Just Harry.

CandiceMarie

Rating: G
Genres: Romance
Relationships: Harry & Hermione
Book: Harry & Hermione, Books 1 - 5
Published: 04/09/2004
Last Updated: 07/09/2004
Status: completed

Ginny ponders why Harry never reciprocated her feelings. She realises she had treated Harry like the hero everybody did. Except for one person. H/Hr. OotP spoilers! R&R [New: Added a new PoV! See who it is-]

Chapters

1. Just Harry

2. Just Potter.

1. Just Harry

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and any of the characters mentioned hereafter. They belong to the incredible JK Rowling. I am not making a single cent out of this. I wish I did, and was.

[A/N: I'm not a fan of Ginny's, really, but I don't hate her either :) This was fun to write because it's always fun to write H/Hr from other people's PoV. I edited the last part as it said Ginny “had started to get over Harry”. It doesn't say that now :D ]

Just Harry.

A true hero. That was Harry Potter. She had always seen him as the hero, the knight in shining armor, prince charming. Maybe that's what she did wrong, because she knew now that what he really wanted was to be considered normal, and not be referred to as the Harry Potter, but, just Harry.

One person, and only one person, had ever considered him, not as the Boy Who Lived, but as the boy called Harry from the very beginning. Hermione Granger. That's why he looked at her in that way, why he reserved such a special look just for her. That's what made her stand out so much.

Don't kid yourself, Ginny. Hermione stands out so much to him for a lot more, but that is certainly a valid point.

Hermione was also very loyal. Harry needed loyalty, which was no secret. He needed faith, understanding, trust… Don't we all? He needed love. And she gave him all of them. Sure, her love started out as friendship, but it developed into something more, something she could not control, or wanted to control.

Harry, the silly boy, was still oblivious to her feelings. He was so clueless when it came to girls. It took him months to notice I had a crush on him! His brief relationship with Cho certainly helped. He wasn't as clueless as before after that.

What Ginny couldn't understand, however, was how Harry had not realized Hermione's feelings toward him, when she was the only one who had been able to get him out of Buckbeak's room, when he had tried to isolate himself from everyone in Number 12 Grimmauld Place, including Ron and Sirius.

But he changed with the death of Sirius. She knew it. Everyone who knew the real Sirius knew Harry had changed after his passing. He was so much more angry now, and confused. And scared. Ginny knew Hermione was scared for Harry. She gave him looks, too. So far, she had counted 6 of those looks and had given them names. One was the Harry-you-are-not-being-responsible look reserved only for when Harry was not doing his homework, or putting it off. Another one was the Harry-please-don't-be-so-irrational look, where she usually ended up either begging him to stay out of trouble, or scolding him to. The Harry-please-don't-be-so-angry-with-me look was one of Ginny's favorites, because she found it slightly amusing. She couldn't see how Harry could stay angry with Hermione after that look, but then again, he never could stay angry with her for long. One of the looks Harry rarely gets to see is when he plays Quidditch. One would think Hermione was on the verge of fainting whenever Harry made a spectacularly abrupt dive or where he fell to ground from his broomstick a couple of times. Not to mention the First Task in Ginny's Third year. Hermione looked positively frightened. Lately, she had been giving him her Harry-I'm-here-if-you-need-me look. Hermione had been losing weight recently, and maybe the reason for this was her worry for Harry. The one look that nearly everyone was aware of Hermione having was the Harry-I-love-you look. The only person, it seemed, that was not aware of this, was Harry himself. Silly boy.

So when word got out that Harry and Hermione had kissed, the most common word Ginny had heard was `Finally!'. A lot of versions of how Harry had kissed Hermione were as unlikely as the other. One had Harry punching Ron after he'd kissed Hermione, and some people actually believed Harry and Ron were not talking to each other. This was unlikely because Ron was busy pining over Luna, and Luna was very much enjoying his attention. Another version had Harry kiss Hermione in one of Snape's classes, and they continued kissing passionately on top of their desk for minutes. Colin Creevey swore to anyone who would listen that he saw them at it. This was unlikely because, Colin was Ginny's classmate, and Harry wouldn't want to kiss Hermione in front of Snape, just to annoy him and disrupt his class. I think.

But Ginny knew how it really went. For she had witnessed it accidentally, but she will take what she saw to the grave. Unless someone asked her nicely.

Harry had had a rough Quidditch practice one fateful Saturday. Having been made Captain, and having to train the new team members, when the ground was muddy, the air incredibly humid, and the sun barely visible from behind the grey clouds, Harry told his team he wanted nothing but to sit down on his favorite armchair and wait for midnight, then go to sleep. It had become a habit for him now, Ginny observed, to sleep at, or after, midnight.

However, that particular Saturday, he had found Hermione reading away another one of her over-sized books in the corner. As it was such a Harry-thing to do, he went and joined her. Ginny had only been a few feet behind Harry, and was at that moment, on the first steps of the staircase leading to the girls' dormitory. And as fate would have it, her bag ripped open from the bottom just as she was out of sight, but not out of earshot.

`Hi,' said Harry, as Ginny heard him collapse in the armchair next to Hermione's. Ginny assumed Hermione said hi back because she didn't hear her, and Harry resumed talking a few moments later. `You should really give your eyes a break, you know.'

`Why?' Ginny heard Hermione ask. Taking a chance, she quietly dropped her things and peeked at what the two of them were doing.

`Because they look so tired,' he said, bringing his hand to her cheek.

`What are you doing?' Hermione asked, a note of panic in her voice. What was he doing, Ginny thought.

`S-sorry, it seemed like the right thing to do at that moment,' said Harry, withdrawing the hand, and looking down.

Ginny saw Hermione look into Harry's eyes. She felt a pang of jealousy at how he looked back into hers.

It was a moment before Hermione stood up, and grabbed Harry's hand.
'Harry, you are tired, and you do not know what you are thinking or feeling. I can see confusion in your eyes,' she said, dragging him to the staircase leading to the boys' dormitory. `Go to sleep.'

But Harry stopped abruptly, which made Hermione stopped, too. He pulled her hand towards him, and by doing so, her face resulted mere inches from his.

`Don't-' she said, looking away.

`Why not?' he whispered, Ginny barely able to hear him.

`You don't want to… you think you do, but you don't. I know so,' she told him, trying to take her hand from Harry, but he resisted.

`How do you know what I want to do? I haven't thought about anything else today but you, and it's been like that for a while. Tell me, why is that so wrong?'

`Because you're tired, Harry. That's all it is. And you feel lonely,' said Hermione, adding the last sentence cautiously.

`That's ridiculous. I'm not lonely,' he replied. `And I'm not to tired to do this- '

Once again, Harry pulled Hermione's hand, and pulled her closer to him than last time. He cupped her cheek and, Ginny saw, leaned in to seal Hermione's lips with his. As Ginny turned to look away, it was plainly obvious to her that the kiss had been longingly awaited by both parties. She didn't need to stay around to find out what happened next, for she felt she had already seen too much.

Perhaps it was better she had given up on Harry. Had she seen this when her crushing on him was still on full blast, she would have cried herself to sleep for some nights. Instead, as she got to her dormitory door a few seconds later that night, having picked up all the things that dropped from her bag, she had sighed and wore a bitter-sweet smile.
Everyone needs some time to get over major crushes, she reasoned to herself.

Ginny knew Harry was a hero to most people, but to Hermione, he was just someone she truly cared for, someone who needed her as badly as she needed him, someone who was a true friend and lover. To Hermione, Harry was just Harry.

And that was why he loved Hermione. And not me.

+The End*

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2. Just Potter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and any of the characters mentioned hereafter. They belong to the incredible JK Rowling. I am not making a single cent out of this. I wish I did, and was.

[A/N: I thought doing a Draco PoV would be fun and easy, but I stand corrected. I love Harry, and he hates him. Talk about hard! lol. I was aiming at humour here, and I might have missed, who knows? I enjoyed writing this, though, so I hope you enjoy reading it. Just so you know, I would have never thought of doing another chapter, thanks for convincing me!

PS: I mentioned a one-sided[sort of] portkey ship (other than H/Hr) here somewhere; see if you can find it! :) ]

Just Potter

Stupid Potter and his friends. How they annoyed him in every possible way. Potter's not even a hero. He just happened to escape the Dark Lord five times (Good Merlin, has it been that many?) because, by some unfortunate turn of events, he had had help. He can't even pass Potions. Was that what heroes were these days? Illiterate?

That Mudblood Granger wasn't any better. You'd think after six years' worth of kissing up, her lips would be incredibly chapped. He wished they were. Maybe then, Potter would stop looking at them so much. Idiot.

Draco Malfoy couldn't believe how a nosy, irritatingly observant, and a great pain in the behind could possibly fail to notice the looks Granger usually sent him. What kind of hero doesn't notice these things anyway? I'll bet half the school's even given those looks names!

Oh how Malfoy hated Potter. There was simply nothing about him to like! From his unbelievably untidy hair (I hate it), to the way he walks(I hate it), from the way he tells off Granger and Weasley for bickering again (Stupid Weasley, can't even afford losing to Granger. I hate it), to the way he looks after a victorious Quidditch match, exhausted but happy him and his teammates won (Gah, did I even say that?I HATE IT!)

Thank goodness for Crabbe and Goyle, who laughed, chuckled and sniggered at Malfoy's jokes and taunting. He knew his jokes and taunting weren't really all that funny, but he loved the fact that Crabbe and Goyle were too, er, special, to notice. Pansy Parkinson wasn't all that bad. If she didn't have such an ugly face, I'd probably go out with her. Speaking of Pansy Parkinson, she told Malfoy the most ludicrous story he'd heard in months.

Apparently, Potter and Granger had finally kissed not more than 24 hours ago. Parkinson heard it from her friend, who heard it from Midgen, who heard it from Patil, who heard it from her sister, Patil, who heard it from Brown, who said she would swore in front of the whole Wizengamot, that she saw Potter and Granger try to suck each other's tonsils near the Astonomy Tower at three minutes past midnight. Parkinson eagerly told Malfoy that Brown left after a few minutes because things were starting to heat up. Malfoy had difficulty believing the last sentence. Like Potter is that good with women. Chang, anyone? Parkinson was shrieking with laughter, as she left and tried to spread “what happened” some more.

Truthfully, it wasn't that Potter was as clueless as anyone with half a mind could be that Malfoy doubted that sentence. It was because he had witnessed Potter and Granger himself, together, talking to each other in such a disgusting way, you'd know they meant a lot to each other. And it seemed, as he accidentally and unfortunately (Never again!) eavesdropped on their conversation, that they had been together long before Brown “found them snogging each other's brains out” in the “Astronomy Tower”.

Malfoy remembered the scene most unpleasantly:

He couldn't, for the life of him, recall why he went up to the Owlery by himself, without his usual cronies, and a pink box of chocolate Parkinson had given him, but he did. In his defense, the sun had barely risen, and he was certain nobody else was awake. It was, after all, a Saturday. He had just sent his mother an owl concerning the wizard snacks he was storing inside his trunk, or lack thereof, and was outside the Owlery, when he heard distant voices, one of which said, “Oh, Harry!”, then giggled?

Draco Malfoy, thug-less and carrying a pink box of chocolates. The picture just screamed to be made fun of. Thinking fast, he had opened the nearest and only broom closet there, and threw himself in. The stench that had reached his pointed nose was so foul, he was glad he hadn't had breakfast yet. Of all the broom closets in the world, he ended up being inside the one which stored the brooms which cleaned the Owlery floor. He could have sworn he had stepped on something smelly. Before he could move his foot away from whatever it was stepping on, he heard the voices again, in close proximity to his broom closet.

`Hermione, I want you to know that, whatever Cho said near the library last night, it's not true,' said the voice, which sounded a lot like Potter's. Malfoy didn't want to do it, to witness it, to move in his closet, but curiousity got the best of him: he looked through a thin opening and saw Potter and Granger facing each other, the smile on Granger's face slightly fading. Obviously, she went from giggling at whatever sick thing Potter was saying or doing, to that.

`No, Harry, I think it is. Maybe I am such an insufferable know-it-all, and attention-seeking witch,' she said, sighing.

Potter frowned.

`You're not attention-seeking,' he said, smiling a bit. Granger playfully glared at him. Malfoy could have thrown up on the already disgusting floor.

`So you think I'm an insufferable know-it-all?' she said, in mock anger.

`Well, I wouldn't say insufferable-' Potter grinned. Oh, how Malfoy hated that grin.

There was a moment where Malfoy's stomach was, yet again, put to a test, as Granger stared at Potter with the gooey eyes of love, which he returned. Disgusting. The next moment, he had decided was too much for his poor stomach and eyes. Unfortunately, he couldn't get away from it fast enough.

Granger had taken a shy, but determined half-step towards Potter, as he gently pulled her from the waist with his one hand, and cupped her cheek with the other. They had shared another loving stare (blech!) before sharing what looked like a blissful locking of lips. There were some situations in which you should just move to spare yourself unbearable pain but are in shock that you are just incapable of moving: a car heading towards you, being chased by an angry bull, the door about to hit you in the face… and for Malfoy, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger kissing.

What was it about Potter that Granger liked so much, Malfoy found himself wondering, finally out of that horrible memory. Was it because of his unbelievably untidy hair, or the way he walks, or the way he tells off Granger and Weasley for bickering again, or the way he looks after a victorious Quidditch match, exhausted but happy him and his teammates won? Was it because he was such a “hero”? Malfoy would rather give his right leg willingly to a rabid werewolf than say or admit Potter was a hero. He didn't see the logic in anyone loving Potter the way that Granger always has, (and people say she's smart!) but then again, even Malfoy knew there wasn't logic in true love. He just wasn't about to say that to anyone. He would take that secret to the grave. Unless that feisty Weasley girl turns evil.

Granger may be in love with Potter with all of her mudblood heart, but Malfoy hates him with a complete and satisfied passion. The only thing Granger and Malfoy, himself, have in common is that they feel love and hate, respectively, for Potter because, among other very crude comments on Malfoy's part, Potter was… just Potter.

Stupid Potter and his friends.

**The End**

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