My words, lent from Jo...
Thanks to my Beta and friend Lisa!
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She tried. She really tried. But thinking of something different and totally unrelated to him wasn't that easy.
Okay, that bench over there. Think about that bench, Hermione. Bench… a bench near the Herbology greenhouses… a class you have with him... no! Wait... bench... keep thinking about the bench... The bench is made of stone... it looks a lot like the one near the Quidditch stands… the one where you have done your homework… and corrected his…aargh! Stupid bench!
Clearly, the bench-idea wasn't working. But he had to get out of her head... He had to, or she would go crazy any second now…
Homework! Yes, that's a good one! Homework in potions, homework in Defence – especially that homework, or else Harry would manage a higher grade than she did during the next test… But would there be any test, now that they were going off to look for Horcruxes? No, of course not… they would be on the road... she would be on the road with Harry… and him… aargh! Homework from Herbology, near which is that singularly unhelpful bench… homework in Ancient Runes... a class that he didn't take… no, wait...homework from Muggle studies, a class he also didn't take, although to be fair she had dropped it at the end of third year. His dad would have adored that class…How much will he look like his dad when he's older? Will he get that same fondness about something else? For someone else?
It took Hermione at least two seconds to realise that even thinking about homework wasn't helping. Her thoughts swirled through her head, and any moment now, she would snap.
Think about something else, Hermione! There has to be something that you can't relate back to him.
She needed her sleep. She really did. Tomorrow was going to be a long day again, and having not slept much for the past several nights (mostly because her stupid head couldn't stop thinking), she really needed her sleep.
Victor...
She almost snorted at herself. Was she crazy? How couldn't she relate Victor back to him? She would almost immediately think about Ron's weird behaviour and would then spend the rest of the night pondering about what it meant.
Mum and Dad…I really miss them. I hope they are okay and are taking my warnings about staying inside after dark seriously… even though I couldn't explain everything to them… I mean, the only people to whom I have ever related after finding out about being a witch were Harry…and him… I wonder what my parents think of them… of him…
If her goal was "not thinking about him," that had been a particularly bad way to accomplish it. Unwanted, an image of him coming over to "meet the parents" sprang into her head. She could almost feel how uncomfortable he was, and in her mind, his head was beet-red and almost exuding heat.
Aaaaaargh!
"Hermione? Are you awake?"
She feels a soft tap on her shoulder and hears the whisper tickling her ear.
Slowly turning around in her sleeping bag, which suddenly feels as if she had filled it with lead to make her turning around more embarrassing, she is facing the reason of her insomnia.
He is lying next to her, also in a purple sleeping bag, which clashes terribly with his hair. Fortunately for everyone's eyes (probably only Hermione's, since there are just three of them, and Harry is sleeping), it is dark.
Hermione finds it hard to believe he is lying so close to her, only so she could hear him whisper. Knowing Harry for more than six years, they both know he is a deep sleeper and Ron could have just been a metre further from her: he still would wake her up, since she didn't sleep and he still wouldn't have woken Harry up, since he can't be woken at this time.
"Yes, I am. What's the matter?"
"Can't sleep. And then I heard you sighing and rustling."
"Yes… I can't fall asleep either… can't stop thinking."
"About what?"
"Stuff."
"What kind of stuff?"
For a moment, Hermione wants to curse, but that would look rather weird, since it was a pretty normal question. Then, thinking she might have been quiet for too long, she answers:
"My parents."
"Hmm." He is listening intently and, though it's dark, she can feel that his eyes are on her. She feels the urge to explain more.
"They probably don't know what kind of danger we're in…I mean, we don't even know it ourselves, but we know that we are taking great risks...My parents have no clue whatsoever... I wonder if they would have let me go had they known..."
A silence follows. Then:
"They probably wouldn't... My parents know more about the sort of danger we're in. They have a general idea of what we're doing by going out on the road now. Look at the problems I ran into when we wanted to leave. Mum would have tied me up if she hadn't been so shocked. I…I think you made the right choice, not telling them much. It's safer…for you and them."
She sees his silhouette moving, and suddenly, an arm comes out from Ron's sleeping bag, pats her on the head gently and gives her cheek a reassuring pinch. Before Hermione can fully comprehend it, the hand and arm are back in the sleeping bag next to her. She is to startled to say something about it. She isn't even sure if it really happened. After a while, she says:
"Yeah, you're probably right. Thanks, Ron."
"Notting at all, 'Mione. Good night. "
"Good night."
She turns around again, suppressing a string of curses once again. After that conversation with him, and his kind gestures, her chances of sleeping have been reduced to zero.
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Hi everyone!
It's been a while for me to update... I have started a lot of stories, but with all came huge writers' block or something else that prevented me from posting...
This one has been in my head for a while...I'm planning to do something about Tonks and Ginny too, so I need to know what you thought of this one...please review!