Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. And that's the truth. Pbbbbttttt.
A/N: All right, boys and girls, men and women, Muggles and Wizards. I'm going to try something different this time. A long time ago in a chapter far, far away, I decided that I would try to post smaller chapters more frequently. My plan to do that was to (before I started a chapter) arbitrarily pick its ending point in advance. Of course, what that immediately led to was longer and longer chapters as I kept finding more and more stuff to write to lead up to that point.
With my writing time increasingly unpredictable, I decided I was going to change how I decide chapter lengths. This should ACTUALLY lead to faster turnaround times. Instead of picking an arbitrary stopping point and then writing up to that point (such as to the end of the Welcoming Feast where this chapter was originally planned to end), I am going to try to write until I get to a good stopping point, and then post what I have that far.
It won't change the overall volume of writing, just the frequency of updates. Whereas the last two chapters combined were 135 book pages, this one is "merely" 23 pages. The flip side is that it won't take three months to get it done. The only alternative, of course, would be to NOT post this finished section now and make you wait another month to post a larger chapter with this half and the next one. So, this is certainly much shorter than we're all used to, but these smaller updates should come faster, which I'm sure everyone will like.
That said, I hope you all enjoy!
Thanks to all who have left reviews, and of course, thanks to my beta MapleMountain.
Chapter 36. Wise Words from a Wise Guy.
Truth be told, Dan wasn't entirely sure that Harry was in love with Hermione. That he fancied her, there was no doubt in his mind. But love? That was a tougher question. There were still many questions that needed asking. At least this would be a great way kick-start the conversation.
"When are you going to tell my daughter that you're in love with her?"
* * *
Harry was quite certain he heard that wrong. Oh, how he hoped he had. But he knew he hadn't. His heart started to race and a knot began to form in the pit of his stomach. He'd been caught. Whatever he had hoped or wanted, he knew there was no point in denying it anymore.
But that wouldn't stop him from doing it anyway.
"Sorry?" he laughed, although the shakiness betrayed his true condition. "I could have sworn you'd..." Harry voice trailed off with a nervous chuckle as he started to look around. He was actually looking for an escape. But it wasn't as if there was anywhere for him to go. What, was he going to run for the barrier, leaving his trunk and Hedwig behind?
"Harry," Dan said in a very soft voice.
Oh, that was scary. Not since his first day there had he heard that voice. "Please, don't lie to me. Not now."
Harry looked back at Dan. It wasn't as if he could lie to him about this. But it also didn't mean he wanted to volunteer the truth.
"I..." Harry started.
"You..." Dan replied.
Harry opened his mouth to say "I" again, but nothing came out.
"You... have feelings for my daughter... that are more than just a friend, right?"
All Harry could do was nod meekly.
"There, that wasn't so hard, now was it?" Dan asked.
Harry shook his head, a little confused. Everything Harry knew about the man told him that Dan was very calm and rational. And yet, somehow he had expecting some sort of, well, violent reaction should he find out. Its absence was unsettling. Would there be none, or was this merely the calm before the storm?
"Well, come on now. Say something. You didn't expect me to throw a tantrum, did you?" Dan asked knowingly; he was beginning to smile. Harry was still a little shell-shocked. He thought it was hard talking to Cho back in fourth year. Now he was trying to talk to Hermione's father.
"I..."
Dan laughed. "Yes, we've established that you can say 'I.' Now let's work on a complete sentence. I, Harry Potter..." he began, nodding his head in a way to encourage him to finish the sentence.
"I, Harry Potter..." he started, quickly looking around to see if anyone was listening, "really, really like your daughter, Hermione Granger."
Dan gave Harry a small round of applause, albeit in the form of the dreaded golf clap. "Yay! He did it!" he said, smirking.
Harry felt his face heat up in embarrassment, so he buried it in his hands.
"You know, Harry. If I'm embarrassing you, you could just ask me to stop."
Harry quickly looked up. "Oh, God. Please, STOP!" The two men looked at each other for a few seconds, and finally began to laugh. As the laughter began to fade, so too did almost all of the tension.
"So..." Harry finally said, unsure of what else to say.
"So..." Dan repeated. The silence that hung in the air for a few seconds was comfortable and that said more than any number of words could in the same amount of time. The two of them sat on the bench and just stared ahead for those few moments, watching the other people walk by. Since arriving, Harry had already seen more than a dozen Hogwarts students in the station, all making their way towards Platforms Nine and Ten.
Both of them could feel that the comfortable duration of the silence was about to expire, so Dan started first.
"Are you in love with Hermione?" he asked directly.
Harry turned and looked back at Dan. He opened his mouth to say something, then promptly closed it again, obviously thinking about something.
"I don't know," he finally said. "I mean, I know how I feel about her. I just don't know if that's 'love.'"
Dan nodded; that, he felt, was a reasonable-and truthful-answer.
"Am I in love with her? I don't know," Harry said honestly, shrugging his shoulders. "But it's safe to say that I fancy her... a lot."
Dan glanced back in the direction Emma and Hermione had headed, back towards the main station. Satisfied the girls would still be a few minutes longer, he turned back to Harry.
"Okay then. Go ahead," Dan said; Harry looked confused.
"If it's safe to say, then I want you to say it. And don't say 'your daughter.' Say her name. I want to hear the words, as much for yourself as for me. Go on. Say it aloud. Tell me. Tell yourself."
Again, Harry quickly glanced around. It was obvious now Dan wasn't going to kill him, so he could say it. He didn't want it broadcast all around school however. Satisfied the immediate vicinity was free of eavesdroppers, accidental or otherwise, he took a deep breath before saying it.
Sure, he'd said it to himself many times in the last month. But he had never actually said it aloud. What difference could it make?
"I fancy Hermione."
Dan smiled. "Good. Now tell me."
Harry smiled as he looked Dan in the eyes. "I fancy Hermione."
"Now, don't you feel better getting that off your chest?" Dan asked.
What difference could it make? Oh, it made all the difference in the world. It was such a cliché, but it literally did feel like a weight had been removed from his chest. It was actually a little funny how much better he felt having spoken the words, to say nothing of the fact that he'd admitted it to Dan; Harry began to grin.
"I told you so," Dan said in a sing-song voice. Smiling, they looked forward again for a few seconds, watching the busy travelers for a few moments. Both felt the need to maintain the light atmosphere by briefly breaking eye contact every so often.
"I guess the next question to ask is for how long?" Dan said after an appropriate pause.
Harry let out a laugh. "Since my birthday party. I suppose it had been a long time coming, but that was the day I realized it." He noticed Dan smirking.
"What?"
"Oh..." Dan replied evasively, grinning. "That was the day we realized it too."
Harry blinked. "We?"
"Oh, please, Harry," Dan chuckled. "Emma figured it out first. We didn't say anything because we were only about ninety-eight per cent sure. We wanted to wait to see if you would say anything first."
Harry thought back to all the times he could have sworn Dan and Emma were watching him.
"You WERE watching me!" he exclaimed, more amused than upset. Dan merely bowed his head, acknowledging guilt. "So how obvious am I?" he asked, almost in dread.
"To me, a fellow bloke who's done the same things? You were dead obvious," Dan chuckled; Harry deflated unhappily. "To Emma on the other hand... well, she witnessed the same things I did, and even then, certain how you felt, she just couldn't recognize all the things that I did so well."
"And Hermione?" Harry asked then started to hold his breath.
Dan hesitated for a moment. "What do you think?"
Harry rolled his eyes at the classic turnaround. "I don't know," he said truthfully. "I would think that if she noticed, she would say something, either way. But then again, she did say that she did suspect Ron's feelings. As far as I know, she never said anything to him about it. Or to me, until I asked."
Dan's expression brightened a little.
"You asked her about she felt about Ron, and she told you, right?" Dan asked; Harry confirmed. "Well, if you're wondering if she's noticed you, have you asked her? Have you told her how you feel about her?"
The look of sheer horror (or fear?) on Harry's face made his answer of "No" superfluous.
Time for the big questions, Dan knew.
"Why not?"
If Dan was expecting a well thought-out answer... if he was hoping for a coherent, logical explanation that any reasonable, emotionally stable adult would find understandable... then he would be sorely mistaken.
Fortunately, Dan remembered that Harry was still just a sixteen-year-old boy who, despite the trials he'd been forced to endure, was still subject to, and plagued by, all of the confusions and insecurities that came along with being a teenager. A teenager on the verge of falling in love... and with a less-than-successful track record in the dating arena.
So Dan was not at all surprised by Harry's answer.
"What if she says no?" Harry replied. Despite the hypothetical, the tone of his voice suggested he was certain that was the only possible outcome.
"What if I tell her how I feel about her, and she starts to feel uncomfortable around me? When Cho and I broke up, we went our separate ways. The last time I saw her on the train, we hardly even acknowledged each other, as if we were trying to ignore each other."
Dan could see there was a twinge of panic somewhere within Harry. He wasn't sure if it was in his eyes or his voice. It was probably both.
"I can't lose her, Dan. I can't. She's too important to me to do that. I'd rather have her with me, just as my best friend than risk driving her away in the vain hope of something more."
Dan wished that he could say that the raven-haired wizard was being unreasonable, but he knew that Harry wasn't... from his point of view. He knew what Harry was feeling; he'd felt the exact same way back in his first year at university. He knew how paralyzing that fear could be.
He also knew what had been the consequences of his inaction. Now, fortunately for him, he soon met Emma afterwards and things truly did work out for the best.
Dan had always believed in what he could see, feel, touch, and measure. But having met Emma, having had a witch for a daughter-a witch who had no friends until she met the wizard standing before him-he started to believe that maybe there was something larger out there.
Call it fate... call it destiny...
He was a firm believer in that line from another one of his favorite movies, "there is no fate but what we make for ourselves." And yet at the same time, he was now certain that it was fate that he and Emma meet, and that his daughter and Harry meet.
But, just because they might have been destined to come together, it still didn't mean that it all couldn't be loused up by a little old-fashioned teenage angst and insecurity.
"You can lose someone by pushing them away, Harry," Dan confirmed. "You can also lose someone by not holding on to them. Are you really willing to let her go without trying?" Dan asked, taking Harry's reasoning (if it could be called that) out to its furthest most conclusion.
Harry paused for a moment. It was obvious that wasn't exactly what he had intended, even if it was the predictable outcome.
"Even if I did tell her how I felt," he started hesitantly, "what're the odds that she could ever return my feelings, that she could ever say yes?" he finished a little more strongly, seemingly a little more certain about a negative outcome.
Harry could see that Dan was struggling with his answer. He looked like he wanted to say something, but kept holding it back.
Dan knew there was every chance Hermione would "confess" first; Emma was having a similar conversation at this very moment. He figured the odds of who would break first roughly 50/50: Emma was more persuasive than Dan, but Hermione was more stubborn than Harry.
"What are the odds, Harry," Dan finally countered, "that she would ever say yes if you never ask her? Hmm?"
Harry wasn't expecting that. Of course, it made perfect sense, but it did cut him a little closer than he would have expected. Despite all of his insecurities telling him how it could all go wrong and how Hermione could never say yes, he still somehow was able to cling to the possibility that they might be together.
They never could, if he never asked her. Harry would have given all of his Galleons to make that statement false, but deep down he knew it was true.
"What are the odds, Harry," Dan began again, "that she would say yes to someone else if he asked her? Why did she go to that ball with what's-his-name? Because he asked her. Do you think she wants to spend the rest of her life alone with nothing but Crookshanks and her knitting? Do you think that maybe she might want to meet someone and fall in love someday?
"I don't believe in love at first sight, Harry. You grow to love someone. It all starts somewhere... with one person plucking up the courage to make the first move."
Harry started to say something, but Dan knew it wouldn't be conducive to getting these two thickheads together, so he cut him off before he even started.
"How long have the two of you been friends? Five years," Dan answered himself. "Do you really think so little of her that you honestly believe she would throw that all away if she didn't return your feelings?"
"Hey, Harry," said Ron softly, nodding towards the glass window on to the corridor.
Harry looked around. Cho was passing, accompanied by Marietta Edgecombe, who was wearing a balaclava. His and Cho's eyes met for a moment. Cho blushed and kept walking. Harry looked back down at the chessboard just in time to see one of his pawns chased off its square by Ron's knight.
"What's - er - going on with you and her, anyway?" Ron asked quietly.
"Nothing," said Harry truthfully.
"I - er - heard she's going out with someone else now," said Hermione tentatively.
Harry was surprised to find that this information did not hurt at all.
Harry couldn't answer; he didn't know what to say. All he could see was that little look on Cho's face when he saw her on the train ride home not even two months ago, and how she'd kept on walking afterwards. He honestly couldn't imagine either he or Hermione throwing their friendship away over, well, anything. And yet at the same time, all he could think was, What if that had been Hermione?
For the briefest of moments, a small part of him wondered if any of it was worth all this doubt, confusion, and frustration. But before he could even finish that thought, he remembered that little smile of gratitude she'd given him when he'd brought her a trolley for her trunk, and how he'd felt because of it. And then he knew he had his answer.
Dan quickly glanced up at the digital clock hanging from one of the roof supports: 10:38. It had only been three minutes; it felt longer than that. They still had plenty of time.
"Harry, I'm going to tell you that I know what you're feeling. And I want you to know that I really do." Just as he was about to start, Dan grinned, realizing something.
"I was your age, actually, and I met a girl. We started out as friends. Over the months, we became better friends. Finally after about a year, I realized I fancied her. We were such good friends; we spent so much time together. I didn't want to ruin that so I was willing to take what I had.
"And I was happy being with her, just as a friend. But it was hard, not being able to reach out and hold her hand the way I wanted to. I knew," he emphasized, remembering how he'd convinced himself of this decades earlier, "that the risk of losing her friendship was not worth any gain of becoming something more."
It hadn't been his intention to stop here, but by itself the story dictated its own pause. Harry thought the pause was intentional, so he took the next step and spelled out the conclusion. He was pretty sure where this story was going; it seemed rather predictable.
"So you finally worked up the nerve to tell Emma how you felt about her, and then everything else was history, right?" Harry's tone was at the same time amused because he knew Dan was trying to make a point, and also annoyed because he was making a point.
Dan just smiled that sad smile that can only be learned by experience... having loved and lost.
"On her birthday, she was so excited to get a card from a 'secret admirer.' We were both standing in front of her mailbox in the student center at university. When she read it, she just looked at me with those big doe eyes of hers and started gushing about how beautiful the card was. It was clear she suspected the card was from me. And she seemed quite happy that it be from me."
Dan smiled wistfully. "It was a very beautiful card. There was just one problem: it wasn't from me." He then laughed sarcastically.
"My card was still in my pocket. I was in a bit of a panic mode that someone else had sent her the card. She seemed so happy to get what she thought was a card from me that idiot me just went on and let her think it was from me. Never did give her my card," Dan added regretfully.
He looked a bit uncomfortable, not from regret now but merely from remembering how painful the aftermath had been.
"I panicked. I didn't know what to do. So I did nothing, and tried to play it cool. I just needed a bit of time to figure it all out... what to do. The next day, her 'secret admirer' unmasked himself and asked her out." Dan chuckled. "It was a guy from the one class she and I didn't share. And then, Harry, everything else was history."
Dan fixed Harry a very intent stare. "I blew it, Harry. The first girl I'd fallen in love with... and I let her slip through my fingers... Without. Even. Trying.
"She and him started spending more and more time together, and her and I less. By the end of term, we'd grown apart. It sounds like such a cliché now, but it truly felt like a part of me had died. Things that the two of us had done together, merely as friends, no longer were enjoyable."
Harry sat on the station bench, clearly at a loss for words. Granted, he knew little of Dan other than what he saw, but this was definitely a unique insight. He couldn't fathom the thought of he and Hermione growing apart, but he already knew how he would feel. He'd already felt that once before, when he saw her fall in the Department of Mysteries. He flinched as a chill ran down his spine.
"The only thing more painful," Dan said poignantly, "than intentionally or unintentionally driving away someone you love is losing her because you didn't hold on." Harry had been so drawn in by the story that he'd forgotten Dan had said something similar only minutes earlier. But as soon as the words were spoken, he remembered the earlier warning and understood now why it had been repeated.
"I can't let her go, Dan," Harry said, worried.
"I'm not the one you need to tell, Harry," Dan replied.
"What if I tell her, and she doesn't feel the same way, and... well, even if it doesn't drive her away, things would still be awkward between us."
Dan fought the urge to smile. Oh, the memories this brought back. He had been there... but it was more than twenty years ago. To be a worried, inexperienced teenager, blinded by insecurity again....
"Yes, Harry, I'm sure things will be awkward. That's a part of life and growing up. You could let it drive you apart, or the two of you could use it to become that much stronger friends."
Dan could tell he wasn't entirely convinced. Perhaps Harry needed an example from his own love life? Dan had certainly gleaned enough information over the years to do that. (And Emma had told him about what Hermione had said had happened between him and Ginny at the birthday party.)
"Just remember, Harry, you do have control over how you choose to tell Hermione how you feel. If you, say, chose to announce your feelings in front of the entire school with... what was it, a singing dwarf?" Dan asked. Harry rolled his eyes then nodded, embarrassed.
"If you proclaimed your undying love for her like that and she didn't return those feelings, then... yes, that could certainly make things uncomfortable. But if you found a nice quiet moment when the two of you were alone, I'm certain it would make things go much more smoothly, regardless of the outcome."
Dan wasn't going to mention the lack of a traumatic incident following Ginny's most recent romantic advance back at the birthday party. It would have taken too much effort to find a creative explanation as to how knew (he'd heard about it from Emma, who'd heard about it from Hermione). He just hoped Harry would be able to make that link on his own.
"Sometimes, Harry, we are more afraid of other people knowing that we failed than we are of the actual failure itself," Dan said wisely. "A little selfish and petty, maybe, but it is human nature." Harry thought about it for a moment and then finally managed a small smile and nodded.
If Hermione did say no to him, he was certain it would be much easier if no one else knew about it. He wasn't ashamed of or embarrassed by how he felt, but that stubborn, noble part of him knew it would be easier for her this way.
He knew she didn't think of him in terms of his titles, but turning down The Boy Who Lived, or the Chosen One, was bound to have public consequences. That was pressure he didn't want her to face. Strange as it seemed, as much as he wanted her to say yes (assuming he worked up the nerve to ask), he wanted her to feel comfortable saying no.
After starting to notice a few Hogwarts students walk by (or at least, eleven to seventeen year olds who obviously recognized Harry sitting next to him), Dan decided to wrap up this conversation.
"I hate to do this to you, Harry, but because I remember myself, I know you." Dan smirked. "You're going to wait and wait and wait until you find what you think is the perfect moment to tell her. And you'll be waiting for the rest of your life.
"So, we will be talking to Hermione on her birthday. We'll either write her a letter, or, Emma is asking if she can call us by fireplace. Either way, we're going to ask her what happened between the two of you.
"That gives you, Harry," Dan emphasized, "just under three weeks to decide what you're going to say, how you're going to say it, and when. That is, of course, assuming someone else hasn't asked her out by then."
Dan bit his lip to keep from smiling at the look of panic on Harry's face at the mention of someone else asking her out. That might have been why Harry didn't object to Dan's obvious interference.
And Harry was panicked... both at the thought of someone else asking Hermione before he did, and at the short time frame. Just under three weeks might have been an eternity for some people, but for Harry, it was just a blink of an eye. After all, it took him nearly a year to ask Cho out to the Yule Ball. And it was another year before they finally kissed at Christmas. (Of course, Harry conveniently managed to forget that he hadn't tried to pursue Cho while she was still dating Cedric.)
Harry nodded dumbly, unable to speak, as he reluctantly agreed to the timetable.
Dan knew that, in the short term, this would all be easier for Harry and Hermione if he and Emma simply told them of each other's feelings. But deep down, he knew it would be better for them if they worked it out on their own. Good communication... having the really tough discussions, was key to a successful relationship. If they couldn't even admit their feelings, what chance did they have?
There was never just "happily ever after." Sharing a life together meant tackling the really tough topics... marriage, having children, growing old together... and most importantly, flatulence.
Dan might have been certain that the young man before him and his daughter were fated to be mated, but he knew he shouldn't interfere. But that didn't mean he couldn't give them a nudge in the right direction, even if it was simply in the form of a deadline.
"Whatever her feelings, Harry, I guarantee you the scene will be much prettier if she finds out about how you feel from you, and not us. Trust me, we'll have out hands full enough when she finds out we knew all along and didn't say anything."
Dan could see as Harry's eyebrows began to rise as he began to think about his choice of words.
"Don't even try to read anything into what I just said, Harry," Dan said, smiling and giving him a look of mock disappointment. "Even if I knew she was madly in love with you, I certainly wouldn't tell you that. It's your job to figure that out." He paused momentarily for dramatic effect.
"And the only way you'll ever know..."
"I know, I know," Harry replied exasperatedly. "I have to tell her how I feel, and ask her how she feels. As simple as that," he finished sarcastically.
"As simple as that," Dan replied certainly.
Still not at all confident about his prospects, Harry just rolled his eyes (he was smiling though) and looked forward again, staring blankly at the train carriage wheels sitting on the rail opposite him.
"I effed up, Harry," Dan said suddenly. His bluntness startled Harry. True it wasn't a swear word per se, but the intent was clear. "I let go the most important thing in my life. And it nearly destroyed me. Well..." Dan said reluctantly, grinning, obviously trying to de-exaggerate his previous statement. "I got a second chance, though. I know now that I did make the right decision back then.
"But, Harry," Dan said quietly, drawing the teenaged wizard a few inches closer, "not everyone gets a second chance. If you'll bear with the proud father for a moment, it's my humble opinion that there are few girls out there like our Hermione.
"If you really do like her for her... if it's more than just ogling her curves as she walks around..." Dan said heavily with a look of warning in his eyes. Somehow, Harry knew the warning was not so much, "Stop staring!" as it was, "It had better be more than just staring!"
"If she really does mean that much to you... if you let someone else sweep her off her feet before you get a chance to tell her... you'll never forgive yourself.
"I didn't," Dan admitted. "I couldn't. Regret, Harry, is probably the heaviest and most painful emotion a man can experience. It's the one emotion we choose to carry with us, no matter how much we would like to set it down. That's why it's so hard to forgive yourself."
Harry sat silently on the bench for a few moments, considering everything that had been said. Dan knew he had laid it on pretty thick. But he knew he had to. It was the same reason Hermione had to write that letter earlier this summer. Harry wasn't good at confronting his own feelings; he certainly hadn't had good role models from whom he could learn.
But once faced with the truth, Dan knew that Harry could figure things out from there. The little chat they'd had on Harry's first day proved that. He was relieved to see that, based on the growing comprehension on Harry's face, all the little cogs appeared to be falling into place. Things would be all right now.
And besides, this little chat could have been a whole lot worse. It could have been Emma giving it.
Finally, Harry spoke.
"So..." he started cautiously, "I take it it's safe to assume that you wouldn't object, or, what did you say, throw a tantrum if I did ask Hermione out?"
Dan grinned. "You may assume, Harry."
Harry began to blush now. "Erm, well, supposing I did ask her... I'd want to do it properly. Girls like flowers, right? They-"
Dan couldn't resist interrupting. "Girls do like flowers, Harry. But it's the motivation... the reason behind the flowers that's more important to them. Birthdays, Valentine's Day, you know, the usual.
"But probably the best reason of all is, 'just because.'" Dan noticed Harry shake his head ever so slightly. "What?"
"Oh, I was hoping that could have been my secret weapon. But it sounds like they already know that one."
Dan chuckled. "A bit of free advice, Harry. Never try to outsmart a woman. Especially a Granger." Harry shook his head no, in agreement.
"So, erm, does Hermione have a favorite flower? No harm in going all out, right?"
Dan smiled. "In for a penny, in for a pound? One way or another, Hermione will find out we did know about you ahead of time, so I doubt we could get into any more trouble by telling you. Her favorite flower is the St-"
Dan paused for a moment, scrutinizing Harry carefully.
"Now, Harry, I already said this, but I need to reiterate it. I was a love struck teenager once too. I know how your mind can twist and turn anything around to try to read something into it."
Dan started pointing his finger at Harry in a lecturing manner. Although serious, his tone was warm and friendly. Harry suddenly had the impression that this might be what it felt like for a son to get some good, honest fatherly advice.
"I don't want you to overanalyze, or try to read anything into this. When she was little, Hermione heard the name of a spaceship on a television show that Emma and I always watched, the Stargazer. She simply liked the sound of the word: stargazer. And when she found out there was a flower with the same name, she immediately decided it was her favorite flower... before she'd even seen it," Dan finished with a fond smile. "You know how she can get when she gets an idea stuck in her mind.
"Again, this was years before she met, or even heard of you," Dan said, again waving his finger in a light-hearted but lecturing way. Uncertain where this was going, Harry just nodded.
"Her favorite flower is the Stargazer Lily."
Ohhhh, Harry said to himself. Now he got it. And despite all of Dan's warnings, the next words to pop into his mind were, Lily. What if...?
Harry was, at least, able to stop himself from going any further. Dan could see the flicker on his face as the wheels started to spin in his mind, and then as it faded almost instantly as he stopped himself. There was only one thing to say to that.
"I told you so!" Dan said victoriously. Harry had the good grace to nod his surrender.
As if on cue, the 10:45 train on Platform Nine blasted its horn, signaling its departure. Dan and Harry jumped in their seats in startle. They hadn't even heard any of the departure announcements. They both knew it was almost time to go. Looking back towards the main station, they could see Emma and Hermione carrying bags of takeaway. Both were walking at a brisk pace; they knew what time it was too.
Knowing that his 'alone time' with Harry was almost at an end, there was one last thing Dan wanted to say.
"There's one last thing I wanted to say, Harry." Now Dan was looking a little awkward. "Do you remember our little talk the morning of the August the first?"
If Dan was feeling awkward now, it was nothing compared to the bright red hue that appeared on Harry's face. It was embarrassing enough the first time that Dan knew that he had had an "accident." Now, Harry knew that Dan now knew who "the girl of my dreams" was.
"I told you I was certain it wasn't my place to have 'the sex talk' with you." Harry nodded quickly as if to agree that was a very wise philosophy. But, alas...
"Well... should things work out between you and Hermione... and I genuinely hope they do... if they do, well, we will be having that talk the next time we meet."
It was amazing how quickly Harry's face could go from red to white.
"I promise you, Harry. If you're even half the man I believe you to be... if you are as honest with me as you have been thus far, then I promise you that you will emerge from that discussion alive and well, and with all your bits and pieces still intact."
Harry could do nothing but nod again, this time in agreement with the "compromise" and promising his truthfulness.
"Good," was all Dan said as he stood up and turned towards Emma and Hermione, who were now within hearing distance. While Dan watched his wife and daughter approach, Harry realized something. Dan had known about Harry's feelings the morning of his nocturnal incident. He'd known, and yet he still discussed the matter rationally, and had even reassured him he'd done nothing wrong, and that that was normal.
Maybe, just maybe, Harry hoped, he would survive 'the talk' with Dan. His bits and pieces really hoped so.
As the girls walked up, Dan noticed paper bags they were carrying. "Kwik-E-Burger... at eleven in the morning. Perfect for growing teenagers!" he said playfully.
"Well, it was about the best place available for something they could carry onto the train, besides candy bars from the vending machines," Emma complained. There was now just over ten minutes before eleven o'clock. It was time to go.
"Ooohhhh," Emma groaned as she gave Hermione a big hug. From the look on Hermione's face, Harry knew from whom she learned her hugs. "Have a good year, dear! Be sure to write us every once in a while," she joked.
"Oh, Mum!" Hermione complained. Harry and Dan just stood there and watched the women bemusedly. They'd already settled all of their goodbyes with a simple handshake long before Emma had let go of Hermione.
"Please, do try and stay out of trouble this year. But..." she continued with a note of resignation, "we both know that's not likely, so when trouble finds you, at least try to find some place where you'll be safe." Emma turned her head to face directly at Harry as she said this, though her eyes were still on Hermione. Even Captain Oblivious could guess where Emma was suggesting.
Having released her daughter, Emma now approached Harry with her arms wide. It was his turn to groan. When she released him, she put her hands on his shoulders and stepped back a little so that she was exactly at arm's length from him (amazingly, the most effective distance to say something important). She looked directly into his eyes.
"Please take care of my daughter, Harry," Emma said. It was a perfectly innocent, reasonable, and logical thing to say. But the tiny little arch that rose in her eyebrow as she spoke told him her words meant more than just their face value.
Dan said Emma already knew about his feelings. Clearly, she must have also known what Dan was going to say about the deadline.
As luck would have it, a single word carried over from what Dan was saying to his daughter several feet away in quiet tones. Not that Harry really doubted it, but whatever else Dan might have said, this one word proved he was absolutely serious about everything he promised: "fireplace."
They really were going to ask Hermione how things turned out.
Nineteen days, Harry said to himself. Not for the first time this summer, Harry concisely summed things up. Oh, I am in so much trouble.
With all of their goodbyes said, Harry and Hermione then went over to their trolleys. After each of them took a deep breath, they shared a brief look, gripped the handlebars firmly, and then headed for that one particular wall.
Partially because he was a gentleman, and partially because he had been known to ogle her curves as she walked around, Harry allowed Hermione to go through the barrier first. As he started his approach, he could hear Emma's surprised voice behind him.
"Since his birthday?!"
Oh yeah, Harry knew what they were talking about.
Having now crossed the threshold from Platform Nine (and just now beginning to emerge onto Nine and Three-Quarters), Harry only heard a few more words as the barrier closed behind him.
"Well, I told..." was the last Harry could hear from Emma. Considering the playful way Dan had said it twice, he was quite certain Dan was now getting the "I told you so" from Emma.
And he would have been wrong.
* * *
Back out on Platform Nine, their arms around each other, Dan and Emma watched as the solid brick wall in front of them seemingly swallowed up their only daughter.
"So, how long has he fancied her?" Emma asked quietly as Harry waited a moment for Hermione to clear the barrier.
"Since his birthday party," Dan replied.
"SINCE HIS BIRTHDAY?!" Emma exclaimed in surprise, louder than she'd intended. "I knew it," she added in triumph quietly. Now that Harry had disappeared into the brick, she felt it safe to speak freely.
"Well, I told her the same thing. She has until her birthday to tell Harry, or we would."
"How did she take it?"
"How do you think?" Emma asked with a smirk.
It was strange. Now that the "kiddies were gone," Dan and Emma had free license to rush home and do things the neighbors might hear. But right now, they simply felt compelled to stay there for a few more minutes.
They returned to the bench where Dan and Harry had been sitting and watched as the stream of people disappearing thought the barrier began to slow as eleven o'clock approached. With Harry and Hermione now gone, they actually were never able to "catch" anyone crossing the barrier anymore; they always seemed to blink at the critical moment, or someone happened to walk by and block their view. But they knew.
At two minutes before eleven, Dan and Emma heard a small commotion approaching them from their left. They turned to look and couldn't help but smile as a small flock of redheads came running down the platform, obviously in a hurry. Dan and Emma didn't take it personally when none of the Weasleys acknowledged their presence as they ran by. They would be lucky to make the train on time.
Moments later, despite their best efforts, Dan and Emma lost track of the Weasley family as they somehow got lost in the crowd of three people that were standing next to where they knew the barrier was.
Only after it was eleven o'clock did Dan and Emma finally stand up to head back to the car. There was a cleverly hidden bag of lingerie just waiting for them at home, and yet this time, they were in no rush to get back. There would be plenty of time for that later.
They slowly walked back to the car, considering all that had happened in the last six weeks. They had faith that within the next few days, they all were about to begin new chapters in their lives.
A/N. Mildly related. My beta sent me these links, and I thought I would share them with you. Have you ever wondered if somewhere deep down, at least some part of you is a nerd? Well, have no fear. A simple, easy auditory test can now definitively answer that question for you.
a cappella (ah kuh-PEL-uh) Here's a hint. Think "Weird Al meets Rockapella." The following two songs are safe for all ages.
http://www.moosebutter.com/orders/index.php?playthisone=24 (give it at least 45 seconds for the "full" effect...)
http://www.moosebutter.com/orders/index.php?playthisone=48 (See? Even they recognize "Harmony" when they see it!)
If you find these funny (I was ROTFL), then I'm afraid to confirm that you are, indeed, at least 18.75% nerd. ENJOY!