*A/N: Hey! I'm back! Sorry that has taken so long for an update. I've just come back from a job, which kept me away all summer. Add in an almost complete computer meltdown and family issues and you've created a sticky, disgusting mess that I have been wading through for the past four days or so. Not to mention I looked at all the stuff I had already written and realized that it was complete crap. Yay me. This is the first of the re-written chapters. I appreciate your patience! Thanks so much! Enjoy!*
*Disclaimer: I own nothing. If I did, I'd have someone write this stuff for me….*
*One More Chance* <- Realized that I haven't changed the title throughout the story………
"Harry!" Hermione called.
Harry wheeled around to see her approaching him. She looked up at him, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.
When they broke off the kiss, Hermione blushed and swiftly made her way to the door. She made her way up the stairs, only to sit down on the fourth one from the top and burst into tears. She was so confused and angry about being confused. She wasn't supposed to have forgiven him so quickly! They needed to talk about it. Yet, per usual, her non-confrontational self had just let him walk all over her without even a thought.
Her self depreciating inner cranial rant continued until two arms wrapped around her middle and pulled her up off the stair. Kathryn had heard something outside the door, opening it; she had found the sobbing mess that was called her roommate. She picked her up and guided Hermione to the couch, where she sat there and demanded that she be told why Hermione was so upset. Sniffling, Hermione told her everything, up to and including the kiss on the street. Kathryn knew that anything she said to Hermione at this point wouldn't help, but she knew one thing would. She walked over and, wrapping her arms around Hermione's small frame, pulled her into a hug and stayed there until Hermione had cried her last tear into her shoulder. When she was unable to cry anymore, Hermione got up, gave a watery smile to her roommate and made her way to her bedroom, where she collapsed in a miserable, fatigued heap on her bed.
Harry, on the other hand, was on cloud nine. He walked back to Mike's house like he had just won the lottery - whistling every now and then and generally walking with an extra bounce in his step. "She kissed me" he thought. He could remember the taste of her lip gloss and the tingle he felt in his lips upon impact with hers. "She must have really forgiven me. That was somehow easier than I had thought." He continued in his head, as he whistled "I Feel Pretty" from West Side Story. His smile began to fade when he thought about that night's course of events. He had apologized, he rationalized in his head, but it wasn't really as heartfelt as it should have been. "Hermione needed more than just an 'I'm sorry'. She deserves more than that for what I had said to her and for the complete lack of appreciation I showed for all she had done for me." Harry determined grimly. "Great. What am I going to do now?" He said out loud, garnering a questioning look from one of Mike's neighbors mowing the lawn.
*~*~*
It had been two days since the whole incident had occurred. Life for Hermione settled back into the normal, hectic schedule she so enjoyed. Lately, nothing seemed to upset her. That mini-breakdown she had had cleansed her of all her penned up frustrations and emotions, thus freeing her to go about her life more happily. She wasn't getting as annoyed with her secretary, Kathy's, constant "meditation" moments and useless babble about her "gifted" grandchild. Not to mention that the one child, who wouldn't speak to a single soul on the floor, opened up and asked her if she would play a game with him after lunch. After that, Hermione decided her day was made, nothing to kill her happy mood, not even Harry. Well, that's what she thought anyway, as she picked up the post-it note she had found on her desk. It was in Kathy's flowery, schoolteacher-like handwriting.
Mr. Harry Potter would like you to call him as soon as you possibly can. He said it was important and that you have the number. I meant to ask him for it again so you wouldn't have to fish for it, but he just hung up on me. How rude was that?
Good luck,
Kathy
Hermione groaned as she looked through her numbers, secretly hoping not to find it. As usual, it was right where it should be, written in neatly under the letter "P". She said a silent prayer and picked up the phone. "Please don't pick up. Please don't pick up" Hermione chanted in her head, eyes tightly closed as if trying to shield herself from reality.
"Hello?" Harry asked. "Hello?"
"Shit. Now what do I say?" Hermione thought. "How to I tell him that I never want to see him again?"
"Hello?" Harry repeated again. "Christ, I know it's her, why isn't she saying anything?" He thought.
"Hermione, is that you?" he said, as the pause continued.
"OH! Um, hi, Harry. Sorry 'bout the pause. My beeper was going off and I had to somehow dislodge it from my hip. It wasn't an easy process. Anywho, you called?" Hermione babbled. She knew that he would pick up on the fact that she was nervous. She hoped he wouldn't mention anything, because if he did, she would have to hang up out of sheer embarrassment and crawl into the nearest closet, where they would find her curled up in the fetal position a week later, chewing on one of her shoes.
"Yeah. I wanted to talk about the other night. It kinda ended awkwardly for the both of us. I was wondering if maybe you were free to meet me for coffee or something this afternoon to talk about it." Harry said, rather professionally. He prided himself on his ability to swallow his nervousness and still sound normal. "Hermione, on the other hand, is a complete basket case. I hope all is ok." He thought.
"Ahh, yeah. I think I could clear off an hour or so around noontime. Would that be enough time, or do you think we'll need more?" Hermione whispered into the phone.
Kathy, who had returned from her "meditation" moment, gave her a rather suspicious look. At which, Hermione scowled at, causing her to remember that she was supposed to be typing up the reports Hermione had dictated earlier that morning.
"No, that should be ok. If we need more time, we can meet later on." Harry said. "I'll meet you outside the hospital at 12 by the front entrance."
"Sounds good to me. See you then." Hermione said, hanging up the phone, only to see Kathy looking at her with her eyebrows raised.
"Oh, grow up." Hermione chided, picking up her tape recorder and walking out of the office.
*~*~*
"Shit man, its cold out here today. I think I am completely frozen from the waist down." Harry thought as he leaned against a newspaper machine, waiting for Hermione to emerge for their little rendezvous. "Coffee was definitely the way to go today."
Hermione was visibly freaking out during the elevator ride down to the lobby, where she was to meet Harry. Trying every meditative thing she knew, she managed to get herself under control enough to be able to actually get out of the elevator without wanting to push the "up" button and reverse her path right back to her nice, safe, warm office.
She saw him standing there, and for some reason, all her fears pacified. He was dressed in a long overcoat, leaning up against the machine where she got her paper every morning, waiting patiently. "You can do this. You survived six years of med school, you can do this." She chanted in her head.
Harry had spotted her coming out of the elevator and immediately his stomach lurched and began to flutter. He once again realized how beautiful she had become since their days at Hogwarts. As she approached him, he wondered how ever he was going to get through their meeting without doing something rash or staring too much. "Well, you still are male, but we're gonna have to try to out best, ok?" he rationalized in his head.
*~*~*
Once they were settled in their booth, neither one of them knew how to start what they knew needed to be said.
"Well," Harry said, in an attempt to break the awkward silence that surrounded them.
"Yeah, about the other night…" Hermione continued. "At this pace," she realized, "We'll be here all night." However, she couldn't form the words to what she wanted to say.
"I was a jerk." Harry said, rather abruptly.
"Huh?" Hermione responded. She hadn't expected a statement like that. It had caught her off guard.
"I was a jerk." Harry repeated. "I walked into that whole thing expecting that a simple 'I'm sorry' would nullify my actions from years before. It wasn't fair of me to have thought that, and to have thought that you would just accept it and move on. You deserve the right to still hate me for what I said. I would like to try to earn the privilege of being your friend again, if that would be alright with you."
Hermione was speechless. Harry had just said everything that she had wanted to say to him. She was completely dumbfounded and didn't know what to say. The only things that would come out was "I…I…"
"Oh shit. I said something wrong." Harry feared in his thoughts.
Regaining her composure, Hermione recovered her professionalism and spoke clearly. "You're right that those words from so many years ago did hurt. I appreciate that you want to make up for them. I, however, was not completely blameless in that whole scene. I had instigated the whole conversation, and therefore, apologize to you for the caustic and insulting words that I said as well.
Harry had never thought of her role in that entire situation. However, he did appreciate her apology for her actions.
"So where does this leave us?" Harry asked. He was sure that she had notice he was staring at her. He had caught himself twice already, but this time it just couldn't be helped.
"As friends. Just as it should be." Hermione answered, brushing her hair back into a loose bun.
"Friends it is." Harry said, extending his hand to her.
As she had done on their initial meeting, Hermione ignored his hand, choosing to hug him instead.
"This is going to be the hardest friendship I've ever had." Harry thought, as he embraced her.
*A/N: I was reading this story over again and realized that the beginning chapters, like the others, aren't as amazing as I would have liked them to be. I hope to express a more adult view throughout the rest of the story. I thank you for your reviews and constructive criticism, as well as your patience. I will try to update as soon as possible!!! Thanks again!*