Disclaimer: Nope. I’m not JK Rowling. This will become fairly obvious as the story progresses and my lack of brilliance shines through. Therefore, all recognizable characters belong to her and her alone. Only the plot is mine.
WAKING UP HARRY
Chapter Two: The Plan in Action
The sun was shining brightly, the air crisp and fresh as Harry and Hermione, with Ron and Luna just ahead, made their way to Hogsmeade.
At breakfast, Ron had begged them not to leave him alone with Luna. He seemed panicked at the thought. After giving him a stern lecture about taking care not to hurt Luna’s feelings and admonishing him to remember that he was going to be on a date (Ron turned so pale at this that his freckles stood out starkly against his pale skin), Hermione relented and agreed that they could all go together, at least at first. However, she also reminded Ron that if he were going to be so take a day off from homework, he had better make it worth his while.
As they walked, Harry was being very quiet, while Hermione was going over The Plan in her head. Hmmmmm. Maybe this was a good time for Stage One: ‘non-threatening’ physical contact. She reached out and grabbed Harry’s arm, hauling him back.
“What . . .?” he asked, startled.
‘Note to self,’ thought Hermione, ‘make that gentle non-threatening physical contact.’
“Shhhh,” she said, keeping her eyes on the tall figure of Ron Weasley. “Slow down.”
“Why?” Harry questioned. “We’re already kind of late.”
“Because, Harry. Ron and Luna are right in front of us. We need to give them time to get ahead.”
“Why would we want them to do that?” he asked, looking somewhat confused.
“Harry, do you really have to ask that?” Hermione asked in frustration.
“Luna likes Ron a great deal.”
“Okay. . .” He still didn’t understand what she was getting at.
“Luna really likes Ron,” Hermione repeated patiently, “and she wants to be alone with him.”
“But Ron doesn’t want to be alone with her,” Harry pointed out. “He’s scared of her.” Made perfect sense to Harry.
“Bah, scared!” Hermione scoffed. “So what if he’s scared! Protecting him by letting him hide behind us will do him absolutely no good in the end, and it certainly won’t help him get over his fear. Of course he wants to be with Luna; unfortunately, he just doesn’t know it yet. He needs time alone with her in order to realise his true feelings.”
“What, you don’t think he knows how he feels?” Harry asked incredulously. “How could he not know?”
Hermione gave him a long, considering look, but didn’t say a word. Under her steady gaze, Harry flushed and eventually glanced away.
They continued on towards Hogsmeade in silence, deliberately walking at a snail’s pace, until Ron and Luna were lost to view. A couple of times Ron turned around, staring back at them reproachfully. In each instance Luna tugged at his arm and pulled him forward.
Harry felt like the worst kind of traitor. Hermione, on the other hand, had already dismissed all thought of Ron and Luna. Her mind was working at top speed, calculating every possible situation she and Harry might find themselves in while at Hogsmeade and examining every possible way she might use The Plan in each situation. Harry glanced over at her once or twice, wondering what on earth she was thinking about. He knew that look! Eyes downcast, twirling a loose curl with one hand and other hand in her pocket--she was deep in thought.
‘Probably planning some horrendous new colour-coded study schedule for Ron and me,’ he thought fondly, smiling to himself. Just that morning, she had spent over twenty minutes at breakfast haranguing the both of them over their poor study habits and threatening dire consequences if they didn’t buckle down and take things more seriously. Ron’s mouth had been too full of food to argue; Harry of course knew it was useless when their Hermione was in full throttle.
When they arrived at the village, Hogsmeade was crowded as ever and Luna and Ron were nowhere in sight. Harry suggested starting off with a butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks, but Hermione pointed out that at this time of day the place would be crawling with Hogwarts students and finding a seat would be next to impossible. She mentioned her desperate need to acquire a newly-published book on the history of elves for her extensive collection, so Harry reluctantly agreed to go with her to Scrivenshaft’s Quill Shop. The shop had recently added a rather large book annex and Hermione was anxious to check it out.
On the way to Scrivenshaft’s, they passed Madam Puddifoot’s tea shop, where the pair caught a glimpse of a rather stunned-looking Ron and a dreamy-eyed Luna. Harry raised a hand to knock on the window; Hermione quickly seized his arm and yanked it away rather vigorously.
“Ow, Hermione,” protested Harry. “What was that for?”
‘Oops!’ she reminded herself guiltily. ‘I do need to remember the gentle part of that physical contact.’
“Harry!” she scolded. “Don’t! You’ll embarrass him. We don’t want him to know that we saw them.”
“Oh,” said Harry in a small voice. “Right.” Once again Hermione’s eyes bored into his. “Uhh, why is that exactly?” Bother! Once again he had somehow said the wrong thing.
Hermione rolled her eyes and prayed for patience. Could anyone be that clueless? Yes, she admitted to herself, someone certainly could. Harry could. She found it rather adorable, actually, but then everything about Harry was adorable.
“Harry, remember when you went to Madam Puddifoot’s with Cho?”
“Yes,” Harry responded, rather shortly. That was definitely not one of his favourite memories.
“Did you enjoy it? Being there with Cho I mean?”
“Uhh--,” Harry floundered. What did she expect him to say? You had to be so careful around girls; they seemed to find deep, hidden meaning in the most innocent of words. It was bloody confusing.
“What I mean is, would you have liked it if Ron or I had walked by and seen you and Cho together . . .”
Harry uttered a strangled sound. Why was she bringing this up? He thought back to the previous Valentine’s Day and that dreadful “date” with Cho Chang. Those stupid little golden cupids hovering overhead, throwing their pink confetti; the overheated room decorated with bows and frills, jammed full of tiny round tables meant for two; snogging couples right and left; Cho obviously expecting him to do . . . something! And Roger Davies with his girlfriend, glued together at the lips, kissing over the sugar bowl; knowing Cho was probably wishing that she was with Roger, being heartily kissed, instead of with silly, stammering Harry; Cho crying . . . crying! . . .everyone staring at him accusingly, probably wondering what Cho was doing with a loser like Harry Potter when she could have had any wizard at Hogwarts . . . he shuddered visibly, remembering how completely useless and humiliated he had felt. Wanting to do the right thing; wanting Cho to like him, but not quite knowing how to go about it.
Hermione gave a satisfied nod. “Exactly. That’s how Ron would feel if he caught us looking at them right now.”
“But, Hermione . . .” She fixed him with a beady eye and Harry subsided, defeated.
Poor Harry looked so miserable and confused, it seemed a perfect time for additional implementation of Stage One. She patted him consolingly on the shoulder and, softly this time, steered him once again towards Scrivenshaft’s.
Forty-five minutes later, Hermione was sitting cross-legged on the floor of the shop in front of the Magical Creatures section, her nose buried in a thick book. As usual, she was enthralled by every word and showed no sign of wanting to budge in the foreseeable future. After several futile attempts and broad hints, Harry snatched “Elves: A History” out of her hands, put both hands around her waist, and forcibly hauled her to her feet.
Ignoring her “Harry, what are you doing?” he placed an arm around her shoulders and marched her to the checkout counter.
“Harry,” Hermione protested, secretly enjoying the weight of Harry’s arm around her. “Are you bored?”
“No,” he stated, deadpan. “I would like nothing better than to spend hours and hours inside a quill and book shop on a beautiful, sunny, Saturday. Can’t imagine anything that would give me more joy. Or, no, wait! Maybe spending hours and hours at the library with Madam Pince glaring at me would be equally thrilling. Better than Christmas Day. Better even than Quidditch.”
“Prat,” she said, poking him gently on the arm, and brushing her head against his shoulder. Her quick smile took any sting out of the word. Harry grinned down at her. That grin! There went her knees again.
“All right,” she sighed, smiling slightly and handing her money to the cashier. “I guess I’ve tortured you enough. Although”wait!” she joked, “Perhaps while we’re here we could take a peek at those new neon-coloured quills they just got in.”
“Her-mi-o-neeee,” Harry whined, giving her the puppy-dog eyes. “Pleeeease?”
“Very well,” she laughed again and gave him a small hug. Hermione was in fact beginning to enjoy Stage One of The Plan very much. Touching Harry this often was pleasant, very pleasant, yet didn’t require her to dig too deeply into her reserves of Gryffindor courage.
“You’re been very good,” she continued. “Let’s go get a butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks and then head over to Honeydukes. I’d like to pick up a couple of chocolate frogs and some Fudge Flies for Ron; a large infusion of sweets should help him recover from any trauma he might have incurred from spending time with Luna.”
Harry snorted.
Or,” she teased, “Would you rather join Ron and Luna for a hot chocolate at Madam Puddifoot’s? I hear the chocolate there is delicious and she’s got these adorable little pink cupids serving this week,” she added, chuckling at his look of horror.
“Hermione, you are just evil!”
“Only kidding, Harry.” And with Stage One resolutely in mind, she took hold of his arm and they made their way to their favourite pub, Harry with a bemused expression on his face.
They had walked only a few meters when Hermione felt Harry stiffen beside her. Seeing a frozen expression cross his face, she followed his eyes and saw Cho Chang heading towards them. She was beaming and holding hands with Terry Boot; evidently she hadn’t noticed them yet.
Hermione dropped Harry’s arm.
‘Well I guess he isn’t over her yet,’ she sighed to herself. ‘Look at him! He’s probably wishing he was the one holding her hand and wondering how he got stuck with me. He was just being kind earlier when he said I was pretty. Really, what else could he say when I was going on and on in that ridiculous way”didn’t want me to feel bad about myself. That’s Harry for you: always the kind and considerate friend. Friend! I’m sure he wishes he could patch things up with Cho and have a nice snog to look forward to. She’s so beautiful. Honestly! What was I thinking? Stupid plan!’
Harry, meanwhile, was thinking wistfully that he had rather liked having Hermione hold his arm and wished she would grab at him again. His eyes met Cho’s.
“Hello Harry,” she said condescendingly. Then, coldly, “Hermione.”
“Er, hi,” managed Harry. ‘Brilliant! Potter gives yet another witty and sparkling response!’
“Hello Cho. Hello Terry,” Hermione’s voice was calm. “How are you?” ‘Horrible girl! She is deliberately flaunting herself. Clinging to Terry’s hand and throwing Harry’s lack of experience in his face! Look at Harry”he’s mortified! Ohhhh, what I wouldn’t do to get her alone in a dark alley. Ravenclaw indeed! She wouldn’t stand a chance.’
“Wonderful, thanks,” Cho tossed her head, gave a haughty smile, and held even more tightly to her date’s hand. Terry, who was in Ravenclaw but only a sixth-year like Harry and Hermione, seemed dazed by his good fortune in landing a date with the lovely Cho.
'Poor bloke probably doesn’t know what hit him,’ thought Harry.
“Well,” Cho said in a brittle voice. “You two kids enjoy yourselves then.”
‘Hummmfff,’ Hermione growled to herself. ‘I’ll “kids” her!’
Harry gave Terry a sympathetic nod as they passed each other and wondered if Cho had cried all over him yet. He glimpsed at Hermione and was surprised to see that she was looking a bit red. Her jaw was firmly set, she was clenching her teeth, and her arms were held tight at her sides.
“You all right then, Hermione?” he asked, concerned.
“Perfectly fine,” was the reply. “Why?”
“You look upset,” he said bluntly.
“Why on earth would I be upset?”
Harry thought for a moment. Once again, a scene from last year sprang into his mind. He and Hermione were at dinner, Ron was still at Quidditch practice, and Cho Chang had walked into the Great Hall with her friend, Marietta, ignoring him.
‘Oh, I forgot to ask you,’ Hermione had said brightly, glancing over at the Ravenclaw table, ‘What happened on your date with Cho? How come you were back so early?’
He had told her the date was a “complete fiasco,” which was certainly the truth. Then he had gone on to tell her everything that had happened. She had chastised him for being a bit tactless.
‘Me, tactless!’ He remembered feeling outraged. ‘One minute we were getting on fine, next minute she was telling me that Roger Davies asked her out, and how she used to go and snog Cedric in that stupid tea shop”how was I supposed to feel about that?’
Hermione had then proceeded to tell him, explaining things to him as if he were a two-year-old, exactly what he should have said to Cho. ‘You should have told her differently. You should have said it was really annoying, but I’d made you promise to come along to the Three Broomsticks, and you really didn’t want to go, you’d much rather spend the whole day with her, but unfortunately you thought you really ought to meet me and would she please, please come along with you, and hopefully you’d be able to get away more quickly? And it might have been a good idea to mention how ugly you think I am too.’
‘But I don’t think you’re ugly,’ Harry recalled saying. Hermione had told him Cho had been upset that Harry was going to meet Hermione and had been trying to make him jealous. Women! How could any man be expected to understand them? Why couldn’t they just say what they meant?
Hermione was still looking upset and he didn’t want to make matters worse by saying the wrong thing. Then he realized that maybe Hermione was thinking that he was thinking he wished he were with Cho right now! She couldn’t be thinking that, could she? Well, better safe than sorry.
“Poor bloke,” Harry mused aloud, peeking surreptitiously at Hermione. “Probably has no idea what he’s in for. Hope he thinks twice before saying anything to that one, unless he fancies getting himself cried on.” He was relieved to see a smile lurking at the corner of Hermione’s mouth.
“You’re terrible,” she said, elbowing him softly in the ribs. But Harry could not help noticing that she looked rather pleased.