A/N: This chapter isn't as long as I set out for it to be. This mostly is interactions between H/Hr and moving it along. I'm sorry the last few chapters have been boring. I make a rough outline of what will happen as I write each chapter. I think this will get better as I go along. Please bear with me! But everything will pick up soon, prolly in the next chapter.....hehe...hehe..(begins to laugh maniacally!!!) But I felt like I didn't give you enough last chapter so, here's more for you. Here's Chapter 18!
Chapter 18- Another Lesson and The First Flight
The next day during classes, the teachers seemed to think that their softness on the fifth years the week before needed to be short-lived. Even though they only had three classes on Mondays, they got back to the common room bags and notebooks bursting with notes and scribbled assignments. It seemed as though it could only get worse.
That night, after finishing only one article of their homework (a 12 inch long essay on Confundus Charms for Flitwick), Harry and Hermione went to their special room to practice the list of spells Professor Figg had given them. Hermione showed an aptitude for them and was speeding through them quite rapidly. After rehearsing Expelliarmus, Impediment Jinxes, and some other hexes and jinxes, she managed to hit Harry with a well placed stunning spell that had him out cold for ten minutes before her increasingly anxious reviving charms managed to break through and he woke up.
"I think you're getting the hang of this Hermione," Harry said a little shakily after accepting some chocolate that Hermione had conjured up.
"Thanks I try. They are difficult though, I don't know how you managed to learn them all so quickly for the third task last year...." And her voice drifted off into oblivion as Harry was taken back to the most horrific night in his young life.
He saw a boy named Cedric Diggory's face, split-second fear tearing across his handsome features, and then he fell to the ground, and was no more. He saw himself dueling with an evil wizard named Voldemort who had been newly restored to his body, encased in a golden web of light, his mother's echo floating around him, with whispered instructions on how to escape, Cedric, asking him to take his body back....
Suddenly, Hermione's face came floating back into his vision and a horror struck look marred her pretty face.
"Harry, I am so sorry. I didn't mean to bring back anything troublesome. You've had such a hard time since Cedric died and.... oh Harry, I'm sorry!"
The tears Harry was trying to hold back escaped. Hermione put her cool palms on his cheeks and brought his face close to hers. She leaned her forehead against his and looked at him.
"Harry look at me," she said and he brought his beautiful emerald eyes up to meet hers. "What happened to Cedric was not your fault. And it wasn't his fault. It was a mistake that neither of you could control. Voldemort is very powerful and there was nothing you could do to stop him. So you can't beat yourself up about this for the rest of your life. Do you understand?" She reached up and wiped away the tear that had fallen down his cheek. She hugged him and they pulled away.
"Thanks Hermione." He rubbed his eyes furiously with the back of his sleeve. He shook his head and said, "Wow. I'm really turning into a sap."
Hermione giggled and they got up to leave.
"Let's go finish some more homework," Hermione suggested. For once Harry did not argue.
"Alright," he said. As they pushed the portrait open, Harry stepped down first and turned around to offer Hermione a hand down. When they were both safely out of the portrait hole and it was closed, they walked slowly down the hallway. Hermione looked down at the floor and noticed that he was still clutching her hand. Their fingers were laced together and as she looked at their interwoven fingers, she realized she could not tell which fingers were hers and which were his. She glanced up at him and a smile began to creep up her face, before she quickly returned her eyes to the floor, the corners of her mouth still itching to grin.
***
The next morning, Harry, Ron and Hermione could barely stay awake over their cereal bowls, having stayed up the previous night doing homework. Angelina Johnson came zipping over to Harry the second she walked in the Hall.
"Harry, we're practicing tomorrow afternoon. We don't have a Keeper yet so we're just going to have to practice without one. Try-outs are Saturday. Anyway, tomorrow evening. Four to six. Got it? Good." And with that she began to walk away.
"Wait!" Ron called, "Who died and made you Captain?"
"Uh, Oliver graduated the year before last, Ron," Hermione whispered urgently as Angelina looked at him skeptically.
The tips of Ron's ears reddened."Oh, well, right then," he said. With a 'humph', Angelina turned on her heel and sauntered away haughtily. Harry and Hermione turned to look at him and burst out laughing.
"Well how was I supposed to know she was captain?" he asked, ears becoming crimson now.
"Oliver did graduate two years ago Ron and we didn't have Quidditch last year because of the Triwiz-- well, I think we best be off to class then shall we?" Hermione finished hastily, at the sight of Harry's suddenly gloomy face.
"Yes we had," Ron said quickly to cover Hermione's blunder, "Rats, am I tired! And to top off my luck we have Binns class first thing today!"
The three of them got up quickly and walked out of the Hall and to their first class.
***
And yet again, the Hogwarts professors piled homework on the fifth years, so that they had twice as much as the night before and most had not even finished the previous night's. Still around 7:45, Harry and Hermione got up to leave the common room. However, they did not go unnoticed.
"Hey where are you two going?" Fred Weasley called.
"Off for some private business, eh?" his twin called. Suddenly the whole room exploded in catcalls and cheers. Harry felt a flush rising in his cheeks and glanced over to Hermione whose face was as bright red as a fire engine.
"Well, we-- uh--" Harry began.
"Yeah we get it, Harry,"Seamus said, winking at him.
"Seamus, Harry and I are going to go see Professor McGonagall about me trying out for the Quidditch team, that's all," Hermione said firmly. Fred, George and Seamus all looked egually surprised. Then the twins faces changed, and split into identical mischievous grins.
"Really Hermione? Well I can't wait to see you at tryouts....unless you chicken out," George teased.
"Oh, don't worry! I won't!" she said. With that she turned on her heel and headed out the portrait hole, grabbing Harry's arm and dragging him out behind her.
When they were outside, he said,
"But Hermione you can't fly! I've never even seen you on a broomstick!"
"Yes of course, but then again, my best friend was the youngest House Team player in a century, so I have a great teacher," she replied matter-of-factly.
"Hermione, Quidditch try-outs are on Saturday! And besides, how am I supposed to go to our lessons, do homework, play Quidditch AND teach you to fly all in the space of the next THREE days? That's practically no time for breathing, let alone sleeping and ea--"
"Oh Harry we forgot to send Ron to Dumbledore!" she interrupted, "Would you go back and get him please?"
Harry sighed. "Alright. Stay here." He ran back to the common room and told Ron to head for Dumbledore's office. Ron walked with him back to Hermione and when he saw them together, he smirked but didn't say anything. When the two of them stopped in front of the portrait he looked at it curiously but shrugged and headed on his own way.
***
"That was a good lesson, Hermione. Keep up the good work, and we may progess to Patronuses on Thursday," Professor Figg said. " Harry, keep working with her and we shall make fast work of these basic trainings."
As the two exited the classroom with a list of more spells, Hermione's face glowed, remembering the praise that she had just received. Harry grinned at her.
"She's right you know. You are doing wonderfully."
"Thanks. I was a bit worried that I wouldn't catch up to you as quickly as they wanted me to, but I suppose I'm doing okay," she replied.
"Like I said, you're doing great! Don't be so hard on yourself!" Harry pressed.
"Thanks," she repeated, flushing a bit.
Just then Ron came walking up, Dumbledore in tow.He looked very pale. Dumbledore was smiling amusedly, with his eye twinkling characteristically.
"He's just told me," Ron said disbelieveingly, "Of all the people to choose as friends, I just had to pick YOU guys."
"Your friend has indeed agreed to become your Secret Keeper. He has also agreed to learn the study of Occlumency- the closing of one's mind to people who wish to look into it."
"Ooh, I've read about it in lots of books...." Hermione continued to talk as Ron leaned over to Harry and said in an audible stage whisper,
"Doesn't she ever shut up?"
"Hey I heard that!" Hermione said and smacked Ron upside the head. He yelled in pain, and rubbing the back of his head he and Hermione began arguing.
"Are they like this all the time?" Dumbledore said to Harry, chuckling.
"Yes, all the time," he replied. Dumbledore shook his head, still chortling, then cleared his throat, so that the other two ceased their argument and looked up expectantly. He said,
"Well I must be going. Arabella and I will be performing the spell on Thursday after your lesson. Good evening." And with that he walked away.
The three returned to an empty common room quietly. There (after much nagging from Hermione) they completed all of their homework, except for the star chart for Astronomy they had to complete and a Divination dream diary. Then (after much nagging from Harry and Ron) Hermione checked their papers, and after slow good nights the three friends separated off into their respective dormitories to go to sleep.
***
Wednesday morning came too quickly for Harry and Ron. Only after Neville had come in to shake them vigorously for the third time and ten minutes before class started, did they wake up. After 5 minutes of groaning and stretching, both boys realized that they had Snape's class that morning and they would surely be expelled if they were late. So they dressed quickly and scrubbed their teeth furiously before grabbing their books and dashing to the dungeons and skidding in next to Hermione and Lavender. Two seconds after they arrived, Snape began the lesson.
"Where were you?" Hermione hissed, "I waited forever for you and finally came down with Lavender!"
"Uhhh.... overslept," Harry replied quickly. He became all too aware of his messier than usual hair and haphazard robes (only later that night as he was undressing for bed would he realize that he was actually wearing the socks Dobby had given him last Christmas.) He flushed around the ears as Hermione gave him a stern look. Then she saw that he was embarrassed and her look softened and she squeezed his hand under the table, grinning at him reassuringly. They both turned their attention back to Snape.
***
Later as their Tongue-Twisting Potions were brewing, Harry scribbled a note to Hermione.
'You want me to teach you to fly tonight?'
'Well, I have to learn all those spells for our lessons... so I don't know...'
'Come on Hermione! We could practice those for twenty minutes and you'd have them down pat! Now come on...what do you say?'
'Okay.After dinner we can practice the spells and then go flying'
With that they turned back to their potions.
***
Out on the Quidditch field that night after they had practiced Hermione's spells for awhile, Harry was exhausted from his earlier Qudditch practice, homework and having Hermione practicing jinxes on him. Still, he had put on a cheery face and was teaching her how to get her broom off the ground. He patiently showed her again and again, demonstrating with his own Firebolt, while her Comet Two-Sixty (a loaner from the school) rolled over and over on the ground, just as it had in their first year. Her cries of "Up!" became increasingly more frustrated, until after her twentieth attempt, she burst into tears.
"Oh I, hate being rubbish at something!" she cried angrily, wiping furiously at her eyes.
"You're not rubbish, you're just too nervous. Try and relax," Harry said patiently, "You want to learn to fly right?"
"I don't know. I guess I'm a bit frightened."
Harry appeared to be pondering something for a moment and then he jerked out of his reverie and spoke.
"Why don't we just go easy tonight and get you used to the feeling of it?" Harry suggested.
"I don't know......" she said skeptically and then seeing th disappointed look on Harry's face, she quickly changed her mind. "All right then. Let's go." Harry grinned widely. He clambered aboard his broom.
"Here, you can get on behind me," he said, beckoning. She climbed on. Harry kicked gently at the ground and they flew up about 5 feet into the air. Harry could feel Hermione stiffen behind him and he slowed it down a bit and swerved around the pitch for a few minutes. Hermione began to relax and enjoy herself.
"Harry?" she inquired hesitantly. He glanced back at her. "Can we go higher? This is fun!" He grinned and pulled his broom up higher.
Hermione squealed and her hands tightened their hold on Harry's torso. He laughed and then they did some loops, much to the delight of Hermione, who shrieked a bit, then giggled happily. They soared around for about 15 more minutes. Harry gently brought the broom to a halt and stepped down, before reaching up and helping her off as well. They deposited the school broom back in the broom shed and headed back to the castle.
"Harry?" Hermione whispered. He looked over to her. "Thanks for teaching me to fly. Same time tomorrow?"
Harry grinned and replied, "Sure."
***