Chapter Seven: Reality Really Bites
I try to shut my eyes
but I can't get her out of my sight
well I know I'm gonna blow it
but I can't get over my fright
well I'm gonna walk up
to her
and I'm gonna talk to her tonight
She's probably somebody's only light
gonna shine tonight
oh yeah she's gonna be somebody's baby tonight
(Somebody's Baby-sung by Phantom Planet)
It was wrong do it. Cheap. Low. It was his best friend for crying out loud, but since he was lacking the morals department as of late, it made it that much easier. His best friend was keeping something from him, something huge. He'd never really done that before and it hurt Harry that he wouldn't tell him what it was. Did he not trust him with it? Did seven years of loyal friendship mean nothing to him? It was this train of thought that justified his actions in his mind. He wasn't snooping, he was running late for class and had accidentally grabbed Ron's robes instead of his. That was how he found the vial of Veritaserum. Curious to know what his friend was up to, he set his plans in motion that very night. Boy did he get an earful.
"What on earth is going on here?" her voice rang out.
He had been shocked, no floored, to know that his best friends had slept with each other. His reaction surprised him even more. He felt hurt, angry…betrayed.
"Why don't you ask your boyfriend?" Harry snarled back.
"My boyfriend?"
"Don't play stupid with me! He told me all about it, Hermione!" he raged, but she still had a blank look on her face.
"I didn't mean to Hermione," Ron spoke up, his voice muffled by a hand covering his nose. "He put Veritaserum in the butterbeer."
Hermione's eyes narrowed and she pulled out her wand.
"Accio!" she shouted. But Harry wasn't seeker for nothing and snatched the vial out of the air before it flew into Hermione's hands. "Give it to me Harry!"
He wasn't stupid. Even though Ron had most likely illegally attained the potion, Harry had used it on himself and his fellow classmates. That was enough to expel them both. "No way! You're just going to take it to-"
"Take what, Mr. Potter-Good heavens! What is going on here?" McGonagall had just entered the room.
"Take…take…," Harry floundered.
"Take these three to the hospital ward," Hermione recovered for him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hermione. Ron. Hermione and Ron. Ugh! The thought of them…together, made his insides writhe. Sure he had fooled around with her roommates and even her friend. They were at that age when hormones were raging, curiosity was peaking. But he never thought of doing those things with Hermione, she was above that, she was…she was…well, she was just different. And to find out that Ron and she had slept together…it just changed something. And he didn't like change, change was bad.
"You had to tell everyone?" she was saying quietly to Ron. Madam Pomfrey was currently fussing over him, but he was eavesdropping on his friends' conversation at the bed next to his.
"I couldn't help it, Hermione," Ron's voice lowered. "It was in the butterbeer."
"And you didn't see this coming?"
"Of course I did!"
"And you couldn't just leave the room?"
"It would've looked suspicious!"
Hermione tutted impatiently. "You know, you never can stand up to Harry," she said angrily before turning on her heel and walking out of the ward.
"Mr. Potter, come back here! I'm not finished yet!" Harry ignored Madam Pomfrey as he took off after Hermione.
"Hermione, wait!" He caught up with her just outside the ward.
She spun around to face him. "What on earth were you thinking, Harry?" she whispered angrily to him. "To get your hands on Veritaserum, let alone use it on other students!"
"Were you and Ron ever going to tell me you are together?" he shot back.
"Together? We're not together Harry, and it's none of your business anyway." She turned and began to walk away.
"None of my…," Harry repeated before taking a few steps and standing in front of her, blocking her way. "You're supposed to be my friends."
"Friends," Hermione repeated then let out a laugh, confusing Harry. "Friends…okay, Harry, would you like to know what going on? Yes, Ron and I are shagging. And no, we're not together, we're just shag buddies. There! That's the truth, happy now?"
"Why would you do something like that? That's just so…not you."
"Not me? I have needs too, urges-"
"I don't want to hear this," Harry threw up his hands in his defense and walked away, but Hermione followed him, continuing on.
"Why not, Harry? I'm just like all the other girls."
"No, you're not!" Harry whirled around to face her.
"Who are you to judge me anyway? Look at you! You're not exactly the pillar of morality here!"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You're supposed to be with Lavender, but you fooled around with Ginny over the summer, yes I know about that."
"Oh yeah? At least I'm not shagging my best friend behind my back!"
Hermione made a sound of disbelief. "What about you and Parvati? Yes, I know about that, too."
"Don't change the subject, you betrayed me!"
"Betrayed you? Ha! Granted I say that we could've told you but one, it wasn't your business and two, I didn't think you would care anyway. Although, judging by your reaction, it was a good thing we didn't tell you."
"Wasn't a good thing? How could it have been a good thing?"
"What's the problem Harry? Are you the only one of us allowed get any?"
"Of course not, Ron can shag whomever he wants-"
"Just not me," Hermione finished for him.
"Exactly."
"Why not? What are you so mad about? That Ron and I shagged each other or that we didn't tell you."
She was confusing him, he wanted to tell her something but he didn't know what. "You were supposed to be my friends."
"Do friends put each other in the hospital wing?"
Harry threw up his hands in frustration. "You slept with him! He was my best friend and you slept with him!"
"Would you rather it was someone else? What about Neville or Seamus? Would you have done the same to them?"
Harry looked away. She was frustrating him.
"Why, Harry? Why would you do that?"
"Because!" He shot back angrily. Something was building up inside of him.
"Why?" she demanded.
"Do you want to know why?" He advanced angrily on Hermione, cornering her against the wall. "Do you really want to know why? It's because I-"
"Harry?" It was if he was in a trance and was suddenly snapped out of it. Whatever he wanted to tell Hermione fell away from his mind as soon as Lavender spoke up. He stepped away from Hermione, glared at Lavender then walked back into the hospital wing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It wasn't until Quidditch season began that he had mended his friendship with Ron, mostly because they were forced to cooperate with each other during practices. Hermione was a different story, every time he tried to get her alone she simply avoided him or surrounded herself with her fellow students. Ron had informed Harry that she was snippy with him and also avoided him as well. Word had spread quickly about what happened that night causing much drama amongst the Gryffindors. Harry had dumped Lavender, Ginny dumped Dean and Parvati dumped Seamus the minute Harry became available causing a catfight between her and Lavender, who shortly after being dumped by Harry, relieved Neville of his virginal burden. The incident had also given Draco Malfoy and the other Slytherin's plenty of ammo to taunt the Gryffindor's with, Draco was especially gracious to Harry. Much to Harry's dismay, the incident had also rocketed Hermione's popularity with the male population of Hogwarts. He had managed to fend off many of her paramour's but a few had managed to slip by.
"Harry, you're staring again," Ron nudged him in the side and whispered. He and Ron were in the library, struggling to put together some semblance of an essay for Snape. Harry's attention, however, was occupied by Hermione and Terry Boot sitting a few tables away. She was explaining a concept that they had learned in Transfiguration that day to him.
"He's getting top grades in the class, he doesn't need tutoring," Harry seethed.
"Of course he doesn't, he's just trying to get up her skirt," Ron said absently and Harry broke his quill. Ron looked at his friend and sighed. "Why don't you just talk to her?"
"Now that's a concept I haven't tried," Harry answered sarcastically. "She just avoids me or is never alone." Harry sulked and diverted his attention back to his essay
"I think your opportunity just arrived," Ron said after a moment. Harry looked at him quizzically and Ron pointed in her direction, Harry looked up. It seemed Terry had finally worked up the nerve to make his move on Hermione.
"Ew, get off of me, you slug!" Hermione squirmed away from Terry's probing arms. Harry was out of his seat in a flash.
"Come on, Hermione, don't be such a prude," Terry coaxed.
"Get away from me!"
"She said get away," Harry yanked Terry away from her and threw him to the ground.
"What the hell, Potter?" Terry protested.
"I'm going to give you five seconds to get the hell out of here or else I'm not even going to bother with taking points away," Harry threatened.
Terry stood up and straightened his robes. "Wasn't going to get anywhere with her anyway, she only spreads her legs for stupid red heads."
Harry's fist flew out and made contact with Terry's jaw, sending him knocked out cold on the floor. Harry shook his right hand in pain. That hurt. Ron ran over and nudged Terry with his foot.
"I think I'll throw out the rubbish," he said and left the library, dragging an unconscious Terry along.
Harry and Hermione were left alone.
He turned to look at her. "Are you alright?" he asked.
"Yeah…I'm fine," she said quietly. "How's your hand?"
Harry looked at it. "It's fine…I think." Hermione gasped when she saw it. "It looks worse than it feels," Harry lied, trying to put up a brave front. God his hand hurt.
"Oh, Harry. Come here," she motioned for him to sit next to her and he obliged. She examined his hand then took off her tie and wrapped it around it. Harry's breath hitched when she touched him. "Thank you for what you did."
"He's just a git, don't listen to him," Harry advised.
"I know, but thank you all the same." She finished wrapping his hand. "You should see Madam Pomfrey."
"I will," Harry promised. Hermione began to pack up. "Hermione, listen…I…I want to apologize to you. I've been such a stupid prat. I never should have behaved the way I did that night, I'm so sorry." He took her hand in his.
"Oh, Harry," Hermione sighed. Harry moved closer to her.
"These past few weeks have been horrible without you. I feel so miserable and lost. Hermione, I…"
"You what, Harry?"
"I…," he was losing himself in her cinnamon eyes.
A shadow fell across the doorway and Harry looked up, past Hermione. "I don't believe it."
Hermione turned around. "Oliver! What are you doing here?"
Oliver Wood stood in the doorway of the library dressed in his Puddlemere United uniform.
"I'm taking up some good advice I received this summer," he smiled. "Dumbledore has allowed me, and a few friends of course, to come and…"
"…give a Quidditch demo and offer advice and tips to house players and others who might be interested in making Quidditch a career," Harry explained to Ron as they sat in the stands watching the players in the sky.
"That was nice of him, don't you think?" Ron said as he watched Puddlemere's keeper make a save. "Nice. I wonder if I could try that?"
Harry was watching Hermione, who was standing with Ginny and Luna in the front of the stands, cheering as they watched the players in the sky.
"He's not even that good, you know." Harry stated. Ron eyed him. "What? Well he's not."
Harry didn't know why but he was deeply irritated that Oliver had come to Hogwart's. Maybe he was just here doing a good thing for the students. He watched as Oliver came out of a steep dive and gave a small smile to Hermione. She blushed as the group of girls around her giggled.
"Show off," Harry muttered and Ron laughed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Harry decided to lick his wounds that night in the locker room with Hannah Abbott. They had been dating for a week and had been getting to know each other in many of Hogwarts' secluded places. Hannah straightened up her robes and tidied up her hair as Harry quietly opened the door of the locker room to see if the coast was clear. He took Hannah's hand and led them outside.
It was a clear night, the full moon was shining bright in the sky, as the two of them made their way stealthily back to the castle. Movement caught Harry's eye and he motioned for them to stop. From the stands came Draco Malfoy and his latest conquest. Draco stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Harry.
"Out for a late night stroll?" Draco whispered.
"I forgot something in the locker room," Harry whispered back.
"Funny, I left something under the stands," Draco replied.
"Oh my God! Look!" Hannah whispered pointing to the sky.
At first, Harry didn't know what the object in the sky was that was flying around, but as his eyes adjusted he saw that it was two people riding on a single broomstick.
Draco's girl spoke up. "Is that Oliver Wood and…"
"…Granger." Draco finished, eyeing Harry.
Sure enough, Hermione was flying in the air with Oliver. Harry felt a weight drop in his stomach. He had offered countless of times to teach Hermione to fly and she had refused every time. She hated heights, she hated flying.
"Hmm," Draco murmured.
"What?" Harry asked, irritated.
"Well, it's just that I was wondering when the mudblood would be over you."
"What are you talking about?"
"Don't tell me you didn't know, Potter. She's been in love with you for years," Draco smirked and walked off.
Harry felt as if the floor fell from beneath him. Hermione was in love with him? He watched as Hermione and Oliver flew through the air. Then, like a thunderbolt from the sky, a sad reality hit him. She was over him just as he realized he was in love with her.
"Are you sure it was her?" Ron asked. The walk back to the Gryffindor common room was the longest one he had ever had. He was currently telling the nights events over a half-hearted game of Wizard's Chess.
"Yes, flying up in the air with that…that…" Harry floundered for a word that would best fit how much he hated his former teammate.
"Maybe it isn't what you think," Ron offered. "Yeah, she might be flying up there with him, but it doesn't mean that she's in love with him or anything."
"Yeah…I suppose," Harry replied morosely. His best friend gave him a contemplating look.
"Harry…are you in love with her?"
Harry paused mid-move and looked at his friend.
"Then I really think you should tell her," Ron finished.
Harry watched as Ron captured his rook. He thought about what Draco had said.
"Ron," Harry began. "Did you know that Hermione was…that she…"
"Was crazy about you?" Ron finished his thought. "Yeah…yeah I did," Ron lowered his voice and moved his knight. "And I also knew that you were crazy about her."
"And yet, you two--."
"Don't, Harry. Don't go there again," Ron looked up sharply at him. "Look," he began in a calmer tone, "you and I both know Hermione, she doesn't go for the big and famous Quidditch players. Remember Krum? Now, when she gets back, I think you two should have a nice long talk. You have nothing to worry about, Harry."
At that moment, the portrait swung open and Hermione walked in. Harry stood up but a squealing sound from the other side of the room stopped him in his tracks. Ginny, Lavender and Parvati flew towards Hermione.
"Well?"
"How was it?"
"Did he kiss you?"
Hermione looked at the girls, smiling and biting her lower lip before letting out a small scream of excitement. The girls responded with screams of their own, jumping up and down. Harry looked at Ron, who mirrored his own dumbstruck look on his face. The female entourage then dragged Hermione upstairs to get more details in a flurry of laughter and giggles.
Dean Thomas joined a stunned Harry and Ron. "What the hell was that about?"
Harry clenched his hands and winced in pain. He looked down at his right hand, the one she had wrapped her tie around. Laughter could be heard from upstairs. Harry was in love with Hermione and he wasn't going to lose her to some lousy Quidditch player.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Present Time)
Harry sat at the bar, nursing his wounds of the day over a bottle of Firewhiskey. Between the rough morning he had, the meeting with Oliver, seeing Hermione and the verbal lashing he received from his godfather, he had a pretty brutal day.
Harry took a long drink. God she looked good, did she really have to look that good? He was hoping that a couple of years in America would have made him feel less for her, however, her absence merely made his feelings scab over. Seeing her at the burrow tonight just ripped open old wounds. He knew he was being an ass tonight, that he hurt her feelings. But in some twisted way it made him feel better, if he hurt, she had to hurt too.
"You didn't really think it would be that easy to get over her, did you?" a voice asked.
"Spare me the lecture, Remus. Sirius already beat you to it." Remus sat down next to Harry.
"Well, I hope it was worth it. Making her cry."
"Can't you tell? I'm just a ray of sunshine."
"Next time you see her, I do hope you'll be a gentleman and apologize."
"Actually, I was planning on staying as far away as possible from her. She is a married woman after all."
"She was once your friend, too."
"Yeah? Well, she was more than that, Remus," Harry shot back, his temper rising. He pulled out a few coins and tossed them on the bar. "I've got to go." He stood up to leave but immediately swayed on the spot.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, take it easy there, Harry. You're in no condition to apparate or floo, let me take you home."
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