~A/N> Thank God for my writing or else I might just go stark raving mad :p And thanks to all the stress I've
been under this week, I got the next chapter finished when I said I would. I've actually got the next one all
planned out and have a few paragraphs already written. I'm not going to guesstimate on when it'll be finished
though because I have a busy weekend ahead of me...the best of it being that I get to see Goblet of Fire on Sunday!! :)
I won tickets to an advanced screening in San Diego and my boys and I are so excited to see it. Anyway, hopefully
(fingers crossed) the next chapter will be up by Tuesday because I have to start working on the next Podcast. You get
to learn more about Hermione in this chapter, and even though it's played down, there's an important thing that
happens (well, two actually). I want to say thank-you for all the wonderful reviews and thanks to Poppywillow for all
the help!
For the next three weeks things around the Potter house were quiet and routine. Everyone was in better spirits and Harry spent most of his days spending time with Lily and James, which meant spending a lot of time with Hermione also. They did everything they could to avoid any physical contact or situations where they spent more than five minutes alone together. Lisa continued to watch them ignore their feelings and it was starting to make her a tad bit cranky at times.
"Lisa, have you seen Harry?" Hermione asked as she walked into the kitchen with Lily in tow.
"I'm not his keeper, I don't know where he is every minute of the day," Lisa said in a clipped voice, startling both Hermione and Lily.
"I only asked because he promised to take Lily flying today since it will be too cold to fly soon," Hermione said, giving her a confused look.
Releasing a heavy sigh, Lisa closed her eyes for a tick and then opened them once more. Focusing on Hermione she said, "I'm sorry, it's just been one of those days."
Hermione gave her an understanding smile while saying, "I've had a few of those myself, it's totally understandable."
Returning the smile Lisa replied, "I believe Harry is outside already."
"Thanks Lisa," Hermione said and started out of the kitchen toward the front door.
"Oh, and Hermione," Lisa called, stopping her just before she opened it, "Cole has been looking for you."
"Thanks," Hermione replied, looking a bit uncomfortable, which made Lisa wonder what the hell Hermione was playing at.
~*~
"Don't forget that I'll be hosting the Halloween Ball here next week," Harry reminded everyone that night at dinner.
Hermione looked up quickly and asked, "Halloween Ball?"
"It's the social event of the year for the wizarding world," Cole replied before Harry could, "Lot's of important witches and wizards dressed in their very finest. It's one hell of a party."
When Lisa looked up she noticed that Harry was practically glaring at Cole and she tried not to laugh at the thought that Cole should have already fallen out of his chair dead if looks could kill.
"You are all required to attend," Harry said, staring right at Hermione, clearly getting his point across and making her a little uncomfortable while doing it. "Lily and James included. You'll be expected to take care of them during that time, usually from seven to eight that night, and then once they're in bed you'll be expected to rejoin the party."
"Okay," Hermione replied quietly, a little intimidated by the look in his eyes. She had never seen such coldness there, and she wondered what had suddenly caused the turn in his behavior.
"Excuse me, I have some work to do," he stated as he stood up quickly and then walked out of the room without hesitation.
Sparing a questioning look at Lisa, Hermione noticed the secretive smile she wore and was even more confused. Before she could give voice to any of her questions, Lisa said, "Why don't you go talk to him and I'll take James and Lily upstairs."
"Um...okay," Hermione replied, not really sure what she was supposed to speak to Harry about. The only thing that convinced her to agree was her curiosity about his shortness with her. As she walked out of the kitchen, she could hear snippets of Cole and Lisa talking back and forth rather heatedly.
Walking up to his office door, she knocked quietly and opened it after he called for her to enter. As she quietly closed the door behind her, she noticed that he was speaking to somebody through the floo, so she sat in one of the chairs she was now very familiar with and waited for him to end the conversation.
"Thank you for your time Minister," Harry said respectfully, "Will you be attending the ball?"
"Absolutely Mr. Potter," came the Minister's reply, "I wouldn't miss it for anything."
After exchanging polite goodbye's, Harry turned his desk chair around and stopped as his eyes landed on Hermione in the chair.
When he continued to sit there quietly watching her, she fidgeted a bit in her chair and asked quietly, "I'm sorry to interrupt Mr.-Harry, but I wanted to ask if I had done something that upset you?"
"What makes you think that?" he asked in reply.
"It's just that...well, I couldn't help but notice that you've been a bit short with me lately and I wanted to know if I had done something wrong," she replied, keeping her eyes trained on his.
"You've done nothing wrong," he replied finally as he pushed his chair away from his desk. She watched as he walked around the desk and proceeded to sit on it directly in front of her. "My nerves and patience have been taxed lately because of the planning I've had to do for this event," he explained, using a handy excuse instead of admitting the truth, "I apologize if I took any of it out on you."
"I understand," Hermione said, a little more at ease. Standing up, she smiled at him and added, "If you need me to do anything, I'd be happy to help."
"Thank you," Harry said, "But everything is pretty much taken care of already."
"Well, I should get upstairs and get James and Lily ready for bed," she said after an uncomfortable silence, and then turned to make her way to the door.
Harry stayed quiet as she walked up to the door and when she grasped the door handle he said, "Hermione, wait."
When she turned around, she was surprised to find him directly behind her. When she looked in his eyes she saw something she'd never seen there before...vulnerability. Before she had time to think about it, Harry quickly closed the distance between them, took her in his arms, and kissed her. This was like no kiss she had ever experienced before; it was rough yet gentle, questioning yet demanding, cautious yet possessive and she found herself being swept away. Just as she was surrendering to it, Harry pulled away and said, "I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. I don't know what I was thinking."
Hermione stared at him dazedly, the fog that had started creeping into her brain clearing as she slowed her breathing. "I didn't mind," she said without thinking. Realizing what she had just said, her eyes grew wide and she stuttered, "I-I mean, it's no big deal." Mentally kicking herself, she sighed and said, "I should really get back to the children."
"Right," he said, sounding somewhat disappointed, "I'll be up shortly to tuck them in."
Without another word, Hermione grabbed the door handle once again and quickly made her way out of the office, trying not to think of how wonderful it felt to kiss her employer.
~*~
The next seven days flew by in a blur, and even though the house was abuzz with activity, Lisa could see that something had changed between Harry and Hermione. They would still try to avoid each other, but they weren't doing a very good job of it lately. She'd also been witness to many passing glances that were held just long enough to give them meaning. The thing that convinced her most though was the fact that Hermione now seemed to be staying far away from Cole, and he really wasn't very happy about it.
"Has she said anything to you?" Cole had asked her that morning, "Have I done something to upset her?"
"I don't think you did anything," she had answered, trying to soothe his obviously wounded male ego, "I just think she has other things on her mind right now."
She didn't dare tell him that she thought Hermione seemed to only have eyes for their boss lately. He and Harry had been pretty competitive when it came to getting girls during their Hogwarts years, she could only imagine what would happen if she clued Cole into what was going on. Playing dumb was much simpler and kept the peace they all had come to love so much since Miss Weasley's departure.
When Hermione walked into the room, Lisa smiled at her and asked, "Have your dress robes out and ready to go?"
"Er, not exactly," Hermione hedged, not meeting her eyes. "I don't think the robes I brought with me are formal enough...I was actually going to see if I could borrow the car to go into town. Maybe I'll be lucky enough to find new ones."
"I'm on my way into town now," Harry said, startling everyone in the room. Chuckling quietly he said, "My, you lot are jumpy aren't you?"
"Would it be okay if I went with you?" Hermione asked hopefully. "I'll just run to the shop while you run your errands and I promise I won't take long."
"Absolutely," Harry said with an easy smile.
Lisa watched him for a moment, noticing a small twinkle in his eyes, and knew immediately that he was up to something. "Is there anything you need me to do while you're gone?" she asked, giving him a look that told him she knew what he was doing.
"Can you watch Lily and James?" he replied, giving her a secretive smile that really made Lisa wonder what he was planning.
"Sure," she replied, giving up hope that his features would give anything away.
As she and Cole watched Harry and Hermione walk out the front door Cole turned to her and said, "Damn it! I was about to offer to drive her."
"Better luck next time," Lisa said, coughing suddenly to cover the hint of amusement that could be heard in her voice.
~*~
After the short ride into town, Hermione went one way to get new robes while Harry went the opposite direction to get his last-minute errands done. About thirty minutes later, they met back at the car and were on their way back home.
"It didn't take you long to find something to wear," Harry said conversationally, hating the silence in the car.
"I don't usually take very long to find what I want," she replied, glancing toward him and then quickly averting her eyes from his.
"That's refreshing," he said with a smile, "I remember when I'd take Luna shopping...she could spend hours in a store without buying anything. It used to frustrate me so much, but after she died, I found myself missing it. It always seems to be the simple things about her that I miss the most."
Hermione was watching him now, moved by the fact that he was talking about Luna to her for the first time. "It usually is," she replied, causing him to glance her way when he heard the sadness that tinged her voice. Feeling as if she could truly talk to him she said, "I lost someone dear to me four years ago. His name was Brian and we were engaged to be married..."
Harry continued to stare out the windshield as she talked and when she trailed off he reached over and took hold of her hand. He didn't dare try to speak because he knew his voice would fail him. He could hear how much the loss of her fiance still affected her as she spoke and he knew better than anyone how long it took to heal.
"We had been a couple since our sixth year at Beauxbatons and he had proposed to me on my twenty-first birthday. We were so happy and I had already started to plan the wedding...a-and then as he was driving to the Bingham's house in Denham on Christmas Eve, he was hit head-on by another car and died instantly." She sniffled and Harry squeezed her hand, hoping that it would give her a small amount of comfort. Smiling at him through the tears that had gathered in her eyes she said, "The thing I loved most about him was that he was muggleborn like me and loved to drive as much as I did. He used to drive up from Woodley every weekend since the couple I worked for at the time liked him so much and never minded that he came over. Ironic that it was also what killed him. If he had just apparated he would probably still be alive."
Harry let go of her hand so that he could turn the car into the driveway and pulled it easily into the garage for the night. After shutting off the engine, he turned to her and quietly asked, "Are you going to be okay?"
"I just need a moment to compose myself," she said, wiping her eyes with a tissue she had found in her bag.
They sat in the car for about five minutes more and then gathered their purchases. Before she opened the door that led from the garage into the kitchen, Harry put his hand on her shoulder to stop her and said, "No one knows better than I do how much it hurts to lose someone you love Hermione. If you ever need to talk, I'd be glad to listen."
"Thank you," she replied quietly, touched by his kind offer. "I can usually talk about him without crying, but I've found myself thinking of him...He would have turned twenty-six two days ago...and I still miss him. He was my best friend."
"Luna was my best friend too," Harry said, "I always thought she was rather odd until my fifth year at Hogwarts. She had walked up to me and my best mate Ron Weasley, talking about snorkacks or something of the sort, and suddenly I found it more endearing than odd. She had a way at looking at life that was refreshing."
He stopped talking suddenly, realizing how much he had just told her, and looked away. "Harry," Hermione said softly, causing him to look at her once more, "It goes both ways you know, if you ever need to talk I'm here to listen too."
After staring at each other for a moment, Harry broke through the intensity of the moment by saying, "Right. Well, we should really get inside, the guests will be arriving in less than two hours."
She watched as he walked by her, opened the door, and strode quickly inside. Mulling over the things he had said, and the things about Brian that she had confessed to, she shook her head thinking that the night was off to a very interesting start.