Authors Note:
Thanks to everyone who has posted such nice reviews! I appreciate the feedback. Keep it coming. Sorry it took so long between chapter updates.
Again, these characters do not belong to me, they are the property of J.K. Rowling, yada, yada, yada….
Chapter Eight
The Best Laid Plans
The shower had done Harry good. He'd been feeling kind of grimy and grubby since he'd arrived late last night at Hermione's. Shortly after devising a plan of action with Sirius, he'd left Australia almost immediately. He'd only had time to pack a quick bag. He was used to this nomadic existence he'd created for himself. He'd been living out of a suitcase for five years now. As Sirius liked to say, he had no place to set down roots.
This was the downside to the life he led now. Yes, he'd seen extraordinary things. Yes, he'd been to many different, exotic places-places that most people would never get to see. It wasn't the same, though. Besides Sirius, he had no one to share the experience with. He had no one to welcome him home with open arms. He had to laugh at the irony of it all. All of his life, he'd been looking for a home, a place where he'd fit in. For awhile, he'd found that at Hogwarts. He'd also found a surrogate family in the Weasleys, who'd never made him feel like an outsider and treated him like one of their own.
He knew that they'd been hurt by his leaving so abruptly. He'd tried to drop them a line from time to time to let them know that he was okay. As with Hermione, he'd kept up with the Weasleys, as well. It'd been hard to leave them behind, especially Ron. Ron had been his best mate. They'd been through so much together. Over the years, they'd had their disagreements, but when it came down to it, they'd always worked things out and been there for each other when it really counted.
It had been the same with Hermione, but also different. He'd remembered all the times that Dean or Seamus or Neville, for that matter, would come up to him and ask him if he was dating Hermione. He'd always tell them that he didn't see Hermione that way. She was his friend, his buddy, and his pal. How wrong he had been. He couldn't believe the time he'd wasted pining away for Cho Chang when the perfect girl for him had been right in front of him the entire time.
He remembered how well she'd handled it when Rita Skeeter had come out with her articles on his and Hermione's "relationship." She'd held her head high in the face of scathing remarks from Pansy Parkinson and the other Slytherins. She'd told Harry to just ignore the talk. He'd been blown away by her reserve and resolve throughout that whole situation. She'd also been the only one to stand by him when everyone else had thought he'd placed his name in the Goblet of Fire. Even Ron had doubted him, but not Hermione. She stood by him and helped him prepare for the dangerous tasks. And it had been Hermione that he'd turned to when the guilt over Cedric's death had gotten to him.
He tried to remember the first time he knew that he loved her. It wasn't something that he had decided. It wasn't as if he'd woken up one morning and said, "I am in love with Hermione." No, it hadn't happened that way. It was shortly after their fifth year had begun and Harry had gone down to visit Hagrid after dinner one night. They had discussed a number of things. They talked about how classes were going, about Quidditch practices and a myriad of other topics and then Hagrid said something that surprised Harry.
"So how's Ron and 'Ermione?" Hagrid asked. "I'm surprised they didn't come down with ya."
"Oh, Ron's serving detention with Snape and Hermione's where she almost always is, the library," Harry said.
"That 'Ermione is a great girl, you know, Harry," Hagrid said, a serious look on his face.
"Yeah, she is," Harry said.
"A really great girl, 'arry," Hagrid said. "Did you hear me?"
"Yeah, I heard you," Harry said, looking confused. "And I agreed with you."
"You know I always thought that you and she----well, that you and she would"
"Oh, not you, too," Harry said, exasperated. "Hagrid! I have to deny this nearly twenty times a day to everyone. You know that that Rita Skeeter article from last year was a load of bollocks, don't you?"
"Aye," Hagrid said. "But, I also know what I see. 'ave you ever seen how she looks at ya, 'arry?"
Harry had no idea where Hagrid was going with this.
"Hagrid, in case you haven't noticed, Hermione has a boyfriend. Viktor Krum," Harry said. "Even if I was interested, not to say that I am, mind you, but if I was interested, she's already taken. And even more than that, you know how Ron is. I suspect that he has feelings for her, himself. He doesn't need me to complicate things."
"For someone who 'asn't thought about this, you seem to 'ave quite a bit to say on the subject, if you ask me," Hagrid said, smiling at Harry.
"You don't know what you're talking about, Hagrid," Harry said.
"I don't, do I? Well, let me remind ya that she was the one who stood by ya last year when everyone thought you'd put your name in the Goblet of Fire. She 'elped you when Sirius and Beaky needed to escape. And I know for a fact that she fancies you, too," Hagrid said with a knowing smile. When he saw Harry's look of shock he tried to backtrack. "I shouldn't 'ave told you that."
"Hang on," Harry said. "What do you mean Hermione fancies me? What has she said?"
"I can't tell ya that, 'arry," Hagrid said. "I've already said too much. I do know, however, that if you told her you fancied her, she'd drop that Krum like a sack of potatoes, trust me on that one, 'arry."
"I think you've had one too many trips down to the pub, Hagrid," Harry said. "Hermione and I are just friends. Plain and simple. End of story. Nothing more, nothing less."
Harry got up from his chair to leave when he heard Hagrid laughing.
"What are you laughing at now?" Harry asked.
"Nothing," Hagrid said, stifling a guffaw of laughter. "It's just you sound just like your dad when he'd talk about Lily."
"Good night, Hagrid," Harry said. As he left the hut to go back to the castle, he could still hear Hagrid laughing.
Now as Harry looked back at that night, he'd wished he'd acted on what Hagrid had told him that night, but he hadn't. He'd waited another two years before he even made a move on Hermione. If he had, they might have had a longer time to be together than the short time they had before he'd left. To make himself feel better, he tried to tell himself that if he'd done that, he'd never have been able to leave her. No, what he had done, he'd tell himself, was for the best---for everyone involved.
Hermione and Ron were together now. As far as he knew, they were very happy. Ron was his best friend. He couldn't be so selfish as to think he could swoop back in to their lives and take Hermione away from Ron. Who's to say that she'd want to, Harry thought. Yet, something had almost happened in the kitchen this morning.
If Ron had known what had almost happened in that kitchen, he'd probably have lost his mind. He wondered what would have happened if Ginny hadn't shown up. He knew what he'd wanted to happen. It had been what he'd been dreaming of these past five years. The memory of that short time with Hermione had kept him going. When he'd seen her last night, he'd had to stop himself from grabbing her and planting a kiss on her right then and there.
He quickly put on his change of clothes---a pair of blue jeans, an emerald green sweater and a pair of sneakers.
When he walked back into the living room, he found Hermione fast asleep on the couch. He gave a small laugh as he walked over to the couch. She was out like a light. He'd known she was exhausted. He hated to wake her, but if they were to meet Sirius, they'd have to get a move on. He kneeled down and gently shook her. She didn't stir.
"Come on, sleeping beauty," Harry said, gently nudging her again. "Time to get up."
"Hmmm," came her muffled response. Harry watched as she opened her eyes. She sleepily closed them again seconds later.
"Come on, Hermione," Harry said, laughing. "Time to wake up."
"Okay," Hermione said, grumpily. "Okay, okay." She sat up on the couch. "How long was I asleep?"
"I think as long as I was in the bath," Harry said. "You going to be up to meeting Sirius?"
She rubbed her eyes. "Yeah, I think so. I just needed a little nap. Did you find everything okay?"
"Yes," he said. "The shower was excellent. You could probably use one, too."
"Gee, thanks," she said. "You trying to tell me that I smell? That I could audition for the lead in
Night of the Living Dead?"
"No," he said. "Of course not. Besides, I have that role."
"You're funny," she said. "You should give up the whole wizard-auror thing and pursue a career as a standup comic."
"Yeah, yeah, off to the showers, Granger," Harry said. He took her hand and helped her stand up.
"I thought I was the bossy one," Hermione said, walking toward the bathroom. "But I have nothing on you."
*************_______________________________________
They left Hermione's apartment within the hour. They had decided to apparate to Kings' Cross Station since they were running short on time. As soon as they arrived at the station, Harry looked around, but didn't see his godfather anywhere. He suggested to Hermione that they grab a cup of coffee. She readily agreed and they went to the coffee bar.
"Are you sure Sirius can see us here?" Hermione asked as they sat down in a booth.
"Yeah," Harry said. "I told him we'd probably be getting a cup of coffee."
Hermione nodded and stirred her coffee.
"You okay?" he asked.
"I'm still a little tired, I guess," she said. "I just hope we can get this mess straightened out and everything can go back to like it was before."
"It will," Harry said. "And you can go back to the simple things, like planning your wedding."
"Yeah," Hermione said. "Actually, Mrs. Weasley is taking care of much of that. She's like a whirlwind. I pretty much have to just show up."
"And get the dress, right?" Harry said. "I'm no expert, but I know that's the most important thing."
"I'm planning on wearing my mum's," Hermione said, her eyes lighting up. "I've always loved that dress. When I was little, I used to just stare at it up in the attic. It's really an amazing dress. I used to sit there in the attic and just imagine myself wearing it. What?"
Harry had just sat there looking at her as she described the dress. "Nothing. It's just you're the last person I'd expect to sit somewhere all gaga over a dress."
"I'm not 'gaga'. But it's not just some dress, Harry," Hermione said, blushing. "And besides, every girl dreams about their wedding. Even bookish, sensible Hermione."
"Well, I'm sure it's an amazing dress and you'll look breathtaking in it," Harry said, smiling shyly at her.
Their eyes had met again. Hermione smiled.
"This is so weird. Sitting here talking to you, of all people, about my wedding," she said.
"What do you mean? I mean, we're friends, Hermione. No matter what has happened in the past, we're friends."
"We're not just friends, Harry, and you know it," Hermione said. "Anyway, it's just a little bizarre to be sitting here talking to you about this."
"Well, out of all the things that you and I have been through together, I would say this ranks well below on the bizarre scale. I mean need I remind you of a certain three-headed dog, blast-ended screwts, Buckbeak-" he said between laughs. "Need I go on? Draco Malfoy turning out to be a nice guy underneath it all."
"No, you've got me there. Okay, okay. But you have to admit this is kind of strange," Hermione said.
"Did you ever tell anyone about us?" Harry asked, becoming more serious.
"No," she said, looking down at her muffin. "No one. Not even my mum."
"Why not?" he asked.
"Because I thought of our time together as ours, not anyone else's. And I knew that if I told Ron about it--," she stopped, suddenly. She gave a half-hearted smile to him before continuing. "Well, you know how he would have reacted. And after they way things ended, I didn't want anyone feeling sorry for me. I don't know. It was hard, though. Not to have anyone to talk to about it. I actually wrote a lot in my journal about it."
He was going to tell her that he, too, had suffered without her, but he never got around to it. Sirius Black became visible suddenly in the crowd. Both he and Hermione saw his arrival and exchanged broad smiles. Hermione quickly leaped out of her chair and ran towards Sirius.
"As I live and breathe!" Sirius said, enveloping her in a bear hug. "The one and only Miss Hermione Granger."
"Oh, it's so great to see you," she said, breaking the hug. "You haven't changed a bit."
"My dear, I am getting old and getting there fast," Sirius said, going over to Harry and hugging his godson. "How are you, Harry?"
"Okay," Harry said with a smile. "How about you? You want anything? Coffee?"
Sirius shook his head. "No, thanks," he said, taking a seat. "Sit down both of you. We have a lot to talk about."
"So what have you found out?" Harry asked.
""Very little, I'm afraid," he said, frowning. "We had a couple of leads, but nothing panned out."
"What do we do now?" Hermione asked.
"Well the main objective is to keep you safe, Hermione," Sirius said. "The best thing for you to do is to try and keep as normal a schedule as possible."
"You mean go to work, as usual?" Hermione asked, looking at Harry as she said this.
"Yes, of course," Sirius said. "We hope that if you keep as normal a schedule as possible, act as if you have no idea what's going on, we might lull whomever this is into a false sense of security. They may be ready to make their move and that's when we'll catch them."
"I don't think that's the best idea, Sirius," Harry said firmly.
"Well, we won't be sending her in there without protection," Sirius said.
"You mean bodyguards?" Hermione asked.
"That's exactly what I mean," Sirius said, smiling at her.
Hermione gave him a confused look. "Wait. I thought we wanted to keep this hush-hush. My being followed by bodyguards----well, that's just going to draw unnecessary attention."
"Well, it won't be conspicuous," Sirius said, looking at Harry. "You'll have one bodyguard and he's got the perfect cover. No one will ever know that he's here under anything but the guise of a friend helping you plan your wedding."
"Me?" Harry asked, incredulously.
"Harry?" Hermione asked at the very same time.
"What?" Sirius said. "You don't think it's a good idea?"
"Sirius, can I have a word?" Harry asked, standing up. "Hermione, you don't mind, do
you?"
She gave a confused look as Harry grabbed Sirius by the arm and led him to the front of the restaurant.
"What are you playing at?" Harry asked when they were out of Hermione's earshot.
"Nothing, my dear godson, nothing at all," Sirius said.
"So, let me get this straight. I'm supposed to watch over Hermione 24-7?" Harry asked.
Sirius hid a smile. "That's right."
Harry could feel the anger boiling up inside him. "How are you laughing at this? This is a very serious situation."
"Yes, it is and I don't mean to laugh," Sirius said. "But you've got to see that this is the best idea. It's our best shot. And whether you choose to admit it or not, you like the idea of spending more time with Hermione."
"It doesn't matter what I like or don't like or what I want or don't want, Sirius," Harry said. "She's engaged. Furthermore, she's engaged to Ron. Not to me, okay? To Ron."
"They aren't married, yet," Sirius said.
"This isn't a game, Sirius. This is my life and theirs," Harry said.
"I can't do that to Ron," Harry said. "And besides we're getting off the main point here. We're here to protect Hermione. Her life is at stake."
Sirius put a comforting arm on Harry's shoulder. "And her happiness, as well. Yours, too. Do you know that I saw the two of you arrive here at the station? I watched the two of you. I haven't seen you that happy in a long time, Harry. There's a light in your eyes that hasn't been there for awhile."
"Sirius, I really don't think that this is a good idea," Harry said. He gazed back inside the coffee shop to where Hermione was sitting. She was sipping her coffee.
"Well, it doesn't matter what you think," Sirius said. "Your boss and mine, Remus Lupin, has agreed to this. He thinks that this is our best plan of action. So, it's a direct order."
"Yeah, I'm sure that you helped make up his mind, huh?" Harry asked.
"You can do this, Harry," Sirius said. He joined Harry at the window and they both looked at Hermione. "She needs you. She needs you now more than ever. Don't leave her again."
"Okay," Harry said. "I'll do it. But I'm not going to come between she and Ron." Harry walked back inside and over to Hermione. Sirius followed.
"So," Harry said, sitting back down. "Against my better judgment, I've agreed to serve as your bodyguard, provided you'll have me that is." He smiled good-naturedly at her.
"If Sirius thinks this is the best idea, I trust his judgment," she said. "I trust you, Harry. I trust you with my life."
"I won't let you down, Hermione," Harry said. "I promise."