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Duel of the Hearts by Eternal Fire
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Duel of the Hearts

Eternal Fire

After speaking with Hermione as lunchtime, Harry was ready to speak with Tom Hutchinson. When he finished his classes that afternoon, Dumbledore gave him a pass to leave Hogwarts for a period of three hours. Harry had to admit having the power to apparate in a place no one else could had definite advantages.

The young wizard appeared in a back alley in the middle of London. He headed out onto the street and looked around for the landmark that Dumbledore had told him about. Walking across the street, he approached a redbrick building with a sign hanging over it that read, 'Miles Publishing and Printing'.

Harry opened the door, and a bell chimed as he entered. He could see several people seated in chairs, apparently for something or someone. He didn't see any reporters or owls anywhere, but then again, Diagon Alley had been hidden as well. Harry then approached the counter directly in front of him.

"Good afternoon, lad, what can I do for you?" the young woman seated at the counter asked cheerfully.

"Um…yes…I'd like to see Tom Hutchinson please."

"Do ya have an appointment? Mr. Hutchinson is quite a busy man."

"I'm sorry, but I don't. I just wanted to speak with him for a moment."

The woman chewed her bottom lip for a moment.

"Tell ya what, lad, he's in a meeting right now, but I'll stick my head in and see if he has a moment."

"Thank you very much," Harry said with a smile.

"And who should I say wants to see him?"

"I'm Harry Potter."

The entire room froze as he spoke those two words. The receptionist's eyes bugged out, and the people sitting down were staring at him as well. Now, Harry knew that he was in the right place. Muggles would never act this way around him.

"Blimey, I'm an idiot; I should've recognized ya, Mr. Potter. Give me one minute!"

The young lady raced down the hallway and into one of the offices. Not more than thirty seconds, she reappeared and zoomed back up to the front desk.

"Well, Mr. Potter, you have perfect time. Mr. Hutchinson just finished up. If you would follow me, I'll show you in."

"Thank you, ma'am, and please call me Harry."

Harry was led down the main hallway and to a second branch to the right. He was shown to the third office on the left, and the woman nodded her head.

"Go on in, he'll be with you in just a moment."

"Thank you, ma'am."

Harry took a seat in one of the plush armchairs and crossed his fingers. He'd never done anything like this, and his palms began to sweat.

A minute later, an older man in his late forties entered the office. He had dark brown hair that was tinting with shades of grey, and his tie hung loosely around his neck.

"Ah, you must be the infamous Harry Potter, I'm Tom Hutchinson."

Harry stood up and shook the man's hand.

"Please take a seat."

Tom walked around behind his desk and dropped into a large, leather chair.

"So, what can this old reporter do for 'the Boy Who Lived'."

Harry immediately liked this man; he was actually comfortable making jokes about his reputation, which was a big plus.

"Well sir, I was referred to you by Albus Dumbledore; he said that you could help me."

"Ah, so Albus sent you. Tell me, how is the old rascal doing." Harry actually chuckled.

"He's doing fine, sir. Professor Dumbledore suggested I should ask for you because he was familiar with your work. As I'm sure you've already seen, the press is having a field day with me."

"Yes, I did see the 'Snitch' this morning. You're planning on getting hitched, huh?"

Harry didn't respond but merely stared Tom straight in the face. The older man grinned slightly and reached into a side drawer. He pulled out his wand and pointed it towards the door.

"Seal!" The door slammed shut and locked.

"All right, my boy, now it's just you and me. What can I do for you?"

"Sir, I must ask that what I say here cannot leave this room."

"Of course, if that is what you want."

"Thank you very much. Yes, it is true. I am engaged; her name is Hermione Granger. The thing is that we didn't want people to know about it. We both wanted to wait awhile, but as you know, that didn't happen. We were going to tell everyone, but it wasn't going to be for quite some time."

"What help can I be? Your secret is already out," Tom questioned.

"I was wondering if you would like to do an interview with me and Hermione. We will disclose the truth, but we want it done with discretion. I don't want this turning into some scandalous affair that everyone wants a piece of. Professor Dumbledore told me that you only write about the facts, and I'm willing to give you those facts."

"That's a most interesting offer, Harry, and I appreciate the vote of confidence. All right, I'll do an editorial on you and…Hermione, I believe?"

"Yes, Hermione Granger."

"Why don't I come by Hogwarts this weekend? I can owl Albus and ask him to send me a portkey. If I remember correctly, I believe you're the Head Boy at Hogwarts, aren't you?"

"Yes sir, I am, and Hermione is actually the Head Girl as well."

"Aren't you two a pair? You two have your own common room, correct? Why don't we do the interview there?" Tom laughed, and Harry grinned slightly.

"That's sound fine. I really appreciate this, sir."

"Don't worry about it, Harry, and please…stop calling me 'sir'! Just call me Tom."

"All right."

Harry stood up with a smile on his face.

"Well, Harry, I guess that I will see you two this weekend. Thanks for stopping by." Tom extended his hand, and the young man shook it happily.

"We'll see you then, Tom, have a good day."

Tom unlocked his door, and Harry headed out of his office.

Harry returned to Hogwarts just as the students were heading to the Great Hall for dinner. Entering the hall, he heading for the Gryffindor table and saw Hermione waiting for him with a semi-worried expression on her face. She was reading a book to keep her mind occupied, but Harry could tell that her heart wasn't in it. Ron caught sight of him and grinned.

"Hey, there you are. Where've you been Harry?"

Hermione immediately spun around and looked up at him expectantly. He smiled warmly, and she relaxed instantly.

"Hi guys, I was gone for the last few hours. I went to the Daily Prophet to see someone."

"Who do you know at the Daily Prophet?" Ron asked and scratched his head.

"Harry went to see a reporter," Hermione answered for him, "Dumbledore suggested someone that Harry might want to see."

"What do you mean?" asked the confused Weasley.

"Just a second, Ron. Hermione…" Harry stated and turned towards his fiancé, "Tom wants to meet with us this weekend. Is that all right with you?"

"Sure, that's fine, I don't have much studying to do this weekend anyway. When is he coming by?"

"My guess is sometime on Saturday. I figure that we'll have it in our common room; it's private."

"Makes sense. That's a good idea, Harry."

"Uh…excuse me…could someone please tell me what's going on?" Ron groaned.

"Ron, the reporter I went to see is named Tom Hutchinson; he's an editorialist for the Daily Prophet. He's coming here this weekend to do an interview with Hermione and I."

"You serious? I thought that you didn't want anybody to know!" he said a little too loudly, and Lavender nudged him slightly.

"He's right, you two, why do this now?"

"Well Lavender, since that article was printed the Snitch, everyone is going to be hounding both Hermione and myself for information. I agreed to give the media what they want, but it'll be on our terms."

Harry then turned towards Hermione again.

"Herm, I want to let you know that you don't have to say anything you don't want to. I won't force you to say anything."

"Harry…" she smiled and took his hand, "…we're in this together all right. I'm not going to let you get grilled all by yourself. That just wouldn't be right. If anything, we should both get interrogated at the same time."

"Well…I wouldn't exactly call it that…I hope." She gently patted his arm.

"Don't worry, love, we'll be fine. You watch my back, and I watch yours…okay?"

"Agreed, but to be honest Hermione…" Harry's eyes lowered slightly, "…I'd rather enjoy watching a lower part of your anatomy."

She gasped as he pinched her behind and nearly jumped out of her seat, while Lavender sat there giggling. She glared at her fiancé and stuck out her bottom lip in a classic pout.

"Letch"

"Nymph"

"Jerk"

"Tease"

"Sweet"

"Beautiful"

"Loving"

"Compassionate"

"Sexy"

"Insatiable"

Hermione sat there grinning at him, and Harry slithered his arms around her waist.

"We tied this time, love."

"You're right; I'll beat you next time," he chuckled and kissed her cheek.

"By Merlin, you two are impossible!" Ron groaned and shook his head.

"He's right; that was just ridiculous," Lavender stated while holding in her laughter.

Harry wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Haven't you ever heard of verbal foreplay?"

"Oh, I so did not need to hear that Potter," Ron groaned.

The four friends broke out laughing making several students look at them questionably. Neither of them noticed that a certain someone was missing from their table. Cassandra was nowhere at the Gryffindor table. Harry noticed this because she'd always kept a certain 'range' to him since her arrival at Hogwarts. His sharp eyes swept the room and located. It was nothing more than a glance, but he caught site of her location.

Cassandra Cross was sitting at the Slytherin table, and even worse, she was sitting next to and conversing with none other than Draco Malfoy.

Harry wished that he could read lips, but he filed the information away into his mind where he'd been collecting things that were telling him not to trust Cassandra. He turned back to his friends in a matter of seconds and re-amerced himself in their conversation. Right now, Harry didn't have time to play 'guard dog'. He had to prepare for his first, and he sincerely hoped his last interview.

Author's Notes: Sorry, this is only the first part of the chapter, but I've left my readers hanging for a long time. I've been really busy with my new job, and I've barely had time to look at this in the last few weeks. I'm gonna do my best to have the second half up within a week.