Looking back, Harry supposed he should have realized that if he did one little thing that seemed out of ordinary, it would end up splashed across papers.
He awoke early the day after learning about Andy's slip up only to find a rather assertive array of newspapers with various pictures of him and Andy on the front page.
There was the one with him offering Andy his arm, and the one where she took it, and by far his favorite, the one where she'd tripped over her own feet and ended up leaning on him to stop herself from falling. They were all accompanied by horrid articles, but none as horrible perhaps as Rita Skeeters'.
"
Harry Potter, Savior of the Wizarding World,
is once again involved in another scandal.
Mr. Potter, it appears, chose to leave Ms.
Ginevra Weasley for none other than his
former best friend's ex-girlfriend, Ms.
Hermione Granger. Mr. Potter has recently
been seen with Ms. Granger around places
such as Diagon Alley, clearly showing
affection to one another, and that leads us to
the question of why Mr. Potter is running
around with another girl, (pictured above)
whom sources tell me is a Squib friend of Mr.
Potter's by the name of Andrea Hale. I myself
witnessed Mr. Potter holding hands with Ms.
Hale and escorting her quite courteously arou-
nd Diagon Alley. While this may not seem
unusual, surely the kiss given between the two
before parting is considered to be more than a
friendly peck. It has recently come to our atten-
tion that Mr. Potter and Ms. Granger's sudden
relationship seems to be the cause of Mr. Ronald
Weasley's recent disappearance, and if that
is indeed the case, we must wonder what Ms.
Granger will have to say, considering the fact
that she is certainly going to be left high and dry
and without a significant other.
"
"What a load of….!" Harry yelled, as he read the article, and then quickly shoved the paper into his pocket as Hermione came into the kitchen.
"What's that?" Hermione asked indifferently.
"Erm…just…you know…reporters." Harry said.
"Oh? What are they saying?"
"Just…making up things about me and Andy…said I'd kissed her….it was a peck!" Harry said eyeing Hermione warily. She seemed to be a bit touchy today.
"Mhmm…well, you know…."
Harry interrupted her.
"Listen, `Mione, there's something I need to tell you." He said nervously.
Hermione turned to look at him icily.
"If you think you can worm your way out of getting in trouble by telling me about your little secret proposal right now, you are sadly mistaken." She said coldly.
Harry seemed to deflate.
"Right." He said, "Well…thought I might give it a try. Listen, Hermione, `Mione, love, erm…the reason I didn't tell you about the whole thing with Andy is because when I was bearing all my secrets to you, that…which I can hardly consider a secret, it…it wasn't important! I was angry, because I thought I was losing you forever and that there was nothing I could do, so I panicked! I…I didn't want to be alone." Harry said, looking down.
Hermione looked at him for a moment, her brow arched.
"Mhmm." She said again, and seemed to be considering what he'd said, "Andy told me the same thing, you know, and while I find it quite hard to believe that you did it just simply for that reason, I would hope that you wouldn't be stupid enough to lie to me again, so for now, you are slightly forgiven."
Harry beamed.
"Good," He said, and walked over to her. "I was so worried you were going to leave me, especially after me destroying half the apartment."
"I just hope you won't do that again," Hermione said.
"I'll try my hardest."
Hermione smiled up at him, and he took her over to sit on the couch.
"I love you." He said, giving her a kiss.
Hermione looked at him for a moment.
"Do you?" she asked.
Harry sighed.
"Of course." He said.
"Well, will you love me when I'm fat and pregnant and hormonal?" She asked suddenly.
Harry laughed.
"Yes."
"What about when I'm so completely furious at you that I chuck…lets say…..a toaster, at you?"
Harry grinned.
"Yes."
"And if I'm old and decrepit and can't feed myself because my teeth have all fallen out?" Hermione asked, quite seriously. "Will you love me then?"
Harry paused, and Hermione chunked a pillow at him.
"Prat!" she said, pretending to pout, and crossing her arms.
Harry grinned, and took her and slid her over next to him until she was looking him straight in the eyes.
"I will love you when you're fat, and hormonal, and when you're so mad at me that you cause me bodily harm, and even when you are old and decrepit and can't feed yourself because your teeth have all fallen out. I love you now, and I will love you then, and I will never leave you, and I will always, always love you."
Hermione smiled and sank into his embrace.
"That's good to know." She whispered softly.
Harry nodded.
"I quite agree."
"Agree with what?" Andy said, with a yawn as she came in from her room.
"Nothing." Harry said. "By the way, Andrea, you're famous m'dear."
Andy looked at him blearily for a moment.
"What in the name of all that is sober are you talking about?" She asked.
"Oho, drink a bit last night, Ms. Hale?" Harry teased.
Andy groaned and sank down to the floor.
"Oliver met up with me after you went home and convinced me to try something called…god I can't even remember…..oh, never try to out drink that boy…" She moaned.
Hermione laughed.
"Would you like a hangover potion?" She asked kindly.
Andy stood up suddenly.
"There's such a thing?" She said, looking thoroughly overjoyed.
Harry laughed.
"Of course. How d'you think I overcame half my drinking spells so quickly?" He asked amusedly.
Andy looked outraged.
"You little snit! You have a freaking potion for this thing? My god, Harry! You mean to say you just sat there and let me suffer when you had a ready made quick fix?" Andy said, as Hermione started whipping up a potion.
Harry sighed.
"Yes," He said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "I mean, really, you lived with me! You know how badly I used to go into one of my spells! Sorry, Andy, but if I shared it with you, I would have run out, and would foolishly have tried to brew some while I was dead drunk and would probably have blown myself up."
Andy sighed.
"Fair enough." She said, accepting a glass from Hermione, who looked amused, "Oh god, this is the worst stuff!"
Hermione smiled a bit as she cleared away the potion.
"Shouldn't have gotten drunk, then." She said.
Harry rolled his eyes.
"Like you haven't done it." He said sarcastically.
Hermione smiled.
"Like you have proof," She retorted, and Andy snickered.
Harry looked pensive for a moment.
"Nope," he said after a bit, "I really don't have anything on you."
Hermione smiled.
"Told you. Anyways, I'm off to work now, okay? You're still coming up to meet me for my lunch hour, right?" She asked, giving him a kiss.
"Of course." Harry said, and waved to her as she Apparated away.
Andy sighed as she sat down on the couch and turned on the television.
"Now, what's all this crap about me being famous?" She asked.
Harry pulled out the newspaper and showed it to her.
"Who's this Skeeter woman?" Andy asked after she'd read the article. "I'd like to give her a piece of my mind."
"She's a reporter whose purpose in life is to report on any and everything that ever happens in my life."
Andy raised her eyebrow.
"Sounds like a fun lady."
Harry shuddered.
"She's a bloody nightmare."
"Blood, Harry, what have I said about blood!" Andy said in a sing-song voice.
Harry sighed.
"What, you want me to say `freaking' now?" He said.
Andy wrinkled her nose.
"God, no, it sounds horrible when you say it….stupid accent of yours."
"You've got one as well, you know."
Andy smirked.
"Yeah, but at least I don't say bloody."
"You just won't give up on that, will you?" Harry sighed.
"Never," Andy declared, and stood up from the couch, "Right, well, I'm going over to visit Oliver, if that's quite alright with you. He happens to like my accent. Finds it sexy."
Harry covered his ears.
"Too much, Andy, too much! I seriously did NOT need to know that."
Andy stuck out her tongue as she walked out of the door.
o--o
Harry sighed as soon as the door shut. He was glad that Andy and Oliver were getting so close, but didn't want either of his friends to end up getting hurt if their relationship didn't work out.
He pondered on this for a moment more, and then decided to get up and see if Hedwig was around for him to send Hermione a letter telling her he might be a bit early for their lunch date.
He'd scarcely crossed the room when someone knocked on his door.
"Bugger." He said, and sighed as he opened it.
"Harry! Oh, oh, Harry, please, please I've done something horrible!"
It was Ginny, still in her Hogwarts uniform, and looking utterly terrified.
Harry let her in quickly, noticing how upset she was.
"What are you on about?" He asked, coldly.
Ginny stopped to look at him. Her face was terrified.
"Ron!" She gasped, "I…I it was…I was drunk! He m-made me follow him, I promise! I didn't mean to, Harry, I didn't! I was too weak!"
Harry watched her as she continued to splutter, and was forcibly reminded of the Ginny Weasley that he'd seen only moments after the Chamber of Secrets fiasco.
"Calm down and talk sensibly." He said irritably.
Ginny froze and turned to look at him.
"Yes, thank you, do you have tea?" She asked.
Harry looked confused.
"Erm…yes, would you like some?" He said, but as he turned to fix some, she grabbed hold of his arm.
"No! You-you've got to listen! It's imp-important! Its…he…kept me…put me under….god, oh god, what did I do?" Her eyes were wild once again.
Harry wrenched free of her grasp and stared at her in horror.
"Ginny?" He said uncertainly.
She'd put her head in her hands, but looked up at him.
"Yes? Oh, yes, I would quite love tea." She said.
Harry stood there still looking at her.
Something was not at all right.
"Ginny, are you…are you alright?" He asked.
Ginny started shaking uncontrollably.
"Help!" She cried, "Harry, please…don't let him…Ron…he wanted me to…used me….you…wanted to get at you….and her….Hermione! He knows, Harry, he knows it all! Ron….he did it….he said…said….he'd…was going to let him go…has what he wants….Harry, help him please!"
Harry grabbed Ginny, and without a second thought, Apparated her straight into St. Mungo's.
o--o
"I need a hand over here!" He yelled, as soon as their feet hit the ground in St. Mungo's waiting area.
Immediately, a huge crowd of Healers converged upon him
"Mr. Potter, what's the matter?"
Harry shoved Ginny towards them.
"I think she's under the Imperious. She needs help, right now." He said quickly.
The healer who had spoken to him looked horrified, and they quickly swept Ginny out of sight. Harry tried to follow but they told him to stay back.
So he went to Hermione.
It took him ages to find her, he'd been given wrong directions the first time by some dodgy looking custodian, but finally, he spotted her coming out of a patient's room.
"Hermione!" He yelled, and ran over to her.
She looked up, shocked.
"Harry? What's wrong?" She asked, pulling him aside from the stares they were receiving.
"G-Ginny," He gasped, "She came to see me and, god, `Mione…she's under the Imperious! It's so obvious now! She was acting just like Crouch did in fourth year…I brought her here."
Hermione looked horrorstruck.
"Oh my god…" She whispered, "Harry….they won't be able to help her!"
Harry sighed.
"Merlin, I never even thought of that," He ran a hand through his hair, "I should have taken her straight to the Auror office."
Hermione shook her head.
"No, no, they would have chained her down there," She said, "They're going to put her in an observation room, completely secure…anti-apparition wards and things like that."
Harry was looking lost.
"I don't know who did it to her," He sighed, "She couldn't make out a complete sentence and kept saying `he'. I need to go back to where she is."
Hermione bit her lip.
"Hang on, just a moment, will you?" She said, turning away, "I'm going to clock myself out…personal reasons…just let me tell my supervisor, and then we can go down together."
o--o
It was just as Harry had expected. All they were told was that no progress had been made, and that they would have to wait. Harry couldn't stand the thought of waiting, so he decided to write to the Weasleys to let them know what had happened. It seemed that all too quickly, they were there.
"What happened? What's wrong with my baby?" Mrs. Weasley demanded, coming up to Harry.
Harry swallowed. All his careful planning…the spell he'd done with Hermione was more than likely about to be unraveled.
"She's been under the Imperious," Harry said ignoring the looks he was getting from the Weasley sons, "and they're observing her now, but that's all we know."
Mrs. Weasley promptly began to cry, and sat down. Charlie and Bill hastened to comfort her, but Fred and George advanced towards Harry.
"Who did it?" They asked. "Who put her under it? Why? Why Ginny?"
Harry raised his hands in surrender.
"Guys, I promise, if I knew anything at all, I would tell you. Let's put aside grudges, shall we?"
Hermione turned to look at him.
"What grudges?" She asked.
Fred laughed sardonically.
"Really, Hermione." He said derisively.
"What?" She asked, "I don't know what grudges you're talking about!"
Harry swore softly, as George got into the conversation.
"Surely you're joking. Come on, I know you didn't forget."
Hermione shook her head obstinately.
"Why don't you just tell me again, then, if you're so sure I know."
Fred looked at her suspiciously.
"Well, for starters, you and your little love traitor apparently couldn't read the huge sign we posted on our door letting the entire world know that you were banned from there because of your disgusting behavior towards our dear brother and sister." George said nastily.
Harry tried to step in, but it was a little too late.
"Sign? I never saw a sign." Hermione insisted.
"Oh, but you did. Caused quite a scene, you did, and finally you and Harry went away."
Hermione turned confusedly to Harry.
"Harry, would you tell me what they're on about?" She asked.
Harry sighed.
"Perhaps, why don't we talk about this at home?"
"No, Harry, tell me. What is bloody going on?"
"Hermione, love, do you…happen to remember that day we went to Diagon Alley?" he asked, deciding to get it over with.
Hermione nodded.
"Well…you know how you woke up the next morning and couldn't remember a lot?"
Another nod.
"Well, the truth is, something did happen that day….we….kind of ran into the Weasleys, and they…said horrible things…and you were so upset, and I just couldn't stand seeing you hurting like that, so I sort of…altered your memory just a bit."
Silence met Harry's explanation.
"You--what?" Hermione choked out.
Harry looked pained.
"I only made you forget running into them, darling, I swear….I just didn't want you to hurt anymore."
Hermione was staring at him as though he was a murderer.
"And…and you were just…going to let me go on….without that…memory?" She whispered.
"Hermione, please…don't you see why…?" He leaned forward to take her hands, but she jerked away.
"Don't touch me right now, Harry, just…stay away…"
She turned away from him and went to a far corner of the waiting area.
Harry was left standing in the midst of a crowd of angry, but dumbstruck Weasleys, and he didn't like that at all, so he was relieved when Andy came running in.
"Harry!" She panted, as she came to a halt in front of him, "I only just heard! I…oh my god…I have news for you!"
"What?" Harry asked, looking pale.
"I'm moving out!"
"What? Why?" Harry asked.
"Well, the article I suppose…Oliver got really insecure and upset about it, and…god, Harry, it just feels right! Oh, and besides, you don't need me anymore! You've got Hermione now, and you're just fine! Isn't it great?"
Harry nodded numbly.
Everything was spinning wildly out of control.
"I…need…'scuse me…" He murmured to Andy, and started to walk towards Hermione, but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw who was hugging her.
It was Ron.
If anyone ever needed to have the effects of having your heart being completely ripped out and stomped on, they should go to Harry, because that was exactly what he was feeling.
"R-Ron." He shouted.
Ron looked up at him, but Harry didn't notice. He was staring at Hermione, who was wrapped in Ron's tight embrace, her face white and terrified.
"RON!" Mrs. Weasley ran past Harry, and swept her son into an embrace.
Harry and the others took a moment, but followed. Harry went straight past Ron, however, and grabbed at Hermione's arm.
"Wh-What's going on?" He asked.
Hermione turned to look at him, her face tortured.
"Oh, Harry…he doesn't remember…" She whispered.
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