A small fic I wrote after listening to Lemon tree by Fools Garden. It was actally quite hard for me to write. I even had more troubles with it than I had with "Merry Christmas, Hermione" which I can tell you was very hard to write for me. Well, after putting much effort into this, I'm finally quite happy with it. Hopefully, they aren't too OOC. Well... Here we go!
Lemon tree
Harry sighed as bent down, picking up a small pebble from the ground. He couldn`t help it. He had tried, but he still felt alone, isolated. Slowly, he walked forward, towards the small lake. He'd thought that a small walk around Hogwarts' lake would make him feel better; but it hadn't. Harry threw the small pebble into the lake.
Ever since Sirius had… passed away, Harry had felt isolated from the rest of the world. He had tried to reconnect with it, but it all just felt so distant. No one seemed to be able to understand him. Suddenly actually understood the lyrics in the old muggle song "Lemon tree".
That was the way he felt: Isolated, forgotten. It felt as he was alone, sitting in a high lemon tree, with nothing around him but lemons. Sour and bitter lemons. The fruit which seemed to fit his mood and the dull world he seemed to be stuck in.
Everything around him seemed to be in a blur. Everything went on, while he was stuck in his world filled with lemons.
Harry grunted in anger, irritation and sadness; all his emotions blended into one, and stomped his foot onto the ground. "Why?" he angrily asked out loud. "Why Sirius? Why me?"
"Because, Harry…Sirius cared for you. We all do." A weary voice came from behind.
Harry spun around, spotting Hermione. She looked sadly up at him as she walked closer, placing a hand on his shoulder. "We do care about you." She said softly.
Harry frowned. "I'm sure you do." He said darkly.
"Harry…" She sighed. "What's with you? You've been horrible since… Well, you know."
"I've been horrible? You don't even know what you're talking about! I lost the person closest to a parent I've ever had! I've lost the one person who actually meant something to me!"
Hermione looked hurt. "You don't mean that…" She bit her lip. "Harry… please."
"`Harry, please' what? `Harry, please stop sulking'? Or perhaps `Harry, please stop being such a git who gets everyone he loves killed'?" he asked bitterly.
"Harry!" Hermione screeched. "Stop it!" She grabbed his shoulders and shook him gently. "Snap out of it Harry. You do not get everyone killed!"
Harry sighed and looked at her with weary eyes. "Hermione, my parents died, Cedric passed away and now Sirius. All dead because of me!" He shook himself free from Hermione's grip. "Perhaps it's better this way; or soon you on Ron will be next."
Hermione's eyed widened. "Don't you dare say that! Both Ron and I know the risks of being your friends. Don't you think we have realized by now? Six years, Harry. For six years we've stood by your side. Don't you think we already know? But we're still by your side." She paused for a second, letting her words sink in. "And do you know why, Harry? Because we care, we care for you! Ron cares for you and I love you!" She trailed off, realizing what she actually had said.
Harry blinked in surprise. "W-what?"
"N-nothing. Never mind, Harry. Forget I even said something." She quickly turned around, preparing herself to run off. Perhaps, even hide in the library and cry behind a book.
Harry quickly grabbed her wrist. "Hermione!" He forced her to turn around. Slowly he looked into her eyes. Slowly, he could see her eyes lighten up with hope. "Loving me is a very dangerous thing to do…"
The light in her eyes faded with his words. "I know," she whispered. "I know." Tears were forming in her eyes.
Harry grabbed her back, forcing her to come closer, as he reached down, kissing her resolutely on the mouth. But as suddenly as he'd started the kiss; he ended it. "No." He let go off her, backing away slowly.
"Harry?" she whispered.
"No. It's too dangerous. Don't even get close to me."
"No! Harry, I rather live a short life with you, than a long life alone." Hermione grabbed the front of his robes. "Harry, please. Don't you understand?"
"No, Hermione! You're the one who don't understand. I'm the one who has to kill Voldemort. I'm the one who has to kill him, or he'll kill me. The world rests on me…" He took a deep breath. "Don't you see, Hermione? I can't do it without you. I just… can't."
Hermione sighed. "Harry..." She paused, carefully thinging over what to say. "If you're the only one who can defeat Voldemort, you must defeat him with a power greater than death. You must destroy him with the only thing he doesn't have."
Harry snorted. "And what would that be? Good looks?"
Hermione shooked her head. "No, silly. It's one thing which you carry with you. Perhaps even without knowing. Love, Harry. Love. It's the one thing Voldemort does not have, nor understand. It's his weakness and your stregth. You care for the world, and therefor you have much more to loose. Your stakes are higher... You have more to live for. You must live, Harry. You must."
"Oh, now things became so much easier to bare. All I have to do is survive. ...Against the most powerful evil wizard through time."
Hermione frowned. "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade."
Harry blinked. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means; try to make the best out of the situation. I know it sounds hard, but think of it. Your time might be limited, just as you said, and do you really want to spend the rest of your life being grim?"
"No... I wouldn't." He admitted, slowly.
Hermione smiled and reached forward, standing on her toes. "Then live with me." She whispered into his ear.
Harry smiled. "And this comes from the girl who's spent half her life in a library."
"Study is important." Hermione stated firmly. "But it doesn't mean we don't have time to live some." She smiled.
"Right." He shot Hermione a doubtfull look.
"Oh, don't look at me like that." She took his hand. "Let's go inside." She smiled as Harry slowly nodded. "And remember Harry: When life gives you lemons..."
"...Throw them back at life and force him to give you the apples you asked for." He grinned.
Hermione laughed. "Or squeeze them into waterguns and spray it in peoples eyes."
Harry laughed as he glanced at Hermione. At last, he'd finally managed to climb down his lemon tree.
The End
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