NOTE: Oh..I don't have anything to say damnit! Enjoy.
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Showered and nervous, Hermione sat at the Gryffindor table reading a book. She wasn't exactly embarrassed about sleeping with Harry that night, but she was a bit afraid of how he would react. Would he act different around her? Did she want him to act different around her? She continued reading and munching on toast.
"Another book already?"
"Hey Ron. Listen," she put her book down on the table and looked at him, "I'm sorry about yesterday."
"Don't worry about it Herms, you know I already knew you were crazy." He smirked and began piling food on his plate. She resumed reading her book.
"You know I hate it when you call me that."
"Yes. What's your point?" Just then Harry sat down beside her.
"What's up guys?" he said, almost cheerily.
"Someone's happy," Ron mumbled around his mouthful of breakfast, eyeing Harry.
"Hmmm. I guess I am. I must've slept well," he replied, sending a wink in Hermione's direction. Hermione tried to hide the blush that had risen to her cheeks but it was no use. Instead, she lifted her book higher and pretended to be immersed in the text.
"Good news. It's about time you stopped having those nightmares. Listen, I'll see you guys later." Suddenly he was gone, taking his plate with him. Hermione had a sneaking suspicion he was headed off to see a certain Ravenclaw girl.
"It's good to see Ron focused on something," Hermione said without looking up, "even if it's not his school work."
"Yeah."
Hermione glanced up and Harry was staring at her. The flush returned to her cheeks.
S-T-A-R-I-N-G!
"W-Well, we better hurry if we want to make it to Transfiguration on time," she blurted.
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Hermione found a seat far from where Ron and Harry sat. She didn't know why…it wasn't that she felt embarrassed about spending the night before snuggled up with Harry. Why did she keep saying that to herself? The problem was she did have feelings for Harry. Stronger feelings than she should have for someone who is just a friend. But it had been so long since she had allowed herself to realize these feelings; she was now almost ashamed to let them resurface. She had hidden them deep down inside of her. She didn't want anything to come between her and helping Harry, afraid that these feelings would prevent her from seeing the more important task at hand.
But now…
She could feel him watching her from his seat at the back of the classroom. Slowly, Hermione turned in her seat, trying to glimpse Harry from the corner of her eye. There he was, looking right at her with a sad puppy-dog look on his face. She had seen the look before. Since his Godfather's death, Harry could be seen sitting in the common room on many occasions with the same look on his face. However, this time, there was something more to it. Hermione just couldn't put her finger on what it was.
That look scared Hermione a little…but it also made her feel…
"Class dismissed," Professor McGonagall's voice rang through her ears. Hermione gathered her books into her arms and swiftly left the classroom. She jogged down the hallway, her skirt bouncing as she went, until she found a small alcove in the corridor. She threw her back against the wall and exhaled deeply. What had gotten into her? Since when did she think of Harry….in that way!? She hung her head and tried to control her breathing.
In and out, Hermione, in and out…
"Hermione! Hermione? Which way did she go…?"
"I don't know. I just saw her take off in this direction. I didn't see which way she turned."
"Thanks Ron. Well, I'll see you later. I'm going to check the library for her."
Just then the two boys walked right by her hidden alcove. She gripped the books tight to her heaving chest and hoped they wouldn't see her; she knew she was having a panic attack of sorts. As they finally exited her line of sight, she breathed a sigh of relief. Then suddenly…
"I thought I saw you when we walked by!" A voice rang out. Hermione almost screamed. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to scare you. Why did you leave class so fast?"
"Harry! Merlin, you scared me!" She could think of nothing else to say.
Harry leaned in close to her and she flattened her back against the cold castle wall. He placed a hand on the stones above her shoulder. Hermione had the distinct feeling he was about to say something profound and swallowed hard. He leaned in closer, brushed a stand of hair behind her ear, and lowered his face to hers.
"Why'd you leave so soon this morning?" he breathed into her ear. She closed her eyes and gulped.
"M-My…my hair…" she squeaked. Suddenly his arms were around her waist and he was holding her tightly against him.
"I think I might skip the rest of our lessons today," he whispered.
"Harry?"
"It's just shaping up to be one of those days." Hermione knew exactly what he meant by one of those days. He had been having them more frequently in the past few weeks. He would start the day out normally, but as the hours progressed he would become more and more depressed. Slowly, he would sink into a pit of anxiety. Dumbledore had allowed him to skip classes on these occasions and Harry would spend the day in his dormitory. He wouldn't even come out even for meals. Hermione often found herself bringing him food with his class work. Inevitably, he had begun to lose weight.
"I'm sorry Harry," she whispered back, "do you want me to bring you the school work later?"
"Don't worry about it; I'll get it from Ron." With that, he was gone. Hermione stood in the hallway for what seemed like an eternity before she began making her way to Charms class. She walked in a daze, thinking about Harry. She stopped just before she entered the classroom…then turned, and headed back the way she had come….
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((((Hmmm…where is that Herms off to??))))
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