Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who continues to read and review! I really appreciate it. As promised, here is the next chapter a few days early. I hope everyone has a Happy Christmas. A special thanks to Heaven & Excalibur for the beta---thanks you guys!
Chapter 12
Pass You By
Don't have to stay with someone
That makes you cry
You'll end up killing all the love you have inside
Can't hope to see the sun
If you don't open your eyes
Girl don't let real love pass you by
("Pass You By"-Boys II Men)
It had been one week. One agonizingly long, awful week. There had been no contact. They'd not even glimpsed each other once, thanks to some careful planning on Harry's behalf. He made it a point to leave the island first thing in the morning and not return until well past midnight.
Despite the fact that he hadn't seen or spoken to her in days, Hermione was on his mind all the time. He wondered how she was doing. Sometimes, he wondered what her relationship with Ron was like. He kept trying to picture them together and he just couldn't. He knew his best friend and he had come to know Hermione. They seemed the two least likely people to fall in love with each other. Of course, there was that old rubbish about opposites attracting, but Harry had never put much faith into that.
He'd even thought more than once about telling Hermione the truth about Ron. It would be so easy to show her the letters. But, Harry couldn't bring himself to do it. Despite what Ron had done, he was still Harry's best friend. And Harry didn't want to "get" Hermione that way. He had a feeling if he showed her the letters; he may not "get" her at all. Besides, he reasoned, it wasn't really his place to tell Hermione what Ron was doing.
He hadn't responded to Ron's last letter, either. What would he have said? Maybe something along the lines of: Ron, you lying sack of shit! You don't deserve someone as wonderful, intelligent, beautiful, sweet, charming and incredible as Hermione! She's a worth a million of those other girls you've left behind! Oh, and on a side note, I've fallen in love with your girlfriend. Take care!
That wasn't a letter he could see himself writing without giving himself and the situation away.
He hadn't been completely in the dark about what Hermione had been doing, though. He did know that she'd taken Eva up on her offer to work at Café Oceana since Sirius had mentioned it to him the other day. Harry hadn't said anything in return because, at the moment, he wasn't speaking to his godfather. He did know, however, that Sirius had been taking Hermione back and forth to Great Abaco so she could work at the café.
Harry had spent most of the day out on the boat, fishing. The late nights and early mornings were beginning to catch up with him and he decided to have a proper lie in tomorrow morning. He knew it was late, but he hoped Café Oceana was still open so he could get a bite to eat before heading home. He figured Hermione had already worked the day shift and there'd be no harm in coming here now.
The restaurant was nearly empty, save for a couple sitting in the back sharing a bottle of wine. Harry sat down at the counter and leaned back in the stool when he heard a voice. Her voice.
"Hi," she said softly.
He looked up and instinctively, he smiled at her. She looked as beautiful as he remembered. She wore a simple, white, v-neck t-shirt and black trousers. Her hair was pulled back in a plait and she wore a half-apron around her waist. For the longest time, they just stared at each other, neither of them saying a word.
"It's really great to see you," Hermione said, at the exact same time, Harry said, "I'd forgotten you were working here…"
They both laughed nervously and looked away.
"You look like a natural," Harry finally said, smiling.
She relaxed and grinned back at him. "Now, I do. You should have seen me a couple of days ago. In the span of one hour, I broke seven plates and two glass mugs."
Harry tried not to laugh at this, but he found it futile.
"Go ahead," Hermione said, joining in. "Laugh it up. It was pretty funny, actually."
"I'm sorry for laughing," he said. "It's just the image of you carrying this large serving tray and having everything…it's just funny."
"Yes, ha-ha," Hermione said, smirking at him.
"Well, look at you now," he said, grinning at her. "An old pro."
"I don't know about that, but I am a quick study," she said proudly. "I think I've managed to get the hang of it. Eva's been fantastic."
"She is great," Harry agreed. "Sirius, on the other hand…"
"He mentioned that you haven't been talking to him," Hermione commented.
"I'm sure he did," Harry said sarcastically. "You aren't mad at him, too?"
"I was," Hermione admitted. She leaned against the counter. "But, he and I had some nice chats when he's been in here and when he takes me to and from the island. I think I understand where he was coming from, Harry. I don't excuse what he did, of course, but I can see why he did what he did."
Harry was surprised to hear this.
"He cares a great deal about you, Harry," Hermione continued. A part of her wanted to tell Harry that she cared, too. She cared much more than she should.
The topic of Sirius clearly wasn't a pleasant one at the moment for Harry, so he changed the subject.
"So, how are you liking your new job?" he asked her.
"It's okay," she said thoughtfully. "I've certainly seen some interesting…characters."
Harry nodded knowledgeably. "I imagine that you have. We get all types around here."
She nodded. "It's certainly been an experience. And it's also helped me keep my mind off of…"
"Off of what?" he asked. He had a feeling what she was talking about, but for some reason, he wanted to hear her say it. He supposed that he wanted to know that she was trying not to think about him, too.
"Off of…things," Hermione said quickly and looked away.
Harry nodded. He knew exactly what she meant.
"So what can I get you?" she asked.
He gave her his order and tried not to look at her, but was finding it difficult. She excused herself to go and place his order with the chef and Harry watched her go. He knew he should have walked out the moment that he'd seen she was working, but, he couldn't make himself leave. In his mind, he knew that being with her was wrong. It didn't feel that way. When he was with her, it didn't feel wrong... it felt… great. It felt like the most natural thing in the world to talk to her, to be with her, to hear her laugh.
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the kitchen door swinging open. He looked up, expecting to see Hermione but it wasn't her, it was Sirius.
"I wasn't expecting to see you here," Sirius said with a slight smile. He had hoped to engage his godson in conversation but Harry obviously wasn't taking the bait. Harry picked up a menu and began pouring over it as if it was the most fascinating reading material on the planet.
"I'm actually glad to see you," Sirius continued. "I had a bit of a proposition for you…"
Harry swiveled on his chair to convey to Sirius that he didn't much care to hear any proposition Sirius might have but Sirius wasn't about to be deterred. He simply walked over and stood in front of Harry.
"Yes, yes, I know I'm not your favorite person right now," Sirius said. "You've probably been spending your time thinking of different ways to hex me, but before you do, I hope you know that I am truly sorry for what I tried to do for you. It was wrong of me to interfere. Come on, Harry. You know you've never been able to stay cross with me for very long…"
"Wanna bet?" Harry grumbled.
"HE SPEAKS!" Sirius said, putting a hand over his heart and affecting a dramatic, loud voice.
"Sod off, old man," Harry said, scowling at him.
"Call me what you like," Sirius said, grinning at him. "At least you're talking to me again…"
"Is he now?" Hermione asked, returning from the kitchen carrying Harry's beer. She set it before him and couldn't help but smile at the happy look on Sirius' face.
"I'm glad that you're both here actually," Sirius said, sitting down beside Harry. "I have something I wanted to ask of you…"
Harry shook his head. "Oh, no you don't. We're not going through this again, Sirius."
"Calm down," Sirius said quickly. "It's not about me trying to set the two of you up again. That's over and done with. I'm officially retired from the matchmaking game. Whatever does or doesn't happen between the two of you is entirely up to you now. I could care less."
"Bollocks," Harry retorted.
"Okay, that last part was a bit of a stretch," Sirius admitted. "But we're getting off course. The thing I wanted to talk to you about involves Eva."
"What's going on then?" Harry asked, looking at him expectantly.
Sirius looked over his shoulder at the couple in the back of the restaurant and then over his other shoulder to make sure Eva wasn't around. It was silly, he knew, since he'd just left her upstairs not five minutes ago. He wasn't going to take any chances so he motioned for Hermione to lean in so he wouldn't have to raise his voice above a whisper.
"I'm going to ask Eva to marry me," he whispered.
"That's fantastic," Hermione said, echoing his tone.
"Well, she hasn't said yes yet," Sirius said, as Hermione came around the counter and gave him a hug. "With how I've been acting lately I wouldn't be surprised if she told me to stuff it, but I'm really hoping that she'll take pity on me and say yes."
Hermione laughed and despite himself, so did Harry.
"But I'm going to need your help," Sirius continued. "Both of you."
"Us?" Hermione asked, exchanging a quizzical expression with Harry. "I don't understand. What could we possibly do?"
"Well, I'm planning on asking her on her birthday," Sirius explained, "it's on the twelfth. We're leaving for the States in the next couple of days because she wants to visit with her son, but we're due back on her birthday. I was hoping that---"
"Hang on a minute," Harry interrupted. "You're leaving?"
Sirius nodded.
"When?" Harry asked.
"Two days time," Sirius answered impatiently. "I've told you all of this already, Harry. I mentioned it to you the other day, but as I recall you weren't speaking to me then."
"And you'll be gone for how many days?" Harry asked.
"Four," Sirius said, wondering what the big deal about him leaving was.
"Oh," Harry and Hermione said at the same time. They would be alone on Isla Solarte. Four days. Alone.
"So, um, where do we come in?" Hermione asked.
"I need your help to make this proposal…memorable," Sirius explained. "I would really appreciate it if the two of you could have something nice and romantic set up for us back at the house when we get back."
He waited to gauge the expressions on their faces before continuing. He couldn't tell what they were thinking and since neither of them had told him to bugger off, he decided to keep going.
"If I leave this all for Harry to plan, I'll be lucky to get warm champagne in a bucket," Sirius joked. "Which is where you come in, Hermione. I definitely need the female perspective on this."
Harry scowled at him, but he wasn't really thinking about what Sirius was asking them to do. He was thinking about the possibility of being alone with Hermione. If they agreed to do this for Sirius, they'd be spending an awful amount of time together. This may just be inviting trouble, he thought to himself. And despite what Sirius said otherwise, Harry had a feeling his godfather knew this. Sirius is a sneaky bastard, Harry grumbled silently.
"I know that the two of you have agreed not to spend time together anymore, but I really do hope that you'll consider helping me out with this," Sirius continued. "This isn't for me. It's for Eva. She deserves a wonderful, romantic proposal. So, you're not really doing this for me. This is for her."
When neither of them replied, Sirius sighed heavily.
"As an added incentive, just think of all the fun the two of you will have planning this for me! You can spend the entire time talking about what a devious arse I am... you can't pass that up now, can you?"
Hermione laughed. "We'd probably talk about what a devious arse you are regardless of whether or not we agreed
to help you…"
Harry smiled at her.
"So does this mean you're going to help an old bloke who doesn't deserve it?" Sirius asked hopefully. "Please?"
The idea of spending time alone with Harry both terrified and excited Hermione. She knew that the logical, reasonable answer would be to say no. She was nothing if not logical and reasonable after all. Yet, when she opened her mouth to speak, she heard herself say, "I will if Harry will."
Sirius beamed at her and then turned his attention back to Harry.
"So what do you say?" he asked him.
Harry looked at Hermione and then at his godfather. "Okay."
Sirius hugged them both enthusiastically.
"Don't get too excited, old man," Harry said. "This isn't for you. It's for Eva."
"Too right," Sirius agreed. And he had been honest, he wasn't deliberately trying to match make. This was more of a not-so-subtle push, he reasoned.
I knew they couldn't stay away from each other.
********
*********
Two days later, Harry drove Sirius and Eva to the Great Abaco's small airport. Eva was beyond excited to see her son and family. Sirius, of course, had grumbled the entire way about the merits of Wizarding travel over Muggle travel but when Eva had heard about apparition and the possibility of splinching oneself, she was put off the idea immediately.
"Give me stale peanuts and turbulence any day over that," Eva had said firmly.
Although Harry had dropped the silent treatment with Sirius, he was still cool and detached when they spoke. Though, because of Eva, he at least tried to be civil.
After he'd seen Eva and Sirius off, Harry made his way back to Café Oceana. He knew Hermione had helped with the lunch shift and was scheduled to get off work in about five minutes. They'd made tentative plans to get together and discuss ideas for the proposal.
She was just finishing up when Harry walked inside the restaurant.
"Hey," she said, smiling warmly at him.
He grinned back at her. "Hi."
"Hello, Jack," Maureen chimed in from the counter where she was refilling the salt shakers. If anything good had come from Sirius' scheme, at least Maureen was no longer infatuated with him, Harry thought.
"Maureen," he said, nodding at her. He turned his attention back to Hermione and for the longest time, they just looked at each other-both unsure as to what to say.
"Um, are you ready to go then?" he finally asked her.
She nodded and went behind the counter to grab her bag. Maureen winked at her and Hermione blushed, she apparently thought this was a date. After saying a quick goodbye to Maureen, he and Hermione exited the restaurant.
"So, we're going back home?" Hermione asked.
Harry shook his head. It was slightly cloudy, but he thought it would be much better for them to be out, about and preferably surrounded by a crowd. That way, they wouldn't be tempted to…well, he just didn't think it would be a good idea for them to be alone. "How would you feel about heading over to Elbow Cay? We could grab a late lunch and talk about the proposal."
Hermione hesitated for just a moment. Again, she wondered if she and Harry were treading into dangerous waters by spending so much time together, but, she reminded herself, they were both adults and could do the 'just friends' thing.
"Sure," she said with a smile. "That sounds great."
********
Lavender sat outside Remus Lupin's office waiting for him to get back from a meeting. She'd thought long and hard about waiting until Hermione came back from her holiday to tell her about Ron, but Lavender didn't think she could wait that long. This was her best friend and she didn't like the idea that her best friend was being kept in the dark by a lying, conniving arse who didn't deserve her.
From the very beginning, she hadn't liked Ron Weasley. She'd always thought he was too slick and he tried too hard to say the right thing. There was something sort of fake and phony about Ron. If Lavender knew anything, it was how to spot a phony.
"Miss Brown?" Remus Lupin asked, as he spotted her on his way down the hall.
"Hello, Professor," Lavender said with a forced smile. "I'm sorry to drop by unannounced."
"No need to apologize, Miss Brown," Remus said, opening his office door. "Please, come inside."
Lavender nodded and followed him into his office where she accepted the invitation to sit in one of the leatherback chairs.
"So what brings you by?" he asked, smiling warmly at her.
"I really need to get in touch with Hermione," Lavender answered simply. "I know you know where she is
and I know its some big secret, but this is a life and death situation."
Remus looked at her from across his desk, concern etched across his face.
"Well, it's not that serious, actually," Lavender said quickly. "It's just that she needs to know something really soon."
"Is it about her parents?" Remus asked.
Lavender shook her head. "Her parents are fine. This is about…Ron."
"What about Ron?"
"I don't really think I can say, but I need to get a letter to her straightaway, Professor," Lavender said, pleadingly.
"Of course," Lupin said, handing her some spare parchment. "I'll leave you to write your letter. We can send it today if you like."
Lavender nodded and thanked him before he left her to compose her letter. Lavender thought long and hard about what she wanted to say to her friend and finally started writing.
Hermione:
I really don't know how to say this, but I feel that you really need to know. You know that I've never been Ron Weasley's biggest fan and at first, I thought I was just being a paranoid, protective best friend, but the other day I found out that my suspicions about the redheaded louse were correct! Hermione, I hate to tell you this, but I really think Ron is sneaking around behind your back! The other day I was having lunch at an outdoor café when I saw him walk out of a shop, arm in arm with some blonde floozy! They snogged right out in the street like it was the most natural thing in the world to do and it took everything that I had not to run across the street and hex him into the next century!
I hate to tell you all of this by letter, but I really couldn't wait until you came back. I know that if our positions were reversed, you'd tell me. You've always been a great friend to me. You are a wonderful, caring, loving person and you deserve nothing but the best, Hermione! The Ron Weasleys of this world don't have a clue as to how special you are and they never will!
I miss you and hope that you take this news well. When you get back, we can plot full-scale revenge on the bastard! He'll regret the day he ever messed around on you! I can guarantee that!
Your best friend,
Lavender
She read and reread her letter before folding it up and slipping it into an envelope. Ron Weasley was going to get his someday, and Lavender Brown just hoped she'd be there to see it.
*********
*****
Later that day, Harry and Hermione were sitting on the upstairs deck at Spinnaker's Restaurant on Elbow Cay. Spinnaker's was a casual establishment at one of the many hotels on Elbow Cay. The boat ride over had been rather quiet, each lost in their own thoughts.
To Harry's surprise, Elbow Cay was packed with tourists. There was apparently some huge medical convention being held and Harry had heard from one of his buddies that nearly every hotel room was booked.
"Sorry about it being so crowded," Harry said, apologizing to her as they sipped their drinks.
"It's okay," Hermione said as she looked up at the sky, which was even more ominous than it was when they set out. The entire time she'd been in the Abacos it had yet to rain and she had a feeling that was about to change.
"So, did you have any ideas?" Harry asked conversationally. "I've never asked anyone to marry me, let alone helped anyone do it, so I guess we're leaving this up to you."
"Neither have I," Hermione said, with a laugh. "Unless you count Jean Claude from school. He said he'd marry me because I helped him with his Transfiguration essay."
"Now that's romantic!" Harry said, teasingly.
"I know," Hermione said, pretending to wipe away a tear. "I get misty-eyed thinking about it even now."
Harry laughed.
"But other than that one proposal when I was twelve," Hermione said, still laughing, "I've never had any other experience with those."
"Okay," Harry said, smiling as she pulled out a notepad from her bag. She was one of the most organized people he'd ever met in his life. "So, romantic things…romantic things…"
"Did we want to do this on the beach or in the house?" Hermione asked, not realizing at first what she had said. Harry nearly choked on his drink.
Hermione blushed. "The proposal, of course. Did we want to set something up for them on the beach or in the house?"
"Right, right," Harry said, still choking.
"I'm thinking we should probably set up something nice for them inside," Hermione said, changing the subject. "Maybe a nice, romantic dinner where we could dim the lights, use candles and play soft music... I haven't known Eva very long, but I don't think she's into the real showy-type gestures. She's more of a simple, easy-going type of person. I think Sirius would be better off with something low-key, straightforward, and romantic."
He nodded. "Okay, so we could have dinner waiting for them…this will obviously be left to me."
She laughed. "Well, if I cooked, I'd probably send them straight to the hospital."
"Which is why I think you should stick to the music and setting," Harry said, smiling as she wrote this down.
"Okay," she said. She began thinking of some nice, romantic songs she thought Sirius and Eva might like and wrote down some suggestions in her notepad. By the end of lunch, she and Harry had come up with many ideas. She was putting her notepad back in her bag when a clap of thunder caused her to jump.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked with mild concern.
"Oh, nothing's wrong," she said dismissively.
"Well, that nothing that made you jump is obviously something," he said with a slight smirk.
"If you must know," she said in a hushed voice, "I'm not very fond of thunderstorms."
"You're not fond of them? Why?" Harry asked.
Hermione looked embarrassed. "It's silly, I know, but I'm afraid of them..."
"Oh, you're afraid of them?" Harry asked with a more serious look. "It's not silly," he said reassuringly, "everyone has something they're afraid of."
"You don't," she said.
He laughed. "Yes, I do."
She looked at him, unconvinced. "Okay, what are you afraid of?"
He shook his head. "I'm not going to tell you that."
"Oh, come on!" she exclaimed. "I told you what I was afraid of! It's only fair that you tell me something you're afraid of, Harry James Potter! If you don't reciprocate, I'm never going to speak to you again!"
"What are you? Eight?" he asked but it only elicited a glare from her. "Okay, okay," he said. "But you can't tell another living soul about this. No one knows about this. No one. Not one single person. Not one…"
"Will you just tell me what it is and be done with it?" Hermione asked impatiently.
"Okay," he said then looked intently at the table and mumbled something unintelligible.
Hermione screwed up her face. "What are clummuboobles?" she asked, her eyebrow raised inquisitively.
"Clowns," he said, this time loud and clear. "Those creepy, unnatural carney-folk!"
Hermione stared at him. She'd certainly not expected his big fear in life were…clowns.
"Clowns..." she said, letting that sink in.
"Yes," he said, turning red.
"Why?"
"Why?" he asked her. "Have you seen a clown before? Those are some freaky fuckers, Hermione! They're-"
"You shouldn't feel embarrassed," she interrupted. "There's actually a name for it. It's called 'Coulrophobia'. It's the abnormal and persistent fear of clowns. It's quite common, actually."
"So I'm not alone then?" he asked, laughing.
"You're not alone," she said, smiling back at him.
Another rumble of thunder interrupted their conversation.
"We'd better settle this tab and head on back home before this gets any worse," Harry said, getting to his feet. She nodded and followed him inside the restaurant. By the time they'd paid the bill, it had started to rain and they looked out the glass doors to see that the wind had really picked up.
"That's really bad, isn't it?" she said, worriedly.
"I've seen worse," he said, trying to keep her calm. It did look quite bad, but he wasn't about to tell her that.
"What do you think we should do?" Hermione asked.
"Let me check with the front desk," he said. "Perhaps they know the weather report and when this storm will be over. You stay here and I'll be right back."
Hermione nodded and looked out of the glass doors again. If she was grateful for anything, at least she and Harry were safe on land when the storm came up. She didn't think she'd have been able to handle it if they'd been on the boat.
Harry was gone for quite some time and Hermione was about to go and check on him when she saw him coming toward her. He looked quite apprehensive.
"What is it?" she asked.
He sighed. "The bad news? The storm is supposed to stay around awhile. The forecasters expect it to be an all-nighter."
Hermione's face paled.
"It's okay," he said quickly. "We're going to be fine."
She nodded, but didn't look convinced. "Okay, well if you have bad news, there has to be some good news to go along with it, right? Please tell me you have some good news."
"I do," he said. "When I heard about the storm, I asked if they had any rooms available. At first, the desk clerk said they didn't have anything, but it just so happens they had a cancellation."
"Great," Hermione said.
"Not so great, really," Harry said.
"How so?" she asked.
"There's only one room," he said, producing a keycard.
"Oh," she said. "So we'll be…"
"Sharing a room," he finished for her.
"Oh..."
"Yeah."
"Well, it's just for one night," Hermione reasoned.
"True," Harry said.
"We can do this," she said, taking the keycard from him. "It's not like anything would happen, right?"
"Right," he said weakly. He was glad that she was so confident about this because he had no bloody idea how he was going to make it through the night. No bloody idea whatsoever.