoner of Azkaban! It's amazing how time flies, doesn't it? Anyway, I hope all of you Harry Potter fans get to see it and I hope you enjoyed it because Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is my favorite book of the series. Oh, and I definitely hope all of you H/Hr fans look out for the H/Hr moments through the movie!
Chapter 3: New Places
"Your Majesty?" Marybeth, the head maid called. Harry looked up from his desk and looked at her.
"Marybeth, I've told you, you can call me Harry. I don't like being called all these formal names, really. What did you want?" he asked with a slight smirk. Marybeth blushed.
"Well, Yo-Ha-Harry, Princess Chang is here to see you," she stuttered with a slight bow. Harry groaned.
"Could you please tell her that I'm a bit busy?" Harry asked. She nodded violently.
"Will do, Sire," Marybeth rushed out quickly. Harry chuckled before turning back to his work to find it scribbled over and over with Hermione's name. He crushed the parchment and quickly threw it away.
'Why can't I stop thinking about her?' he thought. He tried to shake her from his mind, but for some reason he couldn't.
"I've got to see her. I can't wait until tonight," Harry murmured, grabbing his cloak and sneaking out.
"Harry Potter! Sir!" a squeaky voice shrieked. Harry grimaced and turned around. It was Dobby, their house-elf.
"I'm going out for a while, Dobby. Don't tell anyone," Harry whispered, pushing his finger against his lips.
"Oh, yes, Dobby promises! Goodbye, Harry Potter," the house-elf said with big eyes.
Harry sighed in relief and slipped through the door.
He quickly ran to the beginning of the Forbidden Forest and stopped abruptly.
'Maybe I should wait until tonight,' he thought. Then he heard a soft neigh. He squinted slightly and saw moving flames running toward him. As it got closer, Harry realized it was Hermione's horse. It stopped before him. He pet the horse's snout as she (A/N: I'm making it a girl because it will be useful later on in the story.) neighed affectionately.
Harry observed her carefully. She beckoned him to get on her. He nodded hesitantly and touched one of her flames. He thought she was going to burn him, but it felt soothingly warm. He swung his leg over and yelped as she rode into the forest.
As they had gotten closer and closer to the middle of the forest, Harry saw sunlight streaming through the trees. (A/N: I'm so sorry if this is being rushed. I just can't help it. ^^||)
When they reached the clearing that surround the lake, Harry Saw a figure laying on the ground shaking a bit.
He hopped of the horse and slowly made his way over to the person, only to find it was Hermione.
She appeared to be wearing nothing but a tatter shirt and pants. Dry tears were on her cheeks and that she was shivering.
'I wonder why she'd be crying,' Harry thought sadly. He unclasped his cloak and placed it over Hermione's body. Instantly, she stopped shivering and pulled the cloak tighter around her body.
"Harry," she whispered in her sleep. He smiled and tucked Hermione's hair behind her ear. He pulled his hand back as he saw her eyes blink open.
She rubbed her eyes and yawned. When she looked at Harry, she squealed in surprise.
"HARRY!" Hermione shrieked. Harry smiled softly.
"You scared me," she breathed.
"Have you been crying?" Harry asked, avoiding her comment. Hermione blinked.
"N-No. Wh-What makes yo-you say that?" she stuttered.
Harry took a neatly folded cloth out of his pocket and walked over to the lake. He moistened it slightly and went back over to Hermione. Harry cupped the side of Hermione's head and wiped the dried tears.
"If you're going to lie, you should at least erase your tears," he said softly with a smile. She blushed with embarrassment. Then Hermione noticed the cloak.
"Oh, you're clo-," Harry cut her off.
"Keep it. I wouldn't want you to be cold," Harry said.
"Not to be rude or anything, but what are you doing here? I thought we were going to meet here tonight," she asked with a furrowed brow.
"I wanted to see you again," he whispered.
"Oh," was all she could say. Hermione tried to stand, but winced and fell back down.
"What's wrong?" he asked worriedly.
"My ankle," she whimpered showing him the wound that rested in that spot. Harry looked at it carefully.
"This is an animal bite. And by the looks of it, the animal was a wolf," Harry stated, ripping a piece of his sleeve and wrapping it around her ankle.
"Thank you," Hermione replied.
"How did this happen?" he asked.
"Do you remember that wolf I was helping last night? The one I was helping last night? It died. The pack sent one of their wolves after me because they had thought that whatever I did killed it. And then I fainted. That's how I'm here," she explained.
Harry turned his back to her and knelt down. She looked at him confused.
"Get on. I'm going to back to your house," Harry said, nudging his head.
"Oh no. I can ride back on StarFire," Hermione shook her head while gesturing toward her horse.
"Ah, I think I'd like to take the honor," he winked.
Hermione blushed and slowly climbed on his back while wrapping his arms around his neck. He latched his arms under her legs and stood up easily.
"You don't have to do this. I must be heavy for you," she said nervously.
"You're not heavy at all. Light as a feather," Harry grinned. StarFire started to walk toward a different direction.
"Just follow her. She knows the way," Hermione murmured, laying her chin on his shoulder.
"All right," he replied following the horse.
After a while, Harry heard Hermione's slow and deep breathing. He turned his head to find her sleeping with a content smile on her face. He grinned and bumped into StarFire.
He looked up to see a comfy looking house with smoke coming out of the chimney.
"Thanks, girl. Should I go in?" he asked the horse. She neighed and nodded her head.
Harry slowly made his way over to the door and walked in, shutting the door behind him. (A/N: StarFire is tamed enough not to run around.)
It was roomy. On the side of the room was a fire place with warm flames warming the room up. There was a sofa and some wooden chairs. There was a door that lead to a little kitchen with a round table and two chairs. In the kitchen was an oven, cabinets, and oven, etcetera. He walked out and went into another door, assuming it was her room.
Inside, there was a simple four-poster bed with white pillows and sheets. There was a bookshelf and some windows. There wasn't much in the little warm house.
Harry laid Hermione on her bed and walked inside the bathroom. It was just an ordinary one. There was a bathtub, a shower, a sink, and a mirror.
'I wonder if she's ever alone. Living her all by herself,' he thought.
He walked back out and saw that Hermione was sitting at the edge of the bed with her back facing him.
"Hey, sleepy head," Harry called softly, walking over and sitting next to her. She turned her head and smiled at him.
"Thank you for carrying me back," Hermione said, twisting her hands around. She saw Harry lay his hand on top of hers.
"Hey, it wasn't a problem. Are you ever lonely here? I mean, living here by yourself," he asked.
"Sometimes. The animals are my friends. Including StarFire. When I was a child I had friends. Until my parents died. I became depressed and angry. I didn't want to be friends with the kind of people who murdered my mum and dad. Even though I'm a witch too," Hermione answered.
"Not all witches and wizards are like that," he argued.
"I know that now. I learned that from you. You made me realize that not everyone is like Voldemort," she retaliated.
"Well, I'm glad I helped. Now, I know you're a Guardian. But not of the Fire Stallion. You're Guardian of the Forest. You keep watch over this whole place. And that's wonderful," Harry smiled.
"Shouldn't you be getting back to your home? I mean, aren't your parents worried about you," Hermione asked.
"They don't even know I'm here. Only Dobby does," he chuckled.
"Dobby?" she asked.
"Our house-elf," Harry answered.
"I think house-elves should be free. Not enslaved their whole lives," Hermione said.
"We pay him, Mione," Harry mentioned.
"Mione? You called me Mione," Hermione looked at him.
"Yeah. I'm sorry. I won't call you it any more if you don't like it," he apologized.
"N-No! I-I mean I like it. A lot. I'd be happy if you called me that," she stuttered, burying her face in his shoulder. Harry smiled, stringing his fingers through her bushy hair.
"I really think you should go back," she suggested.
"Then come back with me," he whispered in her ear. She took her head off his shoulder and looked at him.
"What?" Hermione asked.
"Come back with me," Harry said softly.
"What do you mean by that?" she asked again.
"Come back to my home with me."
A/N: Sorry about that. I apologize if this chapter was rushed. I can't help it. Soooooo sorry. And thank you to Frank Thomas for being so dedicated. I appreciate your pushing. LOL. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter!