DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling (lucky girl), various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books and Scholastic Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made (isn't it bad?) and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Author notes: I have edited and reposted this story.
As the title implies these are just but moments between Harry and Hermione. So please don't go looking for other characters, ok Ron at times pops out.
Title : Interludes
Chapter 1 - Dreams
=====================
A loud bang awakened Hermione from her short nap. She raised her head from all the scattered parchments in front of her. She turned and saw Ron march to her little nook at the Gryffindor common room.
"Where's Harry?" she asked, still trying to find her bearings. She checked her watch and it is way past midnight.
Ron slumped on the seat opposite hers. "I don't know. Why?"
"After I got back from my rounds, I waited for you guys here. I know you had your Quidditch practice, but I haven't seen Harry since. Where have you been?" Hermione ranted.
"You haven't answered my question, yet. Why are you looking for him?" Ron asked again.
Hermione shrugged, "Oh, I was just worried you know. These days, it makes me nervous whenever Harry is alone by himself."
"Hermione, Harry can take care of himself. He's the Head Boy, he can roam around the castle whenever he like." Ron eyed her and grinned, "He might be meeting some girl at the Astronomy Tower, for all we know."
Hermione's eyes furrowed and glared at Ron upon hearing this little detail. "How could you?" she blurted. "We all know that he and Ginny just broke up. He's not like you, Ron. Gallivanting around the moment we ended our relationship," she added in a soft voice.
"Yeah, he's not me. Yada-yada-yada -", he stood up and headed for the boys' dormitories. "Go to bed Hermione. You don't have to wait for him you know." Ron turned and went up the stairs leaving Hermione alone.
She put on her robes and walked towards the portrait. "Going out again?" the fat lady asked. "It's already very late."
Hermione looked back and with a small frown and answered, "I'll just go look for Harry. He hasn't turned up yet."
"Oh, him!" the fat lady said. "Why do you always worry about him? You're not his mother, I hope you notice that."
"Of course, I'm not!" Hermione finally left, thinking that she has wasted quite a few precious minutes. She checked the grounds and found no one lurking about. She checked the library too, though she knew Harry would never spend long periods in there alone.
When she couldn't find him anywhere else, Hermione lastly regarded Ron's suggestion that Harry might be at the Astronomy Tower. With a heavy heart, she trod the halls on to the tower.
Please, please, don't let me find him there with another girl.
When Hermione came at the foot of the stairs, she took a deep breath before she began her ascent silently.
No sounds, no one is talking. Oh, please, I do hope they're not snogging.
Hermione landed her feet at the tower floor softly, and breathe freely when she saw the lone figure of her best friend sitting against the wall staring at the stars above.
"Revising for your Astronomy exams?" she finally uttered, afraid to intrude on Harry's time with himself.
Harry turned his head to find the source of the interfering question, though he knew very well who it might be. He smiled and motioned for Hermione to join him in the little corner he'd been occupying for almost three hours.
"What are you doing here?" he asked. "It's almost one in the morning."
"I was about to ask you the same," Hermione replied as she sat on the cold floor beside him.
"You answer me first," he turned to her searching her eyes. She looks so beautiful by the moonlight.
"I, er, I was looking for you," she blundered avoiding his gaze. "You know how dangerous these times are for you. I know that you can protect yourself better than Ron and I combined. But still - never mind that, at least for now I know you're perfectly safe." Why does he stare at me like that?
Harry's gaze turned to the floor. "You don't have to worry too much about me. I've had enough coddling from Molly."
"I'm not - oh, Harry I'm not mothering you or something," she said and hooked her arms to his. "I simply care about you. 'Cause, er - you're my friend."
"Thanks," Harry replied but sounding not too happy about it. My friend, just my friend? Hermione please, don't cling to me like that, I can't breathe. "I did not tell you about the prophesy so I could have your unwavering compassion, Hermione" he turned back again to fix his eyes on at her.
"I know that," she said, never taking her hands off his. This feels good, so right. "I don't need some prophesy to start caring for you. And stop wallowing!" She gave Harry a slight slap on his arms. "Why didn't you tell Ron about it? Why only me? It's kind of hard to keep things from him, you know. He's really sometimes slow on the uptake, so it really helps."
Harry laughed upon hearing this. He fell in deep thought, "Why? I don't know why. I just can't keep it all to myself, I - I just have to tell someone. I felt like - like you're the best person to share it with. And maybe because you're so dear to me." He added as an afterthought.
Hermione tightened her grip on Harry's left arm, yawned and leaned her head on his shoulders.
"It's late," Harry said.
"We can still stay for awhile. I'm not tired yet." She felt a pang of regret that Harry moved.
"Then what's that yawn all about?" he asked.
"Just letting out some air," she answered. But Harry got on his feet and extended his hand to help Hermione get up.
"We still have classes tomorrow. We both need some rest." Then he led her down the stairs and they went on their way back to the common room.
"You still haven't given me the reason you're up there, Harry" Hermione turned to him as they walked along the dark hallways. "Were you with someone? Did I just miss her?"
Harry tried so hard not to smile because he could tell that there's a slight tone of jealousy on her voice. "Oh, so you thought I was snogging someone up there. Hoping to dock some points are you?"
"I - er, - well good for her that I didn't caught you two. Because though she's with you, I wouldn't spare her detentions." Hermione's voice trembled. She quickened her pace that Harry has to double up to catch up with her.
"Well, I can assure you that no girl will ever get detentions from you for kissing me," Harry said. "And why would you care if I'm with someone?" he added teasingly. Oh, this is going great.
After giving the password to the fat lady, Hermione turned to him to change the subject, "You've done your Potions essay?"
"Yes, you can read it tomorrow," he answered back disappointed that Hermione didn't take the bait. And they each went up the stairs leading to their own dormitories. Harry turned to give one last look at Hermione but she was gone.
******
Harry woke up with a smile on his face. Even Ron noticed it when he couldn't remove that smirk as they changed for breakfast.
"Why so cheery today?" Ron asked. "Got some action last night? Hermione's been looking for you, you know."
Harry's grin was suddenly gone. "I'm not like you, Ron. I don't go missing because I'm busy frolicking with some girl in an empty broom closet."
"No need to remind me of that. I already had a telling off from Hermione last night," Ron said spitefully. "You both have been biting my head off these past few days. I've had enough of you two nit-picking my dalliances."
"I'm sorry mate," Harry apologized.
Hermione was already in the Great Hall and had been waiting for them. She beamed as her two friends approach their favorite place at the Gryffindor table. Harry sat to her right and gave her a flitting smile before attacking the breakfast in front of them.
Nothing eventful happened through out the day. Harry rushed to his private lessons with Professor Dumbledore after his classes. Hermione, as usual, went to the library to do some more research and faced her Head Girl duties.
They met up later at the Gryffindor common room finishing their homework amidst all the raucous games some first years were doing. Hermione even had to shushed them more than a couple of times. Tired from the exhaustive lesson Harry just had with Dumbledore, he excused himself to get to bed earlier than he normally used to. Hermione did the same after another hour of revising.
Again Hermione was aroused from her dreaming. It wasn't really bad but she had a strange feeling that something wrong happened to Harry. She put on her dressing gown and went out of the girls' dormitory, then rushed down to the common room where she heard some sounds.
"Harry?" she said, her breath racing. "What happened?"
She sat on the armchair beside him. He looked agitated and she can see the beads of sweat on his forehead. She ran her fingers through his wet hair, "You're shaking. Please tell me, what's wrong?"
Harry suddenly hugged her tightly and she saw the fear in his eyes. "It was nothing - just some crazy nightmare." He loosened his grip on her, touched her face, as if checking that she was there for real. "You're all right - nothing happened." And he wrapped his arms around her again, tightly clinging.
"What was it about? I thought you have mastered Occlumency," Hermione asked again and she looked so troubled by the fact that Harry is having nightmares again.
"I have. It's not Voldemort getting into my head. Just my deepest fears' manifestation, I guess." Harry ran his fingers through his hair to shake off the wetness.
"Dementors?"
"No. Let's forget about it." He looked at Hermione and saw that she was also quite disheveled having got up from bed.
"Was I that loud that I woke you up?" he asked her.
She shook her head and raised her hands to tame her bushy hair. "No, I was also having a bad dream." Hermione stood up and said, "Are you okay now? I'll - I'll go back to bed."
"Yes, you can go - " he said softly. "I can't sleep now, might try to go up to the Astronomy Tower again."
"Wait for me." Hermione rushed back to the girls' dormitory and before Harry could protest was out of his sight.
She has put on a jumper over her night dress when she arrived at the bottom of the stairs. "It's cold outside," she said after seeing Harry's questioning look.
"You don't have to go with me," Harry said.
"Don't be silly. I wouldn't be able to get back to sleep anyway. Come on," she replied and grabbed his hand as they stepped out.
Harry looked around the corners ensuring that no one can see them. "This is crazy, Harry. We're the Head Girl and Boy we're allowed to stay up."
"But don't you think this is way too late for doing our rounds?"
"I totally agree," she chuckled.
"Shhh!" he tried to silence Hermione. "Come on, hurry up." They raced up to the tower and their indistinct footsteps where heard no more.
They sat together at the place they had occupied the previous night, and gazed upon the stars above.
"Do you think the centaurs' star readings are true?" Harry asked her. He felt her shift, "I know how you feel about Divination, but just bear with me for a moment."
"Remember what I told you the first time I met Firenze at the forbidden forest?" Harry went on. "They have read what is to come in the movements of the planets. I was about to face Voldemort that time, but Firenze took me and whisked me away, Bane was furious because he believed that Firenze was interfering. Bane thinks Firenze should have let Voldemort kill me, because it was written in the stars. Maybe the stars weren't referring to that time, but soon it will come."
"Harry, I also remember the other thing Firenze told you, that the planets have been read wrongly before and that even centaurs' knowledge was not foolproof," Hermione said to comfort him. "Yes, you'll meet Voldemort again but he won't kill you, I know. Well, Trelawney said that you have the power to vanquish him, and I truly believe that you will."
Harry sniggered, "So now you believe that old fraud, huh?"
"For you, I'll believe her" she replied softly. Harry stared at her the longest and she turned to escape those piercing eyes. "So, tell me what can you read from these stars tonight?"
Hermione gazed at the stars trying so hard not to catch Harry's eyes peering at her. She saw Venus shining brightly and heard Harry uttered, "Venus is looking down at you. It means love is on the way." Though she was not looking, she could feel that Harry never took his eyes off her. Stop boring your eyes into me like that. Please, please, please, I can't take this.
"You sound like some old horoscope!" Hermione slapped Harry's arm. He winced though she was pretty sure that it didn't hurt him a bit. "Anyway, why should I trust someone who just made-up those Divination homework predictions."
"Now really! I understand that some of those that Ron and I have predicted, happened," Harry said.
"Yeah? Like what?" she asked.
They went on talking until the wee hours of the morning, never minding the coldness. No one noticed that they only went back to bed at daybreak. Only Ron noticed something amiss during breakfast when Harry yawned very wide as he grabbed the sausage in front of him. "You both look like you could use some more sleep," Ron told Harry and Hermione.
"Sorry, just letting out some air," Harry said. He and Hermione eyes locked and they shared a grin.
=====================
A/N: If you are reading this for the first time (or the second, it doesn't matter), please leave a review.
Thanks to Raven for the help in proofreading.