A/N - All characters belong to the wonderful JK Rowling. I just borrowed them for a bit to play with them. I promise to put them back soon!
ANSWERS
"Can I sit down?" he asked once she had recovered.
Hermione looked at him, trying to decide if it was a good idea. But before she could answer him, he pulled the chair back and sat by her side. A waiter came out immediately and asked if he wanted something. He ordered the same thing she was having.
Harry looked at her and noticed she looked sad and tired. Her eyes didn't shine with happiness as they usually did. And she had lost some weight as well. She looked down at her cup and didn't say anything. The waiter came out with the tea and some scones.
"Thank you," Harry said looking at him.
"Let me know if you need anything else, sir."
Since Hermione's cup was almost empty, he served her some more. The he added a bit of cream and a clump of sugar. She was surprised.
"You remember." It wasn't a question.
"I remember everything about you, Mione," he said softly.
She didn't say anything. She wasn't sure why all of a sudden he was there, acting as if nothing had happened for the past year. She took a sip of tea to buy time and waited for him to speak.
"I've just recently noticed I've acted like a daft prick and I want to apologize."
She was startled by his words. Of all the things he could have said, that hadn't even occurred to her. "I'm afraid I don't follow you."
"Yes, you do, Hermione. And it's not just me, but all of us. We all stopped talking to you because of something someone said and none of us ever bother to hear your side of the story. And for that, I'm truly very sorry, Mione. And I hope that some day you can forgive me."
Hermione wasn't prepared for the apology. But even worse, she wasn't moved by it. It was too little, too late. "It's in the past now, Harry," she said dryly. "Why bring it up again? If it wasn't important then, it shouldn't matter now either."
She was looking everywhere but at him, and that worried Harry. He could tell by her tone that she was upset, and he shouldn't be surprised at her cold reaction. But he had to try to make her understand. Sure, just like you understood her a year ago, said a little voice inside his head. He decided to ignore that voice.
"Hermione," he began, but she cut him off.
"Harry, don't bother, okay? It's over and done with. Everyone took sides and I was left alone, I was the enemy from that point on. I've moved on. I guess you should try to do the same."
She stood up and grabbed her bag. But before she was able to walk away, Harry grabbed her by the arm. "No. I won't let you walk away without hearing your side of the story. I was stupid to let it go once, but not again."
She shook her arm free and started walking away. Since they were starting to generate the interest of passersby's he threw a galleon on the table and followed her at a distance. Their conversation was far from over.
Hermione walked briskly down the street and she was fuming mad. It seemed funny how after so much time he finally wanted to know the truth. She wasn't prepared to talk to him. He did try to talk to you, but you shut him and the others out, a voice inside her mind reminded her. She ignored the voice of her conscience since she knew it was right. At the time, she hadn't been able to talk to anyone. And she hadn't expected that everyone would stay away like they had. She had figured at least Harry would look for her later but she had been wrong.
She was so lost in thought that she reached her flat without realizing it. She opened the door and stepped inside, but before she could close the door, Harry put his foot between the door and the frame.
"Harry," she said startled once more by his presence.
He took advantage of the situation and walked into her flat before she realized what had happened. "We need to talk," he said seriously as he closed the door and locked it.
"I told you there is nothing to talk about," she said, hands on her hips.
"I'd have to disagree," he contradicted her stubbornly.
"Then you have a problem. Please leave," she said pointing at the door.
Instead of leaving, he walked into the living room and sat down. Out of nowhere, Crookshanks came running and jumped on Harry's lap. "Hi there!" he said petting the cat. "Did you miss me?" he asked Crookshanks and the cat purred his answer.
Traitor, Hermione thought as she looked at her pet. For a cat of his age he still moved with amazing agility. Crookshanks looked at her with what seemed like a contented smile on his flat face.
"Well, at least you missed me, Crookshanks. Your mistress doesn't even want to give me the time of day."
Crookshanks looked at Harry as if he understood and then he looked at Hermione. She could have sworn there was a frown on his face. Great, that's all she needed. Now her cat hated her too. She wanted to scream in frustration.
"Harry, I'm asking you nicely to leave. Don't make me hurt you," she said seriously.
"You'd never hurt me, Mione. You're incapable of inflicting pain. You're a healer; and hurting people is not in your nature," Harry said smiling and sounding pretty sure of himself.
"I wouldn't be so sure if I was you," she said without feeling.
Harry finally looked at her again and noticed how tense she was. "Hermione, all I want is to know your side of the story." He raised his hand when she was about to speak. "Hear me out. I already told you I was a daft prick. I realize I made a huge mistake not talking to you right away, or later on for that matter. But I want to rectify that now."
When she didn't say anything, he put Crookshanks on the cushion and walked over to where she was. He put his hands around her arms and looked down into her eyes. "I need to know what happened and I need you to forgive me for shutting you out for so long."
Hermione could hardly stand to look at him. She recognized the sincerity shining in his eyes; hear it in the tone of his voice. And if he didn't let go of her soon, she would surely melt at his feet.
She was startled by her thoughts. Since when had she been so affected by Harry's proximity? She was beginning to shake from head to toe. When she was about to step back, he noticed and hugged her against his hard body.
"I'm not letting you go that easily, Mione. I already told you that. We can stand here all night if you want, but I'm not letting you go until you tell me the truth."
Hermione's eyes filled up with tears once again and she leaned fully into Harry's warmth. Oh, but she had missed his hugs. "Why are you doing this to me now, Harry?" Her words were muffled against his chest.
"Because now seems like the right time. Because too much time has gone by. Because I am tired of not seeing you. I'm tired of not talking to you. And I don't want to miss you anymore," he answered her with feeling. He stepped back so he could look into her eyes. He raised a hand and cupped her cheek. "I need you back in my life, Mione."
His sincerity was her undoing. "Nothing happened between me and Viktor, Harry, as Ron had you all believing." Her words left her mouth in a rush before she could stop them.
Harry had suspected as much for months. And every time he had asked Ron, his answer had been forced and he would get mad that Harry was asking again. He took Hermione's hand and walked over to the sofa with her. They sat close together and Hermione leaned her head back against the sofa and closed her eyes. Harry reached out his hand and captured a tear as it rolled down from the corner of her eye.
"Don't cry, baby," he said softly and she opened her eyes to look at him. He'd never called her that before.
"Harry, why are you bringing this up now after so much time has passed us by?" she asked softly.
"Because I have suspected for a long time that Ron's side of the story wasn't completely true. And that photo that appeared on the paper could very well be just a hug between old friends; especially since the article was written by Rita and she loves to exaggerate. She probably got a kick out of hurting you for ruining her career in the first place."
"But why now, Harry, after so much time has passed us by?" she insisted.
"I don't have a good answer for that, Mione. Time flies, I've been extremely busy, I've been out of the country a lot. I can give you a ton of excuses, but mainly I'm just tired of not being close to you. I'm tired of wanting to see you when I get home and not being able to because your not there. I'm tired of wanting to talk to you, of picking your brain about an important case I'm working on and realizing I can't. I miss the stories you used to tell me about your patients, I miss seeing how you bite your bottom lip when you are concentrating hard on something. I miss you, Hermione, like I've never missed anyone before." He stopped talking at her startled look. Then he realized something else and his world stopped.
He was crazy in love with his best friend!
Shit!
Now what?!
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