Hey everyone! Finally Chapter 6 is done! Chapter 7 should be up soon.
I have gone back and rewritten and uploaded chapters 1 and 2. I will be doing the same with chapters 3 and 4. Now they will be easier to read and understand.
I want to thank everyone for their support! This is my first fanfic ever and y'all have been so encouraging! I really love to read what you have to say about the story! Keep it up!
Enjoy!
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As Hermione walked into the Great Hall for breakfast, she searched around quickly for Harry and Ron. Those two were the last people she wanted to see right now. It would be a long time before she could face them again after what was said the night before. All the things Ron had said, and everything Harry hadn't said, were the last things she had expected. She didn't know whether or not it was true that Harry cared about her more than a friend, but she didn't feel like she could handle hearing the truth. On one hand, if it was true, it was the end of the year and they would soon be going their separate ways. She couldn't stand being separated from him when they had finally found each other. But on the other hand, if it wasn't true, she would be so mortified that she didn't think she could ever bring herself to talk to him ever again.
Hermione felt like crying. She couldn't remember when she felt this lost. What am I going to do about Harry? What am I going to do if I don't find my diary? She groaned and laid her head in her arms on the table. She had hardly touched her toast.
"I promise it will all work out alright." Lavender cooed, placing a comforting hand on her arm.
Hermione sighed, lifted her head, and opened her mouth to disagree but stopped as her eyes landed on the boy standing in front of her.
"Hi `Mione." Harry said. His hair was slightly more disheveled then usual and he wore a shy smile. Damn, he looks good! "Can I talk to you for a minute?"
Hermione felt all the blood drain from her face. But before she knew what she was doing, she had stood up and started following him towards the hallway. She stole one look at Lavender before she left the Great Hall. Lavender gave her a reassuring smile and a slight wave.
Harry led her over to a corner in the hallway, away from prying eyes. She couldn't look him in the face, she was so scared of what he was going to say. He cleared his throat and looked down at the small book in his hands. "I believe this is yours." He said sheepishly and looked into her eyes.
Her diary! He had her diary! Shit! Shit! Shit! Hermione's eyes filled up with tears. She grabbed the diary from his hands and backed away quickly. "You had this?! Where did you find it?!" She cried.
"You left it at the Three Broomsticks last night." Harry said guiltily. Just then a thought occurred to her.
"Did you read it?" She squeaked out, not looking him in they eyes.
"Hermione, I. . .I. . ." He stuttered.
"DID YOU READ IT?" She screamed. She looked him strait in the eye, her face red with anger. The rage rose in her so quickly. She couldn't believe that her Harry would do something so inexcusable.
"Yes." Harry looked as if he felt two inches tall.
"I cant believe. . .You're such a. . ." and without finishing her thought Hermione burst into tears and ran off, disappearing into a crowd of students coming out of the Great Hall. She couldn't hear him call after her over the sound of her sobs and the chatter of students.
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Damn it! I really screwed this up. Harry had spent the last hour looking for Hermione. She had burst into tears and disappeared after he gave her the diary. This wasn't exactly the response he'd hoped for or expected. He had really expected her to throw her arms around him, kiss him, and then. . .then. . . What were you expecting, Romeo? For her to ask you to take her right then and there?
He had to admit that reading her diary entries had really turned him on. He never thought of Hermione being one to think about sex all the time, or at all, but what he read told him otherwise and that excited him. Just the idea that he was the one she'd imagined being with made him hard. Shit. Calm down, Potter.
But Hermione was so angry with him at the moment. He knew he shouldn't have read the diary, but if he hadn't then he wouldn't know how she truly felt about him. Yeah, there was all that stuff about the dreams and fantasies, but she had also written about how much she truly loved him for just being him. He never thought he could find someone to felt that way about him, especially after living with the Dursleys. He had to make it up to her. If he ever found her, and if she ever forgave him, he would do everything in his power to make things right and show her how much he loved her. I love Hermione. I still can't get over this. Why did I wait so long to figure this out? I am such an idiot.
Now all he had to do is find her. The first place he looked was in the library. She always goes to the library when she's upset. It had always been a very calming place for her. But he should have known that she would know that that would be the first place he'd look for her. Then he had Ginny check the girl's dormitory to see if she was there. She wasn't. He then checked by the huge try by the lake, Hagrid's hut, the Room of Requirements, and every other place he knew she might go to be away from the world.
"Lavender! Wait up!" Harry had spotted Lavender leaving Gryffindor tower.
"Harry? Where did Hermione go? I've been looking for her everywhere! She never came back to breakfast." She said, looking a little concerned.
"Well. . .when I returned her diary earlier. . ."
"You had her diary!?" Lavender interrupted, eyes wide.
"Uh. . .yeah. . ." Harry blushed. "Anyway, I admitted to her that I read it and she got really upset and took off."
"You what? No wonder she got upset! Harry, how could you do a thing like this?" Lavender said angrily.
"I know, I know. But I at the time I had to know if it was true that she loved me because. . .because I had to know if she felt the same way about me as I do about her." He admitted hesitantly.
"Oh Merlin! Harry! You really do love her? That's so great!" Lavender's annoyed expression turned to one of pure delight.
"Yeah. But it won't turn out great if I don't find her soon and apologize. She really isn't happy with me at the moment." He said.
"Have you checked the library?" She asked.
"Yeah."
"Room of Requirement?"
"Yup."
"Astronomy tower?"
"No. I didn't know she ever went there, other than class, that is." Harry said, very confused.
"She comes up there with me sometimes. What the library does for Hermione, the Astronomy tower does for me. It's my sanctuary. She comes up there with me whenever I need to vent or relax." Lavender explained.
"Oh, tremendous. Thanks. I'll go see if she's there. Thanks for the tip" He said as he sprinted off towards the other end of the castle.
"Go get her, Harry!" Lavender shouted after him.
A few minutes later, he was at the bottom of the latter that lead to the Astronomy classroom. He took a deep breath and began to climb.
"Hermione? Hermione, are you up there?" He called up.
He heard a gasp and a sniffle. "Go away, Harry!" She called back.
"Hermione! We really need to talk." He said as she came into view.
"I don't ever want to talk to you again, Harry Potter!" She yelled at him and turned her back to him.
"Ok, well if you aren't going to talk, just listen." He replied. When she didn't answer back, he took a deep breath and continued. "I am so sorry I read your diary, Hermione. I know that your diary is very personal and private, and I had no right what so ever to read it. But at the time, my reasoning was that I had to find out if it was true. I had to know that you loved me as much as I love you." He paused, waiting for a reply.
*Sniff* "What?" she said, turning to face him, tear stains on her face. His heart sunk to the pit of his stomach knowing that he was the cause of those tears.
"I love you, Hermione. I think I always have, but I didn't know it until now, until Ron said it down at the Three Broomsticks last night. But you left before you said whether or not he was telling the truth about your feelings for me. I know it was wrong, but I knew that the only way I would find out the truth was if I read what you wrote in your diary. I hope you can forgive me." There was a very long pause.
*Sniff* "Well. . .I guess. . ." Hermione said playfully.
They both laughed and hugged. But this hug was different from all the hugs they had shared before. This was an embrace. For the first time in his life, Harry felt wanted, needed. Harry felt like he was home. He never wanted to be out of the arms of this woman ever again.
"Hermione?" He said, after a long minute.
"Hmm?" She replied as she broke the embrace to look into his eyes.
He stared at her for a moment. She truly is beautiful. His eyes traveled from her silky chestnut hair (just as think and curly as ever) to her big, beautiful eyes that were glossy with tears. He leaned over and kissed a stray tear away. He backed away again to continue to appreciate her. From her eyes, his gaze traveled down to her full lips. She again was chewing on the corner of her lip. There was that familiar look that he loved. He took a mental picture of her at this moment because this is how he always wanted to remember her. She was the most beautiful girl in the world to him.
His hand came up to stroke her cheek and wipe away all remaining tears. She closed her eyes at his touch. His hand went to her hair, running his fingers through the silky curls and then resting at the base of her neck, pulling her towards him. He leaned in and lightly pressed his lips to hers. All the tension seemed to melt away from her and she leaned into him, kissing him with all the passion she possessed.
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