Unofficial Portkey Archive

By: FayeValentine00

Chapter 3

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The next several weeks went by quickly for Hermione and Harry. Between homework and studying for the N.E.W.T.S. that would be coming up at the end of the year, there was barely anytime to reflect on the negative. The problem was that one major thing was missing and no matter how much everyone tried to avoid the subject, there was a definate soberness to the school that'd never been there before.

"Harry, can you hand me that book over there?" Hermione asked while already buried in other books she was trying to sift through for information on the history of wand making.

"Sure." He handed her the book and went back to his transfiguration paper that was due the next morning.

Thats how every night had been since the duo returned from the hospital wing. They both went through their days as if trying to fool themselves and everyone else that everything was okay but it wasn't the truth. Rumors circulated through the school that Hermione was known to talk and cry out in her sleep but it was Harry who barely ever went to bed until the rest of the common room was deserted. People were beginning to wonder if the two hadn't gone slightly looney.

A sudden silence seemed to fall over the common room and when Harry looked up, he realized that only he and Hermione remained. Looking down at his paper, Harry realized that he'd written down the same sentence 3 times. With a heavy sigh, he put the paper aside and grabbed a blank sheet of parchment to do something he'd been trying to avoid for weeks.

"Dear Weasleys,

I'm sorry I haven't written sooner but I didn't know what to say. Actually, even now, I have no clue what to say. Hermione and I are so sorry about everything that happened."

Harry had to pause for a moment to blink back some tears before continuing. The Weasley had been the closest thing to a family that he really had and he didn't want to loose that but HOW!? He thought for another minute and then continued on with the letter.

"If you ever need anything, please let me know. Maybe Hermione and I will be able to see you at the holidays. If you are avaliable, just send us an owl.

Harry"

Harry rolled up the parchment and sealed it before Hermione read it. She'd been so closed off lately that he was afraid she'd become upset all over again. It was surprising actually, Hermione was brilliant and more booksmart then anyone Harry had ever met but until Ron's death, he didn't realize exactly how much Hermione depended on others for human affection.

One look at his homework and Harry knew he wouldn't be able to concetrate on it so instead he laid back his head and closed his eyes, hoping to clear his mind. At first all he could hear was the soft crackling of the dying fire and Hermiones occasional page turning but then something else took over his emotions.

A room appeared before him and he was surrounded by masked Death Eaters. They all stood before him waiting for their orders. Harry knew at once that he was seeing through Voldemorts eyes.

"We've done it, Master. We've killed Potter's friend." A womens voice from behind one of the masks spoke with an obvious excitment.

"Good. Good." Voldemort rubbed his hands together and his high pitched laugh filled the air. "Now you have another job."

"What Master?" "We'll do anything for you." "Tell us our mission."

All the masked people began to talk at once in excited voices but the moment Voldemorts hand went up to silence them, they stopped. "The girl. This time kill the girl. I want to see Potter's face when his other friend is killed before him."

Several of the hord laughed but one women with a particularly anxious voice spoke out the loudest. "Yes! Baby Potter won't know what to do. He may even beg you for mercy."

That began another cycle of laughter and Harry woke up with a start. His scar was burning worse then he'd felt in a long time and he looked over at Hermione immediatley. She was already staring at him in shock. She knew he'd had another vision but from the dread in her eyes, he wasn't sure if he should admit it.

"A-Are you alright?" She asked, slowly setting aside her books.

"Yes. It was just a dream. I-I'll be fine." He decided to go to bed before Hermione asked him anymore questions but the moment his foot hit the first stair, he heard her voice behind him. It was very soft and shaky but he heard it.

"Don't lie to me, Harry."

With a sigh Harry turned back to face Hermione and saw that her face was pale and she was gripping her robes so tight that her knuckles were white. Harry didn't know what to say.

"It's fine. Don't worry."

"DON'T LIE TO ME!" Her eyes looked wild. "I know what happened, Harry. You had a vision. Tell me what you saw."

"It doesn't matter. I'm going to bed." He tried to turn again but before he knew it, Hermione was screaming.

"DON'T YOU DARE. I HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW!" She'd jumped to her feet and stood between one of the armchairs and the couch. "I miss him too, Harry. I was there too! Don't shut me out. You aren't protecting me. DON'T SHUT ME OUT!"

Her knees gave out and she collasped to the ground. She buried her head in her arms against the couch seat and started to bawl. Harry stood frozen in his spot watching her. He noticed some people had come downstairs to see what was going on but one look at him and they quickly went away. It wasn't until he was completly sure that they were alone that he went to her side and picked her up, settling them both on the couch.

"I'm sorry." He could hardly recognize his own voice. It sounded so odd. He wasn't used to comforting girls. When they'd been in the hospital, they clung to each other but somehow this felt different. It felt more intimate. "I'll tell you but please calm down."

Hermione nodded her head and after a few months was able to slow her tears to a trickle. Only then would she look him in the eyes. "I'm sorry. Sometimes I feel like I'm losing it Harry."

She sat there and stared at him for a long time before she spoke again but when she did it was a voice he'd never heard before. It sounded older and hardened in a way that Harry couldn't explain. "We've already lost Ron. I couldn't bare to lose you to. ... If we can't be honest to each other then there's no point anymore."

Harry was speechless. She was right and he knew it but saying it and really doing it were two very different things. How could he be helping anything by telling her that she was Voldemorts next victim but before he could even think on it, Hermione spoke again as if answering his mind.

"I don't care what it is. I can handle it. We can fight it together. Please?"

He couldn't say no to the pleading eyes that bore into his own so after a big sigh, he told her exactly what he'd seen up to the point of waking up with the burning scar.

She hadn't said a word through the entire explination and now that he was through she just stared at him with an expression that he couldn't read but in some way it unnerved him.

"Hermione, are you alright?"

She didn't speak, didn't even move for a long time but when she finally did, a smile came over her face.

"We'll fight together, right?"

"Alright."

After the agreement, to Harry's surprise, Hermione laid back on the couch and laid her head on his chest. Without even realizing it, Harry found himself playing idly with her hair.

"What do you think of me, Harry?"

The question was so out of the blue that he had no clue what to say. "Huh?"

"What do you think of me?"

"I ... um ... I" He felt like he was swimming upstream, trying to figure out how to respond but she cut him off before anything useful came out.

"Nevermind Harry, forget I asked. I guess I should go to bed now." She stood up and made it halfway to the stairs before Harry found himself acting on pure instinct.

He climbed to his feet and caught up with her quickly. He grabbed her arm so she couldn't run away and spoke words he'd never even once imagined saying outloud ... especially to Hermione.

"I-I think you're great. I really like you alot." He tried to think of something else clever to say to her but before he knew it, his mouth was saying something completly different. "I don't ever want to be without you."

Harry heard her take a sharp breath and a moment later she turned around and faced him with an unreadable expression. "Do you really mean that?"

"Yeah." Harry himself was surprised by his answer but once it was out he realized immediatly that it was the honest truth so he repeated himself a bit more confidently. "Yeah, I really mean that."

For the first time, Harry saw a bit of shyness in Hermiones eyes but she smiled a real smile for the first time since the disasterous Hogsmeade trip. "I feel the same way."

She leaned up and pressed her lips softly to his for a brief moment. Afterwards they stared at each other in an ackward slience. Both knew that their friendship had just drastically changed but to their surprise, neither seemed too worried about it.

"I guess I should go to bed. Goodnight Harry."

Hermione turned to head up to bed but Harry stopped her and spun her back around. This time he kissed her briefly, making up for his lack of responce to her kiss moments before.

"Goodnight Hermione."

That night Harry didn't fall asleep for a long time. Between the vision and the fact that he thought Hermione had just become his girfriend, his mind was racing but when he did finally sleep he was graced with the first restfull sleep he'd had in months.

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