A/N Okay, it starts out in a closet and the rest of it is explaining why they are in the closet, but this is really just an introduction. There is MORE COMING, okay? Well, the rest of the story promises to be interesting, so I hope that you read this and PLEASE review it or I won't write any more. Also, everything Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling!!
THE CLOSET
She was in a closet. Her head was rested against the wall and she was staring at the boy across from her. The lighting was dim, but what was there spread in the small space, casting a cool luminescence over the walls. He looked as uncomfortable as she felt. His green eyes were pierced with an emotion that Hermione couldn't quite decipher. Nervousness maybe? But she didn't think of Harry as the nervous type. He always seemed so brave to her and so ready to do anything. But was he afraid of this?
She sighed and gave him a questioning glance, trying to hide the fact that she was getting shivers just from the way his legs were tangled with hers. There wasn't enough room in the closet for them to not be touching. Their legs were overlapping and their faces were only a couple feet away from each other. She held back her urge to just reach behind his neck and kiss him for fear of how he would react. If they were going to kiss it was going to be him that was going to initiate it, not her. She patiently watched him as he removed his glasses from his face and dropped them on the floor.
He coughed, "Well, I guess we should hurry up and..."
"Yeah..." She agreed.
But still they stared at each other.
"This really isn't the most comfortable position." Hermione said.
"You'd rather stand?" He asked.
"Well, I don't care." She tried moving around a little bit and pulled herself onto her knees. Harry was now level with her chest but he had his eyes averted so not to appear impolite. Finding that position uncomfortable, Hermione went back to her old one which forced Harry to movie his legs again as they both tried to fit in the small space.
"Did we have to pick such a small closet?" Harry groaned. He turned around and tried sitting by the wall beside Hermione rather than across from her but there was such a lack of room that he had to move again.
Harry finally ended up sitting with his back against the wall opposite to the door and his left leg against the wall beside him. Hermione was sitting in his lap with her knees bent. The closet wasn't big enough for her to fit with her legs stretched out.
"Am I too heavy?" Hermione asked tentatively.
"No, It's fine." Harry assured her, his hand groping around the floor searching for his glasses. When he found them, he placed them in his pocket so not to lose them again.
Hermione didn't want to make Harry any more uncomfortable by sitting on his lap, so she disregarded his reply and tried once more to squeeze in next to him, hoping this time both of them would fit against the wall. Harry sighed and moved away from her and turned so his back was against the door. He had an exasperated expression on his face. "Now we're in the same positions as we started, just against different walls."
"I'm sorry, Harry." Hermione laughed. "Maybe this is a bad idea."
"No it's fine." He said. He sighed, "I guess if we're going to do this, we should do it. Someone will be here any minute and it won't be nearly as good if we aren't..."
"Kissing?" Hermione asked.
"Right." Harry said. He hesitated for a moment, before putting his legs behind him and pushing himself towards her so he was almost on top of her, his face inches from hers.
Hermione could feel his breath against her face and as he leaned closer, his chest touched hers and she could hear the rapid beating of his heart. Then all of the sudden they were kissing.
Instinctively, she put her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. He started out with a soft gentle kiss, but Hermione had forgotten they were just pretending. She tasted his mouth searching hungrily for more and surprisingly, Harry didn't pull back. He kissed her with just as much feeling as she gave to him.
The closet was dark, but she could see stars behind her eyes. She'd never kissed Harry before. She'd dreamed it too many times to count and she'd imagined it, lying on her bed staring at a picture of him and wondering how his lips would taste and how his hands would feel against her back. But she'd never thought it would really happen.
Granted, the pair was just pretending, it hardly counted as a real kiss, but as she lay there on the closet floor with Harry lying on top of her, his heart beating against hers, she tried to remember how she had gotten there. Days ago she would have laughed if someone said this would be happening...how HAD it happened?
*
Hermione glanced at the note in her hand, reading it for what must have been the hundredth time that day. She had it nearly memorized. She was sitting on her bed in her room, but no one else was there. Her bed lay directly across from a mirror, so she glanced up to analyze her reflection.
She shook her head, staring at herself. SHE had gotten a note from a secret admirer? She couldn't imagine why. It wasn't that she was particularly bad-looking. She rather liked her hair, now that she had learned how to control the bushiness. It was sleek and the color of milk chocolate with a light shine to it. Her eyes were dark amber with a hint of green and were framed by long lashes. No, she didn't think of herself as ugly, but she couldn't think of one male in all of Hogwarts that even seemed to like her. She had guy friends, but they were nothing more then that. She suspected that they just thought of her as one of them. She wasn't tomboyish, but she was hardly flirtatious and giggly like her roommates Ginny, Lavender and Parvati. Those were the kind of girls that guys liked. At least that's what she figured.
The clothes she usually wore were plain and unexciting. She was currently wearing a deep green sweater that brought out the green in her eyes. It was her most comfortable sweater. Covering her slim legs was a pair of jeans. She preferred those clothes when it was not required to wear the black robes demanded for classes.
She looked back down at the note, trying to analyze the handwriting. It had obviously been written carefully, in order to avoid revealing the writer. She wondered if maybe...
No. She pushed that thought out of her head. There was no use entertaining ideas about who had written the letter. Of course Harry couldn't have done it. He was still dating Cho anyway. She grimaced at the thought of Cho Chang and Harry together. She wondered why Harry couldn't see through her artificial appearance and she badly wanted to tell him the way she bragged to the other girls about what a great boyfriend she had. Their relationship didn't seem to consist of much more then the two of them making out in plain view just so that she could make the other girls jealous. Hermione shrugged it off. It was his mistake and she knew that even if he wasn't with Cho, there was no way he would be interested in her. No way.
Suddenly, her thoughts were interrupted as Lavender and Parvati stumbled into the room, both giggling hysterically. Hermione hurriedly shoved the note in her jean pockets and looked at them strangely. "What are you two laughing about?"
Both immediately stopped laughing at the sight of their roommate, but the giddy smiles still lingered on their faces. "We were just thinking about Harry." Lavender said with a sigh.
"Harry?" Hermione asked. 'Everyone must be thinking about him.' She thought, slightly amused.
"Well, yes." Parvati said. "He's available again, you know."
"Really?" Hermione asked, surprised, "What happened?"
"Oh, him and Cho had this horrible break up. Cho said he wasn't paying enough attention to her or something. They were yelling at each other out in the hallway a few minutes ago. Now Harry's sitting in the common room looking like the world's about to end." Parvati gave Lavender a significant look, "Maybe you should go talk to him." She said to Hermione innocently.
"Me?" Hermione asked. "Why?"
Parvati walked over to her and sat beside her. "Hermione, you're his best friend. Even if you won't admit to us that you like him, we know you do." A knowing smile rose to her face. "We decided that it was only right to let you talk to him first. I know that we weren't very good friends the first couple years..."
"But," Lavender chimed in, "We're really glad you started hanging out with us more when Harry and Ron both got girlfriends. We never knew very much about you before. We just thought you didn't like us. But anyway, we decided to give you the first chance at Harry. If things don't work out, let us know." She giggled.
"You two like Harry?" Hermione asked, stunned, "But you never told-"
"Oh no!" Parvati said with a laugh. "We don't like him any more than Seamus or Dean or any of the other guys. We just think he's cute. And," Parvati added with a smile, "we get the feeling you like him for more than just his looks."
Hermione smiled. "Thanks you two."
"Sure, now go downstairs before he starts spilling his guts to some other random girl down there."
Hermione laughed and stood up. She walked out the door, not noticing the slip of paper had fallen out of her pocket and onto the floor.
"Bye." She said and rushed outside, leaving Lavender and Parvati staring at the note.
"Bye." Lavender said, stooping to pick up the note, a look of mild curiosity on her face. "What is this?" She asked. "Hermione?" She yelled, but her friend was gone.
*
Harry was staring at the fire. His face was somber and he almost resembled a statue for his lack in movement. Hermione walked up quietly behind him lay her arms on the back of the big chair he was occupying.
"Harry?" She asked softly. Harry didn't respond. She looked down at him. His jet-black hair was tousled, as always, but now his expression was tousled as well. He looked confused as well as somber. "Harry?" She asked once more, still gently.
She walked around and sat down in the chair next to him. She looked at him. He was concentrating on the fire like it held the secrets of the universe.
"I heard what happened." She said, "I'm sorry."
He turned to look at her and it seemed almost as he noticed her for the first time. There was an odd look in his expression. "Oh...hi Hermione."
She smiled encouragingly back.
"I'm not sad about the breakup..." He said, his voice quietly drifting off, But his jaw was set and his expression had gone from muddled to more refined. He looked almost...angry. "I can't believe her." He said, his voice filled with emotion. When he brought his eyes to Hermione's , she could see how pain-stricken they were. He added in a flat voice, "I caught her kissing Julius O'Brien." He shook his head. "She said I wasn't paying enough attention to her so it was only natural for her to find someone else."
Hermione was surprised. Not because Cho had cheated, she had suspected Cho was that type anyway. But she had also expected Cho was more conniving than that: to get caught seemed quite unlike her. She felt bad for Harry, but she was relieved that Harry had caught them.
"I wish..." Harry said, his voice faltering. "I wish I could get back at her somehow." His voice was rigid and defined.
She was a little startled at Harry's angry words. Usually he was very gentle. She didn't know him to hold a grudge against anyone except Malfoy. Hermione looked at him sadly. "I'm really sorry about all of this. She wasn't good for you anyway."
Harry looked at her. "Thanks, Hermione." He gave her a sort of half-smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. "I think I'm going to go to sleep now, though. Sorry for troubling you."
"You weren't troubling me." Hermione said. "If you want to talk, you can talk to me." She smiled, "After all I am a girl...I'm good at talking."
Harry just nodded and slowly rose to his feet. He didn't turn around again to say goodnight, he just walked up the stairs to his room.
Hermione sat in the chair for a while afterwards. No one else was in the room. Usually it was full around this time, but she assumed that people had wanted to leave Harry alone. He was respected in their House. He was a sixth year and the Quidditch team captain. Most people in Gryffindor wouldn't dream of bothering or making fun of Harry Potter. They wanted to earn his respect.
He probably needs time to get over Cho, Hermione thought to herself. She prayed that the two wouldn't get back together again. If they did, then Harry had a lot worse judgment than people gave him credit for.
"Hermione?" Lavender's head peeked around the corner of the stairwell. When she noticed Harry wasn't there, she popped out so she was no longer hiding. "Where's Harry?" She asked.
"Oh, he was tired." Hermione said, waving her hand. "He's really upset."
Lavender nodded, "I got that impression." She looked around. "Hey, where did everybody go?"
Hermione shrugged, "Probably to someone's room, I think they wanted to leave Harry alone."
Lavender nodded, then quickly shifted to a giggly excited sort of face. "Hermione?" She said with an I-know-what-you're-hiding tone of voice.
"What?" She asked, looking at her blankly.
Parvati suddenly stumbled out from the stairs, out of breath. When she saw Hermione, her expression changed to the very same one that was occupying Lavender's features.
"What? What is it?" Hermione asked. "Which one of my dirty little secrets did you discover?" Hermione had grown used to her roommates over the past few months. She could tell when they had found something out.
"There are more secrets to discover?" Parvati asked, wide-eyed, the way she always did when Hermione said that. "Well...we found this..." She pulled the note out of the pocket of her robe.
Hermione quickly reached into her pocket. "Oh no..." She groaned. "It must have fallen out of my pocket. You two read it?"
"Of course!" Lavender said, "What did you expect from us? And why didn't you tell us about this? This is important stuff!"
"Well, I don't know who it's from...It's probably just a joke from Malfoy or something." Hermione stood and snatched the note from her friend's hand, glancing back at the neatly printed writing. It said:
Dearest Hermione,
I am writing you this letter because I think it is time that I revealed myself to you. Ever since I saw you on the Hogwarts Express I have been fascinated with you...your beauty, your knowledge and your individuality. I am too shy of a person to outright tell you, but I did think you deserve this note from me. I want you to know who I am, so I propose that you meet me at the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade tomorrow. I hate keeping my feelings from you. It is tearing me up inside and I am hoping that perhaps you feel the same way about me...
Forever Yours
Me
"You'll find out tomorrow won't you?" Parvati asked.
Hermione sighed. "I don't know if I want to meet him. I mean, if it's a joke, I don't want to be made fun of and if it is someone who likes me then I don't want to have to let him down. I don't like any guys."
"You like Harry." Lavender pointed out in a voice that Hermione thought was much too loud.
"Shh," She said and added softly, "He wouldn't have written me that. He and Cho just broke up. He was really upset about it."
"Well you never know..." Parvati suggested, "He could have wanted to break up with her just to go out with you."
"But that makes no sense." Hermione argued, "She cheated on him, he didn't break it off with her. Plus he was really upset and he didn't seem like he wanted to talk to me that much."
"Well," Lavender said, still attempting to convince her, "You never know. Even if it isn't him, you might meet someone really great who will help you get over Harry."
Hermione looked at the two of them, her arms folded over her chest. "You two are going to make me go, aren't you?"
"Of course!" Lavender said. She shook her head and an amused look passed over her face. "What did you expect?"
*
"Why are you doing this?" Hermione groaned. She was seated in her room with Lavender, Parvati and Ginny clustered around her, all working their best to make Hermione beautiful. "I think I looked fine before. You all are going to make me look like a hooker."
"A what?" Ginny asked, pulling Hermione's hair into a sleek updo.
"Nevermind." Hermione said, "Muggle term. But this isn't some fancy date. I think I'll look ridiculous."
"Of course you won't." Parvati assured her. She was working on Hermione's nails. "Plus, if it turns out to be some stupid guy, you can always go find Harry and seduce him or something."
Hermione scoffed, "Yeah, me seduce Harry. Like that would happen."
"Be dangerous, Hermione." Lavender urged. "Now how do you like this outfit?" Lavender had been using her wand to magically change Hermione's clothes without making her actually go through the process of changing. Hermione found she was currently wearing an amber sweater that matched her eyes (it WAS Winter after all) and a black skirt that was slightly shorter than Hermione felt comfortable in.
"I don't know...the skirt is a little short." Hermione said hesitantly.
"You have great legs. Show them off."
"I'll freeze!" Hermione said.
"Well, put a Warmth charm on your legs. It'll be fine, trust me. How are you doing with the hair, Ginny?"
"All done!" Ginny said, backing away to examine her masterpiece. Hermione had to admit that the hairstyle made her look more sophisticated. It was swept up and covered in tiny little crystal gems that sparkled in the light.
Hermione looked down at her hands which Parvati had just finished up. She had used a muggle nail polish that Hermione had brought since she couldn't seem to conjure the color magically. It had only taken a couple minutes because Parvati had been able to use a charm to dry the polish.
Hermione stood up and looked at herself in the mirror. Wisps of hair lay in soft strands against her temples while the rest of it was twisted and turned around the back of her head. It still somehow managed to look relatively casual, though. From the time Ginny had spent working on it, Hermione was worried it would look like she was going to a formal dance. The hair matched her attire: stylish but casual. Still, Hermione didn't feel very comfortable in the clothes. She was more used to jeans or khakis. She decided not to complain, though. After all, she realized she should be thankful they weren't forcing her to wear a skimpy top along with the skirt.
"Well, thanks you three. But I still don't understand why you did this..." Hermione said.
"You never go on dates, Hermione!" Parvati said. "We want you to realize how much fun it is because you're missing out on a lot."
"I've had boyfriends, you know." Hermione responded, shaking her head.
"Well, of course you have..." Lavender said, "But we mean you haven't dated in a while. Like Parvati and I go on dates all the time, but that doesn't mean we ever start officially 'going out' with them. It's just a good chance to get to know guys better."
"And that relates to you doing all this because..."
Lavender just smiled. "Trust me, dates are always better when you feel more confident about yourself. You look great in this outfit so you should feel very confident."
Hermione grudgingly agreed. "Well, I guess I do look more chic." Secretly, though, she would have preferred comfort to confidence. She glanced down at her shoes. They were three-inch black strappy heels that she had borrowed from Lavender. Like the rest of the clothes, though fancy, they still retained an air of casualness.
"Oh Hermione!" Ginny suddenly said, "You should dress like this every day. You do look WAY more sophisticated."
Hermione smiled at her and began walking over to her. She started saying "Thanks, Ginny." But after about her first step, the heels caught on the carpet causing her to trip. Luckily, she fell on a bed, but her head and shoulders were just over the other side so she landed on her head on the ground on the other side with her legs ungracefully flipping over her onto the floor. She looked up at her three roommates from her painful position flat on the floor. "Umm..." She said.
"I think now," Parvati said, "you need to work on ACTING sophisticated."
*
Hermione nervously drummed her fingers on the table. It was so loud in the Three Broomsticks that she couldn't even hear the tapping noise her nails made against the wooden table. She was seated in a small table alone waiting for the "secret admirer" to arrive. She prayed it would be Harry, but at the same time, she knew how unlikely that was. Ron had dragged Harry somewhere in attempt to cheer him up. He was still depressed about his breakup.
Hermione crossed her legs and took a sip from her butterbeer, keeping her eyes on the door. Every time a boy entered who was from Hogwarts, she wondered if it was HIM. But so far five guys had entered and none of them had been HIM. She was still thanking God that it hadn't been Neville Longbottom. Neville was sweet, but she didn't know how she would have turned him down if he had asked her out. That's what she was worried about with the guy she was going to meet. She didn't know how to just say no.
She straightened in her seat as another boy entered. It was Colin Creevey. He had grown a little in the past couple of years, but he was still a good couple inches shorter than Hermione and she noticed with amusement that his camera was still slung around his neck.
It can't be him, she thought to herself. After all, the pair barely talked to each other. She rose the butterbeer to her mouth again and took a quick sip, letting the warmth spread through her cold body. Even the warmth spell she had cast couldn't hold back the cold.
When she brought the mug down again, she nearly choked on her drink. Colin Creevey was sitting across from her at the table, a delirious smile on his face.
She looked at him for a moment before a look of realization passed over her face. "I can't talk to you, Colin." She said hurriedly. "I'm waiting for somebody." He must just want to talk, she reasoned. He couldn't be the person who wrote the note. Could he?
His smile faltered. "Well..." He said, his voice suddenly nervous. "Umm...I kinda...Well, I wrote the note..."
Hermione's mouth widened in surprise. "Oh!" She was suddenly very embarrassed. Had she hurt his feelings? She certainly hoped not. "Oh, of course, Colin. I'm...sorry."
"That's okay." His smile returned. "I'm a little embarrassed about the whole note thing..." His voice drifted off. "But I thought maybe....you might like me? Because I got some signals a couple days ago that seemed like..."
"Er..." Hermione looked at him awkwardly, secretly vowing to kill, or at least seriously injure, her three roommates for making her go on this date.
"You look beautiful by the way." He said in a tone of admiration.
"Thank you, Colin." Hermione said, giving him a smile. She tried to think of a way to tell him that she wasn't exactly attracted to him. She thought of him as so young...even if he was only a year younger than her.
"But anyway," Colin said hurriedly. "I just wanted to ask you if you wanted to go to the Sixth year dance with me? I mean I know I'm not a Sixth year, but you're allowed to bring younger dates and I thought it would be fun if I could go...plus I like you...It would be a lot of fun?" He looked up at her with big, wide, begging eyes.
"Er..." Hermione said, searching through her brain for some excuse. "I'm already going with someone." She said, her eyes widening in surprise. Had she just said that out loud? She was a very bad liar. She doubted Colin would believe her.
"Oh..." He said his face fell. "Well, you aren't dating someone are you?"
"Actually I am." She said before she had a chance to think about it.
A confused look passed over his face. "You ARE? But I haven't heard-"
"Oh you wouldn't have." She replied quickly, "And please don't tell anyone. We're trying to keep it secret."
"Oh." Colin said, nodding glumly.
Hermione felt so bad for lying to him, but at least it was better then just plain saying, "I don't like you. Sorry. Bye!"
"Who is it?" He asked curiously.
Being the bad liar that she was, Hermione hadn't expected this question. "Well...I shouldn't say..." She said meekly.
"It's Harry isn't it?" He asked, his tone flat. "I knew something was going on with you two. Even though he WAS dating Cho and even though neither of you will admit it, I could tell."
Hermione was too shocked to reply.
"I'm right, aren't I?" He asked
"Well...yes!" Hermione said, wincing. "Umm..yes, me and...Harry. That's right. Well, I should really go now." She said, suddenly very badly wanting to leave the table. "I have to...erm...meet him! I'm sorry, Colin. I wish you just could have told me sooner, before Harry and I had...you know..."
"Right." Colin had said sadly. "Oh well." He sighed stoically. "Farewell, Hermione. Have fun with Harry."
"Thanks." She said giving him a nice smile. "You should try talking to some other girls. I heard," she lowered her voice, "that Ginny wouldn't mind going out with you."
"Really?"
Hermione just shrugged. "You didn't hear it from me." She said mysteriously and turned to walk away.
Unfortunately, her heel caught on one of the wooden boards forcing her to fall flat on her face in front of everyone in the Three Broomsticks. "Erm..." She said, clumsily trying to get up without flashing the whole restaurant.
She gave Colin an awkward wave before rushing out the door in attempt to hide her blushing cheeks.
"Damn shoes."
*
"Harry!" She called out. She could make out Harry and Ron in the distance. They were sitting on one of the benches talking to each other. Ron had an annoyed look on his face. She guessed they were once more talking about the horrors of Cho Chang, a subject Hermione was sure that Ron had long-since grown sick of.
"Harry!" She called again.
This time Harry looked up and stopped talking. Ron gave her a grateful glance and said, "Harry, I need to go...uh...meet someone. Why don't you talk to Hermione?" He smiled, giving Hermione a look that said "good luck!"
After he left, Hermione sat down on the bench beside Harry. He was looking just as somber as he had the night before. She felt her heart speed up at his presence. "I need to talk to you." She said, slightly nervous.
"Hmmm?" He asked, shifting his attention towards her. He looked only mildly interested. His thoughts were obviously elsewhere.
"It's about Cho." She added with a sigh.
His emerald eyes immediately snapped to attention. "What? What is it?" He asked.
A sly smile formed on her face. "I think," she started, "I think I know a way you can get back at her."