a/n: hello! I haven't fallen off the planet or forgotten about this story- quite the contrary. I'm extremely sorry for not updating since last Thursday, but expect the chapters to come at their regular pace once again soon! Thank you so much for the reviews, and please keep them coming.
I just realized the title of this chapter sounds angsty and like a breakup or something - but have no fear, it's nothing like that.
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chapter 8: talks and tears
Harry and Hermione walked around down to the creek in silence, listening to the distant sound of running water. They held hands as they walked and occasionally caught each other's eye before turning away quickly. Harry wasn't quite sure how to breach the topic he wanted to discuss with her. Once they reached the water, he decided to take the head-on blunt approach.
"Hermione," he said, turning to face her. "Since we kissed last night I've been wanting to ask you something, but there hasn't really been any good opportunity until now…" he trailed off and gave her a questioning look, as if asking permission to continue. Hermione stayed silence, and he took that for assent. "Well, I was just wondering if the kiss meant we were, er, going out?"
She smiled and kissed him quickly before replying, "I should hope so; I'm really not the 'snog-and-run' type and I don't think you are either."
Harry shook his head and grinned broadly. He gave her a kiss before pulling her in for a tight hug. After a long moment Hermione pulled away and said, "You know, I have a great idea for what our first act can be as a couple." Harry's grin broadened, if possible, as many thoughts swirled through his mind as he tried to think of what Hermione could be talking about.
"And what would that be?" he said, wiggling his eyebrows at her.
"Homework!"
"Wh-what? Homework?"
"Yes, homework - I haven't done anything for Professor Snape or Professor Flitwick yet this summer, and I most certainly will not be returning to school without my work done!" She playfully slapped him on the arm before continuing, "And there you were thinking I was talking about something completely different - and don't you try to deny it," she said as he opened his mouth to protest, "I know the way your mind works!"
Harry might have thought she was mad at him, had she not been grinning the whole time she spoke. He gave her a sheepish smile before allowing himself to be dragged back up to The Burrow. He sighed inwardly. She had been right - he wasn't expecting their first act as a couple to be sitting around doing homework; however this was Hermione after all, and he didn't really mind doing a bit of work if it made her happy.
They reached the house after a short while and climbed the stairs to their respective bedrooms. Harry told Hermione he'd meet her in the lounge with his books, and then gave her hand a quick squeeze and a kiss on the cheek. He walked into his and Ron's room and made his way over to his trunk. Harry had to dig for quite awhile before he found his Potions and Charms textbooks, and even longer to find enough parchment and a quill. Hermione had already started on her Potions essay by the time Harry reached the lounge with his supplies. She looked up from her parchment and gave him a warm smile before hastily scrawling another paragraph. He watched her work for awhile before starting his own essay. Harry found it difficult to concentrate when Hermione was in the room; he often found himself looking up to watch her write or check some fact in her textbook. After a particularly long bout of staring, he shook his head vigourously and returned to his essay.
Harry and Hermione worked for a solid hour before Harry announced that a break was in order. Hermione protested at first, claiming she only had a foot or so to go on her essay, but Harry was adamant and silenced her with a long kiss. When they broke apart, she said, "Fine, but it has to be a short break, and I'm only agreeing because you asked so nicely." Harry grinned and went into the kitchen for some pumpkin juice. Something had been bothering him all afternoon, and he decided to bring it up with Hermione once he returned to the lounge with their drinks.
She thanked him for the juice and he sat down next to her on the couch. Harry decided to choose his words carefully; he wasn't sure if this was a sensitive topic with her or not. "So, I was thinking before - about some stuff from the past - and I was just wondering about Viktor. Krum, that is," he broke off and glanced at her. She just stared back at him and took another sip of her drink. "And, er, if you two were ever together or anything like that."
Hermione took a long time to answer; Harry figured she too was choosing her words carefully. When she replied, it was in a calm voice. "We only ever went to the Yule Ball together and talked - I was never his girlfriend, if that's what you're asking." Harry nodded, and she continued, "He did ask me to visit him over the summer, you know that already, but I never went. With Voldemort's return and everything that had happened to you, I just figured I would be better off staying in England. I spent the summer at Grimmauld Place with the Order and you, of course."
Harry felt very relieved to hear that Hermione and Viktor had only ever been friends. The thought of someone else being her boyfriend made his stomach clench unpleasantly.
"Break time is over, I need to return to my essay now," stated Hermione. She looked across the table at Harry's very short essay and said, "You really need to get back to work, Mr. Potter."
"Yes, Professor Granger," he said with a smirk. She slapped him on the arm, picked up her quill, and returned to her essay with renewed vigour. Harry followed suit and they were soon working in silence once again. Hermione finished her work first and went upstairs to put her books and supplies away. When she was out of the room, Harry took the opportunity to take a short break. He stretched and looked out the window and was surprised to see that the sun was setting. "Have we really been working that long?" he thought in mild confusion. Hermione came back into the lounge and sat down next to him on the couch.
"Almost done?" she asked.
"Yeah, just a couple more inches on Veritaserum to go."
Harry finished his essay at last and ran up to deposit his books in Ron's bedroom. He returned to the lounge and saw a very tired looking Hermione lying on the couch. Harry walked towards her, and she sat up to make room for him.
"No, stay where you are - I'll just take an armchair," he said, not wanting to disturb her.
"I'm fine, Harry, sit down."
He shrugged and sat next to her; they shifted around until they were comfortable. Harry didn't know how long they had been silent, but it was completely dark when Hermione sighed and said, "What aren't you telling me, Harry?"
Harry was completely shocked by that one simple question. He wasn't hiding anything from her, was he? Well, nothing except for the prophecy - but surely she didn't know about that. "But you should have told her about it a long time ago," the little voice in his head said. Harry stayed silent, not wanting to talk about something as depressing as the prophecy. Apparently, Hermione was not satisfied with his silence.
"I've only been your girlfriend for a day, but I've been your best friend for fives years - I know when you're hiding something. And you, Harry Potter, have been hiding something for quite awhile now." She finished by crossing her arms and sitting so she was facing Harry directly.
Deciding that he wasn't going to win this one, Harry gave in and told her everything. He told her the story of what happened after she was attacked at the Department of Mysteries - how he panicked when she fell, the relief he felt when Neville said she had a pulse, watching Bellatrix torture Neville, seeing Sirius fall through the veil after his own cousin hit him with a curse, how the prophecy smashed after Neville accidentally kicked it, watching as Dumbledore battled Voldemort, and how he was possessed by Voldemort himself. Harry watched the different emotions that crossed her face as he let everything out - anger, fear, shock, and pain. By the time he was telling her how he wanted to die when Voldemort possessed him, the tears were openly cascading down her face. He realized with a jolt that his own tears were falling too, and quickly wiped his face with his arm.
When he finished his story, Hermione was silent for a few minutes as the tears continued to fall. She slowly looked up into his face and asked in a voice that was hardly above a whisper, "But that's not what you're keeping from me, is it?"
Harry stared straight into her eyes and shook his head, saying, "No, it's not. There's something else. Something I found out after all that happened, when we were back at Hogwarts. It's the prophecy, Hermione; I know what it said."
A puzzled look crossed her face and she said, "You said it smashed and that you and Neville couldn't hear it over the battle."
"You're right - it did smash, and we couldn't hear it then. Dumbledore told me exactly what the prophecy was after it all."
"How did he know? He wasn't there when it broke, was he?"
Harry shook his head and took a deep breath. "No, he wasn't with us when the prophecy itself broke; he was the person the prophecy was originally told to. Sixteen years ago, none other than Professor Trelawney told it to him in Hogsmeade. And before you say anything about her 'being an old fraud,' I'll have you know that part of the prophecy has already come true. I'm…I'm already marked…" he trailed off, looking at the floor. Harry felt the tears return, and he fought them with everything he had.
"Harry," she said softly as she put a hand on his arm, "what did the prophecy say?"
He looked up abruptly and recited the prophecy word for word, figuring it was best to get it over with. Once finished, he returned to staring at the floor; he saw his tears forming a small puddle on the wood. Harry heard Hermione give a small sob and immediately felt guilty for making her cry. He pulled her into a tight hug, wanting to comfort her and stop her tears. She didn't make any more noise, but Harry could still feel her tears soaking through his shirt and wetting his shoulder.
"I promise I'll never leave you, Harry," she choked out. She pulled away slightly and looked into his eyes.
Her simple yet profound sentence was the key to the floodgates. Harry was soon openly crying, sobbing in fact, onto her shoulder. His whole body racked as the grief, guilt, and pain washed through him and then out via his tears. Hermione never let go of him, she just rubbed his back and whispered the occasional words of comfort. She would never know how she helped him as she held him like that. Harry clung to her so tightly he felt as though he might be hurting her, but she said nothing. Eventually the tears stopped, but they remained on the couch clinging to each other until sleep overtook them.
Harry awoke quite a few hours later to a sharp pain in his stomach. He groggily looked around and spotted Hermione lying next to him with her arm across him. "She must have elbowed me by accident in her sleep," he thought as he closed his eyes again. However he did not go back to sleep; the light was too bright in the lounge, and it was shining right into his face. He tried to get off the couch without waking Hermione, but once her arm was off his stomach she stirred.
"Where're you going?" she asked with a yawn.
"Hermione, it's already eleven - we're meant to be ready for Lupin, Tonks, and Moody in an hour."
Hermione jumped up and off the couch looking wide awake; she checked her watch and let out a yelp. She hugged him quickly before dashing up the stairs. Not a minute later, Harry heard the sound of the shower running. He smiled and went upstairs to Ron's bedroom to gather some clean clothes. He took a shower in the smaller second bathroom and changed into the new outfit. Harry's stomach gave a loud rumble and he remembered he and Hermione hadn't even eaten dinner last night. As memories from the couch came back he flinched, wondering if Hermione would think he was weak for crying like that in front of her. "You're being stupid, crying doesn't make you weak," Hermione's voice scolded inside his head. Harry had to agree with her this time - he was being stupid about it - everyone cries. With that thought he walked into the kitchen to make breakfast.
Harry made bacon, eggs, and toast for Hermione and himself. He was just beginning to dig into his own plate when Hermione appeared, looking quite good for having stayed up half the night crying, Harry thought. She looked surprised at the food set out on the table.
"Dursleys," he simply stated. She nodded before saying a quick thanks and starting on her own plate.
They made small talk as they ate; chatting about what training might include, how Ron and the Weasleys were holding up in Romania, and about their sixth year courses. Both avoided the topic of the prophecy and what happened last night, having reached an unspoken agreement not to talk about that for awhile. Their late breakfast was interrupted by the arrival of Lupin, Tonks, and Moody via portkey. Hermione jumped and dropped her fork as the three suddenly appeared in the small kitchen. Harry stood and hugged Lupin and Hermione, after recovering from the small shock, was hugged by Tonks; both shook Moody's scarred hand.
"Ready to go, then?" Tonks asked with enthusiasm.
Harry looked over at Hermione, who nodded. "Yeah, do we need to bring anything?"
"Just your wands. It's still quite hot outside, so I doubt you'll need a jacket," Remus replied.
Moody pulled out a bent spoon from a pocket in his cloak and held it out to the group. "You'd think they could find something a little bigger for five people," Harry thought as he shuffled forward and put a finger on the portkey.
"Here we go," came Tonks' voice from Harry's left. He felt the pull behind his navel, and they were soon flying. The five of them landed with a thud; Harry stumbled but managed to stay on his feet. He looked around and was immediately disoriented - they were in the middle of a clearing in a forest.
"Where are we?" he asked.
"A forest," Moody replied.
"I know that, I mean where is this forest?"
There was a brief silence while Lupin and Tonks looked at one another, seemingly contemplating whether or not to inform Harry and Hermione of their location. However, it was Moody who replied once again.
"Hogwarts."