Author's note: Sorry for posting this so late…I was working on something else that occupied my time. I never in a million years dreamed that I'd be using a Hank Williams song for one of my stories, but this so fits our devious little redhead, I couldn't resist. Thanks to Heaven & Excalibur for the beta! Please read and review. And I hope everyone has a very Happy Christmas!
Your cheatin' heart,
Will make you weep,
You'll cry and cry,
And try to sleep,
But sleep wont come,
The whole night through,
Your cheatin' heart, will tell on you...
(Hank Williams, Your Cheatin' Heart)
To say Harry was angry would have been a gross understatement. Looking across the sitting room at his godfather, he didn't even know where to begin.
For his part, Sirius just wished Harry would say something. Anything would be better than this silent treatment. Although he had no idea what actually went on this evening between Harry and Hermione, he had a good idea that the cat had somehow found its way out of the bag. He also had a good idea that neither Harry nor Hermione was all too happy about the fact that everything was now out in the open. Truth be told, Sirius wished he could get his hands on a time-turner and reverse this entire scheme. He should have listened to Eva. He stifled a chuckle as he could already picture her telling him how she'd told him over and over again that his meddling would not do anyone any good.
When the silence became unbearable, Sirius leaned forward and opened his mouth to speak, but Harry just shook his head and held up his hand.
"Don't!" Harry said loudly. "Don't even say it."
Reluctantly, Sirius relaxed back onto the sofa.
"You don't have to say it, Sirius," Harry said. "I know exactly what you're going to say. But, you can feel free to tell me that I'm wrong. I imagine you'd start out by telling me, 'I was only looking out for you, Harry'. And then you'd probably follow it up with 'I only had your best interests at heart.' How does that sound, Sirius? Does that sound about right?"
Sirius nodded sheepishly. That was exactly what he'd been about to say when Harry had stopped him.
Harry let out a hollow laugh. "That's just great. But what you seemed to have forgotten in your little scheme is that I'm not the only one involved here, Sirius. This isn't just about me. This is about Ron. This is about Hermione. She's his girlfriend, Sirius. Not mine---Ron's."
Sirius wanted to explain, but he kept quiet…for now. He had feeling that anything he said now would only serve to antagonize Harry further and that was the last thing Sirius wanted to do.
"What kills me about this whole thing is that you knew all along! You knew who she was and you conveniently kept that from me! You were the one person I always thought would shoot straight with me, Sirius! You were the one person I thought wouldn't be afraid to tell me the truth no matter how much I didn't want to hear it. You were the one person I thought wouldn't hide things from me because you didn't think I could handle it or you thought it was for my best interest. I expect that from a lot of people, Sirius. But, never in a million years would I have expected that from you."
Sirius nodded morosely.
"I'm not a child anymore," Harry continued. "I don't need you, or anyone else for that matter, to figure things out for me or tell me how to feel!"
Harry sank down onto an armchair and put his head in his hands. Taking advantage of Harry's silence, Sirius decided to finally get his say.
"What happened between you and Hermione tonight?" Sirius asked.
Harry looked up at him in disbelief. "Did you hear any of what I just said? It doesn't matter---"
"Yes, it does," Sirius interjected. "How you feel does matter. What happened?"
Harry sighed and leaned back in the chair. "I kissed her. Are you happy now? I kissed her. She pulled away from me and reminded me about how she had a boyfriend and so we came back here and went our separate ways. I come back to the house and read Ron's letter. Ron tells me that he feels like a shit because he's shagging anything with a pulse behind his girlfriend's back, behind Hermione's back! Seeing as that isn't your everyday, garden-variety name, I put two and two together and went over to ask Hermione what the hell was going on. I didn't handle it too well, because apparently I insinuated that she was some sort of tart who set out to shag and bag Harry Potter."
"You didn't!" Sirius said.
"I did," Harry deadpanned. "Understandably, she wasn't too happy with me. So, no matter what happened before, she now hates me. I hate myself for making her feel that way. I hate Ron for having this great, wonderful, beautiful girl and cheating on her. I hate him for having the one person that…"his voice trailed off as he realized what he was about to say.
"Say it, Harry," Sirius encouraged. "The one person that…"
"The one person that I want," Harry replied quietly, looking away. "I have never felt this way about anyone, Sirius. I look at her and I just can't help smiling. She has this way of looking at things that…look, it doesn't matter."
"It does matter, Harry," Sirius countered. "It does matter. It wouldn't have mattered one jot if you'd known who she really was, would it? You still would have spent time with her. You still would have gotten to know her. It would have been best, I'll give you that, if everything had been out in the open to start with, but it wasn't. The simple fact remains, though, that you're falling for her, Harry."
Sirius knew he might be pushing things, but he had to say this.
"Harry," he said, staring earnestly at his godson. "I'm not proud of what I did. I'm not. I shouldn't have gone about it the way I did, but when your parents asked me to be your godfather I promised to look out for you. I didn't go about it the best way this time, I know that. But, Harry…you've been happier than I've ever seen you and it's because of her…you know that I'm right."
"You're not right. Nothing about this is right," Harry argued.
"You said it yourself, Harry," Sirius said. "Ron hasn't been faithful to her. He's cheating on her as we speak. But, you're here."
Harry shook his head. "I'm not going to let you talk me into betraying my best friend, Sirius! I can't do that to him, no matter how much I want to be with her. At least it's over now... before anything more can happen…"
Sirius started to protest, but Harry again held his hand up and just shook his head. "It's over, Sirius."
************
Eva had decided to not join Harry and Sirius for their little "chat". For one thing, she knew Harry wanted to talk to his godfather alone, and another, Eva wanted to check on Hermione and make sure she was okay.
As she slowly made her way toward the guesthouse, she could hear music playing softly. Every light in the house was on so Eva knew Hermione was awake. She knocked on the door. There was no answer. Again, Eva knocked. This time, there was an answer.
"GO AWAY, HARRY!" Eva heard Hermione call out.
"It's not Harry, Hermione," Eva called back. "It's Eva. I wanted to make sure you were okay."
Hermione hesitated a moment before opening up the door. Eva's heart went out to the young woman as soon as she saw Hermione's face. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were red. She'd obviously been crying.
"Hermione?"
"I'm okay," Hermione said, forcing a smile. "Come on inside."
Eva nodded and walked inside the guest house before Hermione closed the door. She didn't say anything as she walked back toward the bedroom. Hermione turned the music off and Eva leaned against the bedroom door and saw to her alarm that Hermione was…packing.
"What's going on?" Eva asked.
"I'm going home," Hermione said resolutely.
"Why?" Eva asked, coming further into the room. "Hermione, I thought you were supposed to be on a two-month vacation?"
"I was," Hermione said, determinedly folding a pair of trousers. "But things change. I think I should go home. It's not a big deal…"
Eva shook her head. "Hermione, it is a big deal. What happened tonight to make you want to pack up and go home?"
Hermione continued to pack her clothes as if she hadn't heard Eva's question. Eva couldn't understand how things had gone from great to bad in such a short amount of time. It had only been a few hours ago when she'd seen Harry and Hermione leave the restaurant, looking happy. Now, one of them was angry and the other was in tears, ready to go home.
"Hermione…"
Hermione sighed.
"Come on," Eva said, looking around and realizing there was no room to sit down and talk in here. "How about I make us both a nice cup of tea and we talk about what happened?"
Reluctantly, Hermione nodded.
A few minutes later, she and Eva were seated on the back deck, both sipping cups of tea. Hermione hadn't said anything, but Eva could tell that whatever had happened tonight was weighing heavily on her mind.
Hermione put her cup on the table and leaned back in her chair. "I don't even know where to begin…"
"I think I do," Eva said giving her a slight smile. "You know who they are, don't you? You figured it out."
Hermione looked across the table in surprise. "How…how did you know?"
"You slipped up one evening and called 'Jack' by his real name," Eva explained. "Sirius caught it. "
"So you know about them, too?" Hermione asked. Part of the reason she kept quiet was because she wasn't sure if Eva knew who Harry and Sirius really were, especially since she was a Muggle.
Eva nodded. "It was quite a shock when I found out."
"How did you find out?" Hermione asked, curiously.
Eva grinned. "Sirius and I had been dating for quite some time. He knew about the drama I'd gone through with my ex-husband and that it was very hard for me to let someone in after all that I'd gone through. Sirius said he wanted to tell me for ages, but didn't know how to come about it... and that he was afraid... afraid that if I knew who he really was, I wouldn't love him anymore. He didn't want to face that.
"I didn't believe him at first," Eva said, shaking her head. "I thought he was insane... then he showed me a few 'magic' tricks and I was amazed. I didn't even know things like that were actually possible outside of movies and television and children's imaginations, you know? But that wasn't what bothered me so much. It was the fact that he lied to me about who he really was... the entire time I'd known him."
"How did you get past that?" Hermione asked.
"I told him I didn't want to see him anymore," Eva said, grimacing at the memory of how horrible she'd been to him. "He thought I couldn't handle the magic part, but that wasn't it. I told him that I'd finally found someone that I thought I could trust and he totally took that away from me.
"But do you know the truth of it all? I was miserable without him," Eva said, smiling at the mere thought of her boyfriend. "And I realized that although he hadn't told me who he really was, he never lied about his feelings. He told me he loved me and that he didn't want to be without me. And I…I felt the same way. I just knew. So, I took the son-of-a-bitch back…and some might say, I've been paying for it ever since."
Hermione laughed.
"He loves Harry like his own son, Hermione," Eva said seriously. "He'd do anything for him. Admittedly, he doesn't always go about it in the best way, but he would do anything for him. He and Remus…they got it in their minds that you and Harry would be a perfect match and decided to do some matchmaking."
Hermione stared at Eva in disbelief. Remus Lupin knew she was dating Ron Weasley. Why on earth would he try and set someone up if he'd known that? Why on earth would he try and set her up with Ron's best friend, of all people---if he knew that?
"I don't understand," Hermione said. "I don't understand any of this…"
"What happened tonight, Hermione?" Eva asked.
"Harry kissed me," Hermione said, shivering not from the cold, but the memory of that kiss and how it had made her feel. She told Eva all about going to Max's, playing billiards, and how they'd been having such a great time together. She told Eva about their time on the beach and how that had led up to not one, but two kisses. Then, she told Eva about how she'd pulled away.
"I should have left the moment I knew who Harry really was," Hermione said sadly. "I shouldn't have stayed. That way I wouldn't have…"
"Wouldn't have what?" Eva asked probingly.
"Wouldn't have spent so much time with him and we wouldn't have grown so close...and we wouldn't have kissed," Hermione answered quickly.
"But you did kiss," Eva told her. "What was it like?"
Hermione leaned back in her chair and considered the question thoughtfully then shrugged. "I can't really describe it because I really don't have anything to compare it to, Eva. It was like nothing I've ever experienced before in my life. I sound like one of those awful romance novels, I know, but that's the way it felt. I felt…I don't know... safe and warm and…"
"And?" Eva asked.
Hermione shook her head. "And now I feel guilty. Ron's a really great bloke, Eva. He's really sweet and charming and what have I done to deserve any of that from him? I come down to this island and start having feelings for his best friend. What kind of person does that?"
Eva wished she could tell Hermione that her boyfriend didn't deserve her loyalty. Seeing as she'd been married to a cheating husband for years, she felt compassion for Hermione. She knew all too well what it was like to have faith in someone and have it shattered in an instant when you find out what they'd been doing behind your back.
Eva didn't tell her because it wasn't her place to do that. The thing about cheaters, Eva mused to herself, was that one day they would get found out. Eva hoped that Ron would meet that same fate.
"You're not a bad person, Hermione," Eva reassured her. "You can't help how you feel…"
"Yes, but I should have had the sense to know that I was getting in too deep," Hermione interjected. "I should have known."
"We can't always have the answers, Hermione," Eva tried to tell her. "Life isn't always in black and white. Listen, honey…I would certainly understand if you wanted to go home, but I think that's the last thing you need to do right now. You are on a much needed, much deserved vacation and you still have a month left."
Hermione nodded, but she didn't see how she could possibly stay here with all that had happened.
"I don't know what to do," Hermione said, putting her head in her hands.
"I have an idea," Eva said, smiling at her. "You can turn me down if you want, but I think it will be the best thing for you and you'll still be able to enjoy your vacation."
Hermione looked at her quizzically.
"You could work in the café for me," Eva said, grinning. "You could wait tables... it will get you off this island and you'll have something to occupy your time, other than that article you haven't even started to write."
Hermione gave a weak laugh. "I don't know, Eva…"
"Come on," Eva said. "I need the help. You'd be doing me a favor."
"I don't know," Hermione repeated.
"I think you should do it," a male voice broke in, startling both Hermione and Eva. They both turned to see Harry walking up the deck stairs.
"Hello, Harry," Eva said, standing up. She gave him a hug and Harry returned the embrace, but his eyes were locked on Hermione.
"So how tough were you on him?" Eva asked.
"He's still breathing," Harry said. "I could have been much worse with him…"
"His heart was in the…oh hell, you know how he is," Eva said. "But we put up with him anyway."
"It's going to take awhile for me to get over this one, Eva," Harry said seriously.
"I know," Eva said, patting his arm. "I-I guess I'll leave you two to talk. Think about what I said, Hermione."
Hermione nodded and watched as Eva walked away. She couldn't look up at Harry, though. She was still very much upset with him about what he'd said.
"Can I sit down?" he asked. Hermione shrugged so Harry took Eva's now vacant seat.
"What are you doing here?" Hermione asked. "I figured you'd said enough…"
"I came to apologize," Harry interrupted her. "I wasn't very fair to you and I apologize for what I said. You're an innocent victim in this just the same as me."
Hermione hadn't expected him to apologize. She stared at him for a few moments before finally speaking.
"I'm sorry, too," she said quietly. "I should have said something before…"
Harry shook his head. "It's okay. So…are you really going home?"
"I don't know," Hermione replied. "I'd like to stay, but I don't see how I could after what happened."
Harry looked at her earnestly. "I'm going to be honest with you right now, Hermione. Okay? I-I've never met anyone like you before. You came in here and you just…you turned my world upside down is what you did. And the more time I spent with you, the more I liked you. I don't know if anything would have changed if I'd known you were Ron's..."
His voice trailed off, unable to bring himself to say that she was Ron's girlfriend.
"Well that you are with Ron. But, now we know who we really are and at least we found out before anything more could happen, right?"
Hermione nodded.
"I think you should stay," he said. "You and I can just stay away from each other."
He'd just admitted that he was attracted to her and she knew that he obviously knew she felt the same way about him. She didn't know what to say to what he was proposing. The idea of being so near to him and not being able to talk to him or share a laugh with him actually hurt.
"Do you think we could do that?" she asked him.
"I think so," Harry said, wondering exactly how he was going to be able to do just that.
Hermione looked thoughtfully at him. "I guess I'll stay then."
Harry smiled at her. "Great."
"Great," Hermione echoed.
"So I guess this is it," Harry said, extending his hand. "I, um, hope you enjoy the rest of your holiday."
Hermione shook his hand but wanted to tell him that she didn't want it this way. She didn't want to cut him out of her life, but for the sake of his relationship with Ron and her relationship with Ron, she agreed to it.
"Good night, Harry," Hermione said, as he stood up.
He looked at her, a sort of dazed expression on his face. He didn't tell her that he loved hearing her call him by his real name. He didn't tell her that he wanted to hear her say it again and again.
"Good night... Hermione."
***********
****
Lavender Brown was sitting in an outdoor café enjoying a late lunch. She had to get back to the office, but she was too
busy enjoying the warm, summer air. She'd been quite busy over the past few weeks and things were going really well
for her at the moment.
She was a fashion reporter for Witch Weekly and had just been promoted to Associate Editor. She wished she knew where Hermione was so she could owl her with the good news and hoped that wherever her best friend was she was having a great time.
Lavender folded up her magazine and threw some money down on the table. As much as she would have loved to stay outside on such a lovely day, she had to get back to the office. From across the street, she saw a familiar face and threw her hand up to wave, but her hand quickly dropped when she saw that he was not alone.
Ron Weasley had just come out of a shop and was followed by a pretty, petite blonde. Lavender might not have thought anything out of the ordinary until she saw the blonde snog Ron.
"That weasel!" Lavender exclaimed. "I can't believe him!"
She'd always expected that Ron was the type to run around, but she never, in a million years, wanted it to be true. The last thing Lavender ever wanted to happen was to see her best friend hurt. Stifling the urge to cross the street and rugby tackle the wanker, Lavender watched as he and the blonde laughed and walked down the street hand-in-hand.
She stared after them with her mouth agape, desperately wishing she knew where Hermione was. Instead, she resolved that the moment she saw Hermione, she was going to tell her exactly what she'd just seen.