Unofficial Portkey Archive

Author's Note: These stories are all one-shot, 1000-word responses to the Summer Writing Series Challenge, so each one is not related to the next.

Summer Writing Series Challenge (July 16)
Challenge: Single Story Week: Topic #1: Harry/Hermione learns something new about the other, Topic #2: Harry/Hermione asks the other for a huge favor, Topic #3: Harry/Hermione visits the other at work/on duty/at practice
Challenge Conditions: You may choose 1, 2, or all 3 of the challenges listed. If more than one is chosen, you must be able to weave it with the other topics seamlessly. As a bonus, for each extra topic you choose above the first, add 1,000 words to the length of your story for today. 1 topic = 2,000 words, 2 topics = 3,000 words, and 4 topics = 4,000 words. You need to try and tie up any and all mysteries/loose ends in this 'final' chapter as this is the last challenge for 'Single Story Week'!
Title: Quidditch and Quills (Part 5)
Word Count: 4,165

The rest of the Hogsmeade trip was relatively uneventful. Harry kept watching Hermione for the signs Ginny spoke about, catching a shy smile here, and their hands brushing there. He realized how often Hermione would put her hand on his arm to get his attention and show him something in a shop, or nudge him with her shoulder when he'd say something funny, and even more the way that other people would look at the two of them together.

Throughout the rest of the following week he noticed the little things more and more. When they were at the library together, she always leaned very close to whisper things to him, much closer than when she spoke to Ron. During nearly every meal, she poured a glass of pumpkin juice for herself and one for Harry, and then passed the pitcher to Ron to pour his own. Three different mornings before they left the common room, she straightened his tie for him or brushed the wrinkles from his robe. And when Ron scheduled two Quidditch practices that week, even though she brought her books with her, she came down to watch both times.

When she showed up at the first practice, she'd brought his gloves out to the pitch.

"You left these in the common room," she said in a motherly tone. "You'll catch cold up there in this weather without them."

Harry smiled at her. "Thanks. But where are your gloves?" he asked, noticing that she didn't have any on.

She looked down at her own pink fingers and her mouth fell open. "Umm, well…I…I brought my books along so I could study a little, and it's dreadfully hard to turn pages with those thick things on," she said, though he could tell she was making it up as she went. He wasn't sure if she was blushing, or if the rosiness in her cheeks was from the cold, but with a quick, "Well go on, they're waiting for you," she turned on heel and quickly made her way over to the stands.

Practice went really well that week for Harry. For some reason his broom seemed to go a little faster, he was able to catch the Snitch quicker than usual, and he pulled out of every dive with a perfect sweep. Even the game itself seemed more exciting than ever before.

That new and exciting feeling stayed with him all week long, and not just regarding Quidditch. He'd never noticed before how much attention Hermione gave him, and now that he saw it he was really amazed that she could care so much about him. It was hard for him to believe, but maybe she really could be in love with him like Ginny said.

He already knew that she was one of the few people that could completely overlook the lightning bolt scar and his Boy-Who-Lived status. Although the other girls who'd shown interest in him in the past had tried to treat him like a real person, no one else looked out for him like Hermione did, and no one else gave him that comfortable, best-friend feeling at the same time as the butterflies Ginny spoke of. The more he thought about it, he felt that he could really fancy her as well. The truth was, he was already falling for her.

On Friday afternoon, Harry casually strolled five minutes out of his way to get to lunch by way of Hermione's Arithmancy classroom. He got there just as class was letting out, but didn't see her when the last person had cleared the room. Thinking he'd missed her, he turned to walk alone to the Great Hall.

"Harry!" Hermione called from down the hall. "Wait for me!"

Harry stopped and smiled back at her. She hurried toward him, her arms full of books and scrolls and looking rather cute in that bookwormish sort of way.

"What are you doing over here? Your last class was on the other side of the castle."

Harry laughed. "I should have known I couldn't pull one over on the smartest witch in class." Hermione looked at him and grinned. "My class got out early, so I thought I'd come walk you to lunch. But I didn't see you..."

"I stayed to ask Professor Vector about some extra credit work."

"Ahh, of course," he said with a smile.

"Thank you…for coming to walk with me."

Their eyes met briefly and both blushed slightly at the awkward moment they shared.

"I'm really glad you came by yourself, though," she said looking down the empty hall. "I was hoping I'd get a chance to talk to you alone."

Harry perked a little at her statement. "Oh really? What did you want to talk about?" he asked, trying to hide the nervous peak in his voice.

"Well, I have a favor to ask," she said, biting her lip timidly.

Attempting to not sound too anxious he said, "For you…anything," with a smile.

She took a deep breath. "Can you meet me at the Quidditch pitch tonight at seven?"

His brow furrowed a little. "Oh. Well, I'm supposed to meet Neville and some others at seven to tutor them in Defense,

"Oh, I see…"

"…But I can probably reschedule with them."

"Oh, no! That's alright. I couldn't ask…"

"I'm sure they'll be fine with it," he interrupted. "I'll just find them at lunch and let them know."

Hermione hesitated. "Are you sure? I don't want to be an imposition."

"Of course you're not an imposition," he said reassuringly. "Why are we meeting?"

"I think I have a plan," she whispered.

"A plan?"

"To figure out where the quill came from."

"Oh!" Somehow in being so wrapped up in watching Hermione for "signs" all week, he'd forgotten about the mysterious quill. "What is it?"

"I can't explain now," she said, looking around for any prying ears. "I'll tell you when we get there. And thanks," she added with a sincere smile.

At seven o'clock Harry was waiting for Hermione at the Quidditch pitch. He hadn't seen her since lunch, and assumed she was in the library doing research on different types of quills or something of the sort. This, of course, gave him plenty of time to think about her and their relationship. He decided that if he had the chance tonight, he would confront her about her feelings…if he could work up the nerve. Somehow facing Voldemort a half-dozen times suddenly seemed easier than what he was about to do.

When a shadowy figure approached the pitch, he put his hand to his wand pocket, ready to defend himself…but it was only Hermione.

"I'm glad you made it," she said with a smile.

"Of course I made it," he laughed. "Why wouldn't I?"

She shrugged. "I was afraid you and Ron would get wrapped up in a chess game and you'd be late."

"I should be offended," he said with a mock attitude, "but you're probably right." He resolved to a smile. "However, I'll have you know that I am outgrowing those childish ways. And I have to admit you made me curious. You sounded like it was really important."

She grinned and reached into her pocket. "It is. Here," she said, handing him a small piece of parchment.

He opened it and read:

Harry,

Hermione

He looked at her inquisitively. "Have you lost it?" he said with a grin. "You want me to meet you here in thirty minutes when I'm already meeting you here now? Shall I go back to the dorm and come back in half an hour?"

"Don't be silly," she said, taking the note back from him. "But it was the only way I could think of to find out who sent the quill. They got a copy of this note, and if they're curious at all, they should show up to see what I wanted to meet you about."

"Good idea," he said, smiling at her stealth. "So now what?"

"Let's walk. We can look around and see if there's anyone spying on us, or possibly see when they approach the pitch."

The two began a trek around the outside of the field. The sun was nearly settled behind the horizon and the moon was rising higher in the sky. Three large circular shadows on the ground outlined the turn in the path. Hermione shivered.

"Are you cold?"

"No, I'm fine. I just should have brought my cloak."

"Here," Harry said, pulling his jumper off over his head and handing it to her.

"Harry, that's sweet, but you'll freeze!" She pushed it back toward him.

"No, I'm alright. I'll be warm once we've done some walking. Put it on."

"Harry, I…"

"Look, if you don't put it on, then I'll put it on you…and then you'd probably get all mad because I mussed your hair up or something, so I'd really rather you just take it so I don't have you mad at me."

She giggled at his overly-dramatic insisting. "Fine. Thank you." She pulled his jumper on and he couldn't help but feel a little thrill from seeing her wearing something of his. They walked a dozen steps or so in silence, Harry wondering if his jumper would smell like her when he got it back.

"You know, there's something different about you lately," Hermione said, eyeing him sidelong.

Her break in the silence caught him off guard. "Different? About me? What do you mean?"

"I don't know. You've just been really…well, I'm not sure what the word is."

He grinned. "Annoying?"

"No."

"Funny?"

"No…you can be quite funny," she said with a smile. "So that's not different." She paused, then said, "Thoughtful, I suppose."

Harry laughed. "Thoughtful? I'm different because I'm thoughtful?"

"Oh, I don't know…that's still not quite the word. But it's kind of like…like I've met a new Harry over the past few weeks."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"No…not at all! It's just…well, you went with me to Scrivenshaft's last weekend so I didn't have to go alone, and you went out of your way to meet me after Arithmancy today. You've been helping Neville with his lessons and helping Ron with Quidditch plays. I saw you talking to Ginny last weekend on the way to Hogsmeade…she acted like it was really important and she seemed really relieved afterwards, so you must've made her feel better. Now you're loaning me your jumper on a cold night."

"And the 'old' Harry wasn't that way?" he asked, intrigued by her observations.

"It's not that you weren't thoughtful before," she said, correcting what she must have thought he'd taken as an insult. "You've always gone out of your way for things you thought were important, but it was always big things, like saving Ginny from the Chamber of Secrets, or bringing Cedric back…" She trailed off and neither one said anything for a moment. "But now it's just all these little things. You may not even realize it, but I think the extra attention means a lot to your friends."

He thought about what she'd said. "I suppose you're right; I have been different lately. Not intentionally. I guess I've just had a small change in my outlook on life. I'm seeing things a bit differently these days. I could go back to the old way, though, if you prefer," he said jokingly.

"No…I think I like this Harry," she said, smiling her shy smile again.

He smiled back, and wondered if she could possibly know that a big part of those changes was because of her. The two walked quietly for a while, each lost in their own world of thought. As their path began to curve, he chanced a glance at her. She was scanning the grounds around them, presumably in search of the mysterious quill-sender.

"Do you think they'll show up?" he asked as they rounded the furthest end from the castle.

"I'm not sure," she replied. "I suppose if it's someone who's already at school or who can get onto the grounds, and they're not just in it for the grades, then yes. Obviously they're a sneaky person to give me the quill to begin with, and they're interested in something I have to say. If they don't show up tonight, then we'll know it must be someone who only wanted homework copies."

"What else might they want though?"

She shrugged. "Maybe to see my letters or something…to get information about you…"

"About me?"

"Sure, if it's someone connected to the Death Eaters, or Voldemort."

"I didn't even think about that. I just figured it was someone trying to get better grades," Harry said sheepishly. "Not that there's really anything they could find out about me that's interesting, since I'm stuck here at school for the time being. But still, maybe we should let Dumbledore know about it."

"Maybe," she said. "I guess if no one shows up tonight we'll have to. He might be able to find out where the other quill is."

They took a few steps in silence before Harry said, "So who do you write to about me?"

"Wh - what?" she asked in surprise. "What do you mean?"

Harry grinned at having caught her off guard this time. "Well, you said maybe they were trying to see letters you wrote and get information about me. I was just wondering who you wrote that you'd mention me to."

"Oh…just my parents I guess." She shrugged. "I haven't told them anything that would be dangerous if it were intercepted, of course. But I mention the things that you and I do sometimes... and Ron."

"Oh." Harry was a little disappointed in her answer. He was really hoping for a way to bring up their relationship, but she didn't seem to catch on, or she was avoiding the subject.

"And I suppose I've mentioned you to my friend Emily from time to time," she added quietly.

"Emily? Is she a friend from home?"

Hermione nodded.

"You've never really talked about your friends outside of school," he said. "Tell me about them."

"Well, she's the only one really. She lives down the street from my parents and I've known her since we were very young. I see her when I'm home on holiday usually. She doesn't really know what Hogwarts is, or about me being a witch…but other than that we can talk about almost anything."

Harry smiled a little half-heartedly. "So aside from two of the biggest parts of your life, you can talk to her about anything."

She laughed. "Right, I suppose that does sound silly. But she's the closest girlfriend I have I guess. I mean, Ginny and I get along well, but since she's around us all the time, I can't really get a truly objective opinion from her."

"Objective opinions about what?"

"Well, you know…just girl stuff."

Harry grinned. "You'll have to forgive me, but I don't actually know what it is that girls talk about."

"You'd find it rather boring, I'm sure," she said with a smile.

"Really? You think?" he asked, grinning even bigger.

Hermione nodded nonchalantly.

"Well, see you're wrong about that…because now I'm even more interested."

She laughed. "I don't suppose there's an easy way for me to change the subject now?"

"No! And I won't sleep tonight until I know…'What is it that girls talk about?' Let me guess," he said with a conniving grin. "If it was schoolwork you'd just say so, and it's clearly not Quidditch. You did say you'd mentioned me, so you must have told her a little about the people here and your friends. What else could it be? Boys, perhaps?" he said teasingly.

"Perhaps," she replied, her lips pursing as she tried to hold back a smile that would give her away.

"It is!" he laughed.

Hermione rolled her eyes and looked defeated. She was never good at lying to Harry. "Alright, well Emily does talk about boys quite a bit."

"Of course she does. And you've never mentioned Viktor, or anyone else you might have a crush on?"

"I never had a crush on Viktor!"

"Don't avoid my question."

"You are incorrigible."

"It's not fair to pull out dictionary words," he teased. "Just answer my question."

Hermione sighed. "Oh, fine! I may have mentioned someone to her at some time…years back…that I might have had a crush on. Not Viktor. I don't know why you and Ron can't get over that incident. We were only friends."

"Lockhart?"

"No!!"

"Then who was it?" Just say it's me...

"I don't have to tell you," she laughed.

"I thought I was your best friend," he said, pushing out his bottom lip in a pout and sticking his hands into his pockets.

Her sweet smile was full of surrender, and it took everything in him not to tease her about how easily she was crumbling, until she got the upper hand on him once again; she took his arm in hers and snuggled up close to him, and he felt himself crumble instead.

"You are my best friend."

Well, crumble maybe…but not collapse.

"Then tell me! Maybe I could give you some advice. I mean, if he's going to be my best friend-in-law, I should get a chance to size him up first, shouldn't I?"

Hermione laughed. "He won't be your best friend-in-law."

"Why not?" Ah-hah! He'd finally spun the conversation back around to where he wanted it. This was it…she'd have to say it now.

"He's not interested in me in that way," she said softly.

"How do you know? Have you asked him?"

"No…"

"Then you could be wrong. You should tell him how you feel."

"I can't do that." Her voice was sounding more and more nervous.

"Yes you can! Look, you can practice on me. I'll give you an objective opinion, just as good as any Emily can do."

She sputtered a small laugh. "But Harry, I…"

He stopped in his tracks, forcing her to stop as well since she was still attached to his arm. He turned around to face her full on, and her eyes grew wide.

"You're in Gryffindor, aren't you? Bravery and all that," Harry said with a wave of his hand, ignoring the hypocrisy of his words. "Just pretend I'm him and say what you'd like to say."

Hermione's expression was almost horror-struck as she shook her head.

He gave her a playfully stern look. "We're not moving from this spot until you just get it out. You'll feel better. I'll use a sticking spell on your feet if I have to," he teased, holding on to her arms.

Her eyes were locked on his, still wide and full of panic, and he realized they were now brimming with tears. She tried to blink them away, but one rolled down her cheek. His playful resolve was completely shattered.

"Hey," he said softly, wiping the tear away. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry." He pulled her into a hug. "I just thought you'd feel better if you weren't keeping it all bottled up."

Hermione sniffled against his shoulder.

"Here I go and try to keep you from getting mad at me by giving you my jumper, and instead I've made you cry. Some friend I am."

Harry felt her move with what he thought was a small laugh, but she was still sniffing. He kept holding her, enjoying the feeling of having her close too much to let her go. Then he heard her say something that got muffled against him.

"What?" he asked quietly.

Hermione sighed and moved her head up higher, and whispered the two words that would ring in his ears for weeks to come: "It's you."

"Me?" he asked. He had to be sure that she meant what he thought she meant.

She pulled back from him and looked at the ground. "It's silly, I know. I wasn't going to tell you," she said, sounding desperate.

He smiled slightly and pulled her chin up to face him, looking into her eyes.

"It's not silly. I just wish you had told me sooner," he said.

Her face was filled with confusion, and before she could get a word out he moved in to kiss her. He hadn't planned it, but it just felt right. Unfortunately, he was stopped short by a distracting clicking noise and a bright flash. They both looked up, Hermione gasping in surprise, just in time to see a cloaked figure running away from them.

At nearly the exact same time, two wands were drawn and a loud "Impedimenta!" echoed across the field. With two bright red flashes, the figure stopped dead still. Harry and Hermione looked at each other briefly before running across to the perpetrator.

"What do you think you're doing?" Harry yelled angrily as they neared the figure, which appeared to be a man. On closer inspection it turned out to be a boy a few years younger than them.

"I, uhh…I just…" the paunchy boy stuttered.

"Give me that," Harry said, yanking the camera from the boy's hands and opening it to expose the images. He winced, unable to stop Harry for the double spell that had him frozen to his spot.

"Who are you?" Hermione asked, obviously mad, but also confused.

"None of your…" he began, but Harry held his wand up in protest. "M-Mark Bletchley," he said in a gruff voice. A Slytherin, they could tell by the crest on his cloak.

Harry looked at him sternly. "Who put you up to this?" Bletchley didn't speak, and Harry put his want to the boy's throat. "Tell me."

Bletchley swallowed hard, and squeaked out, "M-Malfoy."

"And the quill? Malfoy's doing as well?"

"Yes," he squeaked even higher.

"What should we do?" Hermione whispered to Harry. His eyes were full of anger, but they softened just a little when they saw the concern in hers. "He's just a boy…Malfoy probably bullied him into this."

Harry thought for a moment, then turned to Bletchley. "What was the picture for?"

He clearly didn't want to answer, but the threat of Harry's wand at his nose seemed enough to change his mind. "Daily Prophet..."

"Did you take the last photo?" Hermione asked, turning to him in surprise. "After the Quidditch match?"

"Yes."

"But why?" she breathed, confusion riddled across her forehead.

"He…he said it would be a rally cry for the Death Eaters. To see Potter with a…"

"A mudblood," she finished.

"And the quill...what was it for?" Harry asked, scowling.

The boy pursed his lips, but Hermione thrust her wand at his head and he stuttered out, "T-to try and intercept any n-news that w-would be of use to the D-Dark Lord."

"Hermione," Harry said between clenched teeth, "go get Dumbledore." She stood fast with her wand at the boy's head, until Harry urged her again. "I have him under control, Hermione. Go get Dumbledore."

Ten minutes later she returned with the Headmaster at her side. He was holding the quill, which Hermione had given to him in her explanation of the situation.

"Mr. Bletchley, if you would please come with me to my office. I believe we have some matters to discuss," Dumbledore said to the boy, guiding him with his wand.

He stopped and looked back to Hermione and Harry. "I'm sorry you were interrupted earlier. Please...carry on with your business." With a glance and nod at Harry, Dumbledore turned and continued to lead the boy up to the castle.

Harry was sure he had seen that playful twinkle in his headmaster's eye, and blushed a little remembering what business they had been engaged in when the camera flashed. But his adrenaline was high after their encounter with the Slytherin, and he pushed his nerves aside once again.

In one sweeping motion, he turned to Hermione, pulled her into his arms and kissed her. It wasn't at all like the kiss he'd shared with Cho; and although it still may not have been a perfect kiss, it was a heartfelt one, and dry to boot. Though she was timid at first, Hermione relaxed after a few seconds and kissed him back. Harry felt like he was flying without his broom. But now even Quidditch seemed like nothing compared to the excitement of kissing her.

Half an hour later they headed back up to the castle, hand in hand. When they reached the common room, Hermione broke from him and headed toward her dorm.

"Where are you going?" Harry asked.

Hermione smiled mischievously. "I need to write a letter."

Harry raised his eyebrows. "Going to send a nasty note to the Daily Prophet?"

"Yes, I'll do that, too. After I write to Emily." And with a grin she ran up the stairs.

Harry laughed and then joined his friends on the couch, awaiting her return so they could break the news of their new relationship.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
A/N: So...that's it. The End. Hope it wasn't too disappointing. It was tough writing this out and never knowing what the next day's challenge would be, or how to leave some options open from the previous day so I could tie the plot line in. I had a really hard time with wrapping it up, and deciding who the baddie was. I should have left clues throughout, I know. If I ever decide to go back and expand it a bit, I'll make it better. If you have suggestions, let me know.

Be sure to check back next week (or hop on over to the next five stories if you're reading this after the daily postings) for "Musical Week" if you like Broadway shows. :)