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Author's Note: Thanks again for the reviews! They keep me going! I hope you like this next chapter. I know this is short, but I hope you like it.
Chapter Eight
Complicated
"I'm so scared that the way I feel,
Is written all over my face
When you walk into the room,
I wanna find a hiding place.
We used to laugh, we used to hug, the way that old friends do.
But now, a smile and a touch of your hand,
Just makes me come unglued.
Such a contridiction, do I lie or tell the truth.
Is it fact or fiction,
Oh the way I feel for you."
-Carolyn Dawn Johnson
"Complicated"
(Harry)
Somehow, I managed to get back to the Common Room a little after 8 a.m. As everyone was already in class, the Common Room was deserted, thankfully. With a quick glance at my watch, I cleaned up the mess of soot and ash that littered the floor and my clothes. I quickly dashed upstairs to my dorm room to change into my school uniform and cloak. Within minutes, I had changed, grabbed my bag and ran through the portrait hole, heading in the direction of Professor McGonagall's class. I knew she wouldn't be pleased.
Not pleased, was putting it lightly. She was positively livid when I rushed into the room, out of breath and winded. The entire class turned to watch as I made my way toward my desk. She wasn't going to let me off the hook so easily, though. Right before I sat down, she descended upon me.
"So nice of you to join us, Potter," she said, giving me a look mixed with disappointment and disdain. "I am so sorry that we don't schedule these classes on your time, but it is so good of you to come and join us when you were ready to grace us with your presence. I trust you have a good excuse for why you were nearly forty minutes late to class?"
"Sorry, professor," I muttered. She stepped back and I was able to take my usual seat beside Ron.
"I'm waiting," she said.
"I, uh, took an early morning walk and lost track of time," I said sheepishly.
"Well, you're tardiness has forced me to take five points from Gryffindor," she said. "See that this doesn't happen again, Potter."
With one more look of disparagement in my direction, she turned back to finish the lesson. I exhaled, relieved that she'd bought my story. It was pretty lame, I admit, but it did the trick just the same. I quickly grabbed a piece of parchment and my quill from my bag, but that was just for show. I knew that I wouldn't be able to concentrate on what McGonagall was saying. I was too busy reliving my visit with Hermione in my head. It had been so great to see her again. He would do it all again just to see the look of surprise and elation in her eyes when she woke up to find him in her bedroom.
In the five years that I'd known her, she and I had been around each other, alone and in the company of others, loads of times. We knew each others looks and tones of our voices. We knew when to leave each other alone and when to offer a friendly ear or shoulder. That's what happens when you're friends. This time, though, had been different, to say the least. Everything about this visit had been different.
I suppose I could chalk it up to not seeing her in months, but I knew better than that. It wasn't just that. Maybe it was because she'd kissed me. Albeit, it was a quick kiss on the lips, it was still a kiss. She'd kissed me before. The first time had been that day at Kings Cross Station at the end of fourth year. That had taken me by surprise, too, but it had just been a peck on the cheek. Maybe, I was reading way too much into this. After all, I had just risked expulsion by using an unauthorized Floo Connection to visit her. I'd just given her a present, too. She was probably just showing her gratitude. That's all it was, right?
My thoughts on Hermione were interrupted though, when I felt someone nudging me in the side and calling my name.
"Harry?"
It was Ron. I focused my attention on him and saw that the rest of my classmates were busily exiting the classroom. Ron was gathering up his paper and quill.
"You planning on spending the rest of the day here with McGonagall?" he asked, watching with a smile as I quickly gathered up my untouched parchment and quill. "I would advise against it. I don't think you are her favorite person at the moment."
"Yeah, right," I said, following Ron out the door.
We started the walk to Flitwick's class in silence, but Ron asked me the question that I knew would come.
"Are you alright?" he asked me finally. "I mean, you were gone when I woke up this morning. I was worried."
"Yeah, I'm fine," I said absently. "You know, you are starting to sound more and more like your mother everyday. It must be the whole prefect thing. I think it's going to your head."
"Sod off, Harry," he said. "Seriously, where did you head off to this morning?"
"It's like I told McGonagall, Ron," I said. "I woke up early this morning and couldn't sleep so I thought I'd take a walk. That's it."
I could tell he didn't buy this story. Lying had never been one of my strong suits.
"You're sure that's all," he asked me, as we rounded the final corner before reaching the classroom.
I nodded, and to my great relief, he didn't push the issue any further. Once we entered the room, we took our seats and Ron struck up a conversation with Dean and Seamus. As I sat down, I couldn't help thinking of Hermione again. Try as I might, I couldn't stop thinking about her. I remembered how my heart had sped up at the sight of her, soundly asleep in her bed. She had looked so peaceful, so calm, so…beautiful.
"No, no," I told myself. "This is Hermione. Hermione. She's my friend! I can't go around thinking of her like that." But, then again, how good did it feel just to see her smile at me again? How good did it feel to hug her? How good did it feel to get all that stuff off his chest? I'd known that of everyone, she'd be the one I could share that with. I was comfortable with her. I knew she'd understand. She always understood.
This wasn't right. I shouldn't be thinking of her like that for a number of reasons. One, she was my friend. Two, I suspected Ron had feelings for her. Three, I had other things to occupy my time. If I allowed myself to think about this, I'd be opening up a bigger can of worms than I was prepared to open.
(Hermione)
I awoke sometime after 7:00. Truthfully, I hadn't slept since I said goodbye to Harry. How could I be expected to sleep after that? I couldn't believe he had done that! What's more I couldn't believe how I'd been so brazen as to kiss him like I did. I was worried that I may have made a mistake. Despite my apprehension over this, I couldn't stop smiling.
I quickly showered and dressed for school and looked on my dresser where the necklace and charm lay sparkling. It truly was the most special gift that anyone had ever given me. I looked at it and smiled before putting it around my neck and hooking the clasp.
"Hermione!" my mother called from just outside my door. "You are planning on going to school, aren't you? You need to get a move on."
"I'm ready," I said, quickly, opening my door. My mother looked surprised to see me dressed and ready. From her tone, I think she expected me to be sulking about in my pajamas.
"Oh, good," she said. "There's some toast and marmalade downstairs for you and fresh orange juice."
"Okay," I said, grabbing my book bag. I gave my mum a bright smile before breezing past her. "It's a beautiful day, isn't it?"
"Uh, yes," she said, following me down the stairs. "Are you feeling alright?"
"Fine," I said. "I am absolutely perfect!"
She still looked skeptical as she watched me take a seat at the kitchen table and help myself to some toast and marmalade. I smiled warmly at my father, who was nursing a cup of coffee and looking over the morning newspaper.
"Good morning, Daddy," I said.
"Good morning, sweetheart," he said. I saw him and my mother exchange nervous looks. I suppressed the urge to tell them not to get the idea that I was finally coming to grips with the situation. I was just too happy right now to worry about them. This was the one ray of sunshine I'd had in weeks. They weren't going to spoil it for me. Nothing would spoil this for me.
"I forgot what a beautiful smile you had," my dad said. "We haven't seen it in a long time. I hope it sticks around."
"Me, too," my mother said.
"Things are definitely looking up," I said. "Things will be back to normal soon. You can count on it."
My father beamed at me. "I'm so glad to hear you say that!"
We ate the rest of our breakfast in silence. My dad finished reading his paper, my mother was reading a magazine, and I was thinking about Harry.
"That's a pretty necklace, Hermione," my mother said. "Where did you get that? Is it new? I don't remember ever seeing that before."
My smile faded. "Oh, you mean this necklace?" I absentmindedly put my fingers on the charm. "You remember how Kit and I went to the mall a couple of days ago? I picked it up at one of the shops."
"It's beautiful," she said. "It looks beautiful on you."
I beamed at her. "Thanks! I fell in love with it the moment I saw it."
She smiled and looked at her watch. "We'd better get a move on, Robert."
"Yeah," he said. "Come on, Hermione. We'll give you a ride."
The school day went by in a daze for me. I took the bus home and walked up the walkway to our house and saw Kit sitting on my front steps.
"Hey," she said.
"Hey," I said.
"How was your day?" she asked me. "Mine was average. Someone pulled the fire alarm before fifth period and we spent the rest of the afternoon outside."
"That's good," I said, somewhat in a daze.
"Yeah," Kit said, obviously noticing that I hadn't heard a word she'd said. "And I'm thinking of quitting school and joining the circus where I hope to become a acrobat and marry the bearded lady."
"That's nice," I said. "Wait a minute, what?"
"Where were you just now?" she asked.
"At school," I said, taking my key from my backpack, and opening the door. I held it open for Kit to walk through and I followed suit. "Where else would I be?"
"No," Kit said. "You were in some other world just then. In fact, you are smiling so brightly, I didn't even know you had that many teeth. Spill your guts, girl. What happened?"
"Hold on," I said, taking hold of Kit's arm. I looked around the house and called out, "Mom? Dad? Are you here?"
There was no response. With a conspiratorial look at Kit, I led her into the kitchen and sat her down at the bar.
"What's the big secret?" she asked me.
"Harry was here," I said, beaming at her.
"He came to visit you all the way from London?" she asked me, a smile creeping across her face. "Hermione! That's amazing! No wonder you're so happy!"
I could only nod.
"Wow," she said. "How long is he here for? When do I get to meet this guy?"
I frowned. "Well, you don't get to meet him. He wasn't here for very long. My parents don't even know he was here. They'd probably flip out if they knew he'd been here."
"I don't understand why you're parents are so against him. I mean, he sounds like a great guy," Kit said. "Most parents would love for their daughter to meet guys like that."
"Well, they like him," I said. "They just didn't like the environment that he and I were living in."
"What kind of 'environment' were you living in?" Kit said, confused.
"It's complicated," I said.
Part of me wished I could tell Kit everything. She'd probably laugh in my face if I told her the truth. She was a Muggle, after all. She was, though, my one true friend here. I was afraid that if I told her the truth, she'd run far away from me and I'd have no one here.
The truth was that I had nearly given up hope on ever getting back to Hogwarts before Harry's visit. I'd resigned myself to thinking that this was the lot I had in life, and I had to deal with it. I felt like there was nothing else I could do, but Harry convinced me that all was not lost. He did care about me. He took a big risk doing what he did last night. He didn't have to do that, but he had done it. Last night, he gave me something other than a necklace. He gave me back my faith. I would need that if I was going to make it through this.
"Complicated?" Kit asked me. "Well, I can understand that. Whoa! Look at that necklace! Hermione!"
"It's a late birthday present from Harry," I said, beaming.
"Oh my God!" she exclaimed. "It's absolutely beautiful."
"Thanks," I said. "I think so, too. I couldn't believe it when he gave it to me. I wasn't expecting anything. In the past, he's always given me a book or something, because he knows how much I like to read."
"Well, this is different, alright," Kit said. "I think your Mr. Potter thinks a lot more of you than you think."
"Really?" I asked her.
"I've got people I consider good friends that I don't give gifts like this, too," Kit said, with a laugh. "I don't think I've ever given my parents a present as nice as this. It's only a matter of time, Hermione."
"It's complicated," I said.
"Well, I think it's getting clearer by the second," Kit said.
I hoped she was right.