Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Harry Potter is the property of J.K. Rowling and Scholastic Publishing. This work was created for the sole enjoyment of the writer. The writer receives no remuneration for this work.
Author's Notes: This story takes place at the end of Felix Felicis of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. It serves as an alternate ending. I am not anticipating other chapters, but that may change depending on response. Italics are from The Half-Blood Prince and are the work of J.K. Rowling.
Felix Felicis: How It Should Have Happened
Harry turned away from Ron, who did not look like he would be surfacing soon, just as the portrait hole was closing. With a sinking feeling, he thought he saw a mane of bushy brown hair whipping out of sight.
He darted forward, sidestepped Romilda Vane again, and pushed open the portrait of the Fat Lady. The corridor outside seemed deserted.
"Hermione?"
He found her in the first unlocked classroom he tried. She was sitting on the teacher's desk, alone except for a small ring of twittering yellow birds circling her head, which she had clearly just conjured out of midair. Harry could not help admiring her spell work at a time like this.
"Oh, hello, Harry," she said in a brittle voice. "I was just practicing."
"Yeah . . . they're – er – really good. . . ." said Harry.
He had no idea what to say to her. He was just wondering whether there was any chance that she had not noticed Ron, that she merely left the room because the party was a little too rowdy, when she said in an unnaturally high-pitched voice, "Ron seems to be enjoying the celebrations."
"Er . . . does he?" said Harry.
"Don't pretend you didn't see him," said Hermione. "he wasn't exactly hiding it, was he?"
"No, I s'pose not," Harry said with a sigh.
Another awkward silence filled the room, as Harry struggled to decide what else to say to her. He didn't want to talk about Ron, because he thought that would only make Hermione feel worse. Unfortunately, the sight of his red-haired best friend entwined with Lavender Brown was immovably stuck in the center of his mind. Harry helplessly looked around the room and was about to give up when he caught sight of the birds again. Then an idea struck him.
"Hermione, what's that spell you were practicing?" Harry asked.
Hermione, who had been idly fiddling with the hem of her skirt, looked up at him. "What?"
"The spell," Harry said as he pointed to the birds still circling her head like a small solar system. "What is it?"
"Oh!" Hermione said shaking her head dejectedly and looking back down. "It's called Ave Coporio. Professor Flitwick taught it to me after the first lesson this year. It was a gift for doing so well on my OWLs."
Hoping this idea would work, Harry smiled and asked, "Would you show me?"
Surprised, Hermione looked at him again with a questioning expression. Harry held his smile, and soon a small smile slid across the young witch's face.
"Of course!"
A few minutes later, both Harry and Hermione had twittering yellow birds circling their heads. Although the spell did not require complicated incantations or wand work, it did require intense concentration because of the multiple conjurings. The fact that Harry accomplished this only after his third try seemed to please Hermione immensely.
"I'm so proud of you, Harry," Hermione said as she slid of the desk and wrapped him tightly in one of her hugs.
Harry beamed as he returned the hug, glad that she had forgotten about Ron for the moment. When they stepped out of the hug, Harry looked up at the two sets of circling birds and said, "Why would someone come up with this spell, I wonder."
"It does have some uses," Hermione said. Harry thought he saw an evil glint in her eye as she cast her wand towards a student desk and shouted "Oppugno!"
Suddenly the birds circling her head darted at the desk and began viciously clawing and pecking at it. After a few moments, Hermione ended the spell and the birds popped out of existence. When Harry turned back at her, she was looking at the floor guiltily.
"Hermione, I . . ." Harry began to say before she raised her hand and shook her head.
"Don't be sorry, Harry," Hermione said. "He's just a selfish little git, and he will never change. I simply must to accept that."
That sinking feeling Harry had felt earlier had returned. He suddenly felt compelled to stare pensively at the floor and to shuffle his right foot. Then he felt Hermione's hand on his arm. When Harry looked up he was staring deeply into her dark brown eyes.
"It's alright, Harry," Hermione said. "I realize that I can't be anything more than friends with Ron, that's all."
Harry gasped a sigh before saying, "That's good, because I really didn't fancy losing either of you."
Hermione's eyes glistened as she said, "Oh Harry –"
The door behind them suddenly burst open. To Harry's horror, he saw Ron coming in laughing and pulling along Lavender.
"Oh!" Ron said as he stopped short when he noticed Harry and Hermione.
"Oops!" Lavender giggled. She then hastily retreated, saying to Ron, "Wait for you outside."
When the door slammed shut behind her, Harry felt a deathly chill descend upon the room. Hermione stared at Ron, but he refused to look at her. Instead, he said to Harry with an odd tremor, "Hey Mate! Wondered where you'd got off to."
"But never so worried about me?" Hermione asked.
"'Mione!" Ron tried to say as if surprised. "I, - uh – well . . . ."
Hermione started to walk very erectly past Ron. As she did, she said quietly, "You shouldn't keep Lavender waiting, she'll wonder where you've gone."
Harry glanced at Ron who heaved a large sigh and grinned. He was clearly pleased that he hadn't suffered anything worse from this incident. What Ron didn't see was Hermione turn back from the door and glare at him. Then Harry saw her look at him and start stalking back. As she got closer, Harry noticed a wild look in her eyes.
"MMMPH!" He said when Hermione pulled the front of his cloak and, at the same time, crushed her lips against his. If Harry could have seen Ron, he would have seen that the youngest Weasley male was staring at the two of them rather slack-jawed.
Harry moved his arms to push Hermione away, but he slowed as the kiss changed from a furious assault to something more pleasant. After a moment, something came over Harry and he found himself responding. When his hands did finally come to rest on Hermione's shoulders, Harry didn't feel that kissing Hermione was wrong at all. It felt . . . right!
Suddenly, Harry felt her push away. When he opened his eyes, Harry saw that Hermione was looking at him in horror. She quickly turned and ran for the door, flinging it open. Harry thought he heard her sob before it closed with a clap.
"You bloody TRAITOR!" Ron cried.
"What?" Harry asked still feeling a little dumbstruck.
"You know what!" Ron shouted. "You know that I have feelings for Hermione, and you bloody stole her from me."
"Ron, that doesn't make any sense," Harry said.
"It makes perfect sense!" Ron raged, his ears beginning to match his mop of hair. "You get everything, money, fame, and the girl, and I get nothing!"
"Ron, you were snogging Lavender in the center of the Common Room! Everyone saw it!" Harry shouted back in exasperation.
"That's what you planned!" Ron shouted as he pointed an accusing finger. "You planned this all along from the first moment this morning. You tricked me into believing I was lucky so I'd play better, so when we won, I'd have to celebrate with Lavender. It was the only way you could be alone with Hermione."
Fed up, Harry said, "Ron, that's ridiculous. I didn't make you do anything, and I'm leaving to find Hermione."
"Fine! Go to her!" Ron shouted in disgust, and Harry began to walk out with the twittering yellow birds still circling his head.
"Doesn't know what it's like, lucky his parents are dead," Ron muttered as Harry passed him.
"What did you say?" Harry asked as he turned at the door.
Ron turned back to him and said, "You're lucky your parents are dead – "
"OPPUGNO!"
Suddenly, the birds shot towards Ron like a flurry of golden bullets. Ron tried to protect himself, but the birds viciously pecked and scratched at any bit of exposed skin.
"Gerremmoffme!" Ron cried, but Harry ignored him. With one last vindictive look, he flung open the door and stormed out of the classroom. In the hall, Harry found very bewildered and frightened Lavender Brown standing just off of the door. He had no doubt that she had been eavesdropping.
"Yours is in there!" Harry barked at her as he pointed to the door. He then turned and marched down the hall in search of Hermione, his cloak billowing behind him imperiously.
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