Nothing without You
Hermione felt her chest grow heavy as she puffed out a frustrated sigh, pacing in her room she ran her fingers through her unruly hair as to relieve some tension but it did little to help ease herself. Who was the latest victim of Hermione's mental wrath? Most if not the entire school body would be quick to say it was Ron Weasley who the famous bookworm was shooting mental daggers at but only a select few know that Harry gave her the most grief.
And recently they just had an argument about Harry playing in the house cup against Hufflepuff; normally she wouldn't have had a shouting contest with Harry when it came to Quidditch but he just survived another incursion with his bad luck and would be cleared from the hospital wing a few days before the match. Hermione argued that he should get some rest and leave the team to their backup seeker "That's what he's there for isn't it?" she reasoned with him but Harry was putting up a wall as he desperately wanted to play.
"Hermione, it's the house cup! Come on, don't be like this…" he sighed hoping to see something crack but Hermione did the opposite and the shouting began "Being like what!? Looking out for you!? In case you lost your memory, you're still recovering from your latest injury!" Her tone just brought out Harry's own fire as he shouted back "I will be out days before the game! I'd be ready!" His reply caused her to shut her eyes giving way to her puffing through her nostrils. She felt like she was about to explode and she would, the last thing Harry heard before that happened was the closing of the door and the glimpse of red Weasley Hair between the doors as the closed.
That was days ago, now Harry was out and he was practicing with the team as if nothing's changed but Hermione still came to practice to check on him. Her eyes trained at the bandages that wrapped his hands and shoulders, her wand was also close at hand ready to cast anything if he were close to another injury. The stands weren't filled as the winter chill did little to draw a crowd but that was normal for a practice anyway, beside her were Lavender and Parvati doing their best cheerleader impressions while other young Gryffindors just marveled at the skills of their house mates. When Harry would zoom by locking eyes with Hermione she did her best to show him that she was still mad at him, she scowled and looked away until he finished his turn to face the other direction.
Both of them felt their face fall when the other wasn't looking, Hermione's heart tugged at their strings hating the fact that she was meant to hate Harry until he got his senses back. Even when they were together she felt distant from him, resulting in Ron getting more attention than he wanted from Hermione. Like one night, Ron wanted to eat his pudding in piece but when Hermione came in with Harry following suit… Hermione beelined towards Ron instantly talking about something in a Magical History textbook that almost put Ron completely to sleep.
Now in her room, she continued her pacing… her lip bruised from her own teeth and her hair in a mess. She sighed to herself once again stopping in front of her bed, loosening herself up as she laid herself onto her bed. Her chocolate eyes drew towards the red and gold pattern of the curtains above her bed; she took note of the stitching and the patterns that weren't symmetrical with one another which caused a big fuss in her head.
"Mione…" came a voice after a series of soft knocks at the door, "Can I come in?" Hermione turned her head gently towards the door. It wasn't any of her dorm mates' voices, it was a male… it was his voice. She hesitated to question how he got up the stairs but Harry Potter always finds a way, her face read that she was cautious and sad but with the simple wave of her wand and muttering of the incantation the door lock clicked open. The door creaked open but before she could see him, she returned her gaze to the curtains above her.
She was pretty adamant to show him that she wasn't letting her guard down easily, Harry walked deeper into the room cautiously. His eyes found Hermione and a frown appeared on his face hoping things would be easier than this "Can we talk?" he asked cautiously with his hands in his pockets. Hermione kept her gaze locked on the curtains above her, "We are aren't we?" she said rather starkly.
Harry instantly felt a pain of hurt hit his chest at her tone, he slowly took one step closer his eyes on her to judge her reaction. She didn't flinch as if he wasn't really there; he took a few steps until his hands were wrapped against her bed post "Look… Mione, I'm sorry." His voice still on the breath of caution, but he finally got somewhere when she shifted her head towards him showing him the glare she carried. This told him he wasn't going to get far with a simple apology; he leaned his head against her post and revealed something to her "I told Wood to cut me from the game."
Hermione was shocked at his words even though her expression didn't show it, "I told him that I had the flu and couldn't let the team down." Harry felt his chest compress so he closed his eyes to stop himself from revealing too much emotion. Hermione sat up on her bed seeing her Harry's distress, biting her lip she fought against herself… yes she was still mad at him for not being smart but she also knew his pure love for the game. Many days Snape or someone would put him down and then he would have practice and a smile would always be on his face no matter what happened before. And to add more insult to injury straight to her heart he lied for her….with the most rubbish lie ever, the flu and Wood bought it.
"The cup is surely theirs; we have a good team…" with each word he spoke Hermione's heart started cracking, the emotion filled her so much she broke her own silence "Harry…" she uttered softly. But Harry didn't hear her, he kept going on trying to hide his emotions with words "We have Katie, Angelina and of course Wood." It was too clear to miss, Hermione's chest raised and lowered as her breathing slowed "Harry…" her voice like a feather in the air. "So even without me I think they'll be fine."
She shook her head at him and put a hand on his "Harry…" she said as his eyes flung open looking at her questioningly "Come here." And with a simple nod Harry came around the post and onto her bed with her "Why would you tell Wood such a terrible lie like that?" her genuinely curious, Harry looked all serious all of the sudden "Mione you don't get it." A quick knife went into her heart, was there something she missed that was obvious? In plain sight? "What do I not get?"
Harry took a deep breath, his thumb caressing her palm "I hate myself for not playing at the game sure… but I would hate myself more if you were still mad at me." his face softened but still carried serious weight, Hermione felt her heart filled with emotion "Harry…" was all she could muster. "Hermione Granger, you have no idea how much you mean to me… I hate myself for arguing with you in the first place because I would die if I saw you cry. That's why I ran into that girl's bathroom Halloween night; I don't ever want to see you cry ever again." His words would prove to be somewhat ironic because she could easily cry from the beautiful words she was hearing. "Mione, my life would suck without you… sure there's Ron but I don't know what I'd do without you… Ms. Granger, you're the one constant in my life I can't live without having."
And that was it for her; she gasped "Oh Harry." Wrapping her arms around his neck she hugged him tight, his nose pressed against her shoulder… her body felt an incredible release as she had missed hugging him. In a soft murmur against her shoulder Harry said "Does this mean I'm forgiven?" she could feel the smirk of his lips against her shoulder which caused her to smile and shake her head at his horrible timing "Not completely it'll take a while for me to forgive that big thick head of yours but we'll work something out."
"Haha" he softly laughed, Hermione's smile grew wider letting her cheek fall to his shoulder allowing her nose to get a whiff of him. What she said next caught him off guard but then again anything would due to his contempt state "You'll also go to Oliver and tell him that you're playing in the game." He almost pulled away completely to see her expression if she was serious or not, "But Mione…" he retorted it was pretty much too late as they would be prepping the backup Seeker in his stead.
Hermione shook her head against his shoulder, her curls hitting his forehead "No buts Potter we can't let them win the house cup, I want you and Ron lifting it up high while everyone chants your name like the champions you both are playing the game you both love. " Harry chuckled feeling his cheeks burn as he smiled into her shoulder "Thanks Mione." His body didn't feel like moving, getting Hermione back sent his spirits soaring and hugging her right now was the best thing in the world.
"And Harry one last thing?" Harry lifted his head glancing at her from the corner of his eye "What?" he asked with a slight mischievous tone in his voice. Hermione gave him one of her world famous 'stop being an idiot' looks she gives to everyone "Shut up, you're ruining the moment." The both of them laugh and Harry nodded "Yes ma'am." he said pushing his lips against one another as if shutting them. Hermione smiled brightly as she squeezed Harry one more time, sighing into his embrace.