Readers: I am unable to include complete italics in this chapter....I think it increases the number of characters too much, and the form just chops my chapter in half. =(
Chapter Eleven: I Need You…
7:33 a.m., Monday morning, The Hospital Wing
Hermione blinked rapidly to get the inexplicable tears blurring her vision out of her eyes. She felt very cold, even though she was wrapped in a very thick blanket, and she felt herself trembling slightly. She could make out a tangle of people peering at her from above; one of them very close to her and seemed to be cradling her face, while the others were standing farther away as a woman ushered Harry apart from her and leaned in to examine Hermione’s eyes.
“Hermione!” a voice called. After a few more blinks, Hermione could see very clearly who it was, despite the fact that she had already recognized him from his voice. Hastily pushing herself to a sitting position, she called his name, “Harry!” she breathed, a smile crossing her lips. Ignoring Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall’s stern looks and instructions, Harry swept past them and pulled Hermione into a tight hug.
Hermione fell into Harry’s arms, her eyes shut tightly as she tried to keep her tears of unexplained overwhelming away. She tried to forget everything as she inhaled his soft scent, felt his arms curve around her in a loving embrace, and heard his quiet assurances that he loved her.
“Hermione, you have no idea how worried I’ve been…” he whispered hoarsely into her ear, “After that git told me what he did, I just...snapped. I was so scared that you were hurt…” he kissed the top of her head, patting her back, “I…I love you…”
Hermione smiled, a few small tears creeping out of her eyes, blurring her vision again, “I love you too, Harry…” she whispered softly, burying her face in his chest.
Beside them, a loud tap was heard to come from behind them. A glance in that direction, and they saw Professor McGonagall looking at them with an outraged expression, “Mr. Potter! Miss Granger! I understand you are glad to see each other after an ordeal quite like this one, but I will not tolerate such displays of affection in my presence. Please, control yourselves,” she snapped angrily, making Hermione blush bright red and pull herself away from Harry, who was staring at the floor with an embarrassed expression on his face.
“Forgive me, Professor…I…” Hermione started in a small voice, but McGonagall cut her off, “Apology accepted, Miss Granger. Now, if you would please allow Poppy to check on you…” she said briskly, gesturing towards Madam Pomfrey, who frowned, and stepped towards Hermione.
After five minutes or so, she finished checking Hermione’s reflexes and pulse. Turning towards Professor McGonagall, she had a sort, brisk talk with her before the older woman left the Hospital Wing. With a glance at Harry, Madam Pomfrey said, “Be on your way, Potter. Breakfast is already being served in the Great Hall, and Miss Granger needs her rest,”
Harry shook his head, “I’m not hungry. Please, can’t I stay with her while she has some breakfast? I won’t bother her at all, I hope…” he said innocently, giving her a pleading look.
With a grin, Hermione piped up, “Oh, yes, I would be much happier with some company,” she said happily.
Madam Pomfrey crossed her arms and sighed, “Very well, Potter, but if I hear the tiniest bit of a disturbance, I’m afraid you will have to leave,” she said crossly before pulling out her wand and waving it towards the nightstand beside Hermione’s bed. Instantly, a plate stacked with several pieces of toast, another with porridge, a goblet of pumpkin juice, and a small plate with ham and eggs appeared. “You can go later today, preferably around dinner; I want to keep an eye on you for the day; see how you do,” she said, looking at Hermione, who nodded. Then, with another dark look at Harry, she swiftly set off into her office.
Hermione smiled at Harry, patting a corner beside her on the bed for him to sit as she reached for the plate with the stack of toast. Harry sat down next to her and put his arm around her shoulders, kissing the top of her head lovingly.
“Listen, Hermione…” he said tentatively, twirling a strand of her soft hair between his fingers, “I’m…I’m sorry for arguing with you yesterday. I was being kind of paranoid, and””
Hermione shook her head, swallowing a piece of toast quickly so as to be able to speak, “No, no…I was being completely ridiculous. You were doing what was expected of you. You were worried…” she whispered, “I was just acting without thinking, looking around for arguments. I shouldn’t have done that…I should know better,” she finished, looking down at her hands, which rested on her lap.
“But I didn’t exactly inspire much confidence by yelling at you to tell me what was happening…and after what happened”all this, I just can’t help but think it’s partly my fault,” Harry said slowly, capturing her chin with his right hand and moving her head to meet her eyes, “If we hadn’t been arguing, you wouldn’t have stormed off, anyway,”
Hermione snorted lightly, shaking her head again, “I probably would have. I was already in a very frustrated mood when you saw Ron and I arguing. Believe me, I would have left either way,”
Harry shook his head vehemently, “No, Hermione, that…that’s not the point,” he said weakly, sighing, “I just…I still feel bad for yelling anyway. I was overreacting”though you should really try to avoid baiting Ron into an argument”and I just feel like I should apologize, that’s all,” he said softly, kissing her lips lightly, “So…I’m sorry. Next time I’ll try to think about what I say first,”
Hermione grinned, choosing to avoid going around talking in circles, and decided to steer the conversation away from yesterday’s mess. Locking her arms around his neck, “Hadn’t you already promised me that?” she asked with mock outrage, raising an eyebrow playfully. Harry, however, frowned as he remembered that he had promised her something along those lines. With a disappointed look, he dropped his hand from her hair back to the edge of the bed, “I did promise you that didn’t I? Fantastic, I can’t even keep a promise as simple as that,” he said dully, shaking his head in frustration.
Oh, why can’t he just play along? Hermione thought, frustrated, Can’t he see that I was joking? Am I always so feisty that he really took my comment to be serious?
As her slight frown disappeared from her face, though, Hermione gave him a soft, consoling look. On the other hand, Ron would have probably chuckled and said something like, “Oh well, maybe next time,” Thank Merlin Harry isn’t like that…he looks genuinely sorry. I mean, it doesn’t please me to see that he’s upset, at least I can see that he cares, she thought, moving one of her hands from his neck to his hand and holding it tightly, “Oh, Harry…” she said in a low, slightly hoarse voice, “Please, don’t…I really don’t mind that you forgot once…I was just kidding, you know that, don’t you?”
“I know, it’s just the fact that I made you a promise and I can’t even keep it!” Harry snapped, “And how many times have I shown you that I love you? Honestly, if you think about it, I’m a wreck. You’ve noticed, too, remember?”
“Don’t be stupid, Harry. Of course you’ve shown me that you love me. All I said yesterday…just forget about it all. I was mad; you know how I get when I’m angry,” Hermione whispered with a pained look, “And keeping one’s thoughts from spilling out of our mouths isn’t exactly easy, either. Especially if a person is naturally outspoken,” When Harry didn’t comment, she sighed, “Stop trying to find something wrong with you, Harry…you’re fine…you’re more than I could ever hope for, believe me,”
Harry looked up at her with a weak smile and a mildly surprised expression on his face. As he opened his mouth to speak, however, Hermione cut him off, moving her hand yet again from his hand to his cheek and pulling him closer with her other hand, which still rested around his neck. With a mischievous smile, she whispered, “What am I going to have to do to impress upon you that it’s fine? No more apologizing, Potter, do I make myself clear?” at his grin, she smiled and leaned forward to kiss him. He wrapped one of his hands around her middle, keeping the other one free. Without separating herself from him, Hermione scooted around him so that she was sitting in front of him. His free hand quickly flew from the bed to the back of her head, cradling it as if he were afraid it would get hurt. Hermione laughed at that, but didn’t comment.
Finally, they pulled apart, both of them breathless. Hermione’s cheeks were rather pink as she stared at Harry with a happy smile crossing her lips. Harry unconsciously ran his hand through his hair, thinking of something good to say. After a few minutes of awkward silence, he finally came up with something. Looking up from the floor to her, he cleared his throat. She had been playing absentmindedly with the hem pf her robes, which had a loose string in them. At Harry’s slight noise, she looked up in mild surprise and relief. Oh, thank God I don’t have to break the silence…honestly, what is someone supposed to say after a hefty snogging session? ’Oh, that was nice, Harry. Absolutely loved it. Shall we try it again?’
That sounds stupid, even in my mind.
Harry nodded, mostly as a way to remind himself what he was going to say, “How about, after detention with Snape…” he scowled at the thought that his evening had to be ruined by Snape, but shook his anger away. At least he would be with Hermione, “Well, how about, I take my Invisibility Cloak and we can go for a walk around the lake? I know a way to get to a…secret place there,” he smiled at Hermione’s pleased look, “It’ll be my way of apologizing to you,”
Hermione giggled, “Oh, Harry, that’d be fantastic! It sounds perfect…and it’ll be especially wonderful after a detention with Snape….”
Harry frowned, “What?” he asked.
“Well, his detentions usually end late, right? So, when we leave, we won’t be…interrupted,” she said with a playful smile and a shrug, bringing her legs up from the floor and crossing them beneath her.
Harry grinned, “We wouldn’t have been interrupted anyway, believe me,” he said, “No one roams the Grounds on a Monday night,” he declared with a snort.
Hermione scooted closer again and kissed his lip lightly, “I’ll be looking forward to it. After a whole day here and an evening in the Dungeons, it’ll be like our triumph against all this mess,” she grinned, “Nothing can keep us apart,”
Harry laughed, “Except homework that I really have to get to because I have that class in an hour,” he said, giving her an apologetic look as she pursed her lips in disapproval, “I was worried, Hermione. Otherwise, I would have finished it,”
Hermione raised an eyebrow, “Tell you what”do you have your book bag here?” she asked, and when Harry nodded, she continued, “Good, then I’ll help you with it,” Harry’s eyes positively lit up and he gaped at her, “Really? You’re amazing, Hermione, thanks!” he sputtered before cupping her face with both hands and giving her a long kiss as a means of thanks. Hermione almost fainted from surprise, but quickly recovered. Wrapping her arms around his neck and feeling his arms curve around her in a hug, she wished they would never pull apart.
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6:48 p.m., Monday evening, Hogwarts Corridors/Dungeons
Hermione held a small, folded piece of parchment in her hand, trying to contain her smile as she read it. Inside were Harry’s class notes for the day, which included Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, History of Magic, and Herbology. The reason for Hermione’s uncontrollable amusement was the length of the notes. He had apparently tried to pay attention during class for her, and had done a pretty good job until History of Magic. He had started scribbling on and on what seemed like almost every word that came out of Professor Binns’ mouth, but halfway around the paper, the words had gone curiously clear, until he had just seemed to drift off and forget completely about even listening to what the Professor was saying. However, the funniest thing of it all”and rather disgusting, really”was that there was a small trail of drool that had left its mark near the end of the parchment. Harry didn’t seem to have noticed, because he had proudly given his notes to Hermione for her to study off.
Looking up at Harry, Hermione tried to keep her face straight, but the playful merriment dancing in her eyes was hard to conceal, “Well, see? You could get much better marks in class if you did this everyday, Harry,” she said with an irrepressible grin as they went down a flight of stairs from the third floor to the second floor.
“Why would I pay attention?” Harry said with a shrug, “I can just ask you to clarify things to me afterwards; you can explain stuff better than those teachers”not to mention you’re much more enjoyable to have as a professor,” he chuckled.
“I suppose that’s a compliment?” Hermione asked, a slight raise of her eyebrows.
“You can take it either way,” Harry said with a snort. Hermione nudged his arm playfully, giving him a sour look that was ruined by her grin. They both had a bit of a laughing fit when Harry kept walking as if he was ignoring her, and suddenly turned on his heel and slipped on the rug. Hermione stared at him for a few moments, then burst of laughing, choking out about the drool in his History of Magic notes”which, indeed, he hadn’t noticed”and leading them both into an uncontrollable laughing fit. A few minutes later, Hermione asked breathlessly, “What do you...think Snape…will make us do?”
With a dark look, Harry shrugged, “I don’t know…I just hope it doesn’t have anything in common with Umbridge’s detentions,”
Hermione shuddered, “Me too. Honestly, Harry, I don’t know how you never told Dumbledore…that woman was an utter cow,” she said viciously, tucking her hair behind her ears to keep it out of her face and holding out a hand for Harry to take so he could stand.
Harry frowned, taking her hand, “I just…it felt like letting her win, you know? I told you”it felt like it was letting her know that she’d gotten to me,” he crossed his arms and leaned back onto the wall opposite the one behind Hermione, suddenly looking rather disgruntled.
Hermione sighed, “Harry, you say that like it was Malfoy. Umbridge was a teacher, it’s much different,” she had leaned back upon the wall behind her as well, crossing her ankles.
“Hermione, that was two years ago”just let it go,” Harry snapped.
Hermione rolled her eyes silently and turned her gaze to flickering candlelight that reflected itself on the ceiling. Something about it seemed oddly distant, as if there was more to it than it appeared, or as if it was something that reminded her of a memory from long ago. It was a strange feeling, really. The mere sight of it made Hermione’s mind buzz with thoughts and memories”some that she could barely remember”until it finally came to one that caught her attention. Confused, she tried to focus on that memory, but it felt as if she was watching a badly recorded movie; with lots of interruptions and hardly any detail. All she could see was a very dark path, and what looked like…a valley?
Oh my God.
How could I forget? That is just about the most important thing that has happened recently, and I completely forgot about it!
Honestly, how can a bump to the head do such things?
Flashes of the complete memory met her eyes in an incredibly quick succession. Her feelings as everything happened washed over her, leaving her with mingled confusion and worry. She remembered every move, every word she spoke, as well as everything else she saw and heard. Finally, when she saw the last of the memory”in which she apparently plunged into a dark abyss before returning to the Hospital Wing”she took a deep breath and went through the memory again, hardly believing it to be true.
She gulped, her breathing rather shallow, and sputtered, “H-Harry?”
Harry turned to her with a tired look on his face, “I know, I know…I’m letting things just pour out of my mouth again…can you just, save the lecture?” he said, sighing.
Hermione shook her head, giving Harry a desperate look, “No, it’s not that…it’s something I dreamt”though I’m not completely sure it was a dream, now that I think about it…a vision, maybe…” she muttered, frowning and crossing her arms in thought.
Harry gave her a curious look, “A vision?” he asked, finding it slightly ironic that she, who had stormed out of the Divinations classroom in her third year, had had a prophetic dream or something along those lines. Of course, what was even more ironic was that she believed her dream to be a vision. She had always found such things to be ridiculous and full of guesswork.
“I don’t know exactly what it is…but it certainly wasn’t a normal dream, that’s for sure,” Hermione said, running a hand through her hair and sighing, “But that’s not the point, Harry. It’s what it contained that has me concerned,” with a nervous look, she started giving Harry her account of what had happened in the dream, which had much more details than she initially remembered, including the smell in the air, and the texture of the floor. When she finished, Harry gaped at her, torn between amazement, anger, and worry.
After a furious tug between all his raging emotions, anger took over”again, “And what possessed you to decide to keep this a secret until now? You should have told me when we first started talking this morning!” he sputtered out indignantly.
Hermione pursed her lips, “I don’t know! Until now, it was like it had never happened”I didn’t remember anything!” she explained, wishing he would have had a different reaction to all this. Confusion would have been just fine; worry would have been fine, too, but fury? As if they hadn’t had enough arguments already! “I just started thinking”really thinking, I mean”and the memory popped into my mind!”
“You were alone in the Hospital Wing all day! Surely you would have had some time to think!”
Hermione narrowed her eyes, “It just didn’t come into my mind, Harry! I swear, until now, it was like nothing had ever happened,” she snapped, sighing loudly, “I was leaning back onto the wall, looking at that candle, and suddenly the memory feels like it’s being pressed into my mind all over again!”
Harry scratched the back of his neck before continuing, “And why didn’t you accept to hear the prophecy?” he asked heatedly, “That could have helped us find out why you even had that dream!”
Hermione turned away from Harry and walked around, massaging her temples as she did so, “I don’t know…I just thought…maybe it’s better not to know anything. I’d be acting according to what I knew, and it’s just…that doesn’t seem right. I had a feeling, too…I kept seeing your face, and I had a big dreading feeling whenever I thought ‘Okay, I’ll accept the information’, so…” she paused, her back still turned to Harry, “So I just decided maybe it would be better to not know anything,”
Harry snorted derisively behind her, “How can it be better to act without knowledge of what might come to pass?”
“I don’t know! I felt like it wasn’t right to know after all. I just thought that rather than be influenced by information of what might happen, I should just try and make my way without it. Life in general is like that, and we still triumph, don’t we?”
“Not always, Hermione. Did my parents triumph without knowledge prior to Voldemort’s attack? No. Did I act correctly, falling for Voldemort’s trick, without the knowledge that it was only an illusion he projected into my mind? No,” Harry hissed, “And will you please look at me?”
Hermione turned sharply, “I don’t want to look at you right now, Harry! You are being so unreasonable! You just promised me this morning that you would think about what you said and did, but right now you keep letting everything you think burst out of your mouth!” she snapped, her delicate hands forming fists at her sides.
“But I do think these things, Hermione! What good will it do to keep what I believe a secret?” Harry said, throwing his arms up in the air and widening his eyes in anger.
“Well, could you try a different approach, then? Honestly, viciously confronting me into telling you the reason for my decisions isn’t the best way to go,” Hermione said, sighing heavily and taking a step away from him again.
Harry sighed irritably, but bit back the snappy retort that first came to mind. Maybe he should try to be nicer, especially if he was trying to get her to tell him about something that truly seemed to worry her. He breathed calmly for a few minutes, trying to rid himself of the sudden anger he felt. Unwillingly, he began to fly through his own memories, and after a while, became slightly occupied with his own thoughts.
Could Voldemort have something to do with all this? First, Trewlaney disappears, and now, Hermione has this odd vision”or dream, whatever”and she’s in it? I mean, this whole thing with her running off is just too strange. She never leaves the North Tower, so how could she vanish without anyone noticing, or without notifying Dumbledore first? And if it was the Death Eaters, how did they get to her without being seen?
“Hey, Hermione…” Harry said tentatively, taking a small step towards her, “Do you think Voldemort could have something to do with Trewlaney’s departure?” he asked, hoping she would forgive him for getting worked up about her decisions in the dream. What’s done is done, anyway. It’s not like she could change it.
Hermione shrugged, still not turning to look at him. She had taken to pacing around the wide passageway they were in, her hand tracing the coarse stones in the walls as she walked past them. She too seemed deep in thought, though the tone of her voice indicated that their previous argument had not gone forgotten, “I hardly know her. How can I tell if she escaped on her own free will or not?” she said in a low voice, pausing to look at a torch high up in the ceiling before continuing her slow walk around the passageway.
Harry felt his shoulders drop, recognizing she was upset again. Still, he tried not to address the issue, choosing to lure her out of her anger at him, “I dunno…I’m just asking. It’s really odd. I think we ought to try and clear things up here. She was apparently going to make a prophecy about you, right? Well, even though you chose not to hear it, that shadow never said she wasn’t going to make it anyway, did it?” he asked, hoping that by asking her lots of questions she would be compelled to think about the issue rather than her annoyance at him.
It worked, for the time being. She finally turned, a frown crossing her face, “I never thought about it that way…he didn’t say that she was going to make it depending on my decision…” she murmured, more to herself than to Harry, “Curious…so, the knowledge I was to be given was to hear my prediction, but the fact that I chose not to hear it didn’t mean that the prophecy wouldn’t be made. That is intriguing,” she kept on muttering things to herself in a voice so low that Harry couldn’t listen to her. With a slight hint of annoyance, Harry waved his hands slowly, trying to catch her attention. She blinked, looking at him in surprise, “What? Oh, sorry…” she said, pushing her hair carelessly out of her face, “How do you think we could find out more about what happened, though?”
Harry frowned slightly, thinking, “Well, we could try exploring places she usually roamed,” he suggested after a while, “Which means her Tower, really,” he added, a slight hint of humor in his voice.
Hermione nodded, “Yes…it might be good to check it out. And we should tell Dumbledore about my dream, too,” she said thoughtfully, biting her lip.
“Yeah, but remember we have plans for tonight already,” Harry said, a grin crossing his face, “We’ll have to do all that tomorrow. We’ll talk to Dumbledore sometime during the day, and then we’ll sneak into Trewlaney’s at night,” he declared happily.
Hermione raised an eyebrow, grinning, “You sure seem happy at the prospect of sneaking around so much,” she teased, “Honestly, I don’t know how you do it. The worry of being caught by a teacher just...it takes all the fun out of it,”
Harry looked at her incredulously, “Are you kidding? That’s about the best part!” he laughed, “The excitement of it”the suspense at every sound you hear…it’s brilliant,”
Hermione took several steps towards him, until they were about three feet apart, “You live for adventure now, do you?” she asked, smirking, “Well, I don’t know about you, but I have a most horrible Detention to get to, and I’d hate to be alone in a classroom with an angry Snape,” she said, lowering her voice and giving him a grin.
“Say no more, my love. I shall face that old bat with you,”
Hermione’s grin turned into a smile at the words ‘my love’. It felt so right to hear that coming out of his mouth, and the thought gave her a happy shiver. Holding his hands, she closed the distance between them and kissed him softly on the lips before leading him to another staircase that led to the first floor.
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7:11 p.m., Monday evening, The Dungeons “ Professor Severus Snape’s Classroom
Harry stretched his hand out brusquely towards the doorknob, but Hermione quickly snatched his hand to keep him from doing so, “Harry, I know you don’t like him”neither do I”but it’s best if you keep a civil attitude towards him. Otherwise, Detentions here might become a custom for us,” she said grimly, giving him a reproachful look. Harry rolled his eyes derisively, but nevertheless extended his arm again and knocked on the large door twice. They waited a few minutes in silence, until the cold voice of Professor Snape spoke from inside, “Come in,”
Hermione looked uncertainly at Harry before carefully opening the door. Harry was already familiar with such surroundings, and was not shocked by how intimidating everything could look when they were the only ones there. The shelves were still stocked with jars of odd-looking animals and several things that did not look like anything he had ever seen, and there were but two torches lit, one on each side of the large room, giving it a darker appearance than usual. As he felt Hermione shiver slightly beside him, he angrily scolded himself for not thinking of bringing her a cloak or at least, reminding her to do so. He himself had forgotten, too, but at least he had the knit sweater Mrs. Weasley always knit for him during Christmas.
“Ah, Potter and Granger. Well, at least you were punctual…” Snape drawled as he caught sight of him, “I have more pressing matters to attend, so the faster I can get you out of my way, the better,” he paused, smirking as he surveyed Harry with a smug expression, before his eyes darted to Hermione's bushy hair behind Harry's shoulders. His smirk turned to a sneer, but he did not comment. Rather, he pulled his wand out lazily and jabbed it in the direction of a torch along the middle of the room, so as to illuminate the chairs the students used. The fire had barely flared to life before he did the same with the remaining torches along the walls. The room completely illuminated now, so he pointed his wand at the student's desk that was closest to the front of the room, waved it, and a large basin with what seemed to be dead insects appeared. Another wave of his wand, and several utensils used for dissection appeared next to it, “You are to extract the beetle's eyes with the utensils provided--carefully, Potter. They have to be in perfect conditions for use in the potion I have planned,” he smirked again at Harry's indignant look at the prospect of having to rid beetles of their eyes, and continued, “You may begin. And be warned, that basin must be empty for you to be allowed to leave. If I must keep you here all night, mark my words, I will do so,”
Harry stepped grudgingly towards the desk, pulling a chair out noisily and slopping down onto the chair as Hermione hovered near the door, looking inquiringly from Harry to Snape. When neither of them looked up--both consumed in utter concentration--she shrugged and moved quietly towards Harry. Pulling a chair as quietly as possible, she sat down and grabbed one of the knives that were placed beside the basin. With a disgusted look, she grasped one of the beetles and looked at it with a slight frown.
“How am I supposed to get its eye out without damaging it?” she whispered in a voice so low Harry had to crane his neck towards her to hear properly. As he did so, he caught a wisp of the smell of her hair, and had to control himself to avoid nuzzling his face in her neck.
Blinking, he shrugged, chopping off a beetle's head, trying to find a way to comply with Snape's orders. He scowled in disgust as a puddle of blood slopped onto the desk, which Hermione evanescoed without effort. Suppressing a sigh, she too sliced her beetle's head off, turning slightly green as she gouged out some of its internal organs.
Unfortunately, hours came to pass, and still the basin had several of those annoying insects left. They had finally managed to find a way to successfully scoop the beetle's eyes--after they had accidentally ruined many of them, including some times in which, out of annoyance, they threw the little creature to the pile on the far left corner of their table and started over with a new one. Harry looked restlessly at his wristwatch, hoping his night wouldn't be consumed completely by the Detention. Hermione checked hers from time to time, too, wondering whether they would ever come to finish. They were both looking forward to their alone time, and it would be horrible that because of Snape, they would have to postpone it.
At around half-past eleven, there were only two of the insects left. Each beetle took them around four to five minutes to complete, and it took all of their concentration not to ruin it. However, they were distracted by a sharp intake of breath that came from Snape's direction. Harry glanced at Hermione, whose gaze had shot up at the noise that broke the eerie silence. He followed her gaze, and was met with a livid-looking Snape, clutching his left forearm. He was forcibly trying to control his breathing, and he was looking at the piece of parchment on his desk, apparently transfixed. Both Harry and Hermione looked at him in wide-eyed shock as their brains processed the fact that they were witnessing their Professor being summoned by the Dark Lord. In her nervousness, Hermione accidentally dropped the thin knife she was holding. The loud, clattering noise it made was met by her soft gasp and a hateful, surprised glare from Snape's direction.
“What are you still doing here?” he hissed, his voice dripping with anger, “Have you not finished yet? Is the task I have set for you too complicated for you dim-witted idiots to complete it?” Harry stared back at him, a slight fear welling up inside him. He had seen Snape in this towering mood before, and had felt the effects of it. Involuntarily, he gulped, knowing better than to answer. He felt Hermione's hand grope for his beneath the table, and quickly grasped it and gave it a small squeeze. Her normally soft hand was covered in cold sweat, and he knew she was terrified. He could hear her quick breathing beside him, and wished he could put his arm around her to comfort her.
Snape's eyes narrowed, looking from Harry to Hermione expectantly. When they didn't respond, his anger seemed to increase, “Twenty points from Gryffindor! Now, get out immediately!” he barked, pointing his wand angrily towards the door, making it fly open with impressive speed and collide with the stone wall. Harry rose to his feet quickly, pulling a horror-struck Hermione with him by her hand. He grabbed his backpack hurriedly and left the room, not daring to look in Snape's direction again. The door shut itself behind them with a loud thud, but they kept running all the way until they were out of the Dungeons. Hermione leant back onto the wall and slopped down to the floor, gasping for breath, while Harry clutched his knees for support.
"I can't believe this…" Hermione whispered softly after a few minutes, "Did we really see what I think we saw?" she asked, looking at Harry with a tired, worried expression.
Harry was about to answer when quick footsteps were heard from the entrance to the Dungeons. Hermione's eyes grew wide, and she bit her lip, "It's him! We have to hide!" She hissed, scrambling to her feet. Harry, however, shook his head. Opening the zipper to his backpack, he pulled out his Invisibility Cloak. He took a few steps closer to Hermione, squatted and pulled her down on her knees to keep their feet from being seen. Tossing the cloak over them, he put his index finger over his mouth as a sign for her to keep quiet.
Snape was coming out of the Dungeons, still looking furious. His black cloak billowing behind him, he walked swiftly towards the large oak doors that led to the Grounds. Harry and Hermione glanced at each other, before Harry rose slightly and tugged on Hermione's arm to get her to walk. She gave him an incredulous look, but obeyed. They walked as quickly yet silently as possible behind Snape who, thankfully, hadn't heard them.
The Potions Master yanked open the door, giving them a chance to slip outside without having to open the door themselves. As Snape walked quickly towards the gates, Hermione grabbed Harry's arm firmly and gave him a serious look.
"What are you doing?" he hissed, "We're going to lose him!"
Hermione raised an eyebrow, "Harry, you know very well were he is headed. For Merlin's sake, what do you plan on doing? Guessing where he's going and Apparating behind him?" she demanded, placing her hands on her hips.
Harry scowled, "I don't know," he admitted reluctantly, "I just wanted to do something…spy on him, see how he likes it,"
"What are you on about? Dumbledore trusts him, Harry, he's on our side."
Harry snorted, "Yeah, sure he is, Hermione. Maybe Dumbledore just hasn't realized it yet, but I know Snape is a spy for Voldemort, not us. I don't trust that miserable old bat," he snarled, glaring in the direction Snape had taken.
Hermione rolled her eyes, pursing her lips, "Harry, come on”"
"What makes you sure he's on our side? Do you have to follow blindly on everything Dumbledore says? He can be wrong; he's still human," Harry snapped, not bothering to apologize for interrupting her.
"You know what? Let's just forget about it. We definitely don't see eye to eye on this," Hermione said wearily, shaking her head. Her eyes, however, were still hard as she looked at Harry, "Listen, Harry, about tonight…" her voice trailed off, and she shrugged, turning her gaze to the grass.
"Yeah, I know…suddenly, I don't feel like it, either," Harry muttered dully, "Too much stuff to think about…but maybe on Wednesday? We already had stuff planned for tomorrow, remember?"
Hermione nodded, "Sure. Sounds fine," she whispered softly, turning on her heel but stopping abruptly when she remembered they were still under the cloak. Harry pulled it off him, "Use it to get to the Common Room," he said, "I'm going to take a walk before I go to bed,"
Hermione frowned, "I…but, you might get caught…" she said slowly.
Harry shook his head and gave her a halfhearted smile, "No Snape tonight, remember? Don't worry, I'll be fine. I've done this a million times before,"
Hermione stood, looking at him with worried eyes. She didn't want to do this. She didn't want to have another argument with him, even if this one wasn't one where they yelled. Strangely, this one made her feel worse than all their yelling ones. It made her feel empty, and it seemed horribly definite. With a smooth gesture, she slipped the cloak off her and hugged him tightly, "You take the cloak, Harry," she whispered, and kissed his lips softly, "Just in case," Harry nodded, unable to find words that would be fit to say, and placed the cloak over himself.
Hermione gave him a small, sad wave and turned her back to him, walking back towards the large oak doors. Why do we have to be like this? I don't want to argue…I just didn't feel up to anything else tonight. He seemed kind of tired, too, so I thought it would be fine with him.
Oh, but I was looking forward to going out with him, walking around the lake, just being a normal couple…
I just feel like even though we're engaged, we need to spend so much more time together. I mean, I never intended on marrying him, say, right after Hogwarts, and I hope he doesn't have such an idea in mind. I accepted his proposal because I thought…well, I wanted it to bring us closer together. I see all those other couples, and I wanted us to be different…I wanted us to be sure of our relationship. With the ring, it was like a promise to each other, that we loved each other and would never do anything to hurt each other.
That we would protect each other, and would do anything to be together…
But I was stupid.
A ring can't do that…we're the ones that have to work on that. We're the ones in charge here, and we're the ones that have to make sacrifices for our relationship. We have to prove to each other all those things…a mere promise isn't enough.
Mother is right…I'm much too young for this. I keep making these mistakes, and sure, now they might not do much damage, but what will happen if I make a bigger mistake in the future? What if I ruin our relationship because I believed a stupid promise a ring symbolized would be enough?
Cold, small tears streamed through Hermione's cheeks as her hand lingered on the doorknob. Her small frame shook slightly from her quiet sobs, and she suddenly wished she had taken the Invisibility Cloak after all. If a professor caught her out of bed, she would hate that they saw her in tears that she didn't want to explain. But, more particularly, she didn't want him to see her in such a state, or to have to explain her worries to him.
It all just felt so hopeless....everything was completely ruined now, and there was nothing she could do.
Suddenly, she felt a hand rest on her shoulder. A familiar scent washed over her, and she hastily wiped her tears so he didn't see. Why was it that everytime she dreaded something, that exact thing just happened?
"I'm sorry, Hermione…I'm an idiot. I keep making you cry like this…it's not your fault, you know? I keep doing stupid things and saying the first thing that comes to mind. I'm not worth your trouble…do you know how horrible it makes me feel to see you crying every time we argue? And knowing it's my fault doesn't help much, either…" Harry said, his voice shaky, "I asked for your hand in marriage, but I don't know if…well, if I would be a decent husband for you. If I'm going to make you feel like this….I want to change, Hermione…I just don't know how…."
Hermione turned slowly, sighing, and received a slight pang as she looked into his eyes. He was crying, too. She wrapped his arms around him and whispered, "We both have things we desperately need to change for this to work, Harry. I'm not exactly perfect, either. I keep baiting you into arguments, and I've made all these stupid mistakes…oh, Harry, but please, never think you're not worth my trouble," she breathed, sobbing, "The fact that I've….made you feel like that makes me feel even worse," She bit her lip to try and keep the fresh tears she felt at bay, trying to distract herself by caressing his back instead.
Harry lifted her chin slowly, "Don't…I told you, you're not the one at fault here,"
She shook her had, "We both have to pitch in to make things work, Harry. We both share the fault for out arguments…we have to find a way around this…together," she said softly.
Harry nodded, "I need you, Hermione…I love you so much….I don't want to lose you”to an argument, or anything else," he said, "I'll try my best to make this work, I swear”"
Hermione placed a finger over his mouth, "Promises are just words, Harry. From now on, no more promises. With actions, we can show how much we are willing to work on our relationship," she said with a small smile, and bent her head forward towards his lips.
There, cradled in Harry's arms and kissing him under the pale moonlight, the cold night breeze caressing their faces, Hermione realized that things were not at all lost yet.
A/N: I am so, so, so, sorry for the long time I took to write this. I developed a bad case of writer's block and was completely stumped on what to write. However, I hope this chapter was to your liking (especially you shippers…). I know it was mostly fluff, but you have to admit, it was quite needed after all those chapters with almost no H/Hr time.
I had a romantic outing planned for them, but after the whole Snape thing, I thought it would be strange that they just forgot about it and went all happily-ever after on a date. So, I left it for another chapter.
After this very romantic and long chapter, I hope loads of you happy readers review. =) Come on, at least seven of you can do me the courtesy of reviewing this fluffly, wonderful chapter....almost a hundred reviews, guys...do you know how happy I'll be? =)
Till the next chapter!