Chapter 2
(A/N-This is a flashback, sort of. Its in the present. Be warned!! Its a very long chapter!!!! Mostly of why the trio isn't a trio, and Harry's defeat with Voldemort, although not detailed.)
He heard the news from Ron, in a letter, that he and Hermione got together the summer before 5th year. All of his inhibitions went out into the roof and into the first thing he saw. Unfortunately, it was the wall behind his bedpost. He ended up with a broken wrist. He felt no pain as he read the letter over and over again. He didn't even notice that his blood was mixing with his tears. He ripped up the letter and threw the pieces up in the air. He saw his wrist and went to the hospital. That night he dreamt of weddings and babies with red hair. It was the worst day of his life.
Correction, second worse. On the way over to King Cross, he tried to prepare for the sight of them together at the platform. He kept going over what he should say when he saw them, when he saw her. But nothing could prepare him for what he saw. As soon as he crossed the barrier, he saw the two of them holding hands, talking privately, their backs towards him. He felt the sting of tears, threatening to fall. He went pass them and found an empty compartment. He heard them call his name but he acted as though he didn't hear them. He stared out the window and who should happen to come, none other than Draco Malfoy.
"Hey Potter" he said as he sat down.
"Hey Draco" To some this scene might seem a bit odd, to say the least. But to Harry it was normal. He met with Draco during the holiday and the two became friends. Draco's father was arrested and was sent to live with his aunt (who was in Gryffindor). It turned out that Draco was the person who turned in Lucius.
"Did you see...?"
"Yeah. I saw"
"Sorry mate." Harry looked at his friend and smiled softly. Draco was the only one who knew about Hermione.
'Thanks."
They talked quietly, trying not to bring up the subject of Ron and Hermione. People who passed by gave them weird looks and spoke in hushed whispers. They were playing a game of poker when Ron walked in.
"Harry where..." Ron trailed off when he saw Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy playing cards. Malfoy regarded him with an eyebrow raise and went back to the game.
"Harry? What are you doing with Malfoy?" Ron yelled. Harry just rolled his eyes, a gesture not missed by Hermione who was looking in from behind Ron. Harry took a good look at his friend. His hair was still fiery red, and was lanky. It looked, from Harry's point of view that Ron only grew about an inch the whole summer. He could be wrong, he was sitting on the floor.
"Playing poker." He looked intensely at his cards. Poker was his favorite muggle game. He was untouchable, but he found a worthy adversary in Draco. He looked at him, trying to bluff him out, but Draco wasn't having any of it.
"Read it and weep Potter. Straight in diamonds." Draco said smugly. He caught a glance at Weasley and was tickled when he saw him glare at him.
"Dammit Draco..."
Ron flinched at his choice of words. Harry never cursed before.
"I guess that beats what I've got." Draco smirked at his hand went for the galleons in between them that Ron failed to notice. Ron's eyebrows shot up. There has to be at least 75 galleons in there. He heard Hermione stifle a gasp.
"But wait, doesn't this beat it?" He turned his cards over and did a mock salute, "in your honor Malfoy, a royal flush." He snickered and went for the galleons. Draco's mouth was agape.
"Potter you bastard. Now I'm out 75 galleons." Ron was about to jump at him. Maybe this was a duel of sorts.
"Relax mate, I was going to give your half back." Draco shook his head.
"You won it mate." He turned to the figures at the door, as if noticing for them for the first time. He gave them a nod before turning to Harry.
"There's a prefect meeting soon. See ya there." He held out his hand. Harry clapped it and they both made a fist and tapped each other (A/N you know what I'm taking about. That Handshake that everyone does.) Ron glared at Draco as he left and went. Ron shook his head and walked into the compartment. Harry was preoccupied with putting away the cards that he didn't even know Hermione was in the room.
"I have to ask you something mate. Who closed the barrier down in 2nd year?" Harry looked at Ron confused.
"Why are you asking me that?"
"Because we have to know if you're Harry Potter." Harry rolled his eyes again.
"Dobby, is this necessary?" Ron seemed satisfied with the answer.
"For now." Ron said crossing his arms. He finally stood up, looking down to brush the dust off his pants.
"Ron look..." He trailed as he saw Ron. To his surprise, he was taller than Ron, by a good inch or two. Which, to be honest, wasn't that tall.
"Great Merlin Ron! What happened to you?" Harry said in surprise. He thought Ron looked short from the floor but...he's never been taller than Ron has.
"Are you ok mate?"
"Of course I'm ok. Just didn't grow this summer. That's beside the point. We want to..." Harry tilted his head. He looked over Ron and finally noticed Hermione.
Her hair was curled, not bushy. She had grown at least 2 inches, Harry marveled. He couldn't have been staring at her for more than a second, but he looked her up and down her long frame.
"Hey Hermione. Didn't see you there." She made a move to hug him, but Harry moved to Ron again. He failed to notice Hermione was staring at him, in the same way he had done. She had a pint tinge on her cheeks when Harry caught her eye.
"Ron I got to go. Prefect meeting." Harry held out his hand. Ron took it, as he expected Harry to do that fancy handshake that Harry did with Malfoy. He was surprised and a little hurt when Harry only shook. Harry gave a small smile to Hermione and left. Again he failed to notice that Hermione had a slight tinge of pink to her cheeks.
*
And that's where the trio lost it. They were still friends. But not the best friends. They never talked about the relationship. Harry tried to avoid them as much as possible without trying to look intentional. He threw himself in his studies. All the teachers, even Snape, were praising his high marks. Of course, they were nowhere near Hermione's, but he didn't care.
People did ask in the beginning, but most just shrugged it off. They took it as a sign that they grew up, moved on to bigger and better things. To the red head and the bookworm it was love; to the third it was just bigger.
Everyone started to notice Harry Potter more than ever. He was named Quidditch Captain of Gryffindor, the youngest ever. He was 2nd in his class. He was a best friend with Draco Malfoy. And it seemed that the moment he stepped in the Great Hall, every female of the Hogwarts population wanted him.
But if the great Harry Potter could trade all of that for one thing, he would.
He tried not to love her. He went on a couple of dates, looking for someone better that Hermione. But he knew it was pointless. There was and never would be anybody better than Hermione Granger. He would be content to just have her as a friend. But even that wish was getting farther and farther away. They were always friendly to each other in the hallways. Giving each other a polite smile.
Harry knew that all of this was his fault. If only he had congratulated them at the beginning...everything would be all right.
But he knew that it was a crock. He could barely handle seeing them from a distance. He couldn't even fathom what it would be like close up. No, he made the right choice.
The only positive outcome to come of all this was the fact that Harry can watch her. Not follow her or anything obsessive like that, but just watch her. When they would have prefect meetings. When Gryffindors would get together and study for exams.
Even though they hardly spoke, he still helped her out with anything. If she dropped a quill, he was the first to pick it up with a smile. When she fell asleep in the common room, he would cover her with a blanket. She did this more frequently towards the end. He never said anything, but she knew. She always knew. She would give him a grateful smile and continue on with her life.
"It is better to have loved than to have never loved at all." He once read in an advanced Muggle studies session. He sighed, as he knew exactly what the Bard was saying. He was grateful that he loved Hermione. He wouldn't know what to do if he had never loved her.
*
The oddest thing about the trio was the fact that they didn't seem to care whether or not they were a trio anymore. They didn't have wistful faces when they talked about the past. At least, they think they didn't. Their separate lives went on smoothly. Until the winter of their 6th year.
Everyone knew that Lord Voldemort was coming back. Even old Fudge, who finally saw the light the year before. And everyone knew that Harry Potter was the only one who could stop him.
He was almost always seen in the library, (no doubt catching up on spells) walking to and from Dumbledore's office, always by himself. Everyone respected his solitude. He was seen everyday in training area, or out on the grounds, walking around the lake.
Everyone had seen his famous walks around the lakes. He would go around the lake probably 50 times, never getting tired. If one looked closely, you could see a wistful expression on his face when he walked. He brought his dinner out there and occasionally stopped to feed the squid some bread crumbs.
No one ever talked about it, but everyone knew that Harry was to leave soon. No one knew when. They went to great lengths trying to find out. The Gryffindors wanted to throw him a party of sorts the night before. They even went as far to ask Ron and Hermione. Of course, they had no idea either. Draco Malfoy didn't even ask. Hell, none of the teachers, save Dumbledore, knew.
So when Harry Potter didn't show up for Christmas Breakfast, everyone knew.
Those who stayed at Hogwarts for breaks were told not to tell anybody, they obliged. They were told he went on break, just like everyone else. But they knew. Harry Potter had left to fight Lord Voldemort.
The air was thick when everyone arrived for breakfast. Some looked confused, others grave. As soon as everyone was seated, Dumbledore rose up. He took a moment before he spoke, trying to compose himself.
"There is news that all of you should know. As you all know, Lord Voldemort has gained full power." He heard loud gasps and yells. He fixated his eyes on a certain Gryffindor when he continued.
"Ha..." For the first time, the students heard Albus Dumbledore's voice falter and looked on with awe as they saw a single tear roll down his cheek. He looked at Hermione Granger, who gripped the table edge so hard that he could see the whites of her knuckles.
"Harry Potter has left Hogwarts to face his destiny. His fate is sealed and I am not sure how it will turn out, for only he knows what will become of him. Whatever that fate may be..." again his voice faltered. Some of the students were crying silently, but most of them were listening. Hermione was not listening or crying. Her eyes were fixated on her plate, like she was ashamed.
"Whatever his fate may be, the world, both muggle and wizard, owe him a debt of gratitude." He raised his goblet high in the air, "To our savior Harry Potter. Let Merlin be with him." Every single person, save one, present in the Great Hall stood up, raised their goblets high and together they said "To Harry Potter." The one person who didn't salute to Harry Potter was Hermione Granger. Dumbledore lowered his eyes and saw that Hermione was shaking uncontrollably. She got up as everyone sat down and fled the Great Hall, her crying audible.
*
Over 2 months had passed before anyone heard from Harry Potter. He had sent only one letter to Dumbledore and it was only one sentence 'I know where he is'. Meanwhile, everything had gone back to normal. Every conversation seemed to be about Harry Potter in one way or form.
'Remember when he almost swallowed the snitch.'
'Remember when he beat Victor Krum in the Tri-Wizard tournament'
'Remember when he got sorted...'
Everybody included the subject of Harry Potter into their conversations, as if a routine.
So they didn't expected when Hermione Granger suddenly screamed out in the Great Hall one morning,
"You are all talking like he died already. He's not dead." She stood as everyone sat dumbstruck. If it weren't a grave time, Dumbledore would have chuckled. Oh the things we say when we're in love...
*
April 29 was declared a holiday in the wizard world. Wizards were walking down streets; shaking hands with muggles saying, 'he is finally gone. You-Know-Who is finally gone.'
Every wizard and his goat were out celebrating. Everyone at Hogwarts filed onto the Quidditch Pitch for a celebration. Everyone, that is except one.
Hermione Granger crept quietly in the Hospital wing. No one even knew that Harry Potter was at Hogwarts. Hermione only knew because she heard Poppy and Dumbledore talking.
She crept towards the closed curtain and stopped before it. She took a deep breath and slightly opened the curtains.
"You really shouldn't be here Ms. Granger." A voice behind said softly. She inwardly cried out in horror, SNAPE. Out of all the people, SNAPE.
"I had to see him Prof. I had to see him with my own eyes." She turned around and was surprised to see a look of sympathy etched across his face.
"Ms. Granger, Hermione, I don't think you're prepared to. But if you must, just heed my words. This is a second chance for you. I know what you're looking for Hermione. It's right under your nose." And with that he left silently. Hermione continued to stare at the door. She shook her head 'what is he talking about...under my nose'
She took another deep breath and slid the curtains. She had to put her fist in her mouth to stifle her scream. She looked in horror at Harry's battered body. He was shirtless and she saw several very deep gashes on his chest. She couldn't help it as her tears overtook her. He raised one shaky hand and tentatively touched his chest. She marveled at how warm it was. She couldn't help the blush that was forming. Her hand traveled higher, tracing his split open lip with her index finger. She hesitantly stopped before going higher. She traced his famous scar affectionately. It smeared with blood. She looked at his body again. He had two bluish-black bruises the size of tennis balls on both of his eyes. They were cuts around his eyes, she figured they were made by his glasses. Her hand made its way lower and she entwined their fingers together. She stared at his face that she had grown to love and broke down. Everything she held in for the past five months came flooding out. She couldn't control the tears as they wet the mattress. She lowered her head, her face buried in the blanket.
"I'm so sorry. I should have been there. Please forgive me? I should have been there.
*
No one knew of her night visit to Harry's bed that night. The only one who knew was Snape, and he was back to his old self. The celebrations continued throughout the week. They became more frequent when Harry woke up. He had to limp on his right foot, but he assured everybody that it would go away. They still had their seeker.
Hermione watched from a distance. She had given him a hug, the first in about 2 years, the day he had gotten out of the hospital. Even Ron shook his hands, thanking him. In May everything went back to normal and Harry was given the Order of Merlin First Class. What Harry found to be most amusing was that they were to name a holiday after him. It was to be named "Harry Potter Day". Harry almost choked on his butterbeer when Minister Fudge informed him. Dumbledore told the Minister that maybe they should think of a new name
With the defeat of Voldemort, Sirius Black was cleared. For once, the summer wasn't going to be horrible. Every thing in Harry Potter's life was perfect. Well, almost perfect.