Chapter 1
Stage 1: The Move
"Gin's been dying to see you, of course. I mean really, Harry, I know you're worse than I am when it comes to writing letters, but maybe one would've been nice." Ron Weasley stopped in the middle of the hallway leading to Harry's new apartment.
"Yea…I've been a bit busy…um Ron, d'you mind if we perhaps could just get this into the apartment?" Harry gasped, struggling to hold up his sofa, the main weight of which had currently shifted to Harry's arms.
"Oh. Right. Sorry." Ron proceeded to help carry the sofa into the apartment before continuing on the subject.
"So really, Harry, what's been going on? You're not cheating on my sister or anything are you?" Ron asked threateningly.
"No!" Harry said quickly. "I've been bloody busy, alright? I mean, Merlin, I'm an Auror for gods sake! You can't expect me to be able to take off work every second my girlfriend wants us to go out!"
"You don't work everyday, Harry; you know that well as I do, I'm a bloody Auror too, and I still spend time with Herm."
"Look, Ron, I don't want to talk about what I do on my free time. I'll spend more bloody time with Ginny, ok? Will that make you happy? I'll come to Weasley dinners every Saturday if that'll bloody get you off my back."
"Yea, it will! It's been weeks since the whole family's seen you, mate. Herm's been going spare…she's all freaked out that you're depressed or something. She keeps muttering to herself about last year and what not. She knows what happened, doesn't she? She knows where you went and why, doesn't she?" Ron demanded.
"I asked you not to ask me about that, Ron. I came back, right? So what's the big deal?"
"The big deal is that you disappeared right in the middle of graduation and didn't come back for a month! That's the big deal! I'm worried…is that why you moved here? So you could hide from everyone?"
"I'm not hiding from everyone, Ron. I'm doing this for me. Right, well I think that's everything. Thanks a lot." Harry said bluntly, and Ron took that as his cue to leave and Disapparated without saying a word.
Harry sighed and sank down onto the couch, putting his head in his hands.
"I'm not hiding from everyone." He whispered. "I'm hiding from her."
o--------------------------------------------------o
"Merlin, Gin, you've got to stop doing that." Ron said weakly as he Apparated, nearly landing on his sister who was awaiting his return.
"What'd he say? Is he alright? Why didn't he write?" Ginny demanded.
"He's been busy, Gin, and he says he's sorry and he'll start coming `round more." Ron said looking around.
"He will?" Ginny asked happily.
"Yea…where's Herms?"
"She's in your room, Ron. She says she's got something important to tell you."
"I'll see you in a bit, k, Gin?"
o-------------------------------------------o
"Herms? You alright?" Ron asked as he pushed the door open.
"Yea, yea, I'm fine I just wanted to talk about something."
"Okay." Ron sat down.
"Um…well, it's been great, staying here with you and your family while I've been studying for being a Healer, but now that I've um got the position and I have a steady income plus a little in the bank at Gringotts, I think its time that I move to an apartment. I found a great one, it's really nice and I went by today to look at it, and I really h-hope you don't mind, because I've already signed the lease and moved all my stuff." Hermione waited nervously for his answer.
"Don't you think moving into an apartment is a little dangerous, Herms?" Ron asked.
"I'm eighteen, Ronald; I can take care of myself, thanks." Hermione said coolly.
"I know that but I…I guess I can't really stop you can I?" Ron said slowly.
"So you're okay with it then?"
"Yea, I guess. Listen I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay? I've got to get to work." Ron left, without properly saying goodbye.
Hermione sighed and sat down.
"You were going to tell him, you idiot. You had a speech all planned out and you were going to tell him quite nicely that you thought it best to break it off. You stupid, stupid, stupid girl! You're stringing him along and it isn't fair. And, you really, seriously, need to do something about this talking to yourself thing."
She sighed and Apparated away from the Burrow, and onto bigger and better things, or so she hoped.
o-------------------------------------o
It was pure accident, of course, their meeting. They were doing their best to pretend the other didn't exist and were even trying to move on…literally. They couldn't very well help it that Fate seemed to have no regard for their feelings. Or, at least that's what they told themselves once they were alone.
She was getting in the lift to go to her apartment after stopping by at St. Mungo's to pick up some paperwork she needed to complete.
He, was already in the lift, and was also going to his apartment after a long day at work.
She never even looked at who was in the lift until the doors were closed.
He was too shocked to move.
She gasped and stammered a hello.
He managed to say hello back.
They went through the ordinary rituals of greeting. `How are you' `Oh I'm fine' `That's good' etc. etc.
Then there was that silence. That horrible, dreaded silence.
The awkward one, you know the one.
She silently stared ahead at the little glowing buttons mentally kicking herself.
He was counting each floor as it ticked it off, unnecessarily slowly, in his opinion.
Finally, somewhat forced conversation converged upon them.
"I just moved here, you know."
She jumped.
"Same as me, then. I-I didn't know." She said quietly.
"Nor did I. But we can hardly help where we live, can we?" he said. "How's-how're you and Ron?"
"Oh! Um…fine, I guess. And you and Ginny?"
"Barely see her." Harry said coolly.
"Oh." Hermione bit her lip.
"By choice, you know."
She had nothing to say.
He had plenty.
"It's like going back to eating cereal after waking up to pancakes every morning. It's a bit of a culture shock, you know? Not that I ever had pancakes….I tried…oh dammit I tried. But I guess I wasn't meant to have pancakes…or at least that's what I've been told. So, now I'm back to trying to forget about wanting pancakes, and trying to figure out how the hell I'm supposed to enjoy cereal every single day."
"You would turn it into food."
"Makes it easy for a simple mind to understand. Have we come down to calling it `it'?"
"I suppose so."
"Is he pancakes for you, `Mione?" He asked abruptly.
"I…I…what?" she asked confusedly.
Oh, no, oh, no…it was getting closer.
The stupid lift seemed to be speeding up.
The doors were opening.
He was walking away.
Is he pancakes?
I…I don't know.
"Think about it. I guess we'll be seeing each other around."
He was gone.
Again, just like that.
She sank slowly to her knees and silently cried as the lift made its way back down.
o--------------------------------------------------o
"Bloody hell. She's here…here. Why, oh why would she choose this apartment? Why not another one? There are plenty of others. Maybe I should move. No, no I can't do that. I've already seen her; I won't be able to stand it."
"You've really got to stop that pacing thing. It is pretty annoying."
"Sorry, Andrea, I'm just so nervous. I'd gotten over it, sort of, and now it's like someone's thrusting pancakes in my face again."
"What have I told you about turning it into food? And if my memory serves you, I told you to stop saying `bloody'. It's weird. I'm American, remember? We don't like the word blood."
"Oh, right, sorry. Andy, what am I going to do?"
"You really love her, huh?" Andrea said softly, getting up to look at his face.
"I don't know what love is, Andrea. All I know is what I feel."
"What do you feel, Mr. Potter?"
"I'm restless, and yet I'm calm at the same time. I'm hot and cold, and my heart stops beating then gets really fast, and I can scarcely breathe with I see her, or let alone think of her."
Andrea stared at him for a moment.
"Sorry to break it to you, Harry, but you're in love."
"Am I?" he looked scared.
"You are. If I were you I'd let her know. Now, don't give me any of that bull about that Ginny girl or Ron. I haven't met them, yet, which I really want to, by the way, but I think they'll forgive you both, in time."
"She wouldn't leave him, Andrea. I asked her at graduation, and she said she wouldn't. Why do you think I went to America to do my Auror training? When you met me I was just a poor heartbroken bloke that you gladly let becomes your roommate."
"Me and my wonderful heart of gold." Andrea smirked.
"Have I thanked you yet, for coming to stay with me for a few weeks while I settle in?"
"Um, only the entire trip here, and all while I was letting you hide my things from Ron, but not in the past hour no."
"Thanks." Harry said.
Andy smiled.
"Not a problem. Now…let's put our heads together and see what we can do about this love thing."
-->