A/N: I'm back! Pretty much the whole thing's dialogue- ya, whole thing. Strange for me, right? But seeing as how there wasn't hardly any last chapter…due to…other strenuous activities I guess I figured I'd make it up to you lol. Oh- and while I was writing this I listened to "Don't Answer Me" by Alan Parsons Project. It just goes PERFECT with this chapter and if you want to you-tube it while you read it makes it more fun : ) Your choice, you don't have to…just saying…
"Harry?"
"Mmmmm"
"Harry?"
"What? What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Nothing and everything. Why did you do that?"
"Er…which part…"
"No," Hermione scowled, fighting a smile as pain wrenched in her heart, "Why were you making elf clothes?"
He hesitated before answering, "I did it for you, Hermione- well, and the elves. I'll always have a soft spot for Dobby," Harry grinned, eyes lost in a faraway memory, "but you don't know how horrible I feel inside. I can't stop thinking about the shower. It just felt so…so right."
"So you made elf clothes?"
"No- you're not going to make this easy for me, are you?" he asked with a defeated sigh, turning her body to properly face him.
"Proceed," was all she said, the corners of her mouth twitching as if to suppress a smirk.
"Ron and I have never really supported your spew efforts, Hermione, and I wanted to show you that I care about you. More than anyone-"
"More than Ginny?" she asked crossly, tension suddenly palpable in the abandoned classroom. Hermione shot him a pointed stare, fiery chocolate boring into startled green.
"Yes," he said without hesitation, unblinking eyes staring back at watered brown.
"Harry…" she said softly, whispering his name like an island breeze, "I don't unders-"
"Just listen-" he placed a finger to her lips, "I've always cared about you more than anyone else. More than my family, well that's not hard to do, that was a bad example- more than Ron, more than myself, more than anyone. No one has ever cared about me like you have, Hermione. Especially not of the opposite sex…" he trailed off slowly, ruffling the back of his hair like his father so many years before.
"No girl has shown interest in me. Ever. Except for Ginny, when we were young. Any other bird that claims to be after me just wants to hang on my arm to gain status. That's not a relationship- I don't know what that is, but I don't want it."
"Harry, I-"
"I'm not finished," he said sternly, not meeting her gaze, "I've fancied you for ages, Hermione, and yes- Ginny is an attractive girl- but she doesn't hold a candle to you. I had no idea you felt this way about me. That morning in the boys' loo, I thought I was dreaming. I have dreamt about that before." Hermione blushed at this, holding a hand to her head as she tried to process all the information.
"I would've ditched Ginny right then and there, but I wanted something more meaningful than a quickie in the shower. I gave in to temptation, I cheated on my current girlfriend, and I broke your heart without even knowing it."
"But-"
"I'm not done," Harry interrupted, eyes fixated on the metal chalk tray that gleamed in the distance, the only source of light amidst the forbidden darkness, "I suppose I shouldn't have listened to her, but Ginny kept telling me you and Ron were an item. It made some sort of sense in my mind; I tried to justify it with your…flirting…and the way you reacted to Lavender. Everyone I asked seemed to go along with it. No one but you was telling me you weren't together. I didn't know who to believe…"
"Believe me!"
"Well, I do-"
"But you didn't," Hermione finished hotly, the seams of her heart twinged with knowing agony. "Lumos," she spat, tired of floundering around in perpetual nothingness.
"No, Hermione, hold on-" Harry blinked a few times and grabbed her arms in his hands, forcing her eyes to meet his own, "It's not like that. When have you ever lied to me? Of course I believed you when you told me- but if you'll recall, I didn't even ask until that day in the stairwell."
The gears were turning behind fluttering lashes, Hermione focused on the tiled floor, "I suppose…"
"It was stupid of me not to ask earlier, but I dreaded the answer, Hermione, I really did. And if Ron made you happy, that's all I ever wanted. I figured going with Ginny was better than ending up alone…"
"She told me to stay away from you," Hermione said suddenly, pursing her lips as Ginny's face swam into view.
"Well, I guess you failed at that," Harry chuckled, Hermione's death glare wiping the grin right off his face.
"It's not funny, Harry," she snapped, grabbing her shirt off the back of his chair, "We had…words…in the library," she said curtly, slipping her hand through the armhole.
"You know, any time we were together she was always dragging my arse to the library? I mean, Merlin, she's worse than…Neville," Harry finished quickly, averting his eyes.
Hermione's lids drooped considerably, "Why does everyone blame everything on Neville? Poor bloke doesn't have any underwear and you and Ron pin everything under the sun on him."
"Maybe I could knit him some knickers?" his face split into a wicked grin, the corners of his eyes crinkled with silent laughter.
"Harry, it's a good thing you never found those house elves, cos those so-called 'garments' wouldn't have done a naked anything any good."
"Well, in case you haven't noticed, my talents lie in a broomstick rather than needle and thread," he said with a smirk, eyes tilted over glinting frames.
"You'd make a good housewitch yet, sweeping's a good start," Hermione said without missing a beat, nose inches from the ground as she searched for her tie.
"Think you're funny, do you?"
"I have my moments," she tossed over her shoulder, a sly smile tugging at her lips.
"Let's hope you don't have any more 'moments' with Ginny," Harry said offhandedly, buttoning his trousers.
"You don't even know what happened- and what about Ginny, Harry? Is what you told me the truth? Have you really fancied me for that long? What does this mean, Harry?" Hermione interrogated, eyes wild with questions as she searched his handsome features.
"Of course I meant what I said," he answered gently, the playful banter pushed aside as tension mounted once again, "What do you mean?" he threw her a quizzical look, watching her face prod him for a response.
"What does this mean- for us?" Hermione asked quietly, emphasizing the latter two words as she met Harry's gaze.
He studied her eyes, longing for him to tell her the words she'd fantasized a thousand times, over and over again in nights of dreamless sleep- darkness that went on forever. She twisted her skirt nervously between her fingers, biting a trembling lip as Harry searched for what to say.
Hermione's stomach filled with butterflies, wings beating relentlessly against her diaphragm as palms glistened with sweat. Harry took a step toward her, biceps gleaming in the wandlight as shadows danced across his face. Breath ragged, she watched as he approached her, body consumed by a fire of trepidation- closing her eyes for fear of rejection.
She felt his hand caress her face, the gentle softness of his touch sending chills down her spine. His fingertips skated along the curve of her cheek, gently winding about her chin so as to cup her face, lightly pulling it towards him. Their eyes met in the synthetic twilight, languid blinks the only movement in the sudden stillness.
A tear slid down Hermione's cheek, bottled with fear and anger- loneliness and heartbreak. Harry's thumb gently wiped it away, green eyes piercing through faded glass.
"Don't cry, love," he cooed softly, taking her hand in his own, "I can't stand to watch you cry."
"Then, don't answer me," she whispered, fighting the streams of hidden sorrow that pricked at her eyes, longing for release.
"Are you sure?" he said leaning in to her, noses brushing as he swept past her cheek in the darkness.
Hermione's body shook with apprehension, eyes closing as his lips touched her ear, "Do you really not want me to answer you? Don't you want to know what this means?"
Her body tingled all over, skin set ablaze with want and yearning as his breath ticked her neck, "It means that I lo-"
"What the fuck is going on here!?" a voice bellowed from across the dim lit hideaway, carved mahogany shaking off its hinges as a quavering figure loomed in the doorframe- crumpled map in hand.
A/N: You know what, you all don't like cliffhangers- so stick THAT in your pipe and smoke it HAHAHAHAHAHA. Okay, that was mean- sorry about that. Anyway, hope you enjoyed the banter and tenderness- a little fluff after some…thing else lol. Originally had the concept of this chapter and the next as one- but I expanded this one to add more H/Hr, which this fic was terribly lacking. So, more reading for you (yay!). I mean it really starts to unfold from here- and I'm very eager to continue writing it. I try to throw a little humor in all the chapters- I don't like to be too angsty- but these next ones I dunno about…
Anyway, I hope I've got you hooked and I would love some more reviews : )