DISCLAIMER: HARRY POTTER, characters, names, and all related indicia are trademarks of Warner Bros. © 2001. Bradley Stone is my own original character. I am just a poor girl who is trying to pass the time until Harry Potter 6.
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Hermione sat there for the longest time. She had been waiting to hear those words for so long and now all she could do was sit there. Even if she had wanted to speak, she couldn't have. Harry had just poured his heart out to her. Was she just supposed to go with him and leave Brad?
She vaguely heard Harry say something more and walk out. Hermione wanted to run after him and kiss him to tell him that they would find a way through this, but she couldn't. She finally got up from her chair and walk aimlessly around her place. What was this? The note he had sent her, but it wasn't open. Hermione looked at it for a moment. The letter was addressed to her.
'He must have dropped it,' she thought to herself.
Dearest Hermione,
I have put you in a terrible position, and I am sorry. I will come to your wedding tomorrow and be the supportive best friend that everyone knows me as. You never have to tell anyone because we can just forget that this ever happened. I will always be here for you though, no matter what.
Your friend,
Harry
"Your friend?" Hermione said.
She ran upstairs to her room and quickly found a box under her bed. When she opened it, she looked down at all of the letters he had ever sent her. Every single one ended in love, Harry.
"Your friend. Oh no."
Harry had truly given up.
Harry had been up since dawn. He had had a terrible time staying asleep and his summoned pillow was soaking wet with his tears. He reached in his pocket and found something small.
"Won't be needing this anymore," he said to himself.
After sobbing for a few more minutes, he apparated back into his house to get some breakfast. He was just pouring the milk when his senses went haywire. Someone was in his house.
Harry left his cereal and walked into the dining room as quietly as he could. When he couldn't find anything, he walked into the next room. After he had searched all of the rooms and found nothing, he went back to the kitchen. He picked up his bowl, turned around, and almost dropped the bowl.
"'Mione?" he said softly.
Her eyes were red and puffy from crying, but Harry still thought she looked as radiant as ever. He put his bowl back down and walked over to her.
"There, there, no more tears," he said as he enveloped her in a hug.
"Harry, we need to talk," she said in between sobs.
He led her over to the dining room table and sat her down in a chair and he took the one next to her.
"Take your time, sweet angel," he said to her.
Hermione had never noticed it until now. He always called her an angel. There were so many signs that she should've have seen and didn't until now.
"First of all, I want to apologize for leaving you hanging last night," she began.
"'Mione, that's fine and you--"
"No, let me finish. You came to tell me the things that I had been waiting to hear, but I had given up already. You are so much stronger than me and you always will be, but last night, you gave up too."
"I couldn't bear to think about that. If my strongest best friend gave up, then there wasn't any hope for us, right? So then I came over here straight away. After searching your house, I knew you were on the roof so all I could do was wait. So I did, and while I was waiting I noticed so many new things."
"You always ended your letters to me with love. You have only pictures of me next to your bed. You've kept only my letters. There were so many signs, but I failed to notice any of them."
"Then I started thinking about Brad. He has never done any of these things for me. My love for him doesn't even hold a candle to my love for you."
"That first day on the train to Hogwarts, I was obsessed with you. I had read all about you. Later on, that obsession grew to friendship. Together, we solved puzzles that even the wisest of wizards had failed to solve. After you started dating Cho, I realized that I liked you more than just a friend, but it was just a crush. With every girl that you dated, I became angry with you. I only realized why when I was speaking with Lavender. She asked me why we weren't dating? Of course, at the time, I said it was ludicrous, but after a while, I started to ask myself the same question."
"Shortly after you left, I did go to see Molly, but the things I wanted to tell you, couldn't be said in a letter. I tried writing that letter a thousand times. I knew that I had to wait for you to come home, but by then, there was a new obstacle."
"'Mione, that's all wonderful, but I'm--"
"No, please let me finish or I may make the biggest mistake of my life today," she begged.
Harry nodded reluctantly and let her continue.
"Brad was there for me when you couldn't be, so, not knowing of anything else, I thought it was love, but it wasn't; it was only friendship. The same type of friendship I have with Ron, but even then, Ron's has more experience."
"Then last night, you pledged your love to me. I had been waiting so long to hear you say those things to me that I thought, at first, that I was dreaming, but the pain was real. When you left, you took something with you that I can never get back."
"What was that, 'Mione?" he asked.
"You stole my heart."
"Well it's about time!" someone said from behind them.
They both turned and looked to see Ron standing in the doorway.
"You two have been dancing around your feelings for so long, I was starting to think about giving up hope."
"Ron, what are you doing here?" Harry asked.
"Well, my mum said that you came to see her last night and that she spilled the beans, so I came to see how you were doing."
"Excuse us, Ron, but I have waited to long to do something, so I must do it now," Hermione said with a grin.
"By all means, don't let me stop you," Ron said with a knowing smile.
Hermione looked at Harry and then kissed him, full on the lips. Her tongue parted his lips and they continued like this for several seconds.
"Alright, I think that is enough for now."
"Please stop."
"Hermione, we have a wedding to crash!"
Only then did they stop. Hermione had forgotten about her wedding. Even if it had only been an appointment, it still meant a lot to her, but it was to the wrong man.
"What will I tell him?" Hermione asked.
"It's okay, we'll be right behind you."
The three of them apparated to Bradley's flat. Hermione looked at them and then walked inside, leaving Harry and Ron outside.
The boys waited outside for two hours. They listened closely for any yelling so that they could barge in and beat Brad for yelling at her. They really wanted to do that.
"Do you think they are even in there?" Ron asked.
"I don't know how they would get out without me knowing. I can feel her in there," Harry said.
"You can feel her? That has to be weird," Ron said.
"Sometimes, but its not just her, its all of my friends, or who I am close to."
"Like me too?" Ron asked.
"Unfortunately. Very unfortunate when you're at Quidditch practice," Harry said with a chuckle.
"Please try not to feel me, okay?"
They laughed for a minute and then were silent again. That had to be an intense conversation in that house and Harry didn't want to miss too much of it because he was talking. Harry hadn't told Ron about that and he didn't plan to. It was like the Extendable Ears but with more power.
Suddenly the door opened.
"You two can come in now."