A/N: Ok, here is the next chapter and I don't think I will be putting up the fourth chapter until next Monday - hope you are all enjoying the story!
Thanks yet again for all the reviews, they are like chicken soup for a writer's soul J
P.S…Erm, do I need to put a disclaimer….oh well, here goes: None of these characters are mine. They belong to JK Rowling. If I was, Harry and Hermione would have gotten their groove on already and seen the light!
P.P.S…I am kind of hooked on the idea of future fics that are one shot. As I said, they aren't really spoilers for this story because we do know that Harry and Hermione will realise that they are just prolonging their agony by not succumbing to the obvious J.
Right then…enough said…take care, all and have fun!
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Countless fairies scattered pin-pricks of light all along the length of the enormous hall that had finally managed to bring itself to some semblance of order. For three hours Harry had been hugged, kissed, punched, wrestled and idolised to death. The last of course was thanks to what Hermione in a rare fit of immature display proudly proclaimed the start of The G.R.O.P.E - Gathering of the Reverent Order of Potter for Eternity.
Harry had barely escaped with the clothes on his back as all the gaping, drooling young girls - for Merlin's sake, they were all of six to ten! - had descended upon him in one screaming and hefty swoop, complete with hyperventilating gasps and war cries worthy of a cowboys and Indians game. He actually had to be levitated out of their midst through the combined and concentrated efforts of a struggling Hermione, Luna and Ginny who were alternating between righteously frowning at the normally demure girls and firmly weeding the laughter from themselves at the desperate and harassed look on Harry's countenance.
Ronald Bilius Weasley would not assist of course. Harry scowled darkly at him but he may as well have been cooing with a rattle in either hand for all the effect it had on Ron. The redhead had sat down at the head table in the hall, shoulders heaving with laughter as Harry had been plopped in his seat by Ginny's wavering concentration amid various continuing bouts of laughter, missing Ron's head by an inch.
'So Harry,' Ron winked, deliberately slapping him on the back with enough force to send his friend's glasses wildly askew. 'How's the lavish and dedicated fangirl welcome?' He then proceeded to clutch a hand to his heart and mimicked the girls now eating their meals quietly under Hermione's stern hawkish eyes, 'Oh my God! It's Harry Potter!' His high pitched squeal sent the table denizens into choked bouts of spluttering and titters.
Harry groaned knocking his head against the table, while waving a dismissive hand, just short of a rude gesture at Ron. 'Sod off Ron. Very funny. I thought I was going to die out there.' Then in a lower voice meant for their ears alone, 'Some of them nearly got me in the dark places, mate!'
Ron snickered at Harry's panicked expression. His friend glared back. 'It's not funny, Ron. Hurts if you get mauled there, you know.'
'Well, that's just great.' Ron huffed. He scratched his temple thoughtfully and stuck his chin out in a pout. 'Now, if only Tommy Riddle had known this precious widdle secwet of Potty-boo. All he had to do was shorten his height, squeal at you and you'd duck and run for cover like a rabbit.'
Harry glowered back but couldn't help smiling at the bright twinkle in Ron's eyes. He suddenly reached out and tightly hugged Ron, 'I really missed you, mate.' His throat closed with emotion. 'You have no idea what a sight for sore eyes you are.'
Ron choked down a lump the size of a good sized golf ball threatening to close up his own throat and attempted to surreptitiously wipe his eyes. 'You think you aren't Harry?' His voice was quiet, but firm and strong. 'We've all missed you. Luna was quite distraught for a while and here I was, chuffed to bits thinking that I was numero uno in her life. But no, it was Harry this and Harry that, all the way.'
Harry sniggered into his pumpkin juice but let his eyes trail affectionately to where his honorary sister was now chatting to another redhead he had also become a brother to. He arched an eyebrow at Ron and playfully shoved him affecting a gruff, menacing voice, 'You been taking care of my sister, Weasley? I told you I don't want to see her crying ever, because of you.'
Ron shook his head, rolling his eyes but his smile was understanding. He squeezed Harry's hand, 'I promise you mate, I have been taking good care of her.' He swivelled his head around at the sound of her laughter; she seemed to be giggling over a private joke with Ginny and Hermione who had just joined them with her own dinner after lecturing a couple of wayward students who still couldn't peel their lovelorn eyes from The Boy Who Lived. 'I don't know what I would do without her.', he said quietly. 'I guess I regret never trying to get to know her better. I mean we lived close by all our lives and I just never bothered.' He sighed, a shamefaced expression on his face, but a thankful grin playing on his lips.
When he looked up, Harry found himself at a loss for words. The sheer love radiating from Ron's eyes and the depth of its sincerity rocked him to the core. He grinned back and then reached out to pinch Ron's cheek, putting on his own puppy dog eyes for good measure, 'Aww…would you look at that. My ickle Ronniekins is all grown up.' He pretended to wipe tears from his eyes and both men burst into raucous laughter. His expression slowly became serious, his green eyes bright and piercing. 'But I am glad its you mate. I couldn't have picked anyone better myself.'
'Well, well. What's this entire racket about then?'
Ron reached up to clasp the hand gently squeezing his shoulder. 'Oh nothing. Just the usual. I was telling Harry what a right git he was and he was agreeing wholeheartedly.'
'Oh hush, Ron!' reprimanded Luna with a shake of her head. She kissed his cheek to let him know he was joking and then reached over to stand by Harry. 'Is there place in my brother's lap for me?'
Harry smiled warmly at her and pushed back his chair. Luna promptly sat down and put an arm around his shoulders reaching out with her other to push Ron's red curls away from his forehead. She tutted exasperatedly, 'For heaven's sake Ronald! I have been yelling at you to comb your hair countless times since morning. Why on earth don't you ever listen to me?'
Ron meekly lowered his eyes to the floor at her righteous tirade but sneaked a look at Harry, who was smothering his giggles in Luna's shoulder. He lifted his head long enough to bravely summon his courage and interrupt, 'Harry has much more messier hair than mine and you never yell at him.' He stuck out his lower lip in an injured pout and crossed his arms over his chest.
Luna exchanged a wry grin with Harry and then stroked Ron's head again, albeit with a lot more love this time. 'Ronald, I don't tell Harry because it isn't my place to tell him. Soon, the right woman will come along to tell him that.' She ignored Harry's indignant splutter and her smile became a teasing grin, 'I love you and so I look out for you. Harry is my brother but bossing him on his hair and clothes isn't my job.' She emphasised her statement with a pointed jab at Harry's chest. 'Get yourself a woman soon, big brother.'
Harry groaned and stood up, relinquishing Luna into Ron's lap instead. 'I'm not here for more than two minutes and you start on about me and relationships.' He waggled a finger at her comically, 'If you didn't look so happy with Ron, I'd be tempted to spoil the mood by fighting tooth and nail with you.'
Luna simply sighed, a dreamy look that was pure vintage Luna finding its way back onto her face. 'You keep looking for love in all the most unlikely places, Harry. Sometimes its right under your nose but you have to make an effort to look more carefully.'
Ron rubbed the back of his neck in a nervous gesture. 'Umm...yes, love, see I know that I took time to notice you but well I did do better late than never-…'
'…and we finally did get together.' She smiled at Ron and then shrugged her shoulders, looking from Ron to Harry. 'You are both guys though. It's ok. In fact, it's practically expected that you be clueless for a very long time.'
Harry held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. 'You two sound so together and married 'tis extremely scary.' Ignoring the blush on Ron's face and the dreamy smirk of Luna which told him she at least had already named two of their three children, he looked around the table. 'Hermione!' he called upon spotting his quarry.
Hermione looked up from her conversation with Professor McGonagall who had come over from Hogwarts to see Harry and partake in the festivities, and gestured with her hands as if to say what? He rolled his eyes and walked over to her and their former Professor and Head of House. While Minerva McGonagall was still very much a part of Hogwarts, she took over the duties of a retired Dumbledore (or so he was, for real this time, he passionately claimed) and Remus Lupin was the current head of the Gryffindor House, along with being conferred the dubious honour of the only long standing Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
Nobody had been more excited than Harry. It thrilled and warmed his heart no end that a man with such a responsible and strong disposition was finally given the chance to really feel at home and be a part of the magical community.
'Well, Potter.' McGonagall huffed. 'What have you to say for yourself? Up and leaving and nary an owl?' She narrowed her eyes and looked at him speculatively. 'You are going to be twenty soon enough but that's not too big to spank. In fact', she continued, 'Molly Weasley was telling me the other day of a particular brush she tested on Gred and Forge.'
Harry meekly nodded daring to peek up at McGonagall from beneath his eyelashes. Internally he smacked himself. What was it about this lady that made him feel like a wet, gangly eleven year old? He sneaked a peek at Hermione and hmphed under his breath. Of course, she would be looking straight at their professor with all the confidence she had possessed when she had burst noisily into his and Ron's compartment demanding that they help her search for a lost toad belonging to a boy they hadn't even met.
'Harry! Harry!' Hermione was shaking his shoulder none too gently and he shot her a dark look to which she jerked her head towards the Professor. Apparently the venerable lady had asked him something and was tapping her feet expectantly, waiting for an answer. Harry lamented deplorably that he was involuntarily rocking on the balls of his feet and stuttering when he tried to reply intelligently, 'Umm...yes, Professor. Sorry about that - I was just thinking-..'
'Oh be still my beating heart!' the lady interrupted dramatically placing a hand in a bid to calm the aforementioned organ. 'Harry dear, are you alright? Well, I never! You thinking! Miss Granger, have you heard the like?'
Harry simply stared. He whipped around to the sound of Hermione's muffled giggles which turned to full-blown chuckles as Professor McGonagall's lips twitched and then curved into what was as close to a smile as she would ever wear. Torn between wanting to admire such a rarity and scowling at Hermione for laughing at him, he hmphed yet again and folded his arms.
Professor McGonagall laid a warm hand on his shoulder. 'I'm sorry Harry.' Her tone became wistful. 'I miss all my students. Hogwarts just isn't the same anymore.'
Harry's reply was subdued but clear. 'I don't think it ever can be, Professor. It's seen too much for it to go remaining as it always as.' Then he smiled, 'But it doesn't mean that cheerful memories are lost or that new ones can't be created to counter any dark remnants.'
Professor McGonagall shook her head and grinned at Hermione, 'You know, I attribute this sudden spurt of philosophical wisdom to you, Miss Granger. Even if Potter and Weasley never listened to me, I used to take a small degree of solace in the fact that they apparently hung on your every word.'
Hermione blushed brightly and gave Harry a teasing grin as he wrapped an arm impetuously around her in an affectionate hug. 'Of course, it's due to me.' Her eyes flicked over to the green orbs shining back genially at her and a devilish smirk crossed her face. 'Harry, maybe I should have a chat with the professor about some of our more interesting lessons which nearly always involved adventure and slight rule breaking…' she broke off in peals of laughter.
Harry merely snorted, 'Ah, but then you risk ruining your reputation of the model student. Professor,' he began, 'perhaps you and I could have tea one afternoon and I could tell you all the reasons Hermione should not have been given that Prefect's badge, let alone made Head Girl.' He smiled smugly at Hermione's appalled expression which soon shot daggers at him.
'Oh go on with the two of you.' Professor McGonagall shooed, flapping her hands at them. Her eyes twinkled with a soft light that rarely if ever revealed itself, and Harry and Hermione nearly swallowed their tongues as she stepped forward and put her arms around Harry in a tight hug. He was completely taken by surprise but hugged her back as a sudden rush for emotion for his old professor overtook him. She pulled back and squeezed his hands in her own, 'Its good to see you back, Potter' Then turning to Hermione, 'See that you keep him here this time, Miss Granger.'
She walked away winking at Harry who turned to Hermione, bewildered but absolutely certain that they had talked in that annoying feminine manner without words and most definitely about him.
Hermione was wiping the tears off her face. Seeing Harry's concerned look, she shook her head, linked an arm companionably through his own and led him out of the hall.
Languid eyes and drawn out sighs stalked their every step and Harry noted with astonishment that quite a few girls were actually casting baleful glances at the woman having the esteemed honour of being on his arm. He rolled his eyes and quickened their pace; barely noticing that Hermione had begun to pant to keep up with him.
'Harry, what on earth is wrong? What's the sudden rush all about?'
Imagine if he were like this because he wanted to whisk you off alone and have his wicked, way with you all defenceless… She shivered at the thought, noticing the way he had firmly looped his arm around hers and at the sheer strength that his gait invoked…
Stop it, she groaned. He's right next to you and you are fantasising…she blushed furiously at that thought.
You keep blushing like that and you may as well permanently become a tomato.
Stop, stop, stop!
'Er, Hermione. We just did. Are you alright?'
Hermione flinched, wincing internally at how dreamy she must have come across as. Harry was staring at her quizzically.
Speak, Hermione, speak!
'Hermione? Hermione!' The woman in question blinked and then smiled nervously as Harry exaggeratedly flapped his hand in front of her face. She rolled her eyes and batted his hand away. 'Yes, yes, Harry. I'm listening! Sorry about that.'
Harry shook his head and regarded her with an amused smirk. 'Still the same old Hermione. Bet you were thinking about lesson plans and the latest books.'
For some reason, Hermione felt her blood boil at that seemingly innocuous remark and she pursed her lips tightly and resolutely stalked ahead. Harry stared at her form for a second and then ran to catch up.
'Hey, hey! Hermione, come on, what's wrong? What did I say?' He grabbed her am forcing her to stop and turned her around to face him. When she still firmly kept her gaze trained on the ground, he placed two gentle fingers under her chin and made her look up at him.
'Come on, now', he coaxed in a soft voice. It turned into concern as her face even as it was looking up at him showed her eyes to be steadfastly closed with tears falling down her cheeks. He reached the hand under her chin to wipe the moisture away and Hermione's lips parted on a shuddering breath, savouring this gentle caress.
'Hermione,' he continued in a soft voice. 'Come on now, what's wrong? What did I do?' He drew her into a hug for the second time that day and stroked her hair absently. 'Please don't cry. Tell me what's wrong. What happened?'
Hermione was torn between staying nestled in the warm cocoon of his arms and alleviating his concern. Perhaps she had overreacted a tad but a part of her still felt deeply wounded. She pulled back and looked at him, gratified to an extent at his display of genuine concern and his affectionate gestures. If only he was in love with me. It was sheer torture and a barb to the heart to see the tapestry of care and compassion in his eyes but know that it was solely threaded with platonic fibres.
She sighed and pulled away, immediately feeling bereft and alone. All was quiet for a moment and she looked at him thoughtfully to find him looking right back at her, 'Harry, am I really that boring and predictable to be around?'
In the still of the twilight atmosphere, there was a deafening silence. Harry blinked. He certainly hadn't been expecting Hermione to ask a question like that. He wracked his brains worriedly. What in the world had he said to her to make her think that?
'No', he replied. He took her arm and led her slowly forward on their original path towards the lake. 'Hermione, you aren't boring at all. What made you suddenly think you were?' He frowned as an idea occurred. 'You and Ron have a blow-out?'
Hermione attempted to shove him away with a watery smile but he flashed her an unrepentant grin and she unwillingly found herself leaning into him and resting her head on his shoulders. So broad and nice. It was disgustingly cliché but she really did feel as if resting on his shoulders would make all her doubts melt away…
The shoulder in question disappeared as she felt her bottom abruptly connect with the ground. Harry had flopped them both without ceremony near the trunk of the Battering Banyan, the Marauder's answer to its Hogwarts counterpart with the added advantage of having branches that stretched ten times as long and a trunk that lived on for a hundred years more. However it was considerably more discerning of friend and foe without the propensity to lynch anyone within a radius of a metre. She levelled an icy glare at those green eyes which glinted - yet again! For the love of Merlin, stop doing that, Harry! - and then took on a solemn darker shade of forest green as their owner returned to his interrogation. While Hermione was pleased that he was taking an interest in knowing more about what she had blurted, she wasn't entirely happy that every single insecurity trampled and thundered rampantly across her mind at a random comment from him.
He raised an eyebrow questioningly at her.
She replied dismissively, 'Nothing's wrong Harry. It's just that you and practically everybody else seems to think that I am only about books. Isn't it possible for me to zone out about anything else at all? Has my reputation as a bookworm been so firmly cemented?' She concluded with enough bitterness to make Harry have a shocked look on his face although it was momentary and disappeared to make way for one of thought.
'Well?' she challenged. 'Isn't that what you meant? Thinking only about books?'