Even Heroes Bleed
Chapter 1
Hermione once called me her Prince Charming and how I rescued her, god I didn't think I was capable of loving her more than I was able to at the moment. But mere moments later the full weight of the prophecy slammed down on my shoulders. I couldn't tell her that there was a hell of a chance that I won't be able to beat Voldemort and I told her people like me don't have happy endings, she just laughed.
For the first time I was Happy, but it was a long road to this point in my life. Sixth year was hard for me, Sirius was gone, I blamed Dumbledore I blamed myself, I really blamed Bellatrix Lestrange, but while I was blaming them and myself Ron made a move I never thought he'd have the guts to make. He asked Hermione out on a date.
I was in hell at that moment when she agreed, I had spent four weeks at the Dursely's and the only thing that kept me from cracking and going postal was thoughts of Hermione. Almost losing her at the department of mysteries had been a major wake up call for me. The jinx's and charms we were being taught at Hogwarts just weren't going to cut the mustard in the up coming war and within three weeks I had owled Professor Dumbledore and swallowing my pride and my anger asked him to really train me how to fight. It was fairly obvious that there was no way Voldemort was going to wait peacefully for me to get through Auror training.
So when I finally got parole and got to come to number twelve the first thing I looked for on arrival wasn't Dumbledore, or Lupin or any of the Weasely's, it was Hermione. I wish I hadn't found her, she was sitting at the kitchen table talking to Ron which normally wouldn't have bothered me, the fact they were both stretching across the table, their fingers and hands entwined was like being Avada'd.
I swallowed my anger, I vowed that I would not repeat my stupid actions from last year again so I forced a smile on my lips and walked in. Things were strained, Ron kept flashing me a smug smile and Hermione just looked sad, I didn't want pity from her, and I wanted to smash Ron's face into pulp, but alas I didn't get either of my wishes. Dumbledore must have gleaned my emotions with his Occulmency cause he damn near did Voldemorts job for him with the training regime he had set me up. Twelve hours of training a day, minus meal times and using the facilities was spent in a condensed Aurors training program and every time I felt like quitting. Every time I felt like saying enough Dumbledore would flash an image through my mind and my hackles would rise my shoulders straighten and I would get to my feet and raise my wand.
The image you ask. He would flash the vision of Hermione lying flat on her back in the Department of Mysteries. Hermione desperately wanted to join in these training sessions, Ron wanted to join so Hermione wasn't spending time with me but Dumbledore wouldn't allow it, she was so mad and Ron's smug grin got worse.
There was one day when I was working with Lupin that I must have surprised the hell out of him cause when I asked him how do you when you are in love he just stared at me and smiled a tired sad smile that almost broke my heart.
"I shouldn't have been the one to tell you this, it should have been James or Lily or Sirius though god knows if you would have gotten a serious answer from James or Sirius." He flicked his wand and two armchairs appeared and we both sat down my own feelings of melancholy matching Lupins.
"I'm sorry I shouldn't have said anything, I know you miss them, maybe more than I do, you knew them a lot better than me."
"It's ok Harry, how do you know you're in love?" HE smiled and studied me curiously. "Hermione right?"
God was I that transparent, I could feel the blush exploding across my face. "Um, mind if I not answer that question?"
Lupin nodded. "It's ok I don't need to know, but you know your in love Harry when the first thing you think about in the morning is her, when the last thing at night is her, and when she's not with you it hurts worse than you could ever imagine."
Nodding I stood up and stepped over and I hugged him, don't let that get around ok but yeah I hugged him.
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Having them together in number twelve was bad enough but at least I could leave the room, on the Hogwarts Express I had to sit for hours and watch them canoodle and snuggle and watch that sad look from Hermione every time she looked at me. It was torture, it hurt worse the Cruciatus curse and there was nowhere I could escape from it. Hogwarts was when my heart broke, I had been lucky, and with prudent planning and fast reflexes I had yet to see either of them kiss. It was a week after we had arrived and I was coming in through the Portrait one evening after my training sessions with order members. And wham the portrait closed behind me blocking my escape and I watched almost in slow motion as Ron closed the distance between himself and Hermione and pressed his lips to hers.
I wanted to cry I wanted to rage I wanted to drag Ron away from screaming she was mine. But I didn't, I tightened my grip on my books and stalked past them and into the dorm.
After that I started to Avoid them both, we were still friends but I was building a wall around myself so I would never feel the way I felt that night when he kissed her again and so I watched from the sidelines. I never saw them kissing again, instead the arguments started, first it was the usual Hermione Ron spats but they got worse, and soon they started to bring me into it, well when I say they I really mean Ron, apparently it was my fault whatever it was about…
She slapped him. Not the you're being an asshole slap to make a guy correct his ways, but the full forced Malfoy bitch slap that knocked Ron on his ass and by the time the common room recovered they had both stormed off. I knew Hermione would go to the Library but Ron I had no clue, I gotta say though I wasn't too surprised when I saw Lavender Brown leave a few minutes after Ron, she'd practically been drooling over him since we arrived back at school.
I couldn't stay there in the common room and I knew Hermione wouldn't appreciate my butting in so I returned to my dorm grabbed my map and my Broom and headed for the Quidditch pitch intending not to return till it was well after curfew.
That's where Hermione found me two hours later doing dive bombs and loops and she asked me for the map and being the good friend I was I gave it to her before heading back to the common room. Without the map I had no way to make sure I wouldn't get caught by Filch or Snape so I went back and sat in front of the fire cursing fate and trying to quell the rising surge of hope I could feel building in my chest.
The Portrait slammed open and I turned watching as she stormed in tears streaming from her eyes and sobbing uncontrollably and I suddenly found myself standing before her so quickly I could have sworn I had apparated, Hogwarts wards or not. Then she told me, and at that moment I hated Ron, I wanted to beat the living shit out of him and something in my expression must have shown it because she lay a hand on my arm and asked me to calm down.
I don't know what happened after that, She looked so upset that I reached out and wrapped my long arms around her and hugged her as hard as I could and her tears started to wet my shirt. Finally after a few moments she pulled away and she stared up into my eyes wiping away her tears and I couldn't stop myself… I kissed her.
TBC…
Yeah, yeah I know I said I would have a new chapter for awakening the Dragon and that I was working on a Punisher fic, but I was reading my older fics and reread There are no happy endings and decided I was gonna write a companion piece for it from Harry's point of view.
Yours truly
The Evil known as Kai Lun Mau.