A/N: Woohoo! Story time!
Please enjoy!
"Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies."
-Aristotle
Chapter 11 - Revelations
Harry and Aurora stepped into the Great Hall along with Ron and Lavender almost fifteen minutes after the ball had started. The three who weren't Harry all gasped and made amazed sounds, having not seen the decorations yet (Harry, on the other hand, was sick of seeing the bloody decorations). It was beautiful, with the trees decorated and lit up, floating holly and mistletoe, and a perfect, cloudless night decorating the enchanted ceiling.
The ball was in full swing, though Harry wouldn't have particularly called it a ball based on what he was seeing. There were almost no ball gowns on the ladies and no dancing suitable for a ball. Instead, it looked to be just another dance like the ones Harry's middle school used to hold, with a mass of sweaty bodies 'dancing' very suggestively. However, the music was a kind of medium tempo that you could either dance to or…'dance' to. The music was being put on by a DJ, his head moving in time with the beat. There were a few couples actually dancing the way they should've been dancing at a ball, but for the most part it seemed to have just turned into another 'school dance'.
Ron and Lavender immediately packed in with the 'dancing' folk and began grinding against each other with little restraint, basically dry humping. Harry, after making a disgusted face, decided instead to look at the couples who seemed to be able to resist their raging hormones for more than five minutes to share an intimate dance with their date. Luna and Neville were dancing, Neville looking nervous and continuously stepping on Luna's feet as she just smiled up at him, obviously having a good time. She caught Harry's eye and gave him a quick wave before returning her attention to Neville.
Just as Harry caught sight of Hermione and Terry slow-dancing, Aurora grabbed his hand and started dragging him towards them in a manner very similar to that of Miranda. "Let's say hi to Hermione," she said as she drew close to them. Then she suddenly stopped. "Holy crap, Harry. I'll be right back," she said as she realized that Andrew, his face only partially healed, was dancing with a girl right next to them.
Before Harry could tell his sister not to worry and to stay strong, she had disappeared in the mass of people. Harry sighed and turned back to look at Hermione and Terry, where something very…infuriating, was taking place.
***LFLS***
Hermione couldn't even force a smile onto her face at this point. Terry was so boring and had actually turned out to be quite a bit bolder than he had always seemed, frequently trying to grope Hermione's bum. She wished she wouldn't have asked him just to piss Harry off…it only seemed to have backfired on her.
"Terry, stop it this instant," she said, feeling her eye beginning to twitch out of a combination of annoyance and anger.
"Ooh, feisty are we, Hermione?" he asked, this time going a step further and cupping her left breast through her dress.
Hermione's hand shot up and slapped Terry hard across the face, sending him reeling. He sneered and stepped in close to her, wrapping one arm around her and holding her close, the other hand going for her chest again. He obviously thought nobody would notice with all the people around them being otherwise occupied, and he unfortunately seemed to have thought correctly. She was pushing him with all her might trying to get away from him. If only he wasn't crushing her to him, she could grab her wand from her thigh holster. "Terry…get…off!" she yelled, pushing against him in vain.
"Come on, Hermione" he said, obviously very randy. "You know you want me."
"Oh dear Merlin," said Hermione with exasperation, appalled at the thought processes of young men. Just because she asked him to the ball didn't mean she was going to hop in the sack with him. Honestly!
Terry's hand was only an inch from Hermione's breast when another hand shot in and caught his wrist, squeezing it to the point of crushing it. Hermione looked at the face of her savior and actually wasn't surprised that it was Harry, his face looking absolutely murderous. "I'm pretty sure she asked you to let go," he said dangerously low, his voice grating against Terry's most primal fears and sending a shiver-a bad shiver-down Hermione's spine. He was seriously scary when he was truly pissed off.
"Letting go," said Terry nervously, releasing Hermione.
"Now get the hell out of here before I tell Professor Dumbledore what you've done," said Harry, giving Terry's wrist one last, extra-painful squeeze before letting go. Terry didn't escape Harry's murderous glare until he exited the Great Hall as fast as he could.
"Thanks, Harry," said Hermione gratefully as she massaged her upper arm, which was where Terry had been gripping her painfully hard.
"Don't mention it," he said, admiring Hermione in her periwinkle blue dress, her hair pulled back into an elegant knot. "Don't think that all guys are like that, either, because we're not."
"Oh, so only most of you are," she said, admiring Harry in his tux.
"I'm not," he said.
"You used to be," she shot back.
"But I'm not anymore," he replied with a small smile.
Suddenly, and without reason, Hermione felt the compelling urge to ask this young man in front of her to dance. It confused her, because she had never really liked him at all before. Yet here she was, standing in front of him and suddenly blurting, "Would you like to dance?"
Harry gave her a sad smile and said apologetically, "Sorry, but I promised the first dance to my date. How about right after that?"
Hermione quietly said, "Sure," not even knowing what she was agreeing to. After he had said the word 'date' her mind had shut down, her throat had constricted, her eyes got moist, and her heart had clenched painfully in her chest…and she didn't have any clue as to why, either.
"Hermione?" Harry asked with a worried look on his face. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, yeah," she nodded absentmindedly, trying to clear her head. "I'm just going to sit down for a second."
"Okay," he said slowly, still furrowing his eyebrows at her. "I'll be back."
Hermione nodded once more and headed over to one of the tables laden with food, her heart physically hurting. Heart pain, she thought to herself, what could that possibly mean? I really doubt I'm having a heart attack, and I'm pretty sure the pain's supposed to be in the left arm for that one. I didn't accidentally swallow bubotuber pus…hmmm. Then she realized that it was a different kind of pain…an aching longing was plaguing her, and it had happened right after…Harry had said…'date'.
Not this again! she scolded herself, a hint of desperation creeping into the voice of her mind. There is absolutely no way you even remotely like Harry Bloody Potter, not even as a friend. Never, ever, ever, not in a million years will you ever fall in love with him!
Somehow her eyes naturally found him with little effort, like she had known where he had been all along. And what she saw shocked and amazed her. Harry was pulling Aurora along in a fast tango (or what Hermione thought was supposed to be a tango…Harry was a horrible dancer), and her best friend was laughing as Harry pretty much dragged her with the most deadly serious look on his face, though she could tell he was having trouble keeping it that way. Hermione found herself smiling as she watched the two siblings. Harry finally burst out laughing and slowed the dance down, but with wildly exaggerated movements. After a while the song came to a stop and so did their dance, Harry ending with a flourishing bow. He then said something to Aurora that made her giggle again. Then he gave a little motion with his head towards Hermione and caught her eye for just a second. The way he looked at her sent a shiver-this time a pleasantly delicious shiver-up her spine.
And that's when it all clicked. Why her heart felt so warm when he came to her rescue. Why her heart seemed to shatter when she learned he had a date. Why she was so happy when she then learned he was just being a good brother, escorting his downtrodden younger sister to a dance she had been excited about for weeks but wouldn't have attended otherwise. Why her heart was beating faster and her face was heating up as he and Aurora got closer to her. Why she smiled back when he gave her a lopsided one, an eyebrow raised.
I'm in love with Harry James Potter, former world-class-prat! she thought to herself but then found she wasn't so disturbed by the thought. What did disturb her was the fact that she had been wrong the whole time. I can't believe it! I'm in love, younger than expected and with a guy I would have never expected!...What do I do?
"Dance, milady?" he asked her with a posh accent, holding out his arm.
Any other day, Hermione would've slapped the piss out of him. But…eh, love just changes some people's attitudes towards others.
Instead, she accidentally let a giggle slip out before freezing in mortification. She, Hermione Jane Granger, hadn't giggled since she was four years old. And now here she was acting like some lovesick fool. Oh wait…I am a lovesick fool, aren't I? she thought, her brain not exactly firing on all pistons at the moment given the situation.
Harry was looking at her like she was crazy and getting that worried look on his face while Aurora just raised an eyebrow that told Hermione she knew exactly what was going on. Hermione finally collected herself and her thoughts, recovering nicely from a life-altering revelation. "I hope you don't mind if I steal your date for a dance?" she asked Aurora playfully.
"Just watch out for his clumsy feet," Aurora responded in return, plunking down in the seat next to Hermione.
The older girl smiled at the younger before taking Harry's arm and letting him lead her to the dance floor-which was just any empty floor space in the Great Hall. It seemed he was taking this dance seriously, though, for he put both hands on her waist and started swaying back and forth, looking at her with eyes that burned with a possessive fire. Hermione basked in their warmth and her skin tingled where his hands were resting.
As they moved closer together while dancing, she realized why she really fell in love with this man. Learning how to not be a prat around her was really only one small component of it all. He was a good person at heart, fiercely loving and protecting those close to him with his entire heart, and had been interested in who she was as a person, not another pair of legs to spread like most of their male classmates had been thinking.
"You look beautiful," he said softly, causing the corners of her lips to curve up in a smile.
"You really think so?" she asked back, insecure.
"Yeah, but…" he said, raising one of his hands up to the back of her head and pulling her hair out of its knot, letting it fall naturally. "There," he said.
She looked up at him in confusion. "What do you mean, there? Pav and Lav said I'd look better with my hair put up."
"I think the most beautiful people just do what they want," he said. "Be who they are without caring what anyone else thinks. Why do you think I love you?" he asked with a small smile. "That's exactly who you are, not to mention that even with no makeup or glamour charms or done-up hair, you're still the most beautiful woman I've seen in my life."
Hermione looked up at him closely and softly said, "You've changed so much in such little time," She hadn't understood until just now how much he had really changed.
"Yeah," he said thoughtfully. "I finally got why I only had two friends despite being so popular. Luna, well…Luna, she was friends with me because I think she could see who I was going to be. Only one person liked me for who I was, but only because he was the same. I also figured out how much happier I was when being a caring person and realized how unhappy I was when I was being an arrogant prat."
"That's good," said Hermione encouragingly, nodding her head.
Harry's eyes started sparkling with what seemed to be unshed tears. Is he…about to cry? she asked herself in amazement. This was something she thought she would never see Harry do in his life. "I realized, too, how bad of a brother I've been to Aurora," he said, his voice a little raspy. "I wish I would've noticed how great of a person she was earlier. Because let me tell you," he said with a weak laugh and a sniffle, "it's the worst feeling in the world when you tell your fifteen-year-old sister you love her and have her tell you in return that she's always wanted to hear you say that."
"I'll tell you this much: You have plenty of time to make it up to her and you're certainly doing well with it right now," Hermione said earnestly in return. "She's looked up to you this whole time, you know. By doing the right thing you're being the best older brother in the world."
"I wish," said Harry with a weak chuckle.
"You really are making a difference," Hermione said, trying to make him understand. "And not just with her, but with me, too."
"Really?" asked Harry, but Hermione heard it from far away.
Should she tell him now? Was it too early? Was she in love with him for sure?
For the last question, her mind immediately said yes with absolute conviction. The emotional side just wanted to tell him she loved him and have him snog her senseless, yet she had always been a very logical person. This was a life-altering decision about to be made...there was no way she was just going to jump into it and impulsively give in to her feelings without thoroughly thinking through the risks and benefits.
So she stayed content in Harry's arms, wishing the song would never end. But it did, and when he pulled back they smiled at each other. And before she knew it she was blurting, "Harry, I-"
"HARRY!" screamed a girl right next to Hermione's ear, causing her to wince.
The girl, who Hermione recognized as Ginny Weasley, Ron's sister, was dressed in a very revealing dress that had nothing below the waist but a couple inches of frills. The neckline plunged down to the top of her stomach, revealing quite a bit of cleavage. Disgusting…Hermione thought to herself.
"Harry, dance?" she asked, batting her eyes that had way too much eye shadow on them.
Harry looked at Hermione apologetically and seemed to be resisting the urge to roll his eyes and sigh and said, "Yeah, sure," half-heartedly.
He gave Hermione a sad smile and winked at her and a smile made its way onto her face.
The next song started and Hermione was still standing there, smiling like a fool. "You love him, don't you?" asked a curious from her right.
Hermione looked over at Aurora and took a deep breath before nodding slowly. "I thought this would never happen and that I would never say this, but…I'm in love with Harry Potter," she said with conviction.
Aurora squealed and wrapped her best friend in a tight hug, saying, "Did you tell him yet?"
Hermione arched an eyebrow at Aurora and said, "Did you see us in a tight embrace with our mouths latched together?"
Aurora made a disgusted face as Hermione laughed. After recovering from that disturbing image of her brother, Aurora asked, "So what are you waiting for? Go tell him right now!"
"I can't," she said.
"Why not?" asked Aurora. "It's not like he's going to reject you or anything! He's been waiting for this day for three years!"
"I know," said Hermione. "It's just a big step to take forward…you know me, you think I would just profess my love for someone after I just realized I loved them?" She failed to mention the fact that she had almost done exactly that not one minute ago.
Aurora gave Hermione a stern look. "You better tell him within a week or I'm telling him," she said. "You two deserve each other, you're both good people."
A week was enough time to decide if Harry was the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. Because when she loved someone she meant it, and she knew that Harry did too. This was just as beneficial to Harry as it was her. If he turned out to be just a crush or passing fancy, it would save both of them pain and heartache.
She nodded to Aurora, making the younger girl smile. "That sounds fair enough."
The song ended at that moment and Harry came over, already looking tired. "You guys want to grab something to drink? I'm parched."
"Sure," said Aurora, bounding off and leaving the two lovebirds alone.
After a long, awkward silence, Harry said, "We did a great job setting up, didn't we?" asked Harry. "Looks awesome."
Hermione could tell he was trying to diffuse the tension that had developed between them even though he didn't know why it was there. Hermione did know, of course, because she knew something he didn't.
She stopped him with a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Harry, I…you've changed a lot," she said, unable to find the proper words to convey what she was trying to say. "And, well…" she decided to stop beating around the bush and ask him straightforward, "…do you want to be my friend?"
Harry looked a little surprised for a second, seemingly unable to comprehend the words that had just come out of her mouth. "I thought you hated me," he said before his eyes widened. "Sorry. Er…That sort of just slipped out. What I meant to say was: yeah, I'd love to be your friend."
Hermione smiled quirkily at him, deciding to let his first comment slip. "Great!" she said with genuine enthusiasm.
A semi-uncomfortable silence fell over them and they both cleared their throats at the same time. Then they met each other's eyes and laughed while they headed over to the table Aurora was sitting at. When they sat down at the table with her, she asked, "What's so funny?"
They both shook their heads and took swigs from their butterbeers, earning an odd look from Aurora. "Whatever," she finally said with a sigh.
"A-Aurora?" said a quiet voice from a boy who had come alone, blushing like mad. "Will…will you dance with me?"
Harry recognized the boy, how could he not? They had practically grown up together. Nicholas Black, son of Sirius and his German wife Katharina and in the same year as Aurora.
Aurora looked over at Harry and non-verbally asked if he was okay with her ditching him. He glanced over at Hermione in response and gestured back at Nicholas with his head, telling her to go have some fun. She hopped up and latched onto his arm as she said, "I'd love to, Klaus! Lead the way!"
And then it was just Harry and Hermione left. They sat there, not looking at each other and continuously reaching for their drinks so they had an excuse to not talk, unsure what to say. Hermione was watching everyone dance as Harry watched just his sister and Nicholas dance, relieved that they weren't humping and grinding each other but actually slow-dancing. Hermione noticed that the DJ was spinning both songs from the magical world and the muggle world. Harry's foot started twitching in anxiousness as he switched his gaze to Hermione, who was now looking down at her almost-empty butterbeer with what seemed to be fascinated interest. Another song ended and Harry said, "Hermione, do you want to dance?"
"I'd love to," she said quickly, looking up at him with a smile on her face. She had been waiting for him to ask.
Harry led her out to the floor and took her waist, her hands going up to his shoulders. The song that came on was the slowest song that had played yet, "Love Song" by 311. They both blushed but continued dancing, subconsciously moving closer as the song continued. By the time the song had finished Hermione's arms were around the back of Harry's neck and they could feel each other's breath on their faces.
They made sure to consciously keep their distance after that, Hermione wanting to keep being logical while Harry attempted to not push her into a difficult position in their very fledgling friendship. They danced together for the rest of the night, taking small breaks when they got tired.
And finally the ball ended, both Harry and Hermione tired from a night of mental and physical exhaustion. Aurora met them at the doors of the Great Hall as Nicholas skirted past them, staying as far as he could from Harry, before bolting for Gryffindor Tower. "What's his problem?" asked Harry, looking down at his suit to make it was nothing on him.
"He kissed me," said Aurora. "I kindly pushed him off and told him it wasn't what I wanted at the moment, but I think he's still afraid you're going to do something to him."
Harry shrugged. "As long as he didn't know beforehand that you didn't want it," he said.
"He didn't," said Aurora. "And I should rephrase my statement. It wasn't really that I didn't want it-it's the fact that I didn't want it at this moment."
"I don't get it," said Harry, scratching his head as they headed back to Gryffindor Tower to drop Aurora off. "You want it, but you don't want it?"
"What she's trying to say," said Hermione, "is that she wanted it, just not right after she broke up with Andrew."
"Right," said Aurora in confirmation. "I told him to ask me out in a few weeks and it'd play out differently."
"As long as he doesn't hurt you physically or emotionally," said Harry, "everything will be fine between us."
"I'll let you know if I need any help," said Aurora, giving them both hugs and wishing them a good night as they arrived at the portrait of the Fat Lady.
Aurora went inside, leaving Harry and Hermione to walk alone to their dormitories. They walked in silence, enjoying each other's presence, wishing they would never reach their dorms. But they did, and the night was over, and they were standing awkwardly in the common room, unsure of how to say goodnight to each other. Finally, Hermione made a move, stepping forward and giving him a hug. His arms made their way around her and she sighed in content, saying, "Good night, Harry. Thanks for the great night."
"Anytime," he said before letting her go. "Have a good night, see you tomorrow."
"Yeah," she said with a small smile.
They both went in their rooms and got ready for bed before getting in, thinking of each other. Harry was thinking about how great it was that Hermione seemed to be on the brink of admitting to herself that she loved him. Hermione was thinking that she was going to have a very long week weighing the pros and cons of being in love with Harry and spending the rest of her life with him.
She didn't know how right she was about it being a long week, just for reasons she didn't expect.
A/N: I know my chapters are getting shorter, but I wanted to have a final chapter that was going to be longer than 1,500 words, so I cut it off right there. And yes…that means that the next chapter is the final chapter (I think…)!
I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please review!
I already have a great idea for my next story, and I'm almost 100% sure it's going to be quite a bit longer than this one!