A/N: Hello everyone, this story is winding down. I am at the last few chapters. I did, at first, want to make it a little longer, but my heart is not really into this story too much anymore. I like my other two stories a lot more, and I want to focus more on them. I don't really have much farther to go in this story. So I am guessing, maybe three more chapters left.
I appreciate everyone's reviews!! I love hearing what people have to say and it keeps me writing when I just really want to stop. Anyway, I hope everyone is having a great day and I hope you like this chapter!!!
Thanks again!
~Jen~
Disclaimer: Same as usual!
Trying Times
Chapter Seven
After practice, Harry headed to his room. He was eager to talk to Hermione. He had to convince her to come with him tonight, so that she could see for herself that Gregory was evil.
He walked through the corridors and into the common room. Walking up the stairs, he walked into his room and put away his broom. He changed out of his Quidditch clothes, and put on something more comfortable so he could head down to dinner.
He sat on his bed for a second while the thoughts of this afternoon ran through his head. He had to, no matter what; convince Hermione to come with him. She would have to see, or else she would never know.
He wondered who the other person was. Could it be Voldemort himself? What about Malfoy or Wormtail? He clenched his teeth in anger as the ideas formed into his head. The thought that someone was trying to get to him through Hermione was enough to make his blood boil. He was always the one, always. But, he was going to make sure Hermione didn't get hurt. He would tie her to her bed if he had to and put a locking spell on the door that even she couldn't break. She was not going to be alone with Gregory again, or he would die trying.
Harry got up and left his room. He met up with Ron in the common room, and they headed down to the Great Hall.
As they rounded the corner, the image that stood in front of Harry made his anger swell again.
Standing in front of the door was Gregory and Hermione. They were standing rather close to each other and Harry had to resist the urge to force them apart and beat Gregory to a bloody pulp.
Hermione was laughing at something Gregory had said and Gregory was standing there with a smile. Again, Harry wanted to run and rip the smile off his face and take Hermione away from him. That's supposed to be me there, making her laugh and smile, not that insignificant prat!
Ron turned to Harry and raised his eyebrows at the scene. Harry shrugged his shoulders and turned back to look at them. They were too engrossed in each other to notice Harry or Ron.
Harry cleared his throat, to make their presence known, and Gregory and Hermione turned to face them.
"Oh, Hello Harry, Hello Ron," Hermione stated, moving back a step away from Gregory.
"We were just trying to get in the Great Hall, and you were kinda blocking the way," Harry said. He didn't mean for it to sound rude, but it was all he could do to control his anger.
"Oh, well excuse us," Gregory said in a smart-alecky voice.
Hermione turned to Gregory and gave him a reprimanding look. "Gregory, you didn't have to be so rude. We were blocking the door."
"Hermione, did you not hear how he talked to me?" Gregory asked, keeping his eyes on Harry and vice versa.
"It didn't sound rude to me," Hermione stated. She moved out of the way of the door, pulling Gregory with her.
"Are you coming in?" Ron asked Hermione as he was about to walk in the door first.
"Oh, yes Ron, I will be there in a second," Hermione answered. She looked toward Harry, who was still having a staring contest with Gregory. What's going on? Why are they looking at each other like that?
Harry turned to walk in, but Gregory stuck out his foot, causing Harry to trip and fall onto the ground. Harry was shaking with rage. He pushed himself back up and turned to Gregory.
"You better watch yourself Potter; we don't want to see the boy-who-lived die of such a small thing. You have to save the world, remember?" Gregory sneered.
Hermione saw Gregory trip Harry and she wondered why he would do such a thing. He had been acting a little differently lately. He was always putting down Harry and saying that Hermione should stop being friends with him.
"Shut up Gregory. You don't fool me and soon everyone will find out who you really are," Harry replied. He face was completely red from anger, and he had to ball up his fists and strain to keep them at his side.
Harry shot a look to Hermione and then walked into the Great Hall.
Hermione turned to Gregory, she had to find out why he did that. She opened her mouth to say something, when someone interrupted them.
"Silverton, I need to speak with you for a moment," a familiar voice said. Hermione looked behind her to see Draco Malfoy standing with his trademark smirk.
"Hermione, I gotta take care of this. Go inside and I will talk to you later, ok?" Gregory said. Hermione was shocked. Why would he want to talk to Malfoy? I thought they hated each other?
Hermione didn't say anything; she was still astonished by Gregory's behavior. First he trips Harry, then Draco Malfoy is asking to speak with him and he goes off with him. What is going on?
She turned and walked into the Great Hall. She took a seat beside Harry and began filling her plate.
"Harry, I'm sorry about Gregory. I'm sure he didn't mean it. He has just been so stressed lately and…," Hermione started to say, but was interrupted by Harry.
"Look Hermione, stop making excuses for him. He meant it, and that's all that matters," Harry simply stated. He looked into her eyes for a moment and Harry knew right then it would take awhile to get her to believe him, but he had to, no matter what.
Hermione didn't say anything to Harry's comment. She knew for some reason, that he was right. She had to figure out what was wrong with him, though. "Harry, I was wondering if we could talk tonight?" Hermione asked tentatively.
"Yeah, after dinner?" Harry said, turning to face her with bright green eyes melting into her. For some reason she had this urge to kiss him, but she didn't know why.
She nodded her head, which was all she could do at the moment. She finished eating and they all left the Great Hall. They walked to Hermione's room and went in.
Harry took a seat on her bed, and Hermione walked over to sit beside him.
"Harry," Hermione began. She really had no idea where to start, so she figured casual conversation would be the best ice breaker. "How has your week been?"
"Hermione," Harry said, looking at his feet. "Let's just skip the small talk, ok?"
Hermione nodded and jumped right in. "Ok, then where have you been going at night? I know you've been sneaking out."
Harry was shocked. How did she know that? He was debating whether or not to tell her the truth or not, but figured he had better if he wanted her to believe him later.
"Well, I guess it's best if I start from the beginning," Harry answered with his eyes still trained on the ground. "Since that day, in the Three Broomsticks and I followed you, I have had this bad feeling about Gregory." Harry saw Hermione open her mouth, but he put a finger to her lips. He got up from the bed and stood in front of her.
"Don't say anything, just hear me out," Harry began and Hermione nodded once again. "Since that day, I knew something was going on with him. I saw him outside that one day, and his conversation wasn't a nice one. Ok, if you are going to give your soon to be girlfriend a gift, shouldn't it come from a store, not someone who looks as if they just got out of Azkaban, and you shouldn't be meeting behind buildings either."
Harry took a deep breath and noticed Hermione was still giving him her full attention. He continued on, "So, when I was trying to tell you, he heard me and made up that lame story about being your girlfriend. Today, I was out on the Quidditch field. I decided to fly around the school and I happened to fly by the Astronomy Tower." Harry watched as Hermione's face turned from neutral into one of anger.
"Harry, please don't tell me you spied on me again!" Hermione said, not believing what she just heard. Harry only nodded and waited for her explosion.
"How could you?" Hermione yelled. She stood up and faced Harry. "I thought I told you to stop this! It's ridiculous!" Hermione started walking toward the door. "I'm leaving!" Hermione said as she grabbed the handle to walk out of the room. She tried the handle, but it wouldn't budge. She turned back to Harry, and saw he was standing there with his wand pointed toward the door.
"Harry James Potter, you let me out of this room right now!" Hermione shouted as she glared at him.
"No, not until you hear me out!" Harry said, shaking his head.
"I don't want to listen to you anymore!" Hermione answered. She turned her head to look at the wall. She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to subdue some of her anger. When she opened them, Harry was standing right in front of him. She tried to turn her head, but he put both of his hands on the side of her face and made her look at him.
"Hermione, please, I am begging you. It is important, just listen to what I have to say and then when I'm done, you can decide whether you want to leave or not," Harry said with pleading eyes. He had to get her to give him a chance.
"Fine, talk!" She said as she crossed her arms over her chest and plopped down on the bed.
Harry began to pace in front of her, working out how to tell her so that she would believe him.
"Anyway, I had my reasons to spy on you," Harry began and Hermione huffed. Harry ignored her and continued, "I heard you two talking for a moment, and then you left. Well, Gregory wasn't alone Hermione." Harry watched as Hermione finally turned to look at him. He could see the confusion written on her face.
"There was someone else there. When you turned to leave, they stepped out of the shadows. I didn't see who it was, because I was hiding around the corner, but it wasn't someone good. They were calling you names and Gregory said he had you wrapped around his finger," Harry said and Hermione was staring at him intently.
"He then asked the figure what to do about me, and they said they would take care of me," Harry said and Hermione began to shake her head.
"You're lying! Gregory would never do anything to hurt me!" Hermione said, still in denial. She looked down at the floor, not wanting to believe anything Harry was saying.
"Hermione, I swear, I'm not lying to you! We've been friends for seven years, do you not trust me? Why would I say these things?" Harry said, pleading with her.
"Gregory said you would try and say something about him. Why are you doing this! You don't want me to be happy. I didn't want to believe Gregory, but he was right all along!" Hermione said, looking back to Harry with tears swimming in her eyes.
Harry dropped down to her level and took her by the arms. He looked her right in the eye and said, "Hermione, listen to me. I swear I would never, ever, do something to hurt you! I'm only telling you the truth. How well do you really know Gregory? You don't, but you do know me and you should know that I wouldn't lie to you. What do I have to gain?"
Hermione looked at him, and Harry continued on, "Hermione, I would never want to see you unhappy. I only want the best for you." He was about to continue when Hermione interrupted.
"No you don't! You don't want me to be happy because you're unhappy! I'm just Hermione Granger, below any other girl in this school. No one wants me, and finally when I find someone who does, you come and try to mess it up! Can't you just leave me alone Harry and stop this! Please, stop this!" Hermione said. She had jumped up during her rant and was moving about the room. Tears were falling down her cheeks and she tried to come to terms with what Harry was saying. She couldn't believe Harry would do this to her.
"Hermione! I am NOT going to stop this! I can't let you get hurt! God damn Hermione!" Harry was screaming now too and he was getting frustrated. He rammed a hand through his hair, trying to control his anger. "Can't you see that I won't let him do this to you. Not when I love you!" Harry couldn't believe what he had just said. He watched as Hermione's eyes widened at the comment. He didn't want to tell her like this, when they were shouting at each other.
Hermione couldn't believe her ears. Did he just say…? No, he couldn't have. Yes he did. Harry Potter just admitted that he loved me. Hermione looked him in the eyes and whispered, "You love me?"
Harry walked over to her, so they were standing almost nose to nose and looked her right in the eyes. "Hermione, I love you more than I could ever imagine. I have loved you since the first day I saw you. You brighten my day and I was so stupid to take this long to see it. Hermione Granger, I love you," Harry whispered as he brushed her hair from her eyes.
Hermione didn't know what to say at the moment, so she did the only thing that she could. She closed the distance between them and planted a sweet kiss on his lips. They parted and stood looking at each other. It only took about a few more seconds before both of them were eager for more.
Harry pulled her closer and grabbed the back of her neck. Hermione threaded her fingers into his hair as they began to probe each others mouth, tasting each other in a way that they had never done before.
Hermione loved the feel of Harry's fingers moving over her skin and the tingling sensation that it was forming over her body. He kissed so wonderfully and Hermione could have sworn she saw fireworks. So this is the kind of kiss that means love. Love? Did she love him back? Yes, she did, she knew now that she had always loved him; the way she always cared for him and worried about him. How she would make it a point to be near him and how his opinions always mattered. How her heart sank when she saw him with another girl or when Ron had suggested that he was meeting a girl. She smiled into the kiss that was full of passion and love.
They pulled apart for oxygen, both breathing deeply, and they looked into each other's eyes. Harry couldn't believe he just kissed Hermione like that. It was by far the best kiss he had ever had in his short life, and he hoped there were more to come. Something finally looked as if it was going his way. He had just told Hermione he loved her and he just shared a passionate kiss with her. His heart was doing back flips within his chest. The joy was hard to contain.
Hermione grabbed his hand and laced their fingers together. She looked back into his eyes and pulled him into a hug. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he hugged her tightly to his chest. She leaned down to his ear and whispered softly, "I love you, too!"
Harry withdrew and it was his turn to stare at her wide-eyed. Hermione smiled from ear to ear at his stunned expression and began to giggle. "Is it really that shocking, Mr. Potter?"
Harry shook himself out of his trance and grinned back. "Actually, Miss Granger it is. I never would have thought that you would love me in return."
"Harry, listen to me," Hermione began as she led him to the bed and they sat beside each other, fingers still laced together. "You are a wonderful person and the sweetest person I know. I have loved you for so long; I don't remember when I didn't. The only reason I went out with Gregory was to fill a void in my heart. A hole that was missing something, and at that time, I didn't know what. But now I do," Hermione said, looking at him intently. "I was missing you!"
Harry smiled at her comment and he leaned in for another kiss. This one was calmer; it was more of a kiss to let each other know how they felt. When they pulled back, Hermione thought about something. "Harry, you never answered me. Where were you going at night?"
Harry looked at her and his smile disappeared. "Well, when I thought Gregory might be up to something, I had to watch him. So every night, I took my invisibility cloak and stood outside the Ravenclaw portrait hole to see who he was meeting, but he never came out. But every night, I would sit there so that I could find out what he was up to."
Harry was fully expecting another shout from Hermione, so he looked toward the ground. He was shocked when he felt her warm hand on his cheek. He turned to look at her and she was on the verge of tears again.
"You did that for me? Because you were worried about what would happen to me?" Hermione asked. She couldn't believe he would do all that for her. No wonder he was tired, poor thing!
Harry nodded and Hermione smiled. A few tears leaked from her eyes. She pulled him close and gave him a long, seductive kiss. "I love you so much Harry Potter!" Hermione said quietly. Harry smiled again, but wasted no time in sealing her mouth with his.
Harry was laying on Hermione, and they were both on her bed. His hand was on her stomach and her arms were wrapped around his back. They continued to taste and explore each other. Harry left Hermione's mouth and wondered down her jaw line, outlining it with sweet kisses. He found a spot on her neck and began sucking lightly. Hermione giggled from the tiny tickling feeling that swept her body.
Harry and Hermione were lost in each other, they didn't know that the time had flown by and it was already tweleve. Hermione's eyes widened when she saw the time.
"Harry?" she said and he mumbled something, but continued to suck on her neck. "I hate to break this up, but it is already twelve, and I need to get some homework done before bed."
Harry let go of her neck and sat up abruptly. He turned to the clock and stood up from the bed. Hermione wondered what was wrong, as she gazed at his anxious moves. "Harry, what's wrong?"
Harry looked back toward and he said, "Today, when I heard Gregory talking in the Astronomy tower, the other person with him told him to meet him behind the greenhouse at one tonight."
Hermione looked at him and said, "So, are we going to go?"
"No, we," Harry said pointing from him to her, "aren't going, but I'm going!"
Hermione sat up and looked Harry right in the face. "Harry James Potter, don't give me this hero crap right now! I am going with you and that's final. I have to see what Gregory is up to. He has been tricking me lately, and I have a right to find out why!" Hermione gave him a stern glare.
Harry nodded his head. "Ok, but if anything happens, you have stay out of the way!" Harry told her as he got out his invisibility cloak. He rummaged through, looking for his Marauder's Map, but he couldn't find it. Suddenly it dawned on him that he let Ron borrow it, so he and Lavender could have some "alone time".
Hermione saw the nervous look on Harry and asked him what was wrong.
"I let Ron borrow the map so he and Lavender could be al tonight. I don't know where he is so I can get it back!" Harry told her.
"Well, let's just go without it. We still have the cloak, and we'll just have to be extra careful," Hermione said.
They left the room, and headed out the portrait hole. Harry threw the cloak over them as they made their way through the castle and behind the greenhouses.
They hid behind a tree in the corner and watched for anyone to arrive.
Time passed and no one came. Harry looked at his watch, which read 1:45 am, and sighed.
"Maybe it's tomorrow," Hermione offered and Harry shook his head.
"No, it was tonight. I'm sure of it. Something's wrong!" Harry answered. "Let's get back to the castle, something doesn't feel right."
They began to move, but suddenly they felt a strong tug on the invisibility cloak. It was yanked off of them. Harry and Hermione gripped their wands and turned around to find Gregory and another figure person, who was hidden behind a cloak, standing there.
Harry was about to say a spell, but Gregory was quicker. "Expelliarmus!" he said and both Harry and Hermione's wands shot into his hand.
"Well, looks like you aren't going anywhere!" Gregory hissed before he turned and shouted "Stupefy!" toward Hermione. She fell to the ground and Harry's anger surged, but he didn't get to say anything to him as he suddenly heard the curse fired at him and everything went black.
Hope everyone liked it. Sorry for the cliffhanger, I hope to have the next chapter out soon! Please REVIEW!!!!!!!!!