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Authors' Note: Thanks again to all of you guys who have taken the time to read and give me feedback! Thanks so much!
Chapter Ten
There's No Place That Far
"If I had to run
If I had to crawl
If I had to swim a hundred rivers
Just to climb a thousand walls
Always know that I would find a way
To get to where you are
There's no place that far"
-Sara Evans (There's No Place That Far)
(Harry)
I blamed Hagrid for the way things had been going for the past few days. I had been able to think of little else but Hermione, thanks to him. Even when I tried to focus on something else, something or someplace would remind me of her.
Quidditch wasn't even a distraction. My thoughts of Hermione got in the way of my flying, which had been horrendous to say the least. It didn't help that Malfoy loved pointing this out to me every chance he got. He had taken to sitting in the stands during our practices and throwing out jeers and insults whenever he could.
I had taken to having arguments in my head over whether I could see her as more than my friend. The cold hard truth was that I didn't have much experience or success where matters of the heart were involved. You could definitely say that when it came to love and girls, I was about as clueless as Crabbe and Goyle. The whole fiasco with Cho Chang last year pretty much confirmed that.
Cho had thought that there was something more between Hermione and me. It wasn't just Hermione though, that had doomed that potential relationship. Cho had still been getting over Cedric. Besides that, I told myself, beyond Quidditch, Cho and I really didn't have that much in common. I knew now that what I had felt for her had been simple infatuation.
I could still remember how Hermione had to translate Cho's actions and words for him last year. I remembered how Ron had teased her that she'd needed to write a book about all this stuff. It would be nice to have some sort of book to consult to find answers for this. It wasn't that simple, though.
Why did all of this have to happen? Why couldn't things stay the same? Things had been so much simpler when we were 11 years old. We wouldn't be worrying about something like this if we were still 11 years old.
To make matters worse, ever since Ron had confessed to me his feelings toward Hermione, he'd taken to ask me for my opinion on everything about her. He wanted my help finding out her mailing address. I lied and said that I didn't know it and had no idea how we'd be able to get it. I also pointed out to him that any letter we sent would likely upset her parents, who obviously wanted to shut their daughter off from the wizarding community completely. He'd begrudgingly agreed with me.
He'd also taken to replaying things that had happened with her, which seemed pretty innocent to me. Did I think she might like him like that? Did I think she thought he was cute? For only the second time since we'd become friends, I'd started to avoid Ron. I was afraid that if I continued to listen to him go on and on about Hermione and his feelings, I would snap at him and that would just complicate things more than they needed to be at the moment.
So, I blamed Hagrid for the way things had turned out. He'd started me out on this train of thought, and I hadn't been able to get off of it. If I was being honest, I knew that it wasn't Hagrid's fault. What he'd said made sense, although I was reluctant to admit this to myself. If I truly only saw her as my friend, I wouldn't be so upset to find out that Ron liked Hermione. If I truly saw her as just my friend, I should wish Ron the best of luck as he pursued Hermione. I hadn't done that. I honestly didn't know if I could do that. I was at a loss.
What I did have, however, was an idea. After the last class of the day on Friday, I quickly made my way toward the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. I prayed that Professor Lupin would be in and wouldn't be too busy to chat.
Sure enough, Lupin was seated at his desk in front of the classroom, apparently writing something on a piece of parchment. I cleared my throat as I walked into the classroom. Lupin looked up from his letter and smiled warmly at me.
"Come on in, Harry," he said graciously. "Have a seat."
I took a seat at the desk directly in front of him. I just stared at him and fidgeted in my seat.
"Well, what brings you here on a Friday afternoon?" he asked me expectantly.
I bit my lower lip.
"Are you alright?" he asked me.
"Yeah," I said, nodding my head. "Well, no actually, I'm not."
"I'm afraid I don't understand," he said. "Is it something with your scar? It's not hurting again, is it?"
I shook my head no.
"Sirius? I know I haven't talked to you about it, but if you ever want to talk to someone about it, I'd like you to know that I'm here for you," he said.
"I know," I said. "It's not about Sirius."
"Alright, then," Lupin said, leaning forward on the desk. He rested his chin on his fist.
"Well, I was sort of wondering if maybe," I began, "you had someway of getting a Floo connection?"
He looked confused for a second as if this wasn't at all what he'd expected me to ask. "Well, as a matter-of-fact, I do have a connection. The fireplace in my office is set up on the network."
I smiled. "I sort of need a connection."
"I see," he said. "What for exactly? You know as well as I do, Harry, that students aren't permitted to leave the grounds except during Hogsmeade weekends and in the case of a family emergency."
"You've got to be kidding me," I said. "You are going to stand there as one of the founding members of the Marauders and lecture me about rules?"
He chuckled. "I wasn't lecturing you, Harry. I was just pointing out the rule. As a teacher, I have to at least put on the appearance of respecting the rules, even if I don't always follow them myself."
"So, let's have it, Harry," he continued. "This is tantamount to pulling teeth trying to get a straight answer out of you. Why do you need a connection? Who is it you want to see? Where is it you want to go?"
"Well, I need to visit someone," I said, avoiding his gaze. "It's an emergency, kind of."
"Are you sure this doesn't have anything to do with your scar?" he asked me, a serious expression coming over his face again.
"Positive," I said, exasperated. "Okay! If you must know, I need to go and see Hermione straightaway."
To my surprise and it must be said annoyance, the same knowing expression that Hagrid had worn a few days ago, came across Lupin's face.
"What is that look for?" I asked.
He started to laugh. "I'm sorry, mate," he said, between chuckles. "It's just that if Sirius, Merlin-bless him, were alive, he'd owe me 100 galleons."
"What are you on about?" I asked. "What for?"
"Well, he and I sort of had a bet on a certain green-eyed boy wizard and his best girl," Lupin said, dissolving into laughter again. "I kept telling him it was only a matter of time until you wised up to what was right in front of you. Sirius thought it would take a little longer, as you had a lot of your dad in you."
"You know," I began, "it's great that with all the stuff we've had to worry about over the years, you and Sirius found time to make wagers on my love life."
"Calm down, Harry," Lupin said. "It was just a bit of fun between friends."
"Well, I'm glad it was so amusing to you," I said hotly. "Now, are you going to help me or not?"
"Harry, I'd be glad to help you, but you don't even know where she is, do you?"
I looked down at the floor. "Actually, I know exactly where she is. I've gone to see her once before a few
days ago."
"How?" he asked.
"I had a friend set up a connection," I said. "I can't say anything more on that because I don't want to get this person in trouble."
"Tonks," Lupin said. "I swear, she's a hopeless romantic."
I didn't have time to find out how he'd known it was her, so I continued.
"Look, Professor, I know I'm asking a lot, and I wouldn't ask if this wasn't important, but I just need to see her. I have to know that she's okay. That's not all, though. A few days ago, Ron told me that he liked Hermione and this upset me. Hagrid said it was because I might have---well, actually, he said that I did have feelings for Hermione, too, which was why I was acting like this. Look, I know I'm rambling on, but I have to see her to find out if he's right. I need to see her. Please, help me."
Lupin got up from his desk and walked toward the front door of the classroom. He looked out into the hall before closing the door behind him. He turned around to face me, a twinkle in his eye.
"Well, what are you waiting for, Harry?" he said, walking toward his office. I sat there in the desk, just staring after him for a few seconds. "I believe Miss Granger is waiting."
(Hermione)
Friday was finally here. Thank the Lord! There seemed to be a light at the end of the tunnel. My parents were scheduled to meet with my guidance counselor, Ms. Reynolds, the following Monday. They hadn't been too thrilled with this news, but Ms. Reynolds had insisited and they'd finally relented to meet with her. As my father had reminded me, this didn't mean he was going to change his mind about the situation.
I checked my watch. It was just after 6:30 p.m. My parents were going out tonight to celebrate their 19th wedding anniversary. Apparently, my father had booked a reservation at one of the fanciest restaurants in the area and they had tickets to a play. Despite my angry feelings toward them, I had wished them a happy anniversary and told them I'd hoped they had a lovely time out.
I had camped out in front of the television in the living room. When I heard my mother come downstairs, I sat up on the couch. She did look pretty. She wore a nice black pants outfit that complimented her figure and she'd pulled her back into a nice chignon.
"Wow, mom," I whispered. "You look beautiful."
"Thanks, sweetie," she said. "Are you sure you're going to be okay by yourself?"
I nodded. "I'll probably just watch a movie or something."
"You could invite Kit over," she said.
"No, I can't," I said. "She's visiting her grandparents this weekend."
"Oh," my mom said. "Well, that's too bad. Are you sure you're going to be okay?"
"Mom, I'm not six years old anymore," I said, with a laugh. "I think I'll be alright here."
"She'll be fine, Karen," my dad said, coming down the stairs. "Wow!"
He'd just noticed my mother and grinned broadly at her. He looked handsome, too. He'd dressed up in a nice black suit.
"Wow, yourself," she said, grinning.
"Hermione," my dad said. "You have my cell phone number if you need me."
I nodded.
"You guys have a nice time," I said. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."
"Okay," my mother said, taking my dad's hand as they walked toward the front door. "Why don't you order a pizza or something? I left some money by the telephone."
I nodded. "You kids have fun, now. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."
I watched as they closed the door behind them.
As it was now October, it was getting colder during the evenings. This had been quite a nice change from the hot, humid summer we'd had. I'd started a fire in the fireplace and couldn't help feeling cozy as I snuggled up on the couch and watched my movie. Kit had let me borrow it. She'd said it was one of her favorites. It was the movie "Grease". It was a musical and I was quite enjoying it when I couldn't shake the feeling that someone was looking at me.
I looked around the room and did a double take as I looked into the fireplace and saw Harry's face flashing in the flames.
"Harry?" I asked softly.
"Hermione," he said. "Is the coast clear?"
"Yes," I said, getting up from the couch and standing in front of the fire. I could barely contain my excitement at seeing him.
"Hold on, a minute," he said. "Stand back now."
I did as I was told and felt my heart racing as I waited for him to come through. A couple of minutes later, he appeared.
Even covered in soot and ash, he still looked positively adorable.
"I tell you," he said, dusting himself off. "No matter how many times you do that, you never get used to it."
I threw my arms around him. He laughed as he hugged me back.
"What are you doing here?" I asked him, still holding him tight.
"Lupin helped me," he said, when we finally let go of each other. "Where are your mum and dad?"
"It's their anniversary tonight," I said. "They've gone out for dinner and to a play. They won't be home for hours."
He beamed at me, a twinkle in his eye.
"Harry," I said cautiously. "Are you sure this is okay? I mean, nothing's wrong, is it? Nothing's happened."
"No," he said, taking his wand from his pocket and performing a cleaning charm on the floor and his clothes.
"Well, why would you take a chance like this again?" I asked.
"I wanted to see you," he said, a serious expression on his face. I felt as if I would turn to butter just looking at him. For the first time, I noticed that he'd taken my hand.
"How much time do you have?" I asked, smiling.
"Lupin said I could have four hours," he said.
"Well, what do you want to do?" I asked.
"How about we go out?" he said. "You can show me Atlanta."
I had never been known to be someone who was spontaneous or devil-may-care, but at that moment I didn't care.
"Okay," I said, a smile playing at my lips. "Let me just go upstairs and change."
I let go of his hand and put my hand to my hair. I still wore the same blue jeans and red sweater I'd worn to school that morning.
"You don't have to do that, Hermione," he said. "You look perfect just like that."
I couldn't help blushing as he smiled at me.
"Just throw on some shoes and let's go," he said.
I nodded and returned his smile. I quickly pulled on my trainers and smiled nervous at Harry.
"I, um, should probably leave my parents a note, just in case," I said.
"You're not going to tell them the truth," he said, worried.
"Of course not," I said, reaching for the pad beside the phone. I picked up a pencil and scribbled a quick note to my parents.
Mum & Dad:
I hope you had a good time at the play and at the restaurant. A friend of mine from school dropped by unexpectedly and
we went out for a bite to eat. I'll be back soon!
Love,
Hermione
After I finished, I showed the note to Harry. He smiled.
"And I'm not even lying," I said proudly. "You are a friend of mine from school and you certainly showed up unexpectedly and we are going out for a bite to eat."
"I believe we've had a bad influence on you, Hermione," he said, laughing as I led him out the
door.