Unofficial Portkey Archive

By: FayeValentine00

Chapter 8

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By the time Ginny, Harry and Hermione made it back to the common room, the tears had dried but their hatred for a certain Sytherin had grown to astronomical levels. Luckily, everyone was in the great hall for dinner when they arrived so the three were able to talk openly.

"I'll kill him!" Ginny paced back and forth in front of the raging fire with her fists clenched tightly at her sides.

"Ginny, maybe you should come and sit down." Harry patted the seat next to him but instead of complying, she turned on him as if he was the enemy.

"Sit down? SIT DOWN?! How am I supposed to sit down?! He thinks it's funny! HE THINKS MY BROTHERS DEATH IS FUNNY!" Her voice finally broke and her face crumbled while the tears began to stream down her face.

Hermione jumped up from the couch and threw her arms around the smaller girls frame. "It's okay. It's okay."

Harry watched the two girls, not having any idea of what to say. He was too angry to think straight, yet he also knew that if he took off after Draco now that both of the girls would follow. Hermione stroked Ginny's hair and rocked her gently back and forth while blinking back tears of her own.

"I miss him, Hermione. How could he talk about Ron like that?!"

"I don't know, Ginny. I really don't know."

Around 10 o'clock, Hermione took Ginny upstairs and did not return again until the younger girl had fallen asleep.

"Will she be alright?" Harry asked softly.

"She will be. I suppose it's a good she's talking about it."

Harry nodded his aggrement but decided that they definetly needed to take their minds off of the train incident. He took Hermione's hand in his and smiled when she looked up at him in surprise.

"How about we go for a walk."

At first she looked surprised but a moment later she smiled. "I'd love to."

The two walked along the edge of the lake, hand in hand. The night was illuminated only by the full moon that hung high in the sky. Neither seemed to feel the need to say anything. Simply being alone together was enough to calm their minds and give them a sense of peace.

They came to a tree on the far side of the lake and Harry sat down, pulling Hermione down into his lap. Without hesitation, she sat back and leaned her head onto Harry's shoulder.

"I think I should apologize." He spoke softly into her ear, causing her to sit up just enough to look him in the face.

"Why?"

He could see the obvious concern on her face so her wrapped his arms tighter around her waist and kissed her cheek gently. Once her body was relaxed again, he continued.

"I haven't exactly been the ideal boyfriend, have I?"

Hermione surprised him by giggling before answering. "Well, we have had quite a few things on our minds."

"True but I am going try a little harder."

"Where is all this coming from?"

"I guess I just want to make sure that you know exactly how much you mean to me. Besides, I can't have Ginny telling her family that I don't treat you like a princess. Molly would kill me."

Both shared a laugh at the thought of Molly sending a howler into the great hall screaming about how Harry should be more attendant to his girlfriend.

"Honestly Harry, I know you care."

"But it's more then that. I love you, Hermione."

Her whole body froze at those words and she didn't say anything for so long that Harry began to wonder if he'd said to much. It wasn't until she'd spun around in his lap and pressed her lips firmly to his that he knew she was happy. Harry pulled her tightly to himself and kissed her back with as much enthusiam as she'd shown. When they finally broke apart a few minutes later, panting for air, Hermione looked up at him with a big smile and eyes briming with tears.

"I love you too, Harry."

Something about saying those 3 words to each other made every emotion that they felt for each other seem to grow double. Harry's heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest. Sitting in his lap was a beautiful girl who'd always been right under his nose and yet somehow it had taken them 7 years to get to this point. Not about to let the moment die, Harry pulled Hermione to him once more and smoothered her with light kisses.

He kissed her forehead, eyelids, cheeks, and ears. He worked his way down her neck until he found the hollow spot that made her sigh heavily. All the while, Hermione's hands moved through Harry's hair and along his shoulders and chest. Both where breathing unevenly and before they knew it, Hermione was laying on her back in the grass with Harry leaning over her.

The mutual kisses and carresing went on until they heard a noise in some nearby bushes. Both froze in their place and listened for any other noises. Moments later the noise came again but this time it was a bit closer. It looked like the two weren't the only ones out for a midnight stroll.

"We should go." Harry whispered softly into her ear, teasing the lobe lightly with his lips.

"Do we have to?"

Although the pout on Hermione's lips was nearly irresistable, he nodded with a reluctant groan. After getting up, he helped her to her feet and the two ran as quietly as possible back to the castle, holding back their laughter the entire time.

When they finally made it back into the common room, everyone was already in bed and the fire had started to die out. Although Harry had a strong urge to continue where'd they left off, the image of Colin Creevy coming downstairs with his camera to capture the moment immediatly made him think better of it.

"I guess we should probably get some sleep." Harry spoke quietly, unable to keep the disappointment out of his voice.

"Yeah, I guess and I really should go check on Ginny." Hermione didn't even try to hide her how she felt. If Harry hadn't know better, he'd have thought she was going off to her own funeral.

She gave him a short but deep kiss before turning towards the stairs, speaking as she walked. "I meant what I said, Harry. I love you very much."

"I love you too."