Author's Note:
I just wanted to say thanks for all the kind reviews! I really appreciate you guys taking the time to tell me what you
think. Keep 'em coming!
Chapter Five
Hello Again
"Harry?"
"Hi."
"Hi."
They stood there in silence, staring at each other.
"What is it?" Harry finally asked, uncertainly.
"Well, I'm-", she began. "I'm debating.
"Debating what?"
"I'm not sure if I want to give you a hug or smack you upside the head," she said with a slight smile.
"Well, if I had a vote, I'd go for the first option, but I would understand if you did the second," Harry said.
Hermione let out a nervous laugh. "Come here, you prat!" She opened her arms. They embraced. It was an awkward moment to say the least.
Hermione broke free and then smacked Harry upside the head.
"Ow!!!" he yelped. "Ouch, Hermione!"
"I decided to go for both options," she said.
"I guess I deserved that," he said, rubbing his forehead. "That's probably gonna hurt in the morning."
She didn't say anything.
"I deserved that," he said. "I deserve a lot worse than that."
"What are you doing here, Harry?"
"It's kind of a long story," he said. "Can I come in?"
"Oh, yes," she said, ushering him inside. "Please, come on in. Can I get you something to drink or a snack or something?"
"No, I'm alright, thanks."
He walked inside and looked around at Hermione's apartment. It was just like he'd imagined. There were two large bookcases against the living room wall. They were overflowing with books. They was a large beige couch with an afghan draped across it. Harry knew immediately that it must have been a gift from Mrs. Weasley. There were pictures on the mantle. Harry walked over to the mantle and upon further inspection noticed that the pictures were of Hermione's parents, there was one of Ron, another one of Ron and Hermione together and in the corner of the mantle a picture of Hermione, Ron, and Harry. It was taken the day of graduation. The 18-year old kids in that picture waved excitedly at him.
"Why are you here?" she asked.
He turned around. He'd expected that. He had rehearsed what he would say in his mind over and over. Nothing had seemed right. He didn't respond. He didn't know what to say.
"I mean, I don't see or hear from you for five years and all of a sudden you show up on my doorstep in the middle of the night," she said. "What am I supposed to think?"
"I'm sorry, Hermione," he said, softly. "I'm sorry for everything."
"That's supposed to make it okay?" she asked. "That might have worked when we were kids, but we're not children anymore. I deserve an explanation. I deserve an explanation for why you left and why you've come back."
"This isn't easy for me, Hermione," he began to explain.
"It isn't supposed to be easy on you, Harry," she said. "Do you have any idea how much it hurt me, when I woke up that morning and you were gone? I thought that I had done something wrong."
"You didn't do anything wrong, Hermione," he said. "Will you please sit down, you're making me nervous standing there."
"Fine, I'll sit," she said, taking a seat on the couch.
"Okay, where to start?" he asked, more to himself than to her. "I explained to you as best I could in the letter."
"Ah, yes, the letter," she said. "The letter was all that I had. I didn't want the letter, Harry. I wanted you."
"I didn't want to leave you, Hermione," he said. "It was the only way. The line of work that I was getting involved in doesn't exactly leave room for a social life, or a family. You have to make certain sacrifices in order to keep the people you love safe."
"Why does it always have to be you? Why are you always the one who has to make the sacrifices? And why is it that you didn't ask me what I wanted before you decided how my life should be? You didn't just hurt me, Harry, when you left. Ron. He thinks of you like a brother, you know. The Weasleys."
"I didn't ask for any of this you know. I never wanted to be The Boy Who Lived."
"I never said you did," Hermione said. "I'm just saying that you have been trying to live up to that name ever since I've known you. You always have to be the hero."
"I do not always have to be the hero," he said, getting up from the sofa.
"Yes, you do," Hermione retorted, getting up to face him. She pointed her finger at him.
"I do not," he said. "Well, you, Miss Hermione Granger, always have to be right, don't you? You can't let someone else be right for once in your life?" He pointed back at her.
"Get your finger out of my face," she said, her cheeks were red with anger.
"Get your finger out of my face," he said back.
They looked at each other, suddenly realizing how ridiculous they sounded.
They both began to laugh.
"Prat!" she said, between giggles.
"Know-it-all!" he said.
They both collapsed back onto the couch, still laughing.
"How can you do that?" she asked, finally catching her breath.
"Do what?"
"Make me laugh and want to cry all at the same time," she said.
"It's a talent," he said. "That's actually what I've been doing the entire time I've been away. Perfecting that."
"Well, you do it very well," she said.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome."
"This is so weird," Hermione said.
"Yeah," Harry said. "It is."
"Look, we can talk about what happened between us at another time, Hermione," Harry said, seriously. "I need to tell you why I'm really here."
"Okay," she said.
"You've heard that a group of Death Eaters were caught recently in Australia?"
"Yeah," she said. "We heard all about it. They were trying to take it over. They evacuated us from the building for nearly four hours while they made sure things were safe. We didn't know what they were trying to do, though."
"They were after you, Hermione," Harry said.
"Me?"
"Yes. Apparently, when he was still alive, Lord Voldemort was very impressed with you."
"He's not---," Hermione began.
"No, no," Harry said. "He's still dead. He just told those closest to him that having your skill and intellect on their side would prove very beneficial. Anyway, the group heard about the research you've been doing at The Ministry. They wanted to kidnap you and steal the research."
"How did you find this out?" Hermione said.
"We interrogated one of the suspects and offered him immunity in exchange for his cooperation and information. He told us that the big plan was to kidnap you and Dumbledore and take over Hogwarts and The Ministry."
"Oh my Lord," Hermione said. "How could they do that, though? Hogwarts is so guarded. There are a number of enchantments, spells, hexes…there's no way to infiltrate the castle."
"They were going to use Dumbledore to do it," Harry said. "They had planned to lure him away from Hogwarts to The Ministry. That's all we know now. They have people stationed in both places, undercover. We don't know who they are."
"This is too much to take," Hermione said. "What are we going to do?"
"The main objective is to keep you safe, Hermione," he said. "We're going to keep you on 24-hour surveillance. They'll have wizards, fellow aurors, watching the apartment house."
"Okay," she said.
"It's going to be alright, Hermione," he said. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you. You trust me, don't you?"
She didn't respond. She seemed to be in shock, still trying to comprehend everything Harry had just told her.
"You trust me, don't you?" he asked again.
"Hmmm?" she said, looking at him.
"You trust me, don't you, Hermione."
"Yes, Harry," she said, "I trust you. I'd trust you with my life."
"That's good to hear," he said. "Now, I think it'd be best if I stayed here tonight."
"What?" she said, rising again from the couch. "I don't really think that's a good idea."
"On the couch," Harry said.
"I still don't know if that's a good idea," she said.
"Hermione," he said. "We don't know what we're up against. I'm going to keep you safe. To do that, I have to be with you. I can't do that shacked up in a room at The Leaky Cauldron."
She still looked unsure, but she still managed to nod. "Okay. I, um, I'll go and get you a blanket and a pillow."
She smiled, nervously, and then went to the closet. She pulled down an extra blanket and pillow. She walked back over to Harry,
"Here you go," she said. "Um, my bedroom is the um, second door on the right. The bathroom is the first door on the right."
"Okay," he said. "Thank you."
"Yeah," she said. "Well, I better go and get some sleep. I have an early day tomorrow."
"We have an early day tomorrow," he corrected her. He gave her a reassuring smile.
"Okay, we have an early day tomorrow," she said. She turned to go to her bedroom, but stopped. She turned and looked at Harry. He'd begun to lie out the blanket and pillow on the couch.
She couldn't' believe this. She couldn't believe any of this. This all had to be a dream. But it was real. He was real. He was back. She had an eerie feeling that nothing would ever be the same again. Her world had proverbially been turned upside down.
She wondered how she would ever be able to go to sleep now. Her life was in danger. Harry would be sleeping just a few feet away from her.
"Hermione?" he asked.
"Hmmm?" she said, breaking away from her thoughts.
"I thought you were going to sleep," he said.
"I was," she said. "I mean, I am."
"Good night, then," he said, lying down on the sofa.
"Good night," she said.