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DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter, J.K. does, and she has every right to do whatever she thinks is best for Harry Potter. I just love writing. So sue me. Wait, seriously… don't.
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The feel of cold wind and water splashing against his face had done something to diminish the frustration Harry had felt the moment he saw Hermione Granger in the stables.
He wasn't quite sure whether it had something to do with his irritation for her holding so much grudge against him or the unwanted attraction that he had felt ever since the night they met at the Weasleys' Masquerade Ball.
Why he even felt something for her was beyond his comprehension, and he had no intention of further exploring that thought because he had decided, upon waking up that morning, that he would not cross paths with her anymore.
So just imagine his surprise, and annoyance, that she had been there when he had come to get Hedwig. He had purposefully stayed behind the rest of the group in order for him to miss an encounter with her, but clearly, an unknown force was against him.
He thought that it would be easy to just forget, but damn it to hell, every time he saw her, his breath suddenly left his body.
And with that, went every bit of his common sense and resolution…
Growling in frustration, Harry urged Hedwig to go faster, not caring that what lay ahead was total darkness, black as the sky that loomed over head.
He had to get away from her, even for just a while.
Because everywhere he went, she seemed to be there.
And while it was really not her fault that she existed, he blamed her for seeping through him, making him see her, feel her and think about her even when he's all alone.
But by damn, he will make it stop before…
Before what?
Before he fell in love?
Wouldn't that be too amusing…or too late?
Wait.
He froze (if that was possible while riding at breakneck speed) as he listened intently for the sound that broke into his wandering thoughts.
There was another rider.
He could hear the hooves of another horse hitting the muddy ground behind him. And whoever that rider was, he was getting close.
Or she…
For the second time in a fraction of a minute, he stilled; his heart rate doubling.
She wouldn't…
Or would she?
Harry knew it was dangerous to take his eyes off his path, but he trusted Hedwig enough to lead him safely. He had to turn around. He needed to reassure himself that Hermione had followed his instructions and was now safely making her way towards the others.
But even as he angled his head to catch a glimpse of who was riding behind him, he had a terrible feeling that Hermione Granger was not an obedient lady.
He could feel his heart pounding as the poorly lit path he was leaving behind gave off an inch by inch view of the horse as it hurtled behind.
Cursing aloud, he tried he catch a glimpse of its head, but before he could see any more, he first faced his front to make sure he wasn't about to hit something…
After realizing that he was in a familiar path which he was certain had a clear way, he allowed himself to look back, and as he did so, he noted that the horse's muzzle was in full view…
And then instantly, its neck emerged…
Another check on the path, then he twisted his head to finally see a pair of hands clutching the reins…
Firm, dainty hands…
Feminine ones…
He didn't wait for a full view before he acknowledged her presence. He was not, after all, in need of any more confirmation to know it was her. Who else would be following him?
"What the hell are you doing?!" He shouted.
"What does it look like I'm doing?" She answered.
"Go back!"
"No!"
"I said…!"
"Watch out!"
Harry's head had turned even before he was able to register why she had shouted. He didn't need to because when he did, it was too late for any more coherent thought.
Hedwig gave a loud neigh as she tried to leap over the tree trunk that had fallen in the midst of the trail. But her attempt had not enough force to help her clear the jump and Harry felt Hedwig's front legs falter against the barrier.
She stumbled forward, and with her, he went.
He barely had time to prepare himself for the fall before he landed forcefully on the ground, toppling and turning over a few times, before his head finally came into contact with a rather large rock.
He groaned as he tried to stand, but his body just would not give.
He buckled, although still conscious, and closed his eyes as he tried to even his labored breathing, hoping that the bloody pounding in his head would stop, and the sharp jabbing pain in both his sides would cease to knock the air out of his lungs.
The smell of mud was in his face, but he couldn't bear to turn. The pain had yet to subside, and he would make it worse if he tried to move. Around him, he could the feel the forceful drops of rain, on the ground, on his back. The continuous pounding of water on him did nothing to pacify his state.
There was a clap of thunder as he heard the sound of horse's feet approaching and then stopping.
Followed by smaller ones, running towards him.
It was Hermione…he realized.
"Oh my!" She exclaimed as she knelt before him, gripping both his arms, and gently, but forcefully turning him over. He groaned as he another wave of pain hit his entire body.
"Harry…" He heard her say. It sounded good, he thought, his ache doing nothing to diminish the pleasure of hearing it from her lips. But she just had to destroy even that small thing. "I mean, your grace, are you all right?"
Then she muttered something incoherent, it sounded like…
"I'm sorry. That was stupid. Of course you're not all right."
His response was only a soft grunt.
He could not speak for two reasons.
One would be his current physical impairment. And the other, was because of her tone.
It sounded taut and a bit panic-stricken. He inwardly frowned at this, reminding himself to ask her about it when he was all better…which was really not going to be soon, he expected.
"Where are you hurt?" She asked. He wasn't sure whether he could answer her question, but he still opened his mouth to tell her where. But her gasp robbed him off what he was going to say.
"You're bleeding!"
Was he?
He didn't know.
But then, he wasn't really surprised if he was. He did take a nasty fall.
He tried to lift his hands to find where his wound was, but belatedly realizing it was going to be futile as it was raining, he simply let it lie still at his sides.
Besides that, Hermione seemed about kin to broadcast it to the whole world anyway.
He felt her shift him to his side as she inspected his back. It was not surprising to know what she was doing. Her touch seemed to be the only thing he could distinguish from the numbness he was beginning to feel. He sensed it caressing his head, shifting away damp strands of his hair, brushing away the mud that clung to it. He suddenly hissed when she grazed a spot where he was obviously wounded.
"We need to get you to a dry place." She declared after closely inspecting the injury, blood still seeping out of it. "I need to clean this with fresh water."
He had nothing more to say as she helped him to a sitting position and waited for him to regain his cluttered senses. She struggled to help him stand, a feat that was attributed to current adrenaline, since in any other circumstances, she wouldn't have been able to fully lift his body without help.
He was a large man. Though he was not buff, he was tall, and lean with wide shoulders. She, on the other, was small and delicate. There was no question who had more physical strength.
"Do you know where we are?" She asked him as he was settled beside her, his arm around her shoulders, hers around his waist.
"Where's Hedwig?" He managed to ask, the effort reeling his stomach.
Hermione looked around, her lips pursed as she found the animal a few feet away, already standing and looking at them. "She's fine."
"I can ride." Harry said.
"You may not." Hermione shook her head.
"I'm not asking for your permission." Harry said, his words coming in between breaths. "I'm fine."
"You're not."
As if to prove her point, Hermione slightly released her hold from his waist, and she had to bite back the smile that formed on her lips despite the situation, when he swayed on the spot, his clutch on her shoulders tightening.
Harry cursed as he tried to regain his balance. Then that was when he noticed how shafts of pain were darting down his right side.
"I broke my arm." He grunted, although he really didn't wish for her to know it.
`We need to get you dried' was her only answer.
When he didn't say anything, she impatiently turned her head to him and said. "The rain won't stop soon, your grace. Do you know a place where we can wait?"
His eyes were glazed as he tried to keep his head and thoughts aloft. He recognized where they were and he knew it as well as he knew the back of his hand.
"There." He tried to lift his hand to point, but he was reminded rather with a stunning force, that his arm was broken. But the movement caught Hermione's eye and the direction where Harry was looking was enough to lead her to the right direction.
"The horses…" Hermione muttered, belatedly noticing the animals that were still in their company.
"Hedwig's trained. She'll follow us." Harry muttered, already turning to leave. Hermione didn't say a word as she mimicked him.
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"Where could they be?" Luna asked Sirius, as she paced her father's study, her husband watching her with a slightly amused look.
Dawn was approaching and it had been hours since the group had seen the two. They had no idea what happened, except for a measly and incomplete statement of the stable boy, Tom.
"What exactly did Tom say?"
"He said Harry had taken Hedwig into the forest, where he usually goes for a ride." Sirius replied.
"And what of Hermione?"
"He was not certain whether she followed him or us. He had only turned for a second, but when he looked back, she was no longer there."
"She followed him, of course she did." Luna muttered, more to herself than to anybody.
"Even if she did, it is nothing to worry about." Sirius told her, trying to reassure her, but not as much as he was saying it for himself.
"Do you think they're all right?" She asked.
"Of course they're all right."
"But Hermione would be ruined if anybody knew they are alone together." Luna cried out in panic.
"I thought you wanted that to happen?" Ron calmly asked her. "Wasn't it the reason you deliberately missed telling her she left her bonnet in her quarters?"
"I did want them to spend some time together. But I expected them to catch up with us, not go into the forest where nobody else one would be."
"I do not believe it had been either one's fault." Sirius said. "I know Harry. He would not do something like this."
"And I know Hermione." Luna countered. "And she would definitely not go after anybody."
"We can make excuses for them, Luna." Sirius said solemnly, already thinking of what to say should anybody ask Harry and Hermione's whereabouts.
"I thought you wanted this to happen as well?" Ron turned to his father-in-law.
"There are some things that turn out better when they transpire naturally." Sirius said. He clasped his hand behind his back as he turned to stare out the window. The rain clouds seemed to be growing darker by the second, and the concern that he felt for his godson grew stronger as it did.
"I know that he is attracted to Hermione. And God knows I'm finally hearing wedding bells. But if he is forced to marry her just because her reputation is at stake, I am terrified that he will see this as an excuse not to treat her the way she should be treated."
"But why?" Luna turned to the two men in the room with her, confusion clearly in her eyes. She had known Harry for six years and was surprised that the charming aristocrat had an issue behind him.
"He doesn't allow himself to love, Luna." Ron quietly intervened. "And he pushes people away, especially when they begin to matter. If he is really attracted to Hermione, he would never admit it to anybody, and he will try to get rid of his feelings before they could turn to something more."
"That's terrible!" Luna covered her mouth with her hands. "We have to do something!"
"We can assume that we are mistaken." Ron said; his voice curt with worry as well. "Perhaps he is not really attracted to her."
"You don't expect me to believe that, do you?" Luna countered. "You saw how he behaved towards her last night. The way he tried to get information from her."
Ron sighed, agreeing in silence. He stood up to take his wife's hand in his and squeezed it for reassurance.
"Then, let's just hope that Hermione doesn't feel the same way." He caught Sirius' eye in his reflection on the glass window and saw that the old man was thinking the same thought.
"It is one thing for him to push her away when she does not mind. But it does not bear contemplating when he does it while she cares."
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The silence that prevailed between her and Harry had nothing to do with why Hermione wanted to speak.
As they trudged side by side in the rain that seemed to be intensifying by the second, Hermione could feel Harry's weight growing heavier. Immediately recognizing the sign, she sensed the need to speak. Gripping him and pulling him closer to her side, she loudly hissed. "Don't you dare faint."
Despite his state, Harry grunted. "Gentlemen don't faint."
"What do they do?" Hermione asked, if only to keep him awake.
"We…just don't." he finished lamely, unable to think of anything more to say, except he did feel like fainting.
She felt herself smile. Then she cleared her throat. "Where are we headed?"
"There's a small cottage in the middle of this woods. It's not too far."
"How do you know?"
"I've been here before." Came his clipped reply.
Hermione only nodded. Her grip momentarily slackening as his weight drained her. Harry must have noticed her exhaustion, because his firm hold on her shoulder loosened.
"You can leave me, Hermione." He said rather gruffly, ignoring the pretence of propriety by addressing her with her given name. "I can take care of myself while you get help."
"That fall must have been worse than I originally thought for you to foolishly think I would agree to such a ridiculous thing." Hermione said in a clipped tone.
"Are you calling me a fool?" He asked.
Hermione pursed her lips together. "The situation only warranted it, your grace. But I apologize."
"Don't." Harry said.
"And it was my fault you were injured." She added belatedly, voicing the thought that had screamed at the back of her head when she saw him fell. It had not left her since and it was gnawing at her conscience every time she saw his face and his arm, and heard his small grunts of pain.
He obviously thought that was the case as well because he didn't say anything. It only added to her list of what to be guilty for.
The rest of the way had been spent in silence, but Hermione didn't need to reassure herself of his consciousness because every now and then he would clear his throat and a small sound of pain would escape his lips. She was sure he was trying to conceal it from her, and Hermione thought it was considerate of him to do so, unwise but considerate.
Against her will, his consideration destroyed a couple more bricks of her icy wall. She could practically hear them shatter.
"Here we are." He suddenly said.
Hermione had to blink twice to see what he was looking at, her thoughts rendering her oblivious to anything but her feelings. In the midst of her reverie, she had failed to see that they already reached their destination.
The cottage that they were facing was small, with no stairs, except a couple of steps that led to the front door. The windows that were made of wood were tightly shut. The door was slightly ajar, but no sign of another human presence was there.
"Who lives here?" She voiced out as they took that couple of steps.
"No one."
Hermione frowned.
"Sirius uses this when he hunts." He grunted.
She said nothing more as she pushed open the door, hearing it creak as the hinges slid over the other.
A draft of wind escaped from the chilly atmosphere within, and in her cold state, she accidentally let go of Harry as she was trying to carefully set him down beside the door. He groaned when his bottom hit the floor with a hard thud.
"I'm sorry." She muttered, taking a deep breath as she straightened. She shut the door immediately to prevent the cold from entering the cottage and set about to look for something to light the fireplace, which she had noticed the moment they entered.
"What are you doing?" Harry asked in the dark. His voice deep and hushed.
Hermione felt a shiver run up and down her arm.
It was not from the cold.
"Uh…the fireplace." She answered, trusting his intelligence to come up with the rest of the words she had missed to say.
He was smart enough to understand. "Under the cupboard near the sink. There should be some wood in there."
As Hermione went about her task, the only sound that prevailed for the next few minutes was that of the heavy rain beating down on the roof of the cottage.
She had no time to ask him anything, for all she knew he had already lost consciousness, because what mattered was that she was able to light the fire before they develop a fever. Should that happen, his would be worse, with his wound prone to acquiring infection.
In record time, she had managed to build a fire, and with some assistance from him, they were soon sitting in front of it.
Hermione noticed Harry shivering and having difficulty maintaining a sitting position.
She looked around and saw the small bed at the corner of the room. It looked light enough for someone her size to drag across, so she stood up and grabbed with both hands the post at the upper end.
"What are you doing?" Harry asked feebly.
"You do not have the strength to stay awake much longer, your grace. And it is not good for you to rest on the hard floor." Then she eyed his broken arm, which was lying limp on his side. "We need to do something about that broken arm."
"But still that does not explain why you are moving the bed."
"It's warmer over there." She said matter-of-factly.
"Thank you." That was all he could manage.
Even after his horrid attitude towards her that morning, not to mention the night before, he couldn't believe that she was treating him with such concern.
When the bed was situated just in front of the fireplace, Harry obediently stood up, clutching one of the bed's legs. But he stopped just as she was helping him get on it.
"What's wrong?"
"I need to take my clothes off." He whispered.
Hermione could have sworn her jaw dropped to the floor. She blushed despite her will and she swallowed convulsively.
"Go ahead." She mustered up the courage to speak, but forgot to turn around.
She was puzzled when Harry didn't move, his slight swaying back and forth not considered moving since he wasn't really doing it on his own. He was staring at her with a curious expression, his face pale, but his eyes glittering with amusement.
"Are you sure you want to stay that way?"
It occurred to her that she was still gaping at him like an idiot as if waiting for him to put on a show for her. She gasped "Oh!" before hastily turning around. She was sure that the warmth that spread through her was not because of the fire burning but from embarrassment.
He heard him chuckle, and then a kind of a rubbery sound that was associated most probably with the wet clothes clinging to his skin. Hermione felt her blush darken as she thought of him merely inches away from her with nothing on.
"You should take off your clothes as well." He said from behind her.
She stilled, his words robbing her of breath and words. It didn't help that he said it in a deep voice, a rough one that sounded more from passion than exhaustion.
"I---I beg your pardon?"
"I am not the only one with soaked attire, my lady." He said.
Hermione was thankful for the few seconds that he gave her to locate her senses and perhaps even manage to remove her heart from her lungs. "What am I supposed to put on?"
"There are clothes in the closet. I am certain there aren't any for a lady, but they will have to do."
She nodded, almost turning her head to him. Then she stopped herself just in time. But that was after she caught a glimpse of his chest. She was glad that the sight had not stopped her from turning her head back to where it should be.
She bit her lip, all the while hoping that he had not seen the little excursion of her eyes.
As she struggled to keep her breath even, she refused to lgo over the details, already cursing herself for thinking lurid thoughts about him. Thankfully, he was standing behind the bed, so what she had seen had only been the upper part of his body.
Not that she wanted to look at the lower half…
"And what of your clothes, your grace?" She managed to ask after a while when all she heard after that incident had been the rustling of the bed covers being pulled back. "Shall I bring some for you?"
She heard nothing, only the crackling of the fire.
"Your Grace?"
Was it safe to turn around?
Then rational thought came into place.
Why wouldn't it be safe? It wasn't as if he was deliberately not answering her questions, was it? The only logical thing he could be doing was sleeping, and even if he wasn't, why would he think it wrong for her to check on him. If she caught him in a less than appropriate state, it wouldn't be her fault.
Slowly, she turned her head around, one eye closed, her lips caught between her teeth. She breathed a sigh of relief as she saw him hidden underneath the bed covers, his face unmasked of the stony façade he wore most of the time.
What replaced it was a more pleasant expression that tugged something in her. A hand on her heart, she approached him, her fingers gliding over the bed rail, until she was beside him, near his head. She peered closely to check. As she did, she saw the wound on his forehead. It was near his scar.
She thought about it for a second and realized that not once during the entire time they were together did she think of him as her enemy. Granted that she had been hysterical over his accident, but still, she had been calm for at least a good half hour, and it wasn't only until now that she even thought about it.
But now was not the time for her to think of the reason that she was not reminded of his past, even when before, the mere mention of his name brought back memories.
For now, he needed her.
And even if she did not hold him in high regard, she was not an unfeeling woman to leave him. She told him she would take care of his wound, and she would be true to her word.
But first, she had to change.
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A/N:
Our preliminary examinations ended yesterday so I had time to think about this chapter. But it's not yet polished, I think I need to do some revisions about the grammar.
However, I updated tonight because I wanted, and I quote Hermione, "to be true to my word." I did say next week last week, right? I did not plan on writing a chapter like this, but the story warranted more Harry/Hermione moments. And this is only the beginning; I have more of them up my sleeve! The storm's not about to go yet, so suffice it to say, they will be in that cottage for quite some time.
Anyway, thanks for all those who agreed with my last author's note, and for reviewing as well. I have not the urge to say anything about DH right now…I'm not ticked off or anything. I'll post a message next time I'm bothered. But for now, I'll end the chapter with nothing more than a pleasant, see ya!
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