Disclaimer: Not mine. If it were, Harmony shippers would be celebrating.
A/N: My response to the "Hermione's sister" challenge by Strawberry Nerd. You can find it here: http://talk.portkey.org/index.php?showtopic=26786 . I hope you'll like the story, it will start from HBP, during sixth year, but hopefully this new character will help change things, uh? ;)
A Sister's Influence
Chapter Four: The Morning After
When Harry woke up the next morning, he had a purpose. Quickly showering and dressing, he went down to the common room, hoping to find Hermione there. He needed to talk with her in private, that was the reason he woke up earlier than usual.
He knew she always woke up early.
However, his hope of finding her there was disrupted when he set foot inside the common room. There was someone there, but it was not Hermione.
"Harry" Ginny almost purred from her seat on the couch.
"Not now, Ginny" he brushed her off, quickly leaving through the portrait hole to go see if Hermione was already down in the Great Hall having breakfast. No need to say that he left behind a very disgruntled redhead.
When he pushed open the heavy doors of the Great Hall, his eyes immediately scanned the Gryffindor table, and there she was, quietly eating her breakfast. She seemed preoccupied about something, but even so, Harry couldn't help admiring her.
He stopped for a moment, observing her, chastising himself once more for having taken her for granted. He truly needed to write Ophelia and thank her for opening his eyes.
Slowly walking toward the table, Harry felt suddenly nervous. He knew what he wanted to say, but now that he was about to confront her, he was scared. He hoped Hermione would forgive him, even if he wasn't sure he deserved it. But he was a Gryffindor, and he would not back down from a task that required a certain amount of bravery.
With a last deep breath, he started to walk purposefully toward her, finally sitting on her right side.
"Harry!" Hermione almost jumped, too lost in her thoughts to notice him before.
"Good morning, Hermione" Harry said, giving her a small smile, from which he was sure she could tell he was nervous about something.
"Good morning to you too" she said softly. "So, what brings you down here so early?" she joked, knowing he and Ron were usually amongst the last ones to come down for breakfast.
"Well, actually, I would like to talk with you, but not here. I was wondering if you were up for a quick trip to the Room of Requirements" he blurted out.
The brunette eyed him worriedly. "Is something wrong, Harry?" she said, dreading the moment he would tell her he didn't want to be her friend any longer.
Harry must have sensed that, because he hastily reassured her. "No, no, nothing's wrong. It's just I realized some things lately, and I want to talk to you about them" he said.
Hermione took a last sip of her pumpkin juice before following him out of the Hall and up the stairs, all the way to the seventh floor where the Room of Requirements was. As they climbed the stairs step by step, minding their way because as they very well knew by now, sometimes the moving stairs liked to change the routes, they both were a bundle of nerves, Hermione still suspecting what Harry had to tell her was something bad about how he didn't need her anymore, and also because of what she had to tell him, following her sister's advice.
Harry was almost sweating he was so tense, because he was afraid Hermione had been hurt too bad by his actions through the years, and she wouldn't want to forgive him. He honestly didn't know what he would do without her in his life, she and Ron had been the only constants in it since he came to Hogwarts his first year.
When they finally arrived, Harry walked three times in front of where the door should appear, thinking he needed a place to talk with Hermione. When he finally gripped the handle of the usually invisible door, and pushed it open, they both blushed crimson, as the room had provided them a good place to talk, yes, but had interpreted Harry's thoughts a bit too romantically.
The room was cosy, a little fireplace in front of a small couch, which would force them to sit really close, and heart-shaped cushions.
"Harry, what did you think about?" Hermione asked, breaking the heavy silence, in an amused tone. The misunderstanding had managed to break some of her nervousness, and she teased him.
Harry was glad for that, even if he should be embarrassed, as he took it as a sign she wasn't overly mad at him. He hoped she wasn't, at least.
"I just thought I needed a place to talk with you" he said, and she nodded. "It's okay" she encouraged him, walking toward the couch.
She felt her heart flutter strangely, even knowing the room was like that by mistake.
When they were finally sitting, Hermione took a deep breath, and said, "Harry, I need to tell you something too. I…"
But he interrupted her, placing a finger on her lips. Her breath itched in her throat at the contact, and Harry himself had to wonder at the softness of her lips.
"I know I might stumble if I don't say this now, Hermione, so please, let me talk first, ok?" he asked her gently, and as their eyes met, she slowly nodded.
"Hermione, I'm truly sorry. I've been an awful friend to you, always taking you for granted, never apologizing to you when I sided with Ron in your spats, especially in third year when you were only looking out for me. I'm sorry for all the times I needlessly made you sick worrying about me. I'm sorry for not telling you how grateful I was to you when you supported me in fourth year, even if the whole school, Ron included, didn't, and how you helped me last year with that interview. You've always been on my side even if you didn't have to, and I never told you a simple thank you for that" he said.
Harry could see she wanted to say something, but he gently motioned for her to let him finish.
"I want to tell you that you shouldn't be worried about what those gossiping girls in Gryffindor Tower say. What defines you as a good person has nothing to do with if you have a boyfriend or not. And who cares if you like Quidditch, you have attended all my games and you have always supported me. As for Ginny, I'm ashamed that I didn't tell her off when she insulted you. There are lots of things she doesn't understand and these things are far more important than a silly game of Quidditch. Besides, you do understand Quidditch, with all the books on it you read how could you not?" he joked, winking at her, and Hermione found herself grinning at him, and even a faint blush creeping up her cheeks.
"But what I'm more ashamed of, Hermione, is that somehow my actions must have encouraged you to think you're only cared about for your help with homework. I assure you it's not so, I value you and your friendship so much that I'm sure I'd be lost if you weren't my friend anymore. I guess I've never been good at expressing feelings, with my childhood and all, but I want you to know this, Hermione. Never doubt yourself for a moment, because you're an amazing girl, and anyone would be lucky to have you as a friend. I count myself extremely lucky because you've chosen to stick by me even with all the dangerous situations I find myself in and the mistakes I made regarding our friendship"
"My sister's written to you, right?" Hermione said, and Harry had to chuckle. "I knew you'd guess it. Yes, Ophelia wrote to me, and I'm truly thankful for that, because she opened my eyes about the many mistakes I made regarding you till now"
Hermione gave him a small smile, but she was more preoccupied with something she felt she needed to tell him. "Look, Harry, I'm sorry for not telling you about her" the brunette started. "I thought you'd never be interested in my life at home, that's why I told you so little about it" she justified herself.
As she had started rambling, Harry gently grasped her arms, and made her look at him. "Hermione, I'm not mad. I never told you much about my time at the Dursleys either, did I?" he said. Seeing that she was going to object that it wasn't the same, Harry interrupted her again.
"Just tell me this, Hermione. Does Ron know?" he asked, feeling compelled to find out if their other best friend had been informed before him.
"No" Hermione said. "I know you may think we got closer since we have spent time without you during the summers these last two years, but we haven't. At least, not enough for me to tell him this kind of things" she added with a wink.
Harry immediately felt better, even if he didn't know why.
"So, what did you want to tell me?" he asked, and Hermione looked up to find his green eyes boring into hers. Suddenly she was very aware of their closeness on that couch, and blushed under his gaze, almost losing herself in it.
Those eyes of his had always fascinated her.
"Well" she started, after clearing her throat and breaking the moment, "first of all, I'm sorry for pestering you about the Prince's book. I guess I was a bit jealous that you were getting better grades than me in Potions, and I took my frustrations out that way. You know, my sister wrote me too" she grinned, "and told me to stop being a brat about it, because I'll probably not be the best in many things in my life, and I can't be a bitch about it every time. Now that I think of it, I guess my dislike for Quidditch comes from my inability to fly on a broom too" she said, shrugging.
Harry was watching her with a grin playing on his lips. "You know, we could always read it together, so you would benefit from its suggestions too" he offered. She looked at him, found him so relaxed and smiling, and couldn't help grinning back. "So that we both get cursed or possessed?" she teased him.
He laughed, shaking his head. "I guess it may have been dangerous like the diary. And considering the spell I found in it, I'd better research what is written inside before using it" he conceded. "Will you read it with me to see if there are useful things inside, though?" he asked, turning serious.
When had Hermione Granger ever refused an offer to learn more? So she eagerly nodded.
"You know, your sister mentioned that we need to get ready for the war too. I think we should restart the DA, and maybe ask Dumbledore for personal lessons in duelling for the three of us. While learning how Voldemort became immortal and thus how to make him mortal again is undoubtedly useful, once the Horcruxes are destroyed I'll still need to duel him and win, and even before that, I'm sure we will have our fair share of duelling with Death Eaters to do" Harry suggested.
A bell rang, signalling the start of the lessons in a few minutes, and that interrupted their chat as they bolted to Transfiguration, neither noticing that they did so hand in hand, making some of the bystanders raise their eyebrows. And of course, Ron noticed that when they entered the classroom, and he also noticed how out of breath they were, and that they had missed breakfast, or so he thought.
"Where have you been?" he hissed as Professor McGonagall close the door behind her, mere moments after the two of them had entered the room.
The Professor's lecture saved them from answering, until the end of the lesson at least. With a sideways glance at Hermione, Harry nodded to her to let her know they would finish their chat later.
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