A/n: Nothing to do with book 7.
The rain storm inspired me to write.
~*~
Harry looked out the window, watching as the heavy drops of rain poured down to earth. The thunder rolled in the distance and the lightning struck, filling the sky; each time getting closer and closer.
It was already dark outside; for it was midnight, and the rain made the sky look even darker, and even drearier. But in a strange way that some may not understand, Harry loved the rain. He loved watching it and listening to it. Hence where he was now, sitting on a window seat of the common room window as the rain heaved on.
Another roll of thunder cast as a sheet of lightning sprang across the sky as he heard the creaking of steps behind him. Slowly, he turned his head around and saw his best friend, Hermione, coming down the stairway clutching a book. She seemed to be startled at his gaze, as she had just now snapped her head up.
"Harry!" She spoke softly, not wanting to wake the whole tower. "What on earth are you doing down here?"
"I could ask you the same thing," He said, turning his head back towards the window as the trees swiftly began to sway and the rain came down harder.
"I just...couldn't sleep. So I thought I'd come downstairs and read," She answered.
"Typical Hermione Granger," He smiled slightly.
She sighed, smiling as well. "Yes, yes, crack your jokes." Hermione glanced at him and sat in next to him, staring out the window. "Quite a storm."
He nodded. "Yeah."
A large moment of silence passed on as Harry continued to watch the rain fall faster, the thunder scream louder and the
lightning get brighter; but Hermione took this time to study Harry very carefully. He looked so solemn, so melancholy.
What was he thinking? She wondered.
All of the sudden, Harry broke the silence saying, "Everything's so quiet. No one's awake but us, and yet the storm is raging on. I mean look at that rain, it's incredible. We haven't had a rain like this since-"
"Last Tuesday?" She filled in, amused.
He turned to her and gave her a look as the thunder roared it's loudest yet. She surprised Harry but jumping a bit and grabbing his arm. "It's alright," he smirked, as she let go again.
"Sorry," She apologised, embarrassed. "But sometimes-" She was cut off by another loud roar and grasped his arm again.
A long span of silence and rain wore on. "Are you scared of thunderstorms?"
That question was answered by a gigantic roll of thunder and she jumped and pulled herself closer to him. "Shut it. It's a childish fear...I know. It's just...remember last year...when..."
Harry's heart stopped, she didn't need to continue. Of course, how could he forget it? How could he have not remembered why she was so terrified? He had never forgotten that night before; ever...it was one of the worst in his life.
It was dark and the rain poured down upon the forest. Harry and Hermione moved carefully, anticipating any sudden attacks as they knew the forest could be clad with several Death Eaters, but they had to find the Horcrux that could be hidden there. Ron was left back at the castle to lead defenses there in case something should go wrong.
It was minutes later that they came face to face with Bellatrix and Dolohov, holding them off rather well until Harry was sent a powerful and unexpected body binding curse that was deemed impossible to remove by himself.
As a horrored Hermione stared at him, she found herself too struck by a curse as Bellatrix began to drag her off in the other direction.
"HARRY!" She had yelled desperately.
Harry had called her name over and over again, screaming to her as he violently tried to escape the ties he was held in. It was no use, he could not escape. He heard her desperate cries fade off in the distance.
He still called her name, over and over again as his voice got weaker. His furious, frightened tears became mixed with rain drops.
A few minutes later, Ron had found him, in an attempt to find out what was keeping them so long. Thank Merlin he did, as he was able to release Harry from his ties. Ron had gone back to the castle to call for help from the Order as Harry quickly ran off, searching for her.
He had no idea how long it took him to find her. Could have been minutes, hours...but he eventually did.
Hermione was tied up against a rock, magical bonds holding her in place. She was drenched in rain and probably some of her own tears. Her wrists were red and cut, and when he called her name, she looked up and weakly replied, "Harry."
Harry had almost frozen at the spot when he saw this helpless Hermione, forcibly tied up and unable to speak above a whisper without her voice cracking, looked as if she'd been beaten. He dropped down beside her and released her ties.
When she was broken free, she dropped, crying, into his arms; and he had held heard as they both cried, and the thunder
rolled...the lightning struck and the rain poured down...
Harry shook the memory from his head and found tears welling in his eyes. That night had been one of the several face-offs with Voldemort before he had completely destroyed him. That night was an uneasy memory that would always be in the back of his mind, reminding him how he had nearly led his best friend to her death.
"I-I..." He searched for something to say, unable to look at her. If he had, he'd have seen tears rolling down her cheeks. "I-I'm so sorry..."
"Oh, Harry," She sniffled, moving closer to him.
"I'll never forget that night..." He whispered.
"Me either..." She whispered back. "It's such a childish fear..."
"No," He took her by the arms, looking directly into her eyes. "You went through a terrifying experience that night; no one will blame you if you're scared of them for the rest of your life."
She breathed in the tears, trying to stop them from coming. "I just keep remembering that night. Can you promise me something?"
"Anything," Harry whispered.
"Don't ever leave me," She spoke through her tears.
He looked at Hermione, broken and torn, and his heart was breaking with each second. He wished he could take this pain away from her. "I'll never leave you," He promised. "Ever."
Hermione both arms around his arm and held onto him tightly, overlapping his legs with hers. They stayed that way for a long time, watching the rain as it continued to fall, accompanied by a lightning strike or two with a loud burst of thunder, at which she usually tightened her hold on him that was enough to cut off circulation. He didn't mind though; he was glad to have her with him.
"Harry," Hermione spoke as the rain started to slow. "I love you," She told him for the first time.
He smiled and rested his head on hers, which was on his shoulder, and answered her. "I love you, too, Hermione."
The rain continued to bore on, though it seemed to lessen a bit; and though Harry and Hermione both still silently watched it, both were more interested in staying like this with each other as long as possible.
As Harry glanced down at her, he smiled, knowing that there was no force in the world that could keep him away from her.
~*~
A/N: Okay, that's it. This is officially the most random story I've ever committed to writing. I was just watching the rainstorm, the thunder... you know, the lightning, while reading a fan fic and all the sudden I just pulled up Microsoft Word and started typing.
Sorry if it was a waste of space! LOL!
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