Summary: After Harry defeated the Dark Lord in their last year of Hogwarts; the trio went their separate ways leading Hermione to a Muggle University. Yet after dark activity is spotted at her school, Harry and Ron come down to join her once again to solve the case. Unfortunately after Harry finally realizes his feeling for Hermione, he finds himself not only fighting for the wizarding world, but also fighting for the woman he loves.
Disclaimer: All characters belong to J K Rowling and Warner brothers.
Beta Reader: Kathryn Mason-Sykes
College Life
Chapter 6: Pettigrew
"Ron…Ron…We need to talk." After all of Harry's classes had ended, he rushed to talk to Ron, who was currently in the cafeteria eating. Ron's spoon, which was still half way to his mouth, fell with a clatter, splashing the girl beside him with corn juices. "Ron, I need to speak with you alone for a minute. It's an emergency."
The girl, who was clearly Ron's lunch date, looked from Ron to Harry, confused and almost disgusted that their lunch was so rudely interrupted. Ron however, who had stopped eating by this point, did not take any notice of the girl's concern. All Ron cared about at this moment was that something was wrong, and if Harry was involved this usually meant something big was happening. Ron wiped his mouth with his napkin, and quickly excused himself before picking up his book bag to go. As Ron and Harry walked away, all the girl could do was look on, shocked at what was happening. Harry led Ron out of the cafeteria to a side waiting room where no one would be able to overhear them.
"Ron, something is seriously wrong with Hermione. I found her in the library, but when I got there, it was not the same Hermione we know. She was different. When I talked to her, she was unresponsive. Her eyes were dull and glazed. Plus… she told me…she told me… That she is in l…love with David."
Ron's expression softened as he heard his friend's ranting. This was not a life or death situation. This was just a lovesick teenager needing condolence over a lost girl. "Oh, I see what this is all about. You find out Hermione is in love with another guy, and you directly ensue that something must be wrong with her."
Harry shook his head as if he was trying to shake Ron's words away. "No Ron, you don't understand. I think…I think David has done something to her. She is not acting like herself…She's giggling … Come on Ron, have you ever heard her giggle?"
Ron scratched his chin and stated sarcastically, "So you find her at a library…studying…and she talks to you about her love life. Nope, doesn't sound like Hermione to me."
Harry was starting to get mad. "Ron, stop playing. I'm seriously worried about her. That girl I met in that library was not the sensible Hermione we know. That girl was a giggling, love-crazed sixteen year old."
Ron rolled his eyes, stating calmly, "Harry, love does strange things to people. Just because she is giggling now does not give us reasons to call out the guard. Come on, Harry, look at yourself for goodness sake. You would not be getting this worked up over this if you didn't like her."
Harry tried to object. "Yeah, but…"
Ron put his hand on Harry's shoulder, and looked him straight in the eye. "Harry, I am telling you this because you're my bro…Get a grip on yourself. No one wants you to go to pieces over a little thing like Hermione. She's happy and you need to accept that. Plus, we have a job to do, and we need to be working on that. Don't let this get to you. Ok?"
Harry let his head fall and went silent. He guessed he was over reacting. Hermione could like David, he thought to himself; she had gone out with many other guys. But Harry never thought that when Hermione did fall in love, it would be with anyone other than him. As he stood there silently, he had to admit to himself that the more he thought through his theories on why Hermione was acting that way, the more ludicrous they sounded.
Ron turned Harry around to face the cafeteria. "Now go and get something to eat. You need to get your mind off of all this… You will get through it, trust me. I have seen you face trolls and dementors, and I know you can get past this crush."
"I'm not hungry," Harry replied for the third time today. He turned toward the elevators, and started walking slowly in that direction. Without turning around, he went and pushed the button. "I need to do some work. I will see you later, Ron."
Ron watched his moping friend and knew he should do something more, but he couldn't think of what. He said a quick "later" before leaving to return to his new friend, Rebecca. As he walked away, he thought to himself. 'It's probably best for him to sort out these things on his own first.'
Just then, the elevator bell rang, the door opened, and Harry climbed in to go back to his room where no one would reject him, where no one would be located.
*
After many hours of thought, Harry finally came to the decision that he would not interfere. He felt that Hermione deserved all the happiness in the world, and if David was the one that made her happy, so be it. Even though it was killing him inside, the fact that he no longer saw her anymore hurt him even more. Ever since their last conversation in the library, Harry stopped searching Hermione out, and Hermione stopped seeing him altogether. She seemed to spend all her time at David's, with David, or helping David. She no longer had time for her so-called friends.
To help his mind forget his troubles, Harry threw himself into his work--his magical work. He spent hours on end researching through file after file of ministry documents. He thought to himself, 'If Hermione is going to act like this when we are so close, I would rather be in the comforts of my own home. The sooner I finish this job the better.' However in the back of his mind, he knew that he would be just as unhappy there as he was here.
Fortunately, this extra boost of enthusiasm proved useful. After interviewing many suspects and studying the magical signature of the area, Harry finally got a lead on this so-called uprising of the Dark Forces. He was surprised that they were staying so quiet. Usually, they would like to leave their calling card wherever they went, but this time, Harry believed, that they were looking for something or someone. One thing was quite clear; they did not want to be found until the job was done.
Harry sat on his bed with papers scattered all around him. These sheets were the files of magical activity in the area for the past two months. Harry suspected that if he could find a pattern of activity in an area where magic is not supposed to appear, he believed he could find his men. His wand sat by his side as he took a highlighter and worked through page after page. He had to look carefully to make sure he was not highlighting an event that either they or the other fellow magical students had caused. He finished the last page, and sighed. "Where are they," he said to himself as he readjusted his glasses on his face. In usual Death Eater's operations, they used large quantities of magic in obtaining what they wanted, and, unfortunately, no large amount of magic was shown on record.
He picked up the beginning sheet again, reading off the buildings, "Capstone, Pettigrew, Pettigrew, Thomas Copper Library, Pettigrew…"
Just then, Ron came through the door humming some tune very off-key. Ron threw his book bag on the floor as he quickly turned on the TV. As he did every afternoon, Ron slid into his usual chair and stared at the screen. Ron looked up at Harry as he started to flip through the channels. "Are you still working on that? Harry, I'm worried that if you don't go out soon you might start growing mold."
Ignoring Ron's comments, Harry kept reading through his paper. Harry's eyes moved left to right as he searched. Then in almost as if a light switched on in his head, he instantly put down the paper. "Ron…" he called from over his bed, "Have you heard of a building on campus name Pettigrew?"
Ron finally removed his eyes from the TV screen to responded, "There is a building here named after a guy name Pettigrew! No wonder Death Eaters like this place. They name their buildings after the most famous ones."
"Ron that building was named many years before Wormtail was ever born, but I have to say the name itself makes me want to check it out."
After appearing interested at what Harry said for an instant, Ron returned his sight to the television. "Come on Harry… No Death Eater is stupid enough to put their name on the main Head Quarters. That's like them placing a neon sign out front saying 'catch me, I'm in here'."
Harry chuckled at this statement, "Yeah, I guess your right," but in the back of his mind he could not help but think, 'What if they are there, and what if they are just that stupid?'
*
David held Hermione tenderly in his arms as they lay in his enlarged bed. As they passionately kissed, they became more engrossed in each other's moves and touches. Hermione played with David's hair as he placed his hands around the waist of her hip hugging jeans. Their tongues intertwined as they moved their mouths together in a rhythmic kiss, but that was not enough for David. David placed his hands on her back, making her press more firmly against his chest and allowing him to feel all of her. With one quick motion, David was able to turn himself on top of Hermione. She smiled back affectionately as she broke the kiss once to look into his eyes before returning to her search, yet he would not meet her gaze. Hermione noticed this lack of interest, and intensified her kisses by lightly tugging on his bottom lip as he kissed the top.
Hermione's hair was spread out against the blue sheets. Her hair's chocolate brown color contrasted beautifully with the rosy tint rising in her cheeks. Hermione mouth started to roam down his neck making him shiver. David thought to himself, 'Her soft touch always was able to make me weak'. David smiled warmly while closing his eyes to the feel of her kisses, "You were never this bold before, Hermione…"
Hermione then moved up to his ear where she started to nibble at its tip. She trailed kisses down the side and whispered longingly, "I have never been this in love before… I am yours, and always will be yours." She nibbled a little more on his ear then spoke again, "I want to please you."
This answer, which on normal circumstances would have made him ecstatic, only caused him to feel even worse. He stopped holding her and sat on the edge of the bed. Hermione who was still partially on him fell to the side, but still did not catch the hint. She got on her knees behind him and began kissing his neck again. David looked straight ahead in a sour mood. Hermione had been in this state for almost two weeks now, and he had not once been able to do anything with her. It was just too easy. Half the fun was in the chase, and once that was taken away, Hermione ceased to be the girl he knew, the girl he wanted so badly. All she was now was another slut he found in a bar, and that disgusted him.
'This is not Hermione.' He thought to himself, 'This is the fake version that my father has made for me. I can't do this… I can't hurt her like this.' She was no longer the person he had known, she was just an object of pity and guilt, and his father was to blame for that.
Hermione started to suck on his ear again, giving it light tugs. She pressed herself to his back and kept insisting on keeping her arms around him, despite the fact he was no longer responding to her actions. She let her hands wonder around his built chest as she started blowing into his ear. Instead of getting the excited reaction she expected, David just shooed her way like she was a little gnat that was bothering him. "Will you stop that? I am trying to think?" David snapped.
Hermione instantly recoiled from her once seductive pose. "Have I not pleased you? Are you mad at me? Because if you are, you know you can do whatever you want to punish me." She started to smile naughtily, but even this trick did not catch his attention.
This last comment made him shutter, and gave him the reassurance that this was not a dream that he was going to wake up from, but a living nightmare. Without even acknowledging her with a glance, David stated sternly, "No I am not mad at you. I just want to think for a bit… Ok."
She sat quietly as she was told, without touching anything. There were several minutes of awkward silence until David just blurted out. "Why did my father have to interfere with our relationship? It was going really well until he came along and turned everything around." He got up from his seat quickly and stated, "Why can't he mind his own damn business." He stormed into the bathroom and slammed the door shut.
Hermione continued to sit on the bed perplexed, but she would not dare move or touch anything. This was David's room, and she did not want to make him even more upset.
*
After much deliberation, Harry decided to go ask Hermione what happened at Pettigrew. Since she was the one person he always went to whenever he had questions of this nature, she was the only person he thought of to ask. He knocked once on the outside of her dorm room door to find that it was partially open. Harry cautiously opened the door all the way to find a diligently working Hermione sitting at her desk. It appeared that she was oblivious to all the commotion that he had made outside. Harry propped himself on the door frame just watching her, and he could not help but smile at the sight that was before him. 'Now this is the Hermione that I know. The girl that would stop at nothing to get her work done.'
She was diligently reading and taking notes in what appeared to be the same book that she was working on in the library. Yet while Harry was watching her, Hermione had become aware of his presence. Without even looking up from her page she barked out, "What do you want Harry? Can't you see that I am busy?"
This wiped the smile off his face. Never once in his many years of knowing her had she ever totally blown off her friends, and now she was doing it regularly. Sure she would seclude herself in her work, but she never would purposely be rude to them to make them leave her alone. Harry took one step closer to get out of the lingering shadows. From her lack of cordiality, Harry's nerves and anxiety returned in full force. "Um… I just came over to ask you if… You knew anything about the building Pettigrew on campus."
Almost as in automatic, Hermione responded, "That is where class registration is completed." Then like a switch had been turned, her head came up from the book and she started staring at the wall ahead of her with a dreamy eyed expression. "That's also where David works. Ahh…" She savored the moment, and suddenly she dropped her head back into her book going straight to work as if the switch was turned off. Then the dorm room was plunged back into silence. Hermione continued her methodical rhythm of reading and taking notes as if there was no interruption.
Harry stood to the side of the door, knowing that he no longer had a reason to stay in her room. But he didn't want to leave just quite yet. He had not talked to his best friend in almost two weeks, and he missed her. Harry decided to break the silence. "So…What have you been doing lately? I haven't seen you for a while, and you know…"
Hermione turned at this last statement giving him a death glare, "I.. Have.. Been.. Busy. Can't you see that? If there is nothing else you need to ask me, then I need to ask you to leave because you're putting me behind schedule."
Hermione or not, Harry was not going to take that kind of attitude for just being nice. In a sarcastic tone, Harry called back, "Sorry for interrupting you, I know that you must not have much time to work on school work since David arrived… Oh wait, that's right, that ass you call a boyfriend is your life now. I guess his biddings are more important then your well being these days?"
Hermione turned her body around in her chair and slowly rose to her feet as if she was in slow motion. "How dare you talk about David like that? He is the most kind and caring person I know, and he would never put me in harm's way, unlike some people."
Harry had to step back in shock, but he recovered quickly, "Harm's way… I never purposely put you in danger, and if I am not mistaken, you were the one who wanted to help me with my problems back in school. I never wanted you or Ron to get hurt, but at least when you were at school with me, you had a life."
Hermione put her hands on her hips, and stated, "I have a life, a good life with David. I would not expect you to understand love. You haven't even been able to keep a steady girlfriend."
"Oh, I see, I'm supposed to do as you do, and take any person that will have me."
"At least I have relationships."
"At least I have my dignity."
"At least I know what love is." Hermione screamed at Harry.
Harry stared her straight in the eye. "Oh, I know what love is."
"I'm not talking about that puppy dog love you had for Cho." Hermione called out coldly.
"I didn't love Cho, Hermione." Harry stepped forward and stood so close to her that he could feel her breath increase. Harry looked into Hermione's eyes and stated dangerously, "I loved you."
Almost a minute pasted in complete silence and awe. Neither one of them could believe what they were hearing, but some how those little words were able to break down the tension in the room. In that minute something in Hermione's eyes changed too. Now she looked at Harry with the same longing as he had for her, and that was not all that was there. This was the Hermione he remembered. This was the girl that he loved. She looked into Harry's eyes confused and almost frightened. A tear fell on her cheek as she stood there. "Harry…I don't…know what's…"
Harry put his finger on her lips, quieting her. He moved his fingers to cup her chin, and her eyes told Harry she wanted this as much as he did. Harry started to smile and bring their lips closer together, but before he could get any closer Hermione turned her head away. She looked down to the floor, and Harry could clearly see that there was some kind of internal battle going on in her head. She stepped back from Harry and started shaking her head.
"No… NO… You're just trying to confuse me. I know my purpose. I love David. I love David. I love…"
Harry's euphoria fell immediately. Harry looked on confusedly, thinking, 'That made no sense'. Why would she not let herself kiss him? He knew what he saw, and that was not the same look she gave him when she spoke of David.
Hermione finally stopped her pacing and looked Harry straight in the eye. "Get out of my room now. You're just trying to ruin everything I have with David. You don't care about me. You just want to see me alone and rejected… Once I was your friend, but now I never want to see you again. GET OUT!"
Harry watched her, almost marveling at her wild mood swing. Where did this come from?
"Don't worry, you don't have to make me leave." Harry stated through his anger, "I wouldn't want to stay in your company any longer anyways. With this kind of attitude, I can't believe David can stand you. Oh, sorry, I forgot that he's an asshole too, making you perfect for one another. I hope you're both very happy. Good day." And with that final comment, Harry promptly walked out of her dorm, slamming it shut as he went.
As Harry was walking away, he could not help but think to himself, 'I see… I pour my heart out to her, and all she can think about is David. That's not love that's obsession.' With that, Harry continued on his way, still seething with anger.
*
I just wanted to tell all you readers out there that there is really a building name Pettigrew on USC campus, but it's just not spelled the same. It took me a while to figure out where I had heard that name from; but once it accrued to me, I just had to put it into my story.
As you probably can tell, I have a beta reader now. Actually I have two great beta readers. Kathryn Mason-Sykes beta read this chapter for me, and did a WONDERFUL JOB. Also James is beta reading for me, and I greatly appreciate it. Thanks again. R/R
Monday