Constant

Wind rushed past Harry Potter's face, the scorching wind of a high chilly autumn day. Quidditch season was in full swing and as Gryffindor's star seeker, he naturally played in all the games. Especially against Slytherin. Death defying stunts and game winning catches were his trade. The excitement of the crowd roared in his head. Why not satisfy the other students?

As usual, Malfoy was squinting for the snitch. In a full four years, he had somehow managed to show no improvement. His prowess in quidditch was equal to Ron's prowess in Divination, meaning, not much. The crowd's roaring increased as a goal was scored by the Gryffindor chasers. Harry smiled at this. Gryffindor was up by many a point and victory was nearly assured.

"Hey Scarhead!" Harry's head turned to see Draco Malfoy smirking. He instantly grew suspicious of sabotage, as Malfoy smiling was never a good sign. It was then that Harry's sharp seeker eyes spotted Malfoy's hand. It was balled up in a loose fist, hiding a certain... something. Thoughts raced through Harry's mind. Malfoy hiding something was definitely not good.

"Shouldn't you be hiding behind Crabbe and Goyle? You're not going to beat us you know... four years running now was it?" Harry said this in a lazy drawl, emulating Malfoy's oft used tone of voice. At this, Malfoy seemed to lose his edge and scowl, but it quickly returned to a wide smile. Although genuine, it held a malice that did not go unnoticed. Despite the circumstances, Harry decided to taunt Malfoy a bit more by beginning to inspect his fingernails.

"You think you're that good don't you Potter?" Malfoy had a hateful look on his face, mingled with jealousy and anger. Harry simply raised his eyes slightly from his task, lifting an eyebrow.

"Not really... I just think you're that bad" he said. However, the side of Malfoy's mouth seemed to pull up a bit, the ghost of his malice showing again.

"We'll see Potter" he smiled.

Harry then decided it was time to end the conversation. Time to give the audience a show and possibly humiliate Malfoy. One could do no wrong with a Wronski feint and a flattened Malfoy. Harry faked seeing the snitch with a quick snap of the head and then tipped his broomstick down. Malfoy obviously took the bait as he heard him yell from behind.

"Not so fast Potter!"

With a smile, Harry proceeded to speed towards the ground. The timing had to be perfect, a delicate tip of the broom in the wrong direction could spell doom. As he looked up, he noticed that the crowd had become transfixed on the steep descent. Harry had been high up, higher up than the rest of the quidditch game. It made sense as a vantage point and to avoid bludgers.

The crowd began to roar with even more intensity. Harry had become a superstar in his first year, the year when he had become seeker by coincidence. However, now that Voldemort was exposed and Harry's name restored, he was loved by all. It was not so much that he craved the attention, not at all. But it did feel nice. The glory, the admiration, having the school unite behind him and fight Voldemort.

Harry focused his attention back on the ground. He was unsure as to whether Malfoy had followed him this far or not, but it didn't matter at this point. All that mattered was doing the feint and getting the rush. A mere twenty meters away from the ground, he heard a scream. Looking up, it was apparent that the commotion came from the Gryffindor stands. More importantly, it looked like a prank had been unleashed. What looked to be a balloon inflated, not unlike Aunt Marge. 'Potter Stinks' was splashed across it in gold, with a red background. Gryffindors could be seen scrambling to remove it.

"Malfoy must be the culprit for this" Harry thought. He quickly shook his head though and looked forward. With shock, he noticed the ground not more than one meter away. Time seemed to whine down and a cool sort of panic overcame him. With precision, Harry pulled his broomstick up to stop. But it was too little too late. The last thing Harry knew was a loud thud, crack, and the feeling of extreme pain before darkness swallowed him.

~

A flurry of activity welcomed Harry's temporary reentry to the world. Through the cracks of his blurry eyes, he could see the swarms of students gathering. Human shaped blurs of color ran amok and congregated. Looking down, Harry saw his hands. They were bent and broken, blood dripping from them. The snitch was there, coincidentally. It fluttered slightly and began to be carried by the blood through his fingers. Desperately, Harry attempted to close his fingers, to stop the snitch. But his hands simply would not respond. The last thing he saw was the snitch falling out of his hands and flying away.

~

The world was dark. Unnaturally dark. Harry slowly opened his eyes, noting the pain and soreness in his entire body. What he saw was of no surprise. The hospital wing presented itself, with the trademark smell of cleanliness. It was night and the area beyond the curtains sounded deserted. A throbbing headache then assaulted Harry's head, causing his vision to grow fuzzy. Sitting up was made difficult by an unnatural weight in his legs.

"No matter. Probably some skele-gro or something" he thought. Exhaling, he threw his head backwards. So much had happened. A disastrous Wronski Feint and doubtless, a very happy Malfoy. Ridicule would probably follow Harry for a while; nothing unusual, but certainly a pain. A rustle at his side caught his attention. Hermione Granger appeared from behind the curtain and crawled onto his bed. Without preamble, she closed the curtain and cast a privacy spell. She then plopped herself cross-legged in front of him with a glare.

No words were spoken yet. Harry certainly noticed her anger. Dried tear streaks and some nail marks confirmed that she had been concerned to a great degree. Her jaw was set and expression stony. Ron's angry outbursts paled in comparison to the worrisome nature of this type of anger. Harry decided to divert his attention elsewhere.

Hermione was clothed in pajamas, simple and comfortable looking. They opaque white with blue stripes along them. Both the top and bottom were rather loose fitting, hiding her body. At that moment, Harry noticed that a few buttons of her shirt had come undone. He now had a wonderful view of the valley one calls 'cleavage'. As his body began to respond, sharp pain shot through his torso and below. It was apparent that such thoughts were not to be entertained at the moment.

The silence grew more and more uncomfortable by the second. It seemed unlikely that she would break the silence, so naturally, Harry would have to.

"So-" he started.

"What the HELL were you doing?" she interrupted. The ire in her voice was unmistakable, making Harry wince. His least favorite thing was angering Hermione. Unlike Ron, he did not relish in pushing her buttons. Rather, he felt a very real pain and hurt when he influenced her. It made him wonder...

"I was doing the Wronski Feint..." he said. Harry noticed her increased anger at this and trailed off.

"So you were trying a Wonky Feint were you?" she said loudly.

"Actually it's the Wronski-"

"Shut up!" Harry immediately snapped his jaw shut, not eager to provoke her wrath. "I suppose you think it's good fun to worry me sick? How you had to be a show off?" Her rant began and Harry bowed his head in shame. Everything she said was true. It continued with reprimands and guilt began to build. The Wronski Feint was unnecessary and although Hermione did not mention it, it was this cockiness that had gotten Sirius killed the year before. Once again, Hermione was being there to guide him. It was time to take her advice. When she finally finished, Harry chose to speak.

"I'm sorry."

It was amazing what two words could do to her. Traces of anger and tension still remained, but her face grew kinder and loving.

"Loving? Hm" Harry mentally shook himself. It was not time to think on such things.

"Right" she said, giving him a hug and a peck on the cheek. "Just sleep now and we'll talk more in the morning." She then sighed and shook her head. With a quick wave of the wand and a rustle, she was gone. Harry let his head fall back on his pillow, utterly exhausted. In the face of more important things, the pain had faded away. But now, it returned in full force. With a groan, he shut his eyes and began the long wait for sleep.

~

The next morning brought Harry's world crashing down around him. It was not that he craved popularity or surrounded himself with a social crowd. It was that he appreciated not being treated as live ordinance on a daily basis. After the Department of Mysteries, he was at least treated with some credibility, despite the cirumstances such a reward entailed. However, things took a turn for the worst in the Great Hall that morning.

As soon as he entered, a hush fell over the the student body. Harry's legs weakened slightly and he cursed himself for having injured them. A few moments later, the entirety of the Great Hall, bar teachers and Hermione, began to laugh hysterically. Even Ron could be seen chuckling.

"Bloody traitor" Harry thought. Malfoy sat in his normal position at the Slytherin table, laughing the hardest of all. He had revived the 'Potter Stinks' badge campaign and was holding up an inflated one. It was more than Harry could take... the sheer humiliation and defeat. Turning quickly on his heel, his knee buckled and he fell to the floor. The laughing doubled and Harry could only assume that Malfoy was beginning to pass out his badges. With a burning face, Harry stormed out of the Hall.

Walking quickly, he barely noticed a voice calling his name until he was at the lakeside shore. Hermione came right behind, breathing heavily.

"Harry" she said. This however, seemed to be too much as she gulped for air.

Harry decided to wait for her to catch her breath before saying anything he knew he would regret. While she recovered, he though about his life. All had been well before the accident. He was not public enemy, delusional boy, psychotic killer, or the punching bag. Receiving respect from all was not something he craved. After all, his fame lent him such awe earlier on. However, after the struggles with the public hating him... respect was a breath of fresh air. Looking to Hermione, it dawned upon him that she was truly the only person he could rely on. His only... constant.

Would it be so bad to love her? To want to be her best friend... and lover?

"No, it wouldn't. And you know it wouldn't."

He took a few tentative steps towards her and wrapped his arms around her. She let out a slight "oh" of surprise. She was tense, but soon relaxed into him. They stood for a few seconds before she spoke.

"Harry, you know I'll always be here for you right?" Harry sighed into her hair.

"Yeah... I know"

"And I... well I'll always be your friend." She sounded disappointed with herself, burying her face into him more as if to relish the moment. It was time.

"Hermione."

"Hmm?"

"You're my only constant. Even Ron was laughing."

Silence.

"I also wanted you to know that I love you. More than... you know."

Silence.

Then, out of nowhere, Hermione raised her head and pressed her lips with his. The sheer magic of the moment sent him soaring with no bounds. It was true magic.

"I'll always be there for you Harry."

"My constant..."

You're on top
The world is in your hands
It seems nothing will bring you down
You get so high until you can't hold yourself up anymore
I see it happen all too often, and yet there is nothing I can do to stop it
Nothing I can do but wait until I'm needed the most
There is no need to worry,
I'll be your constant
When that world of yours comes crashing down
When your world slips through your fingertips
And bleeds out through your hands
I'll be there to lift you up
And you know I'll be there when you fall again
And again the next time
I won't ever leave
And if all else fails,
Just remember, whether it be sooner or later
I'll be there
I'll always be there,
It's just how long it takes you to realize it…

- emma_3503

AN: I hope you all like it. There's a significant absence of angst and it ends on a positive note.

Remember to review. Comments can and will influence future stuff so its a good idea.

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