Chapter 1: One little lie
The sky was painted with angry grey clouds and the sound of grumbling thunder was heard far behind the buildings that covered the gloomy landscapes. A raindrop made its way down to the dusty ground and more drops followed, and soon the city fell under a heavy rain, announcing the start of a storm.
The falling rain and grey scenery reflected gently on the emerald eyes that fixed the closed window's glass. The faint sound of the falling raindrops, the crackling fire in the living room along with the gentle scent of hot coffee steaming from the cup he was firmly grabbing in his hand sent Harry into a peaceful state of mind.
The twenty-five years old divorced Auror was spending his weekend quietly at home alone, and he could swear he had never felt this comfortable in a long while.
It has been three months.
Three full months since Harry and Ginny had put an end to their insupportable relationship. Five long years of marriage has come to an end and Harry didn't regret his decision.
Sipping some of the coffee from his cup, Harry's eyes were still fixing the droplets of water traveling down his window glass until reaching the bottom of it to disappear into the small cracks.
"What a nice day…" Harry whispered to himself while a storm was starting outside.
He had never felt such comfort and peace of mind in such a long time.
Three months ago, Harry was a continuously depressed man. Later on, Harry discovered the reason behind his unhappiness was none other than his marriage.
Harry didn't love Ginny.
Back in his young days, Harry was too blinded by the fact that he wanted to be with someone, he had ignored his own heart's choice. He married Ginny to make everyone around him happy and he had regretted it since then. Their relationship turned into hell and one day Harry could no longer take it and asked for a divorce.
Harry let out a long sigh of pure relief after gulping down the last drops of coffee figured in his cup. He turned his back to the window and walked towards the couch, lying down lazily and staring at his empty cup as if it was the most inspiring thing ever.
Ginny of course has started more than a fight when Harry told her about his true feelings. Ginny cried, shouted, begged, ended up leaving him for months and sent all people she could find to persuade Harry, even threatened to divulge personal information to the press if Harry didn't give up on the idea, but Harry's decision never changed, it was once and for all.
Later on, Ginny came back to Harry apologizing, and confessing that her love for him disappeared long ago. Harry wished they could go back to being friends, which was nearly impossible, but he knew that things would eventually get better.
Few weeks later they signed the divorce papers and they parted ways.
If Harry had to describe his current life in one world it would be 'Perfect'.
After the divorce, he could clearly notice the radical change in his life. Depression, sadness, stress, they all disappeared as if they never existed to begin with. Harry was finally living his life the way he wanted. He could eat whatever he desire, go out whenever and wherever he wanted without someone waiting for his return to start a random fight.
Harry was too glad with his current life to the point that Hermione and Ron started to wonder if he was hiding something. The couple has been married for over six years, Hermione became a former writer for the Daily Prophet magazine and Ron took the same path as Harry and became an Auror.
No matter how long he would explain to them that he didn't need a partner to be happy, Hermione would remind him that he was getting older and that before he could even notice, it would be too late for him to find someone.
She tried pushed him more than once to join clubs, parties and meet up with new people. Harry accepted attending them only to make his friend happy yet never ended up with a single date and Hermione had started wondering if he wasn't already meeting someone. Harry's answer was of course negative.
Harry started humming softly. He was in a good mood.
His eyes landed on the table, few papers were scattered on top of it illustrating different pictures of beautiful women.
Harry picked up one of the pictures and looked at it from up close. The picture was one of a fresh young dark-haired woman in her twenties. She was beautiful and Harry couldn't deny that. Flipping the picture, Harry could read the name 'Linda McCabe'. He noticed further information below.
Harry looked uninterested as he put the picture back on the table and sighed. Hermione never gives up.
No matter how much he explained his lack of interest in the women she sets him up with, she would keep sending him to more dates and parties. Harry wished she could just give up and leave him be. Harry was happy alone, and if he ever needed someone it would be his own choice. But no matter how he explained it, Hermione would never listen.
A sigh escaped Harry's lips when a sudden 'Clack' caught his attention.
Harry's head turned to fix the window's direction only to spot a black shaped thing colliding against his window glass.
Harry stood up, put the empty cup on the table before he walked towards the window. The rain has ceased outside. Harry opened the window and a wild wind stormed in.
"Shit!" Harry cursed when the pictures he had left on the table started flying all around the room, making a mess out of it.
Harry quickly looked down to notice that the black ball shaped thing was none other than an owl. Harry quickly picked it up and closed the window shut.
The owl was rather big and reminded Harry of Hedwig only the color of this one was a pure black. Its feathers were smooth and long yet one of its wings was broken.
Harry looked at its eyes. Pure golden eyes looked right back at Harry. It was alive, Harry concluded.
"I guess the wind threw you over here. Poor thing…" He spoke in a gentle tone while caressing it.
Harry put the owl carefully on the small table. He took out his wand and used the healing spells he knew to fix the bird's broken wing. He could hear the owl let out a small cry of pain now and then before he was finally done.
"You look exhausted." Harry noticed as the owl stood on its feet and wobbled around the table. "Even with a healed wing you won't be able to fly any further in this storm." Harry explained, his eyes looked towards the window as rain started to fall again.
"Well, I guess you can spend the night here." Harry suggested with a smile and the owl gave him a long stare, stepping away from Harry's hand that aimed to stroke its feathers.
The owl cocked its head to the side and stood proudly on the side of the table, its chest puffed out.
"You don't like being touched, do you?" Harry concluded, chuckling faintly at the owl's reaction as he retrieved back his hand. "I wonder who your owner is…" Harry's eyes scooted down to notice a small rolled parchment stuck within the owl's fangs.
"A letter?" Harry thought, his hand aiming curiously towards it. The owl fidgeted and immediately bit Harry's hand before flying away, failing miserably and landing on the ground.
"Ouch, that hurts!" Harry flinched, rubbing the back of his hand. "What a way to thank your savior." He mumbled in annoyance before standing up to look at the owl that was protecting itself with its wings.
"Fine, fine. I get it. I won't touch the letter. I'm just going to pick you up and put you somewhere safe, deal?" Harry carefully spoke, giving up on knowing the source of the letter and its owner. The owl seemed to be extremely careful and its owner had probably taught it not to let strangers approach it in any kind of way.
The owl seemed to hesitate before it finally lets its wing down and Harry smiled widely, reaching out his hands to pick it up.
"So what's your name?" Harry asked, knowing clearly that the owl could perfectly understand him as he walked to his bedroom.
The owl poked Harry's cheek twice and Harry wondered what that meant yet couldn't help but smile.
Since Hedwig's death, Harry had never thought about getting a new owl. To him, Hedwig was a friend and friends cannot be replaced. When it comes to important letters and notices to send, Harry would often use the Auror Department's numerous owls and sometimes even Patronus spells would do the work.
Harry let the owl perch on the headboard, it seemed comfortable there. He let out a long yawn and looked at the clock that showed past midnight. He had spent too much time watching the rain and relaxing he forgot he had to meet Hermione first thing in the morning.
Hermione has sent him a letter earlier telling him it was an 'Important matter' and that 'He must visit' and Harry knew exactly what she was planning when the letter contained none other than a load of random women's pictures.
"I better get to sleep or else Hermione would hex me for being late." Harry reminded himself and stood up. His eyes looked at the owl one last time.
"Hopefully tomorrow you'll be able to fly back towards your destination." Harry said with a smile before he changed his clothes and jumped in his bed.
As soon as he closed his eyes, he fell into a deep sleep.
Tap tap tap
Harry's eyes were still closed when he heard a faint sound afar.
Tap tap tap
The sound repeated itself over and over again until Harry decided to open his eyes. He rubbed his tired looking face and stared at the clock. He immediately jumped off the bed, and rushed out of the bedroom.
It was 10:30 and he was 30 minutes late for the meeting with Hermione.
Tap tap tap
Stepping out of the bathroom, freshly showered, Harry noticed the source of the sound that woke him up.
A black feathered owl stood by the closed window's side, poking the glass continuously with its beak, waiting for it to open.
"Oh. I completely forgot about you." Harry said and walked towards the window.
The owl flied up on top of a shelter as soon as Harry approached. It cocked its head and puffed its chest out as usual.
"Looks like you fully recovered. It stopped raining for now, so I guess you can carry on your mission." Harry opened the window as a fresh morning light hit his face; he had to blink for a while before adjusting to the light.
"Well send your regards to your—" Before he could finish his sentence, the owl flashed its wings out and stormed out of the apartment.
"Impatient and arrogant, reminds me of a Slytherin."
Harry smiled widely as he watched the owl disappear in the sky, and quickly reached for his coat, put it on and headed out.
Harry knocked at the small house's at the country-side. The storm seemed to have ceased and the sky was perfectly clear. The wet landscapes were greener than usual and the scenery was so breath-taking that Harry wished he could live in the neighborhood.
Before he could contemplate the nice environment any further, the door opened and Hermione appeared behind, her eyes fixing on Harry with a serious stare.
"Um… I can explain." Harry nervously spoke, understanding his miserable situation.
Hermione rolled her eyes and stepped aside.
"Come in."
Harry didn't hesitate to step into the house which always reminded him of The Burrow. It was small but warm and cozy. The furniture was decent and it blended perfectly with the wooden surface. Again, Harry wished he could live here instead of his small dark apartment buried deep into the city.
Harry took a sit on the couch close to the fireplace. Hermione seemed to have disappeared into the kitchen and reappeared with a plate full of sweets and two cups of warm tea that she put on the table before joining Harry on the couch.
"I baked these cookies two hours earlier while waiting for Mister I-won't-be-late-I-promise." Hermione spoke before handing out the cup of tea and stared at Harry who flinched. "Let me guess, you stayed up late again?"
Harry felt embarrassed to be so easily figured out. He nodded and took the offered cup of tea in his hands.
"The storm was amazing. I kept on watching until my window glass was covered in rain and it was too blurry to look outside." Harry explained in an excited tone.
Hermione stared blankly at him and Harry gulped.
"That's all?" She said.
Harry looked around, wondering what he forgot to tell her.
"Oh right, and there was that owl that ended up with a broken wing against my window, I couldn't help but let it in and fix it before it departed this morning." Harry grinned, wondering if the owl had arrived to its destination. "I wonder who its owner was."
Hermione was still staring at him with the same blank stare. She seemed unsatisfied with his answer.
"Harry, are you sure that's all?" She repeated her question, arching her eyebrow.
Harry clenched his hands around the cup and stiffened, wondering what the woman was getting at.
"… And there was that amazing food I ordered from-"
"Harry!" Hermione quickly interrupted. "The pictures. I'm talking about the pictures!"
It took Harry a while before he finally realized what pictures she was talking about.
"Oh! The pictures!" He repeated, finally noticing the interested look on Hermione's face. "Well, I did check them… Some of them." Just one actually, but Harry preferred to keep that to himself instead of making Hermione any angrier than she already was.
"Just some?" She frowned, and Harry wondered what her reaction would be if he told her the truth.
"How did you find them? Did any of them appeal to you? If you have noticed, I respectfully added all important information on the back of the pictures in order for you to have a general idea of each woman you're going to meet up with." Hermione explained carefully, ignoring Harry's surprised look.
"Meet up?!" Harry repeated, his eyes snapping open.
"Yes, I made sure to set up a date with each of those women so you to find your perfect match. And don't worry, I made all the necessary preparations so all you have to do is stick to the schedule I made for you and have your little fun finding the right woman out there." Hermione showed a wide smile, proud of having so much connections with many people now that she started working for the Daily Prophet.
Harry on the other hand looked horrified by the idea. Meeting up with random women at parties was already a pain, but he found a way to make it less boring by ignoring the women and talking with old friends and acquaintances of Harry's. But now Hermione was like putting him in a face to face situation with one woman at a time with whom he'd have to keep a conversation going for more than one hour, not to mention that he would be forced to pay the bills and walk the woman back to her place before calling it a night.
This wasn't just torture, this was a nightmare.
"No, I can't do it!" Harry immediately protested, he was totally against the idea.
"Yes, you can and you will. Besides, the first date is already set up for this evening." Hermione firmly answered, taking out a paper with detailed information and looked through it.
Harry's face couldn't get any paler.
"No, listen, Hermione, I-I have work, I mean-" Harry lied.
"You don't have work on a Sunday, Harry. Moreover, haven't you been having too much free time lately? You meet up with Ron almost everyday. He told me you've got it easy at the Auror Department as well." Hermione spoke in a confident tone, she could see right through Harry's lies.
Harry sighed deeply in defeat.
"Damn it Ron…" He muttered underneath his breath.
Hermione sighed and held Harry's hand, giving him one of those deep looks that made Harry wonder why he even bothered finding an excuse. Hermione was the queen of persistence.
"Harry, please. I'm doing this for your own good. I know how fun it is to be single, I understand perfectly how happy and settled you are now that your marriage with Ginny came to an end. But think about it for a second. You're growing older, Harry. And if you keep on going on like this you'll end up old and lonely, and It would be too late. I don't want my best friend to end up lonely, Harry."
"I'm not lonely!" Harry growled in annoyance, a part of him agreed with what Hermione just said but he still didn't want to do it this way. If Harry wanted a partner he'd find them himself without the help of his best friend. But the point is, Harry didn't want to.
"But you will eventually be." Hermione insisted.
"I still can't. Hermione, listen, Um, I'm meeting up with George. We promised we'd be spending the evening together in his shop." Harry's hand squeezed in between Hermione's and he knew his lie failed once again.
"George has traveled to Romania to spend the month with Charlie, Harry. If you noticed his shop was closed last week." Hermione explained with a cold stare, seeing right through Harry.
Harry gritted his teeth. How could he have forgotten? Hermione knew everything and he just couldn't escape her. There was certainly no way possible to get away from this situation without a proper excuse. That or ending up attending all those boring dates. But Harry knew that he had no single intention on meeting up with those women, and for that, he'd do anything, including pulling out his lowest lies.
"Hermione, there's something I need to tell you." Harry finally said, his uncertainty faded away as he looked at Hermione with his most serious stare.
Hermione sighed.
"What is it this time, Harry? Just know something. No matter what excuse you pull out you'll be meeting these women. And I will—"
"I'm gay!" Harry's words echoed through the whole room before he noticed he had just shouted.
An awkward silence took over as Harry watched the slow reaction of his friend that ended up staring at him for two long minutes before she finally opened her mouth.
"You're what?" Hermione asked, her hand had left Harry's and went to grab her cup of tea. Harry noticed her confusion.
Harry swallowed once again. He had never really thought about his sexuality much but he knew he wasn't interested in guys. But right now, if being gay could stop Hermione from wanting to set him up with random girls every single time, then he might as well be.
"Er, I…I'm not interested in girls." He lied, his eyes failing him as he looked aside.
Hermione opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out. She stayed like that for a long while and Harry started wondering if this was the end of the conversation.
"You're seeing someone?" She finally asked, and Harry's surprised eyes met hers.
She was seriously suspecting him.
If Harry's answer was a no, then Hermione would probably set him up with a bunch of guys and just the idea of that happening made Harry's stomach twist.
"Yes, I am." Harry quickly answered. "We've been seeing each other for nearly a month now. He's a really sweet guy and I think I like him. He's handsome too." Harry explained, and for the first time in his whole life he felt like hexing himself to death for saying that.
Hermione's eyes showed slight confusion but she soon sighed and sipped some of the tea, her eyes gazed back at Harry who was slightly fidgeting, waiting for her to see right through his lies like she usually does, but to his surprise, she didn't.
"Well, if you say so. As long as you're happy, Harry, I'm okay with it." She smiled gently. "Don't worry about the dates, I'll make sure to cancel them all today and make proper excuses for each one of them."
Harry sighed deeply in relief. He had succeeded.
"So, about this guy..." Hermione started.
What's his name? What's his profession? Where did you meet him? When will you introduce him to us? Harry could see a ton of questions ready to burst out one after the other, and the danger sign was clear this time. Hermione was not going to let this go easily without a full investigation.
To Hermione's surprise, Harry put his cup aside and stood up immediately.
"I'll tell you about him next time, we have a date this afternoon so I really have to go now." Harry quickly spoke with a gentle smile, hoping for one and only thing: to escape.
Hermione stared at him deeply before a smile traced upon her lips and she stood up. She wrapped her arms around Harry and squeezed him. Harry was surprised.
"I'm so happy you finally opened up to me, Harry." She spoke in a gentle tone and Harry gave her a confused look.
"I've always wondered why you've been so uninterested in girl before. It started back when we were in Hogwarts but I thought it was only a phase… Then you and Ginny got separated, and no matter how many women I set you up with none would appeal to you and I started wondering again if it was because of that." She pulled back from the hug and smiled at him. "And it looks like I was right." She grinned sweetly.
Harry looked back at her, dumbfounded. He never knew Hermione thought of him that way.
Well of course Harry wasn't gay. It was just a lie so that Hermione would stop harassing him with those dates. Although those women were rather beautiful he still has no single interest in meeting them. That still doesn't make him gay... does it?
"Harry?" Hermione's voice pulled him out of his thoughts.
Harry's eyes drifted towards the clock. "Merlin, I'm going to be late! I'll see you later, alright." Harry quickly spoke, rushing his way towards the door.
"Harry!" Hermione called him as Harry froze by the door. He looked back at her. Was he busted?
Hermione's expression softened to Harry's surprise.
"Ron and I would more than love to meet your boyfriend." Hermione showed a wide smile and Harry was frozen, before he quickly nodded with a small grin.
"Sure, that's an amazing idea. I'll make sure to tell him. I bet he would be happy to!" Harry responded, he wished he could just shut himself up for a second but now it was too late.
Harry had put himself in the worst situation possible and there was no way out of it. He had to quickly act up and find someone, someone who would be willing to act along, someone who'd survive the meeting with Hermione.
Someone who would play the role of the perfect boyfriend.
With that sudden plan in mind, the Auror escaped out of the small house and quickly deaparated back to his apartment.
I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! I am willing to post one or two chapters a week, so look forward to them. Also, please give as much reviews as you can, I really appreciate them!