6. Unforgettable Encounter
The following morning, Hermione was trying to focus on the rolls of parchment she had spread all over her black desk when she heard a gentle tap in her window. Curious to see what it was she turned her head. Right outside her window, waiting for her to open it was Hedwig, a note tied to her leg.
Quickly Hermione got up and went to let Hedwig in. "Hello girl, you got a note for me?" Hedwig flew in and stood on top of Hermione's desk hooting as if responding to Hermione's greeting. Hedwig stood still while Hermione removed the small envelope, which had her name written in Harry's handwriting.
Since Hedwig didn't leave after the note had been removed, Hermione assumed Harry wanted her to reply. So, while the snowy owl drank some water out of a goblet placed in Hermione's desk, Hermione ripped the envelope open.
"Will come to get you for lunch. I'm bringing a friend along.
See you at noon, Harry"
Hermione grabbed a bit of parchment form her desk and wrote "See you then." After that she tied it to Hedwig's leg, who right after that left through the open window.
Hermione sat back in her leather chair, and couldn't help to wonder who this friend Harry was bringing along was. Could it be that Harry wanted to introduce her to a friend of his? If that was the case, she was almost sure it wouldn't be a male friend. Harry had never tried to set her up with anybody before. "Could it be a female friend?" thought Hermione while trying hard to recall if Harry had mentioned anything lately about him dating someone, but she just couldn't remember.
She had been so focused on her own life, she hadn't paid any attention to anything or anyone else. But as she began to think about the possibility of Harry wanting to introduce her to someone, she started to feel anxious. "He's never done this. He's gone out with girls before, but he hasn't brought them to introduce. Could he be more serious about this person? Is that why he wants me to know her?
An unknown feeling began to spread inside Hermione. She certainly knew that Harry dated and had a life of his own, but had never thought of him finding someone and getting into a serious relationship. In fact, he'd never been in a stable relationship before. Hermione had somehow gotten used to the idea of Harry being there all the time.
"But obviously, it's not like that" said Hermione to herself. "He's found someone, and you should be happy for him." But for some reason, Hermione just couldn't. Jealousy, like she'd never felt before, did not let her feel the slightest happiness at the thought. She was surprised to see that she hadn't even felt like this towards Rita.
"It's just 'cause we're best friends, and she'd just... get in the way." Hermione tried to justify her feelings. "Our friendship would never be the same."
Hermione spent most of the morning with those thoughts in her mind and, before she knew it, it was noon. The clock sitting in a corner of her desk told her it was ten minutes past 12. Hermione began to feel anxious. Harry would be there any minute. "He should've been here by now," she thought. "He's always on time. Perhaps she's keeping him." And to avoid thinking about what Harry and his new friend could've been doing to be running late, Hermione stood up and began to pace around her office.
Just then, she heard people talking not far from her office. Hermione quickly recognized one of the voices. It was Harry, another voice sounded very familiar. As she started to walk towards the door, she heard a third voice, Steven's voice. She quickly opened the door and walked out.
In the hallway she saw Steven, Harry, and, even though the third person was standing with his back to her, she immediately knew it was Moody. Steven was already backing away when Hermione got next to them. Steven had a look of fear and seemed to be trying hard not to run away. For sure, he didn't want to get another black eye in his pretty face.
"I hope you keep that in mind," said Moody to Steven in a rather calm voice, and with a hint of sarcasm added, "If not, I'll be happy to pay you another visit." Steven, who couldn't articulate a word, left without turning his back to them until he reached the end of the corridor.
"Hello there, Hermione!" said Moody without turning around. He had obviously seen Hermione with his magical eye through the back of his head. Both Harry and Moody turned around to greet Hermione.
"What happened?"
"Well... let's just say that Moody made quite an impression in Steven." Harry was trying not to laugh.
"You just let me know if that bloody scum bag ever bothers you again," said Moody looking at Hermione with his normal eye while his magical was looking at Harry. "Don't mind lending a hand to Harry's girl."
Both Harry and Hermione blushed at Moody's words, but none of them made any comments. All Hermione was able to say was "Thanks". Eager to change the subject, Harry asked Moody if he'd join them for lunch.
"Can't. Have an unavoidable arrangement I must attend to. You two enjoy it." Then waving a hand to say good-bye, he disapparated with a tiny puff.
After Hermione realized Moody had been the friend Harry had talked about in his note, she was able to enjoy her lunch with Harry. That, however, did not help her concentrate in her work that afternoon. Hermione didn't know what was happening to her. She'd been jealous of a non-existing person just because of the possibility that this person could exist. And that wasn't right. Sooner or later, Harry could find someone, and she'd just have to accept it. But she couldn't, and she couldn't explain herself why.
Then something came to her mind, something she had forgotten. The night Harry had stayed at her flat, he had kissed her. Hermione had been so stressed out about the whole Steven situation that she had totally forgotten about it. But now she remembered. She remembered perfectly well. He had kissed her.
"We both kissed!" Hermione's inner voice told her. "Oh, my god!" Hermione didn't even notice she had said that out loud. "Oh my god, I kissed him back. I actually kissed him back." Hermione stood up and walked around her desk. She could not believe it. What was wrong with her? Why all of a sudden she had all these weird feelings?
"This can't be," she thought. Then she remembered the look she'd seen in Harry's eyes when they were having their picnic at Hogsmead. She had found it quite different. Could it be that Harry... "No!" Again, Hermione was talking out loud. "He wouldn't, would he? Then, why did he kiss me? Oh god this is too much" said Hermione while untying her hair. All those thoughts were giving her a headache.
"I have to talk to him," said Hermione's inner voice. "No! I can't, what would I say to him? This is absurd." Hermione kept thinking about it all afternoon. One thing she was sure of, she had enjoyed Harry's sweet kiss more than she ever did with any of Steven's painful kisses, and wouldn't mind enjoying it again.
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Hermione had plenty time to try to found a logical explanation for her feelings. She just hadn't been able to find a good one. During the rest of the week, she didn't see Harry at all. He'd been assigned to a special mission, and since he had already past on the Northern Ireland situation, he couldn't say no again. But he definitely was pleased to see that he was going to be able to be back in London by Friday.
He had also taken the opportunity of being away to reflect on his own feelings. They had definitely changed. There was no doubt about it. Or better said they didn't change, he just hadn't realized those feelings had been there all the time.
In a way, he had also, just like Hermione, gotten used to the idea of her not having a stable partner. Now Harry realized that during Hermione's previous relationship, what he thought was just dislike towards the guy had actually been jealousy. He couldn't believe how blind he'd been. He was this close to banging his head on the wall thinking about all the time he had wasted. Time they could've spent together.
And he had been so close to loosing her one more time. If it hadnÕt been for Steven's stupidity, he would've lost Hermione. Now that he accepted he was madly in love with her, he wasn't going to let that happen. Still, he was a little afraid. After all, she had never shown any interest in Harry other than their friendship. "But she responded to my kiss", he reminded himself. "She didn't back away. She even asked me to stay with her."
Of course, the fact that she had been so depressed could've been the reason why she wasn't able to put up a struggle. Besides, the fact that she'd been head over heels for that guy was also discouraging.
"How long will she take to forget him? How long will she be in love with that idiot?" Harry was afraid to find out.