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Authors' note: Thanks for the kind reviews. Please let me know what you think!
Chapter Six
King of Pain
"I have stood here before inside the pouring rain,
With the world turning circles running 'round my brain
I guess I'm always hoping that you'll end this reign
But it's my destiny to be the king of pain"
"King of Pain" by The Police
(Harry)
How could things seem to be on the verge of falling apart, but also seem almost normal? For one thing, there had been no word on the whereabouts of Lord Voldemort. Many people took the "no news is good news" approach to this and went about their lives as normally as possible, but not me. Personally, I felt that he was lulling us all into a false sense of security. Then, he would attack and we wouldn't be prepared.
Sometimes, I wondered why all of this had to fall on me. I was only 16 years old, for Merlin's sake. Most guys who are 16 years old aren't worried about saving the world from the Dark Lord. Most guys hadn't just been told by Albus Dumbledore that in order for one of us to live, the other would have to die. There would be no other way around it. I know that I keep going on about it, but it's a hard thing to escape. The knowledge of that prophecy has haunted me from the first moment I heard it. At times, I did feel it was a bit much. At these times, I tried to remember how Hermione had mentioned my "saving people" thing. I suppose I did have that. She could read me like a book. It was painful to think of Hermione. It didn't seem right to be here without her. She was as much a part of Hogwarts to me as anything. She and Ron were my family. They meant so much to me. Their friendship had kept me going. It was like Dumbledore had told me, the bond between us was a special one. I had to do what I could to hold on to that.
Ron had been uncharacteristically tight-lipped about Hermione. He hadn't mentioned her in a few days, and I didn't really know what to make of that. I knew he missed her as much as I did, maybe that was why he hadn't said anything. He'd never been one to be too open about his feelings, especially toward Hermione. Personally, I think his feelings toward her changed during our fourth year. He can say what he wants but I think he finally noticed that our best friend was a girl that night of the Yule Ball. Truth be told, I think that was the first time I'd noticed, too. I could still see her, walking in the Great Hall on the arm of Viktor Krum, confident but nervous. She'd looked beautiful that night, there was no denying that. Ron and I, though, had never talked about it----seeing Hermione in a different light other than the one we saw her in. She was our friend---it didn't matter that she was a girl. She was just Hermione.
She was about as different as night and day from Cho Chang. Looking back on it all now, I think Cho was some sort of ideal I had set up in my mind. I'd never really gotten to know her, the real her. I only saw her as the pretty, popular girl that she was. This had been unfair to her, I know. Hindsight being 20/20 and all, I know now that it would never have worked out between she and I. For one thing, she was still getting over Cedric. For another, she had this crazy idea that Hermione and I were more than friends.
Come to think of it, Cho wasn't the only one who'd had that idea. All of fourth year, what with Rita Skeeter's articles about my "finally finding love at Hogwarts" rubbish, people had bought into the idea that Hermione and I were some sort of couple. Colin Creevey had been interviewed in the story and he'd said that we were never seen out of the company of each other. Then, Viktor Krum had approached me and told me how Hermione talked of me often and that he thought there was something between us. Not to mention, Cho going crazy over my wanting to cut short our date to go and meet with Hermione about an important matter. For Merlin's sake, I was trying to get people to know that Voldemort was back. At the time, The Daily Prophet was painting the picture of me as some attention-seeking, tragic hero who made up stories to feed his need for fame.
It had been Hermione's idea to use that horrible Skeeter woman to get the word out. I can remember how impressed I'd been with her that day. She amazed me time and time again at how clever she was. We gave her a hard time, but I don't think you'd get Ron or me to admit that we'd been crap without her.
As I said before, things had returned to a somewhat semblance of normalcy in the past couple of weeks. I'd been approached to continue the D.A. training lessons, but there wasn't really a point in continuing when we finally had a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher who could really teach us how to defend ourselves against what we could possibly face. Dumbledore had received permission to rehire Remus Lupin. Some parents had expressed concern about a known werewolf teaching their children, but Dumbledore had assuaged their fears by assuring them that Lupin was taking every possible precaution and would never hurt a student.
Angelina was busily trying to put together the training schedule for Quidditch. My life-long ban (imposed by Umbridge) had been lifted and along with Angelina, Katie, Alicia, Ron and Ginny, we were going to hold tryouts for a beater soon. Life was going on, but I couldn't shake the fact that something was missing.
As I told you before, Hermione had always been there for me. She needed me to come through for her. It was the least I could do for her, after all that she'd done for me. That was why I had sent that urgent letter off a few nights ago. I'd known it was a risk to do this, not only to me, but to the letter's recipient. I also knew that you never got anywhere in life by letting things go and praying for the best. Sometimes, you had to take action and you had to take a chance. That's what I had done.
Luckily, I hadn't had to worry too much about setting up a meeting. Though I didn't like waiting, there was no other option, but to schedule it for the first weekend in October---our first weekend visit of the year to Hogsmeade.
When that Saturday finally rolled around, I'd been so anxious about my covert meeting, that I'd barely been able to eat breakfast. Ron had asked me what my problem was, but I'd just told him I wasn't very hungry. We'd set off after breakfast with Neville, Dean, Seamus and Ginny for Hogsmeade.
Getting away from Ron had been hard to do. I'd left him just outside of Honeydukes'. I'd told him that I needed to go and check something out in one of the post offices. Luckily, he didn't question me and said I could catch up with him when I was finished.
Yes, I still felt guilty for not sharing any of this with Ron. I tried to make myself feel better about it by saying that none of this could actually end up panning out. It would be a shame to get Ron's hopes up and have to dash them so quickly. That was what I was telling myself, but I didn't believe a word of it, not for a minute.
So, I'd made my way down to the Hog's Head. As I walked through the doors to the pub, I saw that the place hadn't changed much in the year that I'd been there last. It was still small and dingy and still had that goat-like smell to it. As it was still early in the day, there weren't very many people there. There were only a few people scattered about among the bar. The man behind the bar watched me warily as I strode up to the bar.
"What do you want?" he asked me firmly.
"Butterbeer, please," I said.
He didn't say a word as he reached under the bar and pulled out a bottle and put it down on the bar.
"Two sickles," he said, holding out his hand. I reached into my pocket and took out my money. After paying for it, I grabbed the bottle and headed for one of the empty tables in the back of the bar.
I took another glance at my watch. We were scheduled to meet after 11 a.m. It was now just past 11. I hoped Tonks wouldn't be too much longer.
Luckily, fate was on my side. She came striding in the doors a few moments later. She had said she'd be dressed inconspicuously. If this was her idea of inconspicuous, I would hate to see what she did when she really wanted to stand out. She was dressed in a pair of pink, acid-washed jeans with a neon green t-shirt that had a printed design embroidered on it that spelled out the word "Charming". She topped this look off with a pair of green, high-top trainers. Her hair was dyed a platinum blonde and was styled in ringlets. She wore a bright smile as she caught sight of me.
"Hiya, Harry!" she exclaimed, taking a seat across from me.
"Hi, Tonks," I said warmly. "Thanks for agreeing to meet with me."
"No problem," she said. The man behind the counter motioned to her to see if she wanted to place an order. "Nothing for me, thanks."
"So," I said. "Did you---I mean, were you able to-?"
"Get you a Floo Connection?" she asked softly.
I nodded.
"You bet your sweet arse, I got you a Floo Connection," Tonks said proudly. "Don't worry. It's a secret connection, totally undetectable. I have a mate who works in the connection department. She owes me a favor. I got her backstage to see The Weird Sisters a couple of weeks ago and she said she owed me one, so this is her way of repaying me. It's a four-hour block, Harry. You need to make sure that you're not detected. If you miss the connection back, you could be stuck on Hermione's side and that wouldn't be good."
I nodded. "When is the connection for?"
She looked at me sheepishly. "It'll be tricky, Harry. It's on Monday, October 6th," she said.
"What's wrong with that?" I asked confused.
"Well, it's not the date, but the time of the connection," she said. "The only time I could set up is at 6:00 a.m. our time."
She was right. That wasn't a good thing. Classes began every morning at 8:00 a.m. My absence would be noticed, there was no doubt about that.
"It's gets even more complicated, Harry. You know with the time difference and all, it will be 6:00 a.m. our time, but where Hermione is it will be 1:00 a.m. You've got to make sure you aren't noticed. I know with Floo, it's a little hard to be inconspicuous, but you're going to have to try. If her parents find you, it could be a disaster."
I nodded determinedly. "Well, it might not be the most appropriate time, but it will work. I mean, it has to work. On the bright side, I know no one will be in the common room that early. It should be good to go, but this whole thing about Hermione's fireplace, that's another story."
Tonks nodded. "I know. Could you imagine, Hermione's mum and dad sound asleep and the next thing they know you come sliding through their fireplace. You know, that happened to me once. I was sound asleep and this ex-boyfriend of mine just showed up unannounced. Scared me half to death, mind you, but I fixed him something good. I put a curse on him where every time he would open his mouth to speak, he'd squeal like a pig. It was a sight to see, let me tell you."
"Tonks," I said, wanting to get her back on topic. "Are you sure this is okay? I mean, I know you've taken a big chance to do this form me."
"Not just you, Harry," she said, smiling at me. "It's for Hermione, too. You know, I got to know her really well when she was here last summer at 12 Grimmauld Place. She's a great girl. I imagine she's missing you something fierce right about now."
"Well, we miss her, too," I said. "Ron and I both miss her a lot."
Tonks winked at me. "Well, you'll get to see her, soon. Just think about that."
"Thanks to you, I will," I said, smiling at her. "I really don't know what to say to thank you."
"Tell Hermione to hang in there," she said, getting up from her chair. "Tell her I said hello."
"I will," I said. "Thanks."
"You said that, already," she said.
"I figured it bared repeating again," I said.
"Good luck, Harry," she said, turning on her heels and walking out of the bar.
I followed suit a few seconds later and made my way back to Honeydukes' to meet back up with Ron. On the way back, I passed a shop and the sight in a window made me stop. After staring at the object behind the glass, I walked into the shop. I knew what I had to do.
Sunday went by in a blur. I tried to catch up on my homework, which was growing in length everyday. Ron, too, was trying to catch up, but he'd given up when Dean challenged him to game of chess. When nightfall finally came, I was happy to give up on my futile attempt at homework. If Hermione could see me now, I thought, she'd tell me I needed to concentrate harder on my studies. I couldn't help but laugh. She'd be able to tell me that in person, very shortly.
I'd set my alarm to go off a little after 5:30 a.m. When it did, I awoke with a start. Luckily, none of my roommates heard it. I quickly put my glasses on and surveyed the room. The only light came from a tapered candle that was sitting on the table in the middle of the room. I could see that everyone was still fast asleep. The room was quiet, save for Neville's snores. Picking up my wand, I muttered "Lumos" and watched as my wand tip illuminated. I placed it on my bedside table and quickly dressed in a pair of jeans, a deep blue sweater and a pair of trainers. When I finished dressing, I picked my wand up and pulled out the packet of Floo powder I'd nicked from Professor McGonagall's classroom.
I took one last look around the room, before heading out. I quickly made my way down the stairs to the common room. Thankfully, it was deserted, just as I thought it would be. This was it. I was nervous. After all that I had been through, this was making me nervous? It was a little hard to believe, but it was.
"Please let this work," I said, as I made my way toward the fireplace. "Please let this work."
I took a pinch of the floo powder and stepped up to the fireplace, and threw the powder into the flames. The flames turned emerald green and I stepped in and quickly shouted, "124 Whispering Pines Road, Atlanta, Georgia!"
Floo Powder had never been one of my favorite ways to travel. I felt the familiar feeling that I was being sucked down a drain. The sound was almost deafening. This was longer than I'd ever remembered it being, probably since I had a greater distance to travel. I kept my eyes closed, trying to block out the loud sound, which sounded like a freight train. Finally, I heard a "whoosh" sound as I seemed to be descending. Within seconds, I felt the cold brick on my skin.
Finally opening my eyes, I gingerly got to my feet. I was covered with soot, as was the floor of what I hoped was the Grangers' new living room floor. It was dark, but the light from the moon illuminated the room. Looking around the room, I was relieved to not hear the sounds of footsteps. Apparently, the Grangers' hadn't heard my arrival. Surely, if they had, they'd been downstairs in seconds flat.
Looking at the mess of soot and ash on the floor, I took out my wand, and muttered, "Scourgify!" Within seconds, the floor was spotless.
"Lumos", I whispered and my wand tip was lit. I was able to see their house for the first time. It was very nice and big. To my great relief, I caught sight of a picture of Hermione with her parents on the fireplace mantle. This was most definitely the house!
Barely containing my relief and excitement at being there, I quickly made my way to the staircase and ascended them to the second floor of the house. The first door I tried was a bathroom. The second was a guest bedroom. There were two other doors to try at the end of the hall.
"Great," I whispered.
Taking a chance, I decided to choose the door on the left. My hand was shaking as I placed it on the doorknob and turned the doorknob slowly.
To my delight and relief, this was Hermione's bedroom. She was sound asleep in her twin bed. I took a look around her room and found that it was somewhat messy. Though I'd never been in her bedroom before, either here or in her old home, I'd never imagined it to be messy. She always struck me as someone who would keep her room neat as a pin, but these weren't normal circumstances. The majority of her belongings were still in the unpacked boxes.
I took a deep breath and walked closer to her bed. My heart leapt just looking at her. I attributed it to not seeing her in such a long time, but something inside of me couldn't shake the feeling that it was something different. Trying to get that idea out of my mind, I tentatively put my hand out to wake her.
She stirred a little, but seemed to fall right back to sleep. I shook her again, and she opened her eyes at me.
"Hi, Harry," she said sleepily. "You know you really shouldn't be here in the girls' dorm because-"
She had turned over, but froze as she realized what she'd just seen. I couldn't help laughing.
"H-h-arry?" she asked, opening her eyes fully.
"Last time I checked," I said beaming at her.
"Am I dreaming?" she said, sitting up in her bed. I had took a seat right on the edge of the bed. "Are you real?"
"I think so," I said.
"What are you doing here?" she whispered, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Well, I was in the neighborhood," I said, trying to crack a joke. She stared back at me, seemingly trying to convince herself that I was really here and that this wasn't just a dream.
"Are you going to keep staring at me or are you going to give me a hug?" I said, holding out my arms to her. Within seconds, she'd pulled back her bed sheets and comforter and we embraced in a big hug.
"I missed you so much!" she said.
"I missed you too, Hermione," I said. "You have no idea how much."