Heaven Normal Heaven 2 1 2003-06-30T06:33:00Z 2003-06-30T06:35:00Z 1 3973 22648 188 53 26568 10.2625 Clean MicrosoftInternetExplorer4
Chapter 4
A/N: Hi everyone! Well I rushed it, and yes! I finished Dark Betrayal!
Some of you guys are way smarter than me, and pointed out quite a big mistake: It was supposed to be Millicent Bulstrode, but instead, I wound up using Pansy Parkinson on mistake… so now I've changed it so it's all Pansy. Thanks to those of you that pointed that out to me!
Anyways, like I said, this is the last chapter… everything is wound up in the next 13 pages… some of you were smart and guessed, some of you others might just be surprised at what happens :) In any case, I thank you ALL for reading and reviewing, and keep your eyes out for more stuff to come up after I get back from my trip!
And a very, VERY special thank you to Holly for helping me out with this chapter… if it weren't for her you guys wouldn't have it yet!
Hermione pulled the sheets tighter around herself as she tried her hardest not to wake up. Cracking one eye open, she saw that it was barely past seven.
'I can sleep for another hour,' she thought, and burrowed her face back into the pillow. She was almost asleep again when she felt the bed sag a bit from someone sitting down on the edge.
"Hermione…" Harry called her name quietly. He had woken up that morning and grinned when he saw her body still curled up against his. Harry had still felt like the night before had been a dream until he looked over and saw her in his bed, and he realised then how lucky he was. "Hermione…" he leaned over further, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Love, it's time to get up…"
"Don't want to." Hermione buried her face even further into her pillow. Harry realised he was going to have to use different tactics. He leaned over and pressed his lips to her bare shoulder, leaving soft, gentle kisses on her skin. Harry worked his way up her neck and by the time he reached her face she had turned and met his lips with her own.
"Are you awake now?" Harry asked as he pulled away. He watched her blink sleepily for a moment, and then her eyes shot open.
"Bloody hell…." Hermione winced and put her hands to her forehead.
"I made this for you," Harry brought a mug of bubbling potion to her lips. "Drink it."
Hermione clutched onto the cup and gulped back the potion, leaning on the pillows as she did so. "Thank you," she muttered as soon as she could recover her powers of speech. For some reason she wanted to shrink into a little ball and just fade away. "I'll um… I'll be leaving today."
Harry looked at her, startled. "Leaving?"
"Yes," Hermione answered, still not looking up from the empty mug. "Since Krum was caught… I have no reason to intrude on you anymore."
"You haven't been intruding." Harry replied, putting a finger under her chin and forcing her to look up. "Hermione…"
"I need to use the loo." Hermione interrupted. She pulled the sheet from Harry's bed and kept it wrapped around her as she fled the room.
"Hermione," Harry followed her out of his bedroom. "We need to talk, Hermione." He tapped lightly on the door.
"About what?" Hermione tried to make her voice sound innocent and failed miserably.
"About what?" Harry repeated disbelievingly. He opened the door and she gave a shriek and pulled the sheet more tightly around herself. "About last night!"
"We were drunk, Harry," Hermione replied. "I'm not so sure what we did was right."
"Dammit, Hermione, I love you!" Harry burst out. "I wouldn't have slept with you if I wasn't sure, and bloody hell, you ASKED me to do it!"
Hermione put her forehead in her hand while trying to clutch onto the sheet. "I'm sorry."
Harry felt like he had been hit in the chest with a stunning spell. "Look," he began, his tone hurt. "Leave whenever you want. I'm going." He slammed the door behind him and took off down the hall, trying to contain his temper.
Hermione sank to the floor as tears came to her eyes. She jumped again as Harry slammed the front door of the flat, the walls shaking behind him.
"I deserve his anger." Hermione said to herself, wiping away at a few tears. "He just told me he loves me and all I could do is say it happened too fast. I'm such a bloody idiot."
She stood up and splashed some cool water on her face. Going into the guest room, she pulled on her work clothes and tied her hair back. Hermione gathered her belongings, and then hesitantly walked into Harry's room for the rest of her clothes. Putting the sheet back on the bed, new tears sprang to her eyes.
"What do I do?" she asked desolately, sinking down on the edge. She sobbed for a few moments and then straightened back up. "Cho…. I can talk to Cho, she's dated Harry, she'll know what to do…." Hermione grabbed up the rest of her clothes and dashed from the flat.
"Cho?" she knocked on her boss's door. "I'm sorry to disturb you…"
"Oh it's no problem," Cho replied pleasantly. Her smile turned to a frown when Hermione came in and took her Muggle sunglasses off. "What's wrong?"
"I um…" Hermione sniffed and sat down, ashamed of her red eyes.
"Here," Cho offered her a tissue as she sat down next to Hermione. "Look, start from the beginning… did something happen with Harry? With Krum?"
"With Harry," Hermione answered. "When they got Viktor last night, he came home and told me, and then took me out to celebrate." She sniffled and wiped at her eyes. "We got a little drunk, and started to dance," she missed Cho's slight smile at this. "Then his ex girlfriend came in, we all had a few words, and he and I decided to leave."
"Then what?" Cho asked gently, stroking Hermione's hair in a calming manner.
"We… we made love…." Hermione said, covering her face with her hands.
"Hermione, that's not a bad thing," Cho said, suppressing a smile.
"Well… that's not really the bad part," Hermione said. "This morning, when he woke me up… he told me he loves me…."
"And you didn't say it back?" Cho finished.
Hermione shook her head miserably. "Not only that, I told him that we went too fast. I think he hates me."
Cho smiled. "Harry could never hate you, Hermione." She chuckled. "In fact, I don't even think he could dislike you, much less hate you."
"Really?" Hermione asked in a tiny voice.
"How do you feel about Harry?" Cho asked carefully.
Hermione was silent for awhile. "I'm not sure," she said finally. "I don't think I'm up to answering questions about how I feel about Harry." She turned to look at Cho. "When you went out with him… was he like that?"
Hermione was surprised when Cho threw her head back and laughed. "Hermione, you've got to remember, when Harry and I went out… it was eight years ago for one thing, and neither of us really knew what we were doing."
"Really?" Hermione asked with a small smile on her face. "He never really talked about it much… and I just figured you had more experience than me in this matter."
Cho grinned. "Well… I do recall that the majority of what we talked about was you."
"Me?" Hermione was stunned. "Harry talked about me while he was on a date with you?"
Cho nodded. "At the time… I wanted to talk about Cedric, and what was happening between Harry and I… and all he wanted to talk about was you." She looked at Hermione with an impish twinkle in her eye. "And I was jealous, I was angry at you for taking up Harry's time when you weren't even with him." Hermione opened her mouth to respond but Cho didn't let her talk. "I've gotten over it, obviously. It was just obvious to me even then that he was crazy about you, even if I was the only one who knew it."
Hermione smiled again. "That seems like such a long time ago now, so much has happened since then."
"Yes, things have changed." Cho got up, handing Hermione another tissue. "Are you feeling better?"
"I think so," Hermione answered. "I appreciate your listening to me."
"Anytime, Hermione." Cho replied. "Now, if I don't make you go to work, what sort of boss am I?" she joked.
Hermione laughed. "All right, all right, I'm going." She picked up her bag and turned to leave.
"Hermione, if you talk to him, he'll understand." Cho said. "You know that right?"
"I know," Hermione answered. She left Cho's office and went down the hall to her own, intent on getting as much work on her desk as possible so she didn't have to think of Harry. Opening her door, she stepped inside. "Ernie!" she nearly screamed. "What the bloody hell are you doing in here?"
Ernie jumped, spilling the papers he was holding all over her desk. "Hermione! I'm sorry! I came in here to look for some old research you did…. I didn't' mean to scare you!"
Hermione bent down to pick up a few sheets of parchment. "Ernie, what are you doing with these? This isn't research these are old letters of mine from Harry and Ron."
"I know…" Ernie stuttered. "I didn't mean to read those, I mean, I found them when I was looking for your research…"
"And you just decided you'd take a peek?" Hermione asked crossly. "This doesn't look like research to me, and you looked pretty comfortable behind my desk."
"I… I'm sorry…" Ernie looked contrite. He held out a sheaf of parchments and Hermione snatched them away, still glaring at him. "I really didn't mean it Hermione…" he actually looked close to tears and she sighed.
"I'm sorry too." Hermione set her things down and rubbed at her eyes. "I've had a rough night and morning; I didn't mean to take it out on you."
"Anything I can help with?" Ernie seemed to have regained his composure.
"No… it's just something Harry and I have to deal with together." Hermione replied. "Which research project were you looking for?"
"Oh…" the question caught him off guard. "Umm… the Pantheon Chronicles." He replied quickly. Hermione went to her shelves and within seconds had located the stack of parchment.
"There you go." She said. "Anything else?"
"No," Ernie smiled at her. "That'll be it." He turned to leave. "I'm really sorry about your letters."
"It's all right." Hermione waved her hand and he left. She sat down and let her forehead thud against the cherry wood desk.
"Hermione, if you talk to him, he'll understand." Cho's voice echoed through her head.
"Will he really understand?" Hermione asked aloud. "What if I've mucked everything up by telling him we went into things too fast?" She stared off into space for a moment, then grabbed a fresh piece of parchment and loaded her quill with ink.
~Harry
First off, I want to apologise for what I said this morning. I was terrified of what happened last night, but I don't feel that it was wrong.
I can't blame my actions on being pissed. I wanted you last night, Harry, I wanted you badly. Then after we finished I laid there looking at you… and I was scared at what I felt, because I've never felt this way about anyone before.
Hermione nibbled on the tip of her quill before continuing.
I think I'm in love with you. No, scratch that. I know I love you. I'm a bloody idiot if I don't tell you that, because you're one of the best parts of my life, and after last night, I think now that it can only get better.
So here's hoping that you aren't too angry with me. If you're not, please come over to my flat tonight at eight, and we can figure out where to go from there.
Love,
Hermione
She rolled up the parchment and went down to the Owlery before she could lose her nerve. As she watched a snowy white owl that looked remarkably like Hedwig fly off, Hermione could feel a weight lifted from her shoulders.
*** *** *** *** *** ***
Harry walked down the street to the Ministry building, holding his cloak tightly around him. The brisk wind cut through his robes, but he felt even colder on the inside. He had gotten Hermione's letter earlier, and had stuffed it in his pocket, not able to handle any more rejection from her. Try as he might, however, he was not able to become fully angry with her. His fingers curled around the rolled parchment and he pulled it from his pocket, staring at it as if it held the answers to the world's biggest problems.
"I should just read it and get it over with." Harry mumbled to himself. He stepped inside the warmer Ministry building and moved off to the side of the lobby. Taking a deep breath, he unfurled the parchment and began to read.
His eyes opened wide, and a smile started to spread over his face. "Hermione…." He murmured. He had to fight hard to keep a stupid grin from growing, and to keep his voice down from shouting. Harry tucked the note back in his pocket and practically skipped down the hall to the hearing room. He opened the door and grinned widely at Neville and Dean, who looked back at him, puzzled.
"You're in a good mood today." Neville stated. "Something go your way?"
"You could say that." Harry tossed his cloak on a chair. "So where's Krum?"
"On his way," Dean replied. "Apparently he and his manager want to strike some sort of deal with us, but we'll see."
"A deal?" Harry snorted. "Right."
"We'll see what they say," Neville said from the other side of the room. Harry nodded, his feet tapping on the floor. He was anxious now to get this over with, to get over to Hermione's. Harry was dying to pull out her letter and read it again but not in front of his two friends.
A few moments later Krum slouched in accompanied by his manager. Shively was a nervous, small man who kept wringing his hands together, then running them through the little bit of hair left at the top of his head.
"Viktor has something to tell all of you," Shively said, his voice wobbling. He prodded Krum in the back.
"I vant to tell you vhere I vos that night," Viktor replied dutifully.
"That's convenient." Harry snapped. "All of a sudden you have an alibi?"
"Harry!" Neville looked at him with a warning glance.
"Sorry," Harry muttered.
"I vas not vith Hermy-own-ninny." Viktor said. "I vos at the Veela Snatch."
"You were at the Veela Snatch?" Dean asked. The Veela Snatch was a strip club near Knockturn Alley, it wasn't the nicest of places, it was heard around Diagon Alley that the manager didn't even use real Veela.
"I vos there after Hermy-own-ninny would not haff dinner with me." Viktor replied. "I stayed there until two in the morning."
Harry simply stared at him, not wanting to believe what he had heard. Neville strode out of the room, and silence fell over until he returned.
"I've just owled for confirmation," he said. "Were you there with anyone else?" His eyes revealed his frustration as well. A cold ball of fear was growing in Harry's stomach; if Viktor was innocent… then the real killer was still out there. He was on pins and needles by the time the owl arrived back from the Veela Snatch, around seven thirty.
Neville read the note with a completely blank face, and then motioned for Dean and Harry to follow him out of the room.
"Krum was there, at the Veela Snatch." Neville revealed in a low voice. "The manager and three dancers can vouch for him."
"Fuck!" Harry swore, smashing his fist against the wall. "Hermione went home this morning."
All three men paled. "All right, Harry, you go back to her flat and stay with her, or take her back to your place. Neville, you come with me…" his words were lost as Harry dashed away without bothering to retrieve his cloak.
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Hermione looked up at the clock on her wall; it was already half past six. "I can finish this tomorrow." Butterflies arose in her stomach as she left her office.
"Hi Ernie," she poked her head into her friend's office. "I'm leaving a bit early tonight."
"All right," Ernie smiled at her. "Heading back to Harry's?"
"No, actually, I'm back at my flat now." Hermione replied. "He's coming over later though."
"Well you two have fun." Ernie waved at her. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"See you." Hermione turned and left the office, ignoring Pansy as she crossed the lobby.
On her short walk home, she briefly wondered if Harry was going to come over that night like she had asked him to in her letter. He had not responded to her owl, so that could either mean he never wanted to see her again….or that he was coming.
"Bloody hell, Hermione." She muttered to herself. "Of course he'll come over… stop being so pessimistic." Closing the door to her flat behind her, she took a deep breath. It was nice to be home, even though she missed being at Harry's already.
"No time for that." She hung up her cloak and set her bag against the wall. Hermione moved into the bedroom, momentarily shivering as she remembered what happened there. She took a shower then got dressed in a pair of old jeans and a fitted light blue tee shirt.
Hermione paced through her small living room, glancing every few minutes at the clock. "I've never wanted time to go by faster than I do now." It was a quarter past seven, so Hermione went into her kitchen to make some tea.
A loud knock at her front door made her jump, then chuckle at her nervousness. Butterflies erupted again as she went down the hallway, thinking that perhaps Harry had decided to come over early.
"Ernie!" she said in surprise. "Hi… what are you doing here?"
"I'm really sorry to bother you at home like this, but I had some information that I found from that research you gave me earlier today." Ernie held up a sheaf of parchments.
"It couldn't wait until tomorrow?" Hermione asked.
"Well," Ernie gave her an embarrassed smile. "I was kind of excited about it…"
"Oh," Hermione opened the door wider. "Why don't you come on inside?"
"Thanks," he said, stepping over the threshold.
"I was just making some tea," Hermione said, closing the door behind him. "Would you like a cup?"
"Sure, that sounds great." Hermione smiled and headed down the hallway. She didn't notice when Ernie turned the deadbolt and then muttered a quick spell.
"I'm expecting Harry in a little while," she was saying. "But it's nice to have company in the meantime."
"Yes, it is." Ernie replied, entering her kitchen. He slipped his hand into his pocket and fingered the long, silver blade of the knife, the same knife he'd used before.
"So, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" Hermione set two mugs on the table. She sat down and he followed suit.
"Well…." Ernie fiddled with the cup. "I never got to talk to talk to you much about what happened."
Hermione shrugged. "They got Viktor Krum," she said. "I mean, Harry told me tonight they'll have all they need."
"Well that's good." Ernie replied, a strange smile on his face. "The last thing we need is to have someone like that wandering the streets."
She nodded. "It was terrifying though, I mean, he had a knife, he was going to kill me… apparently the fact that I didn't want to date him…. Meant more than I thought it would."
"It did. It meant a lot." Ernie said, the same strange smile still on his face.
"Wha… what?" Hermione looked up at him. "What are you talking about?"
"Your rejection… it hurts people." Ernie replied, an odd glow in his eyes. "Did you ever stop to think about that, Hermione? That you hurt people's feelings?'
"Ernie…." Hermione's voice quavered. Her heart lurched against her ribcage as he stood up.
"Apparently Krum handles rejection better than I do, I mean, he's not in here right now is he?" Ernie spat. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the evil looking knife, pleased to see Hermione begin to tremble.
"It was you?" her voice was almost a whisper. "You kidnapped me…. and… and… tried to ki-kill me?"
"I would have succeeded too if you hadn't fought back." Ernie's voice lowered and changed so it was the same tone as it had been when he'd held her in the house. "And this time…" Ernie reached into his other pocket and pulled out a baggy black mask.
"Oh God…." Hermione paled, realization hitting her like a curse. She had just invited a killer into her home. With that thought in mind, she pushed back her chair and ran out of the room, Ernie hot on her tail.
She flew to the front door, trying desperately to turn the lock in her hands. Her fingers slipped off and she screamed when Ernie grabbed her around the waist.
"Bitch!" he threw her up against the wall. Hermione fell upon the table and it smashed under her weight. She tried to get up but her back was hurting, and… and she was bleeding now, from somewhere she couldn't see.
"Ernie, please…" Hermione had tears in her eyes. "You don't want to do this, please…"
"I wouldn't HAVE to come to this if you hadn't ignored me for the past ten years!" Ernie bellowed. "If you'd only turned and seen me… I've been there for you; I got a job so I could be by you as much as possible… YET YOU STILL DON'T FUCKING SEE ME!"
"Hermione!" a pounding at the door made them both turn. "Hermione let me in! Hermione's IT'S NOT KRUM!" Harry smacked his fist against the door over and over again.
"HARRY!" she screamed, lurching up off the floor, ignoring the pain in her back. "Harry HELP ME its ERNIE AND HE'S IN HERE WITH ME!"
"SHUT UP!" Ernie shouted. He grabbed her again and pushed her back towards the kitchen. "Not another fucking word out of you!"
Harry threw his whole body against the door, panic and rage burning inside him. The door wasn't especially strong, but it was not budging. Harry plunged a hand in his robe and looked frantically for his wand.
Hermione stumbled into the kitchen, falling over a chair as Ernie pushed her again from behind. He cupped his hand around her chin and she felt the cold blade of the knife against her throat.
"Don't move, and don't say anything." Ernie carefully traced the knife along her skin. "This could have all been so different, Hermione." She whimpered in reply. "No really… you and I could have been so perfect together."
Harry could feel his throat grow hoarse as he screamed out every spell he knew to break whatever it was on the door.
"Maybe you're right Ernie," Hermione said, her voice trembling. She inched her hand up towards the still steaming mug of tea before her on the table. "I haven't been fair to you at all, have I?"
"No, you haven't." Ernie replied. "It's too late for changes though." Hermione tried to shake her head no as she still reached for the tea.
"No, come on Ernie… it's never too late." Her other hand sneaked up slowly to his arm. "I think we could make things work…." In one swift, quick motion, she grabbed both the tea and his arm, and as Hermione yanked the knife away from her neck, she tossed the hot liquid directly into his eyes.
The knife nicked her slightly as it fell from his grip, and even in her panic she didn't miss a beat as she snatched it up with one hand, the other touching her cut lightly.
"You stupid… fucking…." Ernie was howling in pain as he rubbed at his eyes. He pulled his fists down and glared at her, his pupils large in his red eyes. "I'm going to enjoy killing you…"
The knife shook in her grasp, nearly slipping out. Hermione held it out in what she hoped was a threatening manner, but it didn't seem to faze Ernie as he grinned manically.
"You think I'm scared of you with that?" he sneered. He made a quick motion towards her and Hermione shrieked. "You wouldn't do anything to me…"
"The HELL I wouldn't!" Hermione screamed.
"I've been waiting for this moment for a long time now…." Ernie said in a low, dangerous tone. "Ever since you broke my heart… this has been all I've been able to think about…" he raised his arms. "Goodbye Hermione…." He rushed at her and Hermione screamed again.
Harry heard her scream as he finally came upon the spell that kept the deadbolt in place. He muttered the words and threw his weight against the door again, finally breaking through. "Hermione!" he called, sick with fear. "Please let her be okay, please don't let her be dead…" the thoughts ran through his head as he flew towards her kitchen.
Ernie Macmillan lay on top of Hermione, blood gushing and pooling around the two of them. Harry felt like he was going to pass out as he looked at her pale face, and the long, silver knife on the floor. "Her…Hermione…" he gasped out, falling on his knees next to her. He reached out and touched her hair, not caring that his hand was covered in blood. Her eyes were wide open, staring up at the ceiling. Harry let out a loud anguished cry- he was too late!
Hermione tried to work her mouth, but found that she couldn't. She blinked a couple of times, and was able to turn her head slightly. "Harry…." She finally managed.
"Hermione!" His head shot up and then he was pushing Ernie off her. "Oh God, Hermione you're all right!" Harry hugged her tightly against him, not caring about the mess. She let out several small whimpers and he felt her arms go around his chest. "Shhhh…. It's all right; it's all over now…."
*** A Half Hour Later***
Ministry Officials were crowded through Hermione's flat, some covering the body, others finishing up reports. Hermione sat at her kitchen table, a warm wool blanket draped over her shoulders. Harry was trying to gently help her clean the now dried blood from her neck and arms. Her eyes were red rimmed, and she couldn't stop sniffling.
"I killed someone tonight, Harry." Her voice was dull.
"In self defence, Hermione," Harry replied softly. "If you hadn't killed him he would have murdered you."
She stared at the wall and nodded. "I guess you're right," she said sadly. Turning to look at Harry, Hermione felt her eyes well up with tears once more. "I really thought he was my friend, you know. All these years… he really hated me enough to want me dead." Two tears ran down her cheeks and she brushed away impatiently at them.
Harry moved his chair closer and put his fingers under her chin. "Look at me," he commanded gently. "Ernie was messed up. You did nothing wrong, Hermione, nothing. You need to believe that."
Hermione nodded again and a tiny smile appeared on her lips. "I'm such a burden, aren't I?"
"No." Harry returned her smile. "There's no place I'd rather be right now."
"I… I'm really sorry," Hermione began. "About last night… I mean… it was just so sudden…it was so scary…did you get my letter though?"
"Yeah…" Harry dried his hands and ran his fingers through his hair. "Look, I know we were both a bit drunk… but I meant what I said to you. And yes, I got your letter…"
Hermione looked at him for a moment and felt her heart lurch forward again, although this was a much more pleasant sensation than before. She leaned forward and gently pressed her lips against his, keeping them there for a few long moments.
His green eyes locked onto hers and his smile was more genuine when they pulled away from each other.
"This might take me awhile… you know… to get over." Hermione's hand found Harry's. "Be there for me?"
He squeezed her fingers lightly. "Always."