Here I am, back with another chapter to fulfill your bestial desires for H/Hr fluff! So, yes, the last chapter was decisively evil on Ginny's part (can I get a resounding "BOO!"?). There is a wondermous amount of fluffity in this chapter. But it's pre-relationship fluff, so don't worry, there's still many chapters to go. On to the story!!!
A Touching Romance
Chapter 4 ~ Muffin Infatuations
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In the days after Ron and Ginny's departure, Harry was a bit at a loss. Strange things kept happening to the people around him, and he couldn't help but wonder if something was wrong with him.
Every one of the strange events - Seamus's orange eyes, Headmistress McGonagall's broken nails, Neville's swollen nose - all seemed to happen only when Harry was around. He couldn't figure it out. Sure, he'd bumped into Seamus, accidentally grazed McGonagall's hand, and poked Neville for being cheeky, but he hadn't done anything remotely magical or malicious.
Hermione had told him that some sort of spell had obviously been cast, but she didn't know what it was. She was researching possible spells when he found her in the Library late one afternoon.
"Why are you still down here, Hermione?" he asked, taking the seat at her right side. "Shouldn't you be at supper?"
Hermione looked up from her book with a smile. "Thank you for being concerned about me, Harry. But I'm fine. I ate a large lunch, you know."
"You did not," Harry stated matter-of-factly. "I was with you at lunch, and all you did was grab a ham sandwich before rushing off."
Hermione flushed prettily, and Harry felt a stirring in his stomach. I really should not have had the kidney pie at lunch today, he thought. "Well, I'm not very hungry," Hermione said, and her stomach rumbled.
Harry raised his eyebrows. "Yes, I can see that you couldn't possibly need any food now. I guess I'll just have to eat these cornbread muffins all by my lonesome self." He produced three steaming muffins from his pocket, placing them strategically near Hermione so that the aroma wafted towards her enticingly.
But Hermione only huffed and turned back to her book.
Harry pushed the muffins a few inches closer.
Hermione glanced at the muffins for a moment, then looked back at her book.
Harry pushed the muffins a few inches closer.
Hermione turned a page.
Harry pushed the muffins a few inches closer.
Hermione scribbled a sentence on her notepad.
Harry pushed the muffins a fe -
"Oh, for heaven's sake!" Hermione exclaimed, and snatched up one of the muffins. She put it in her mouth, chewed for a few moments, swallowed deliberately, then glared at Harry.
Harry knew she wasn't really mad, merely annoyed that he'd gotten her to do what he wanted so easily. "There," he said soothingly, "Doesn't that make you feel better?"
Hermione glowered, and Harry laughed. "What is so funny?" Hermione asked scathingly.
"You are acting like a two-year-old, you know that?" Harry said, chuckling. Hermione punched him playfully in the arm, then started laughing herself.
And Harry, as he and Hermione laughed - laughed at nothing in particular it now seemed, a beautiful sense of peace fell upon him. There hadn't been much laughter during the months of the War. Less even, he thought, in the weeks afterwards. So many had died. So many dear, close friends had fallen to the curse of a Death Eater. Dumbledore had only been the beginning.
After one great teacher and mentor came another. Professor Flitwick was killed next. Then came Ernie McMillan, not one of Harry's closest friends, but still someone he knew and saw every day. A small group of Ravenclaw fourth years had been abducted on their way back from Hogsmeade. Hermione hadn't even known any of them, but she'd sobbed into Ron's shoulder that weekend anyway.
All of it had been too much for her. Too much for anyone. There wasn't a single person in the castle who hadn't feared what the next day might bring. If they would wake up in their beds, or in a prison cell, guarded by one of Voldemort's followers.
Even though Harry had known in his head that it wasn't his fault, he came to blame himself for the things that were happening. If only I were doing a better job finding the Horcruxes, he'd think. Or, If only I could focus on my Occlumency. He'd hated himself for the grief and pain he thought he had caused.
And then came Ginny. Vibrant, funny, beautiful Ginny, with her long red hair and musical laugh. She had told him that she needed him. That she knew he wanted to protect her by staying apart, but their lives were too short and too dangerous to not live for the moment. And he'd believed her. Agreed with her. He'd wanted the same thing desperately for the past few months.
He soon came to realize that it wasn't going to be enough. Ginny's small, delicate hand in his, her head on his shoulder, their daily snogs - none of it was enough to distract him. The pain was still there. His responsibility never went away. Ginny just put it at bay.
But that wasn't right. So he had broken up with her. It was hard, there were tears, and `I love you's, but he broke it off and they were the better for it. Harry and Hermione had found the Horcruxes; he'd fought Voldemort in the final battle, and come home for his seventh year at Hogwarts with a much lighter heart.
So he and Ginny got back together. And it was perfect. She liked him, and he liked her. There was a connection and chemistry, something Harry had never felt before. She was beautiful, and her kisses put him in heaven. So, he should have been happy. But he wasn't. And he didn't know why.
"HARRY!" Hermione's shout suddenly cut through to his mind. He yelped and fell out of his chair.
"Oh, Harry!" Hermione hurried to his side. "Are you alright?"
Harry shook his head to clear it. "Yeah, I'm fine. Guess I just zoned out there for a minute."
"You were pretty out of it," Hermione said. "I had to call you seven times before you responded."
"Sorry, Hermione," he said, picking himself up off the ground. "I was just thinking."
"About what?" Hermione inquired, taking her seat again.
"Dumbledore," Harry said, and Hermione's face immediately became softer. "And the other ones who died. About Voldemort, and Ginny." Hermione's eyes blazed for a moment, but Harry didn't notice.
"Anything you want to talk about?" Hermione hesitantly placed her hand over his. Harry considered the hand for a moment, before turning his hand around and intertwining his fingers with hers.
"No, I'm okay," he said, even though he didn't mean it. But he felt it would be inappropriate to talk to Hermione about his girl problems.
Hermione looked a bit put out. "Well, alright," she said. "But I want you to know that I'll be waiting for you right here, if you ever need me."
Harry smiled. "I know."
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*giggles* Harry is positively scrumptious! I love him to death, yes I do. I hope you all liked it!
To all my German reviewers:
Nachprüfung! Nachprüfung! Nachprüfung!
~ Violet Kefira
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