So this is just an idea I came up with! pls read and tell me if I should go on with it or not?! thanx... I hope you enjoy
Hermione had just left the tent, attempting to stop Ron from wherever he was going. Harry couldn't believe Ron. He was positive that he's never been this mad at Ron. He was on the verge of hexing him if Hermione hadn't intervened. He sighed heavily and said; "Whatever" as he did so. He sat down; he just did not have the energy for a petty fight with Ron while the entire wizarding world was depending on him to kill Voldemort.
Hermione came back into the tent. "Well?" Harry asked and she shook her head "He's gone" she said but Harry couldn't quite place the tone in her voice. Was she disappointed? A part of him felt angry at her for wanting Ron here after his childish behavior.
Harry knew what he was about to say was entirely false but he did it anyway "You don't have to stay" though Harry couldn't imagine going any further without her "I'll understand if you want to go, it's not fair that you guys always get dragged into my misery because you're my friends" he said. Especially with Hermione being a target as she was a muggle-born, which is part of the reason he didn't want her to go. He would protect her no matter what and if she was with him he could make sure that Voldemort didn't touch her. He initially had the same thoughts about Ron, but he was so angry with Ron right now, he felt like sending Voldemort a note, telling him where Ron would be. Of course Harry immediately shook himself… he would never do that! Was it Voldemort playing tricks on his mind again?! His thoughts got interrupted by Hermione…
"Don't be ridiculous. I'm not Ron. I'm staying because I want to and you're not the only one who wants to dispose of Voldemort, Harry" said Hermione as she sat down. Harry smiled "Good, cos I really don't feel like being alone right now" he said, surprising himself with the boldness of that statement. Hermione returned the smile "Well you wont have to be" she said. "Plus we have a few snacks from that sweet shop I went to the other day" said Hermione as she got up "I thought you told Ron that you passed it because there wasn't enough time before we could be traced" said Harry as he watched her walk over to her bed and reach for her bag. "Of course I told Ron that, Harry. I thought I'd save it for when we really needed a cheer up or celebrate something or whatever… if Ron knew, he would've had chocolate frogs for breakfast every morning" she said as she rummaged through the bag.
Harry laughed out loud as he shook his head "Hermione, Hermione, Hermione. You are a sneaky one, aren't you" he said. "Aha… here it is" she said as she took out a brown bag "Well I suppose I have my moments, right?" she asked lifting the bag as she returned to her seat. "Most definitely" Harry replied "Let's see what we've got" she said and turned the bag over so that everything got scattered on the floor. Harry's eyes widened, there was a lot more than what the bag had presumed to be able to hold. "I think we might need a little comfort as we have just been dropped by our best friend" said Hermione as she grabbed a lollipop first. Harry smiled again "I think you're quite right" said Harry and reached for a chocolate frog, which he luckily didn't have any trouble with. "Or it's just a very good excuse for wanting something tasty" said Hermione, obtaining another laugh from Harry.
"It's great to see you smile. I hate it when Ron makes you so mad that your eyes almost go black" said Hermione. Harry had completely forgotten how angry he was just seconds ago… but Hermione's been able to do that to him lately, make him forget whatever he was feeling and he'd just be happy in her company. "Really?" Harry asked; a piece of chocolate already in his mouth. Hermione smiled "Okay so maybe that's exaggerating a little, but you just look a lot better if you're not angry" she said and put the lollipop in her mouth. "Well I'll take that as a compliment" said Harry. "I just don't understand why Ron has to be so damn stubborn all the time, gees" he added
"Well welcome to the club. NOW do you understand why we always fight? He just doesn't leave room to see your side of a story, unless it's spelled out to him and then he'll wait 3 days to apologize and even that will be half-heartedly" said Hermione. Harry nodded slightly "I suppose I understand but you have to admit that you guys sometimes fought about the stupidest things" said Harry. Hermione laughed "Yeah, we did… don't get me wrong. I love Ron and he's a great friend but sometimes…he just… urgh!" said Hermione not able to get the right word and crumpled up the lollipop wrapper to illustrate what she'd like to do to him.
Harry just laughed but something she had said made him feel uneasy inside 'I love Ron'… did she mean like, LOVE him or just love him? 'What's the difference, Potter?!' Harry asked himself. What did it even matter… he wanted her to love Ron… right? "Harry!?" he looked up suddenly "Yeah?" "On what planet, exactly, were you just now?" asked Hermione with a laugh. He smiled "Don't worry about it, just thinking"
The two talked for quite some time, sharing frustrations about Ron, Voldemort, living in a tent whilst they could've been warm in a dorm at Hogwarts. They continued eating bits and pieces of sweets, at some point throwing it at each other in an attempt to smudge the other with chocolate or just make them laugh and even shared some… until finally they stumbled upon a question game they had just invented themselves.
"So why take the extra class in third year, I mean did you ever sleep?" "No Harry you're cheating, one question only" said Hermione before putting the very small lollipop which had still survived the night back in her mouth. "Fine, why take an extra class? It didn't do much" said Harry "Yeah I know. I was a book freak and I just wanted to know everything so I wanted as many subjects as possible… and think about it Harry, if I hadn't done it, we wouldn't have saved Sirius" said Hermione. Harry's happy face dropped a little at the mention of Sirius but he forced a smile. "Yeah you're right… everything happens for a reason, right?" he asked "Okay go ahead, you're turn" he said. "All right" said Hermione as she thought, the lollipop still in her mouth. "What did you see in Cho?" she asked.
Harry chuckled at this question, "Why would you want to ask me that?" Harry asked "Doesn't matter, just answer" Hermione replied "All right. Honestly, I have no idea. I think she was very beautiful and well yeah… maybe she was a nice girl but with Cedric dying, it kind of put a strain on our relationship and we didn't really get to know each other that well" Harry answered. Hermione nodded "Why Krum?" Harry asked in return "I dunno… he was very charming and well, he actually asked me to go to the ball with him for me and not because he needed a date or realized I'm a girl" Hermione said pulling a mocking face.
Harry laughed "Ron" he said "Yes. He could be so oblivious sometimes… but let's not go back to the topic of Ronald Weasley" said Hermione. "No, let's" Harry objected "What?" Hermione asked "I still get my questions but it's your turn first" said Harry. "All right, umm… what do you want to do after school?" she asked. Harry looked at her confused "Are you serious? Come on, don't waste your question. Ask something else" he said "No, I want to know" Hermione insisted. Harry sighed… actually, he knew exactly where Hermione was going with this. She knew, and he knew, that he hadn't ever thought about it seriously enough "I suppose I want to become an Auror" he said. Hermione looked at him, her eyes squinted a little "You sure?" she asked. Harry nodded "Yip. I can't see myself playing professional Quidditch, it's just too much in the public eye and I've really had enough of that" said Harry "And I'm not exceptionally good at anything else except dark arts and performing physical magic. So I suppose that's where I'll fit best" said Harry. Hermione studied him closely and decided that she believed him "And is that it?" she asked "What do you mean?" Harry asked as he took a green wrapped sweet from the floor "Well I mean. Do you want to work only?" she asked.
She was referring to having a family no doubt. But for some reason, Harry felt unsure about that, for some reason, Ginny wasn't the wife in his future images and this shocked him. "No, no. Who's cheating now? It's my turn" Hermione rolled her eyes "Fine, go ahead" she replied. "Okay… why Ron?" he asked straight… he didn't know why it bothered him so much but he had to know, what did Ron have that no other boy in school had…. what he didn't have? Hermione was a little surprised by this question "Why Ron what?" she asked. Harry sighed "Come on, Hermione. You know what I mean. You're in love with him, aren't you?" Harry said.
Hermione was completely serious now as her hand with the lollipop lowered. Harry just looked into her eyes "Harry, I don't think we should talk about-" "Why not? He's not here, it's the perfect time to talk about it" he insisted. Hermione swallowed and looked down "Harry… the thing is… I'm not in love with Ron" she said looking up. Harry half-smiled "Whatever. Just tell me" he said. Hermione's serious expression didn't change at all "Harry, I'm not kidding. Okay, so I had a crush on him for some time but… he never did anything and I just got tired of waiting and in the end I realized that we could never work and once I realized that I caught myself wondering about why I had ever liked him as more than a friend" she said. Harry's smiled faded "Really? You're not in love with him?" Hermione just shook her head "No" this made Harry feel somewhat, he couldn't place it… better? Had he been jealous of Ron? Why would he be jealous if Hermione liked Ron and not him? No it wasn't jealousy. It was because he didn't want anyone to mess with his best friend, yeah… that was it, Hermione's like the sister he never had and he has to be the protective brother… but that didn't sit quite well with Harry either. Again his thoughts were interrupted.
"Why Ginny?" Hermione asked suddenly in return. Harry looked at her dumbfounded. He should've known it was coming… and he had no answer. Harry simply shrugged. Hermione looked confused "You don't know?" Hermione asked. "No" replied Harry. They sat in silence for a second. "Why did you ask me about Ron?" said Hermione breaking the silence. Harry shrugged again "I just thought that it's always been this thing sitting between us- the three of us- and no-one was brave enough to actually say it" he answered. Hermione looked disappointed "I see… well now you know. There is no thing sitting between us, the three of us" she said, copying Harry's words. Harry just nodded as a silence fell over them again. Hermione had finally finished her lollipop. "So no more questions?" she finally asked, breaking the silence once again. Harry looked at her. Suddenly he had thousands of questions. If she didn't like Ron… who would she like?
Did she like or even love someone else? If it was Ron it would be okay, he at least knew Ron. But what if she liked some guy that turned out to mistreat her or not love her the way he could? "WHAT?" Harry screamed at himself but realized that Hermione was still awaiting an answer.
Harry tried to be as normal as possible after the personal shock he just put himself through. He shrugged "No… not today" he said and gave a small smile "Well I suppose that means that I can't ask anything either, right?" Hermione replied and Harry shook his head. She smiled and started to gather all the sweets they didn't eat. "But thanks, for tonight. We had a nice talk and the sweets were brilliant" said Harry as he started to help her "You're welcome, Harry" said Hermione.
Hermione got up and headed to her bed with the brown bag. Then she climbed into her bed. Harry looked at her confused "And now?" he asked. She laughed "Now I'm going to sleep. We have to move again tomorrow and we're already a little over our curfew" she said as she climbed under the covers. Harry was still sitting on the floor "O yeah. You're probably right" he said and got up stretching "I'm always right" said Hermione jokingly. Harry smiled "Yeah, yeah" he replied. "Goodnight, Harry" said Hermione and put out the candle next to her bed.
Harry walked to his own bed and blew out his candle as well "Goodnight" he said. Tonight would be the first night that he didn't stare at Ginny's moving form on the map… and this didn't seem bother him one bit. His final thoughts as he fell asleep was what he would ask Hermione tomorrow…