Chapter Eighteen:
(Harry)
I was crouched low in the grass, waiting for our man to make his move. It was silent on the other side, and all I could hear from our side was Tonks' shallow breathing. It was quite cold in Russia this time of year and our light coats weren't doing a very good job at keeping us warm. I shivered from time to time, and it took every ounce of my body not to light a fire.
Tonks leaned over towards me and whispered as loudly as she could without being heard.
"Why don't we just go in there and get the bastard?"
I smiled at her bravery, but shook my head.
"Our orders are to wait here until confirmation from Lupin tells us otherwise." She sighed loudly. I looked over at Lupin who was kneeling a few feet from us, he hadn't moved since we got here. I was wondering if we were going to be out here all night.
Just then we all heard a rustling in the brush about fifty feet in front of us. We all pulled our wands out and hand them in battle position. We waited in silence for a good two minutes before a dark hooded figure rose out of the brush. I heard Lupin give a whistle, which was the sign. We took off. I lost sight of Tonks and Lupin as I made my way to the man in the back. He seemed to be running into the trees, was he fleeing? Or setting a trap? I knew I shouldn't have been going off on my own, but my adrenaline was pumping too fast for me to even care about the consequences.
With my wand out I too entered the woods. I could hear my partners battling with the Death Eaters out in the open, and I prayed they would come out unscathed. A sound to my left caught my ear, and I turned just in time to dodge a curse that was sent my way.
Another dark figure was standing in front of me, his hood over his face so I could not see it.
"The Infamous Harry Potter, standing right in front of me. How superb!" This man almost sounded gleeful that I was indeed standing in front of him.
"I'm pleased you know who I am, but now I will need to ask you to come with me." I said politely, knowing all too well that he would decline the polite offer I had made him.
The man chuckled slightly. " I will not be taken easily, Potter."
I rolled my eyes. "I surmised as much."
I still had my wand in my hand when he drew his out. At the same time we shot curses at one another, both of us expertly dodging both of them. This continued for some time, neither of us hitting the other.
I could hear him breathing loudly, and knew he was becoming tired, as was I.
"We're going to be at this all night, why don't you just turn yourself in, and make it easy on both of us?" Persuasion had never been my strong point, as he once again shook his head and laughed.
"You're in for a big surprise, Potter. It would be best if you kept your eyes open from now on."
He turned to flee; well I was not going to have any of that. I grabbed the pocketknife I kept in my boot cuff and ran after him. I attempted to jump on his back but he turned and faced me. He shot me in the stomach with a rather painful curse and I stumbled forward plunging my knife into his right arm and dragging it down. I could feel the blood spurt out of the wound and onto me, before I hit the ground.
I could vaguely hear Tonks come running in and taking him on before she too was hit with a curse. The hooded man then disappeared.
(Hermione)
True to his word, Harry sent an owl the very next day from Russia. Hedwig soared through the open window in my living room at around noon, with a letter attached to her leg. I filled a small bowl with cool water and walked over to her. After placing the bowl in front of her I removed the letter from her tiny leg.
Upon opening it, I saw Harrys' familiar scrawl on the paper, and smiled to myself before reading it.
Dear Hermione,
First I wanted to apologize for the abrupt ending last night, I was hoping you would invite me in for a quick snogging session. (Allow enough time for you to pick your jaw up off the ground) I'm just having a bit of fun, no harm done. Well I hope you are doing well, hope you had a good lie in this morning, Merlin knows I didn't. Were on this hot case, trying to find one of the head Death Eater. I almost caught him early this morning but he apparated away, not before hexing Tonks with boils. Don't worry though we sent her straight to St Mungos.
Hermione, I now want to take the time to thank you for giving me a second chance to make our friendship work. Well I know it can, it has before, but I can tell things are going to get better. As for Mikey, I hope things are well with him, you don't speak of him much, and he doesn't seem as if he is around very often. (Thinks evil thoughts to himself). When I return I would love to take you out, for dinner, or maybe just a butterbeer, if dinner is asking too much. Please send Hedwig back with a reply so I know to not get my hope up too high.
Well I do hate to cut this short once again. I do not know when I will be back in London, but until then you will be getting an owl from me everyday. In hopes that if you are in a fowl mood, they will make you smile even the tiniest of smiles. Have a good day Hermione.
Thinking fondly of you,
Harry
I had barely any time to swoon over the absolute sappiness of the letter before my front door opened and Michael walked inside.
"Hermione, you home?" he walked into the living room, where I was clutching the letter and Hedwig was perched on the windowsill drinking from the bowl I had given her. His mouth dropped at the sight of her.
"Hermione, what is that owl doing in the house? Where did it come from?" He made to shoo her from the premises but I stepped in front of him.
"She's a friends owl, I'm watching her for him." He looked skeptically at me. "She is quite harmless I assure you." He then smiled warmly at me and leaned in to kiss me.
His kiss was alien and cold. Nothing at all what it was like kissing Harry, who felt like home to me. This was going to be tougher than I had ever imagined. He must have noticed something different with me because he stepped back to observe.
"Hermione, what's wrong?" He questioned me, a look of concern playing over his boyish face. Michael was quite handsome. Blonde hair that he slicked to one side, he claimed it made him look more professional, and wonderfully blue eyes that someone could get lost in, like flying high in the sky.
"Nothing is wrong darling" I smiled at him. "Do you want something to eat?" I placed my hand on his arm. When I touched him though, he seemed to wince. Immediately I was concerned. "Michael what's the matter?"
I slipped up his sleeve to reveal a rather large gash in his bicep. I gasped at the poor wrapping around the wound. It didn't look like it had even been cleaned.
"Where on earth did you get this?" It was now my turn to question him.
He looked at me innocently. "I nicked myself on the train that's all."
I didn't believe him for one second, but I let it go.
After cleaning up the wound, we spent a nice quiet night indoors. He made me dinner, seeing as how my cooking skills were down right atrocious, and then we sat on the sofa reading books and engaging in conversation occasionally.
He left at around midnight. We parted with a delicate kiss at the door, and a brief hug. I'm not sure but I just didn't feel right around him any longer, ever since Harry had come barging back into my life.
I made my way upstairs and into my bedroom where Hedwig was perched. She was staying for the night before she carried my letter back to Harry in Russia tomorrow.
She hooted at me as I walked into the room, so I walked over to her and patted her head. She then nipped my finger lovingly, and ruffled her feathers and dozed back off to sleep.
I walked over to my desk and took out a spare piece of parchment and sat down to compose a letter to Harry.
Dear Harry,
Thank you for the letter, it was very sweet, had me swooning. I hope you are successful in your hunt for Death Eaters, and that is too bad about the one that got away. I'm quite sure you will find him, as you are the best in the field.
I do hope Tonks is feeling better, please send my best wishes to her.
As for your question about dinner, Harry I would love to go out to dinner with you. I hope Hedwig gets this to you soon, so you wont be waiting in suspense for too long. Merlin knows worrying gives you wrinkles.
I look forward to your next letter.
Your Friend,
Hermione
I folded the letter and left it on my desk. I would send it in the morning. I then changed quickly into my nightgown and crawled into bed. I snuggled for a bit to warm up the covers, then took my wand out of my nightstand, and magically turned out all my lights.