A/N: I am SO sorry that it's taken me this long to update. I've been very busy, and I've had a lot of writer's block. I hope you guys are still interested in this story *looks around hopefully*
The Mirror of Erised Returns
Chapter Three- The Date
The next morning, I woke up to feel my arms wrapped around something warm, and there was something else tickling my face. Too tired to open my eyes, I lazily unwrap an arm to swat away the tickle-y thing, before re-wrapping my arm around the warm lump. My head is currently too groggy to wonder why there are 'things' in my bed that I am unable to identify in the first place. I sigh in contentment, while snuggling closer to the warmth, until I hear someone else sigh in return. My eyes snap open, and I look around, only to find myself on the sofa in the common room, with Hermione in my arms.
As the memories of what happened that night come flooding back to me, I want to throw myself off of the Astronomy Tower from embarrassment. How could I cry in front of Hermione like that? She probably thinks I'm pathetic, now. She stirs in my arms, and before I could remove them her eyes open. She stares at me groggily for a moment.
"Hi." She says, while giving me a shy smile.
"Hi." I reply, most likely grinning like a fool. Neither of us speak for a while and the silence begins to get awkward. Looking desperately for something to talk about, I say :
"Look, Hermione, about last night-"
"Don't you dare apologize, Harry! You've been bottling up those emotions for months! They were bound to come out, sometime." She huffed, starting to look annoyed with me.
"And just so you know, I'm a bit angry at you! I can't believe you kept The Prophecy a secret from Ron and I. We've stood by you through everything, Harry. You need to confide in us more. That's what friends are for."
"I know, Hermione. I'm sorry. I was already feeling guilty that you got hurt in the Department of Mysteries, and I didn't want to make you worry by telling you about the prophecy." She gave me a teary smile.
"Well from now on, I'll be the judge on what I can or cannot handle, okay?" She wraps her arms around me and that's when I realized that my own arms had been around her during the whole conversation I hope she didn't notice. We break apart a bit awkwardly. Not wanting to be subjected to another uncomfortable silence, I stand up quickly.
"Err...I have to get go um, get changed...so um..I'll see you at breakfast?" She nods, and I practically bolt up the staircase leading to the boys' dormitories. Smooth, Potter, run away like a pansy, 'cause girls just love that sort of thing.
***
In Potions, Snape seems to be in a particularly foul mood, though it's not as if that's a new development. The directions for the potion appeared on the board with a mere flick of his wand. He sneered nastily at the class and said that this potion would count as an exam grade.
Hermione immediately paired up with me, just before Ron could. He scowled angrily at her, but moved on to work with Seamus. The awkwardness that was there this morning was gone, because the potion required our immediate attention. I hastily collected the ingredients and chopped up the necessary herbs. I couldn't help noticing the little spark I would feel whenever my hand accidentally brushed Hermione's each time I passed her an ingredient. If she noticed, she didn't say anything.
We finished our potion with ten minutes to spare. Hermione, beaming happily, bottled it up and presented it to Professor Snape. He grudgingly gave it an 'acceptable' which made Hermione smile even more brilliantly. This upset Snape, and he took five points off of Gryffindor for 'being too happy'. It did nothing to dampen her mood though. She came back to her seat and flashed a smile at me, and as much as I hate to admit it, my stomach did a little flip flop. I smiled back at her, hoping that I didn't look like as much of a prat as I felt.
Later on, Hermione begged me to skip dinner to accompany her to the library. Now, sitting here with my stomach growling noisily, and I can't for the life of me figure out why the hell I agreed to come. Oh wait, yes I can. It was her eyes; bright and sparkling, the way she smiled at me and the wonderful feeling of her warm hand in mine. How could I not resist that powerful combination? I mean, what else can a bloke do in a situation like that?
The worst part is, Hermione didn't drag me up here because she wanted to research something terribly important, she made me come here so that we could do the homework that wasn't due for at least a week. "You'll feel so much better if you get it done now." She had said, knowingly. Right now, we're working on our Transfiguration essays, and let me tell you, it's just loads of fun. She looks up at me and I realize that I have been staring at her this whole time.
"Harry, are you alright?" She asks, looking at me quizzically, and I try desperately to think of something to say that won't sound too pathetic.
" Er..I sort of need some help." I say, while looking down at my book, and then back at her. She smiles at me before leaving her chair from across the table and coming to sit next to me.
"Ok, Harry, what do you need help with?"
"Er, um....everything?" I stammer, partly because I really don't know what to say, and also because her close proximity makes it a bit hard to concentrate. She sighs softly, and begins launching into an explanation about the process of taking an Animagus form. While she's talking, I find that somehow, my eyes are drawn to her lips. Their the size...not too thin, like Lavender's, and not too thick, like Parvati's. They look so soft, and suddenly I'm thinking about-
"Hi, Hermione." I snap out of my trance and notice that Justin Finch-Fletchy has approached our table. What does he want, and why did he only greet Hermione, and not me?
"Hello, Justin." She replies politely, but I can tell that she is just as confused as I am. He looks a bit nervous, shifting his weight from either foot repeatedly. I narrow my eyes as the realization dawns on me. He better not be about to ask what I think he's about to ask.
"Look, Hermione. I was wondering if maybe tomorrow we could get together and study?" I can't believe he asked her out, just like that. Just who, exactly, does he think he is?
"Well, Harry and I happen to be studying right now. Why don't you join us?" It's obvious that Hermione doesn't understand what Justin's trying to get at, here. His eyes flicker over in my direction, and he gives me a look that I can't quite describe.
"Uh, I was kind of hoping we could study, you know, alone?" I glare at him angrily. But there's no point in being angry, really. It's obvious that Hermione's going to turn him down, idiotic Hufflepuffs were never her type. This thought helps to calm me a bit. I look over at Hermione, to see that she's blushing.
"Well, I don't know-..." Justin cuts her off before she can even finish her sentence. Stupid git.
"Please?" He says in this whiny voice, flashing her what he probably thinks is a charming smile. Something inside of me snaps.
"Look, Justin, she said that she didn't know. Why don't you back off and give her some space?" I say, in a tone so menacing that it even surprises myself. Justin looks startled, and Hermione swats me on the arm.
"Harry, don't be rude!", she says, giving me a stern glance before turning to Justin. " Alright, I'll go out with you." I stare at her in shock. She must be joking, why would she want to have a study date with Justin. He's a Hufflepuff, for merlin's sake! And, what sort of last name is Finch-Fletchy, anyway?
"Great!" He says, flashing that idiotic smile again, and I have to resist the urge to bash him over the head with one of Hermione's ridiculously heavy books.
"You want to meet here, after dinner?" He asks, and she agrees. He wanders off somewhere else and I'm left fuming. Then, Hermione turns to me as if nothing happens and resumes her lecture about Animaguses.
The next morning, Hermione and Ron had finally reconciled after that whole argument. Unfortunately, it didn't last long, because Ron asked her what she was doing later tonight, and she made the mistake of mentioning her study-date with Justin. Ron's face reached an interesting shade of red that I've never even seen before.
"Oh, so you'd rather date that Hufflepuff, who's hair looks like it's gotten tangled in Gillyweed, than me?" He said, causing most of the occupants of the common room to look over in our direction. I could see Hermione was starting to get upset, and I wanted to diffuse the situation.
"Look, mate, he was practically begging her, she probably just didn't want to hurt his feelings." Hermione sent me a grateful smile, but unfortunately, my comment only seemed to make things worse.
"Oh, so she cares about Justin's feelings, but not mine, is that it?"
"Look, Ron-..."
"Save it for someone who cares, Hermione!" He yells before storming out of the portrait, most likely heading for breakfast, while Hermione looked close to tears.
***
Later today, I discovered, that this fight would be worse than the last one. This time there were no 'Harry tell Hermione this', or 'Harry tell Ron that', because this time there was just a stony silence. I can't help but feel guilty although, in my defense, I was only trying to help. From now on I guess I'll just keep my gob shut.
Classes had let out and I was sitting in the common room with Hermione, looking for all the world to perfectly calm, but inwardly I was a wreck.. Dinner was in an hour, and after that, Hermione was going on her study date with Justin, and there's nothing I can do to stop it. A part of me wondered why I was suddenly feeling this way towards Hermione. Would I have ever looked at her as more than a friend if I hadn't stumbled across the Mirror of Erised again?
"Is something on your mind Harry, you've got this funny expession on your face." She said, looking at me with a concerned expression. I think about what I want to say carefully, before I reply. I don't want to say the wrong thing.
"Hermione, are you sure you want to go on that..er... date with Finch-Fletchy?" I ask, hoping that she won't get mad. She gives me a knowing smile. Gods, she can't know, can she?
"Oh, Harry. Now it all makes sense. You're reaction in the library and everything..." I gulp. "I should've known you were just looking out for me. You and Ron are always acting as if you're my brothers. You don't have to worry about me, I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself." Brotherly concern, is that we she thought? Well, I suppose it's better than the truth, but then why do I feel like I just got punched in the gut?
"Yeah, well you know, just making sure..." I mumbled, and she leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. The feeling of her soft lips against my cheek made me blush instantaneously. The feeling was incredible. It made me want to continue making a prat out of myself just so that she'd do it again. But, then I remembered that she thought of me as a brother. What I was feeling for her right now would be considered very inappropriate between siblings. I shift away from her a bit.
"Look, Hermione. I've got to go find Ron, just to see how he's doing, you know?" She nodded, not seeming to notice how uncomfortable I was feeling at the moment. It almost killed me to say the words that came out of my mouth next.
"So, if I don't see you before you have to leave, good luck with your date." She gave me a warm smile, looking as if she's was going to kiss me on the cheek again, so I put even more distance between us by standing and hastily exiting the common room.
***
A few hours later, after walking around the grounds, I come back to the common room to find it deserted, except for Ron sitting gloomily by the fire. When he sees me he gives me what looks like a half-hearted grin. I know that Hermione's date must be getting to him, too.
"Hey mate, want to play a game of chess?"
"Sure." I say, and Ron runs upstairs to fetch his set. The distraction would be good for me, help me keep my mind of Hermione and her date.
I don't know how long Ron and I sat there, playing chess but it seemed like forever when Hermione finally walked in the door. She didn't feel upset, or happy either, but I'm still anxious to know what happened.
"Well, how'd it go?" Ron asked bluntly, surprising both of us, considering how upset he'd gotten with Her earlier this morning. She sighed.
"Well, he's very nice, funny, and smart..but when he kissed me," My hands balled into fists, and my jaw clenched. "There just wasn't anything there. We're just going to be friends." Well, that made a little bit relieved, but I was still furious. How could she let him kiss her? I look over at Ron, to see that he looks about as angry and jealous as I feel. I hope that hufflepuff gets drowned by the squid. Hermione's staring at the both of us, obviously expecting some sort of reaction, while I'm trying to keep myself from smiling at the fact that she won't be seeing anymore of Finch-Fletchy anytime soon.
"Er, well, better luck next time, then?" I offer, and it seems to be the right thing, because Hermione flashes a quick smile at me before quickly saying goodnight and climbing the staircase to the Girls' Dormitory.
***
The next morning, I woke up in a bad mood after having a nightmare about Sirius falling under the veil. It had started out nice. Memories of Ron, Hermione, and I visiting him in the cave, or spending time with him at Grimmauld Place, and then suddenly I was back at the Department of Mysteries, watching Sirius fall through that blasted veil. Shaking my head slightly, I try to rid myself of these thoughts and begin to get ready for the day.
A little while later, Ron, Hermione, and I were walking down to breakfast. Ron and Hermione now seemed to have a tentative sort of truce, both being careful of what was said so not to upset each other. I can only hope that this truce lasts longer than the last one. I look up to see Finch-Fletchey walking toward us, looking very alive. Apparently the squid hadn't gotten to drown him last night, I'll have to make arrangements with it to kill Justin later. I narrow my eyes, didn't Hermione make it clear to him last night that she wasn't interested? I had assumed this was a mutual decision between the both of them. He stops right in front of us, and smiles at Hermione. I look over at Ron, and if the redness of his face is anything to go by, he looks like he wants to punch him, but instead settles for a deadly glare. I decide to do the same. He seems oblivious to our stairs as he captures Hermione's attention.
"Hey, Hermione." He says casually. She smiles at him, before replying.
"Hi, Justin, what's up? Is that Aritmancy equation still giving you trouble?" He smiled again, and shakes his head.
"No, actually, I was wondering if I could borrow Harry for a moment." He says while looking over at me, catching me shooting him my deadly glare, but he doesn't seem too intimidated. Hermione, however, looks surprised and I can't blame her. What did Justin have to say that would be of any interest to me?
"Oh, okay then. Ron and I will meet you in the Great Hall, all right Harry?" I nod, watching her and Ron walk off. I turn my gaze to Justin who's staring at me again with that expression that I can't read, so I glare at him, not knowing what else to do. I'm aware that I'm probably acting like an immature prat right now, but the guy really gets under my skin. He's the first guy, apart form Viktor Krum, to ask Hermione on a date, and it really bothers me.
"Oh, don't give me that look, you've won and you know it." I guess he can tell by my puzzled expression that I have no idea what he's going on about.
"You sabotaged my date with Hermione." He accuses.
"What the hell are you talking about? I wasn't even there!" I say angrily. I hate being falsely accused of things, I get it enough from Snape as it is.
"That's my bloody point! You weren't even there, and yet you still managed to come between us." Come between them? Is he off his rocker? It's not like there was anything to become between, they weren't even in a relationshiop! I say as much to Justin and he sneers.
"Yeah, well that's only because she was so wrapped up in you, the whole time! Everything that came out of her mouth was somehow related to you! It's obvious that she fancies you!" I was stunned. He was obviously mistaken, there was no way that Hermione fancied me. Wasn't she saying just last night that she thought of me like a brother?
"Look, even if Hermione did like me..I ..we've.. It's not like we've dated or anything!"
"Yes, but it's not like you're opposed to the idea, because I know you like Hermione." I open my mouth to deny it, but before I can say anything he cuts me off.
"I saw the way you were looking at her before I approached the table, Potter, and ." He said, and I feel my cheeks heat up, partly from embarrassment, and partly from anger.
"Well, what the bloody hell do you want me to say? That I'm sorry that it didn't work out between the two of you? 'Cause I'm not!" I realize that was a little harsh, so I take a deep breath and apologize.
"Look, Justin, I'm sorry. I've been acting a bit irrational lately." He smiles at me sadly.
"It's okay, love can make you do things like that." He walked away, with his shoulders slumped, and I suddenly realize that I do feel a bit sorry for him.
A/n2: Well..that seemed like a good place to end it! So..what did you guys think? Please r/r.