Disclaimer: I own only the plot.
Summary: Harry is depressed and Hermione tries to teach him how girls cheer themselves up.
Author: Amy Martin
A Girl's Way
Harry sat in an old armchair in the Gryffindor Common Room. He stared into the fire, ignoring the bright and cheery colours surrounding him. He slumped down even further in the chair, life was depressing. He didn't know what to do now that Sirius was gone, again. Why was it that all of his parent figures left him time and time again? Well, yes, he still had Dumbledore to give him advice but that didn't count. The man was old and senile and Harry was concerned for his mental health.
A soft sigh escaped his lips, his life was so screwed up, the Dursleys had gotten worse, and now Ron and Hermione seem to have time for only each other. The bruises from his uncle seemed to refuse to fade and his two best friends were dating and he was sure they had done It. But, of course, they refused to tell him anything about their relationship except that they were happy and glad that he was pleased for them.
"Stupid secrets…" He muttered darkly, annoyed at everything.
"Harry?" Hermione quietly padded over and sat next to him. The maroon chair wasn't quite big enough for the both of them so she ended up halfway sitting on his lap but didn't seem to mind too much. "Hi Harry!" She had obviously eaten way to much chocolate that evening, Harry had to wonder what she and Ron had been doing.
"Uh. Hi Hermione…" Lately she had been almost overly happy for his tastes, and she had been able to keep perfect grades! He wished he knew her secret.
Hermione paused, looking at one of her best friends. She hadn't heard him speak in a few days, all he ever seemed to do was sit and stare into the fire. She stared into his emerald eyes, searching for some sort of clue as to what was in his mind. She ran a hand through his hair, just as she always used to, and rested her head on his shoulder for a moment andgazed into the fire just as he always did.
No, she didn't love Harry Potter in a romantic way.
Yes, she did love him in other ways that she wasn't able to explain. He and Ron were everything to her.
Hermione had had a bit of an anarchy streak that summer, disobeying her parents a lot and getting her tongue and belly button pierced. She had gotten a tattoo on her left ankle and straightened her hair, only to charm it to be slightly wavy so it had some body to it. She had changed her wardrobe and her attitude. But she hadn't been able to change the fact that she loved school and she loved to do work. Hence the perfect scores on everything.
Harry, on the other hand, had gotten less personality over the last summer. He had been beaten, locked in a very small room, starved… He had slowly let his schoolwork slip from his mind to the point it was now at, failing. Every now and then he would show up to a class but he never did anything.
Everyone pitied him; they thought his depression was caused by the loss of his godfather.
Far from it, it was everything plus the disappearance of Sirius that made him like this
And he hated pity.
Hermione smiled at him, not having any idea of what was going through his mind. "So, Harry, I was thinking, you never seem to be all that happy. So I thought to myself, I should cheer you up, seeing as we're best friends and all." She paused for effect, "Whenever I feel down chocolate always makes me feel better" She offered.
Harry looked skeptical but he would humour her this time, he nodded. Delighted at this small breakthrough, Hermione jumped up and ran into her dorm. In only a matter of minutes she had thrown chocolate, nail polish, a comb, some coffee, and a few other things into a small basket and was racing back down the stairs. She grabbed the very bewildered Harry's hand and pulled him out the door.
"Herm?" Harry ventured, almost afraid of her reaction to the old nickname.
"Harry! I told you, please don't use that name! My parents thought it was really cute and all but I don't need the taunts that are sure to some."By the end of her speech they had left the common room and were now on the sixth floor and heading even further down.
"Alright 'Mione. Where are we going and what do you have in that basket?" Harry was almost having trouble keeping up with her, he really never moved this much or this fast anymore.
Hermione refused to answer, instead walking faster until they were at the doors. She grinned at Harry, "We're cheering you up my way! Come on slow-poke!" She pushed open the doors, stepping out into the fresh air and walking until she reached the edge of the lake. She pulled a blanket out of the bottom of the basket and laid it down ten feet from the water and sat down, patting the spot next to her.
Harry reluctantly sat down, watching with an amused smile as she pulled out a few lanterns and lit them.
Hermione looked up only to find him gazing at her with an obvious question in his eyes, "I didn't think you'd want all your other friends to see you out here helping me paint my nails and I didn't think you'd want them to see you getting your hair done."
He raised his eyebrows at her but didn't say anything, just chuckling. When she really did pull out the nail polish and hair products he started, "You were serious!"
Hermione laughed and nodded, handing him a chocolate bar, "We had better get started, I have a study session early tomorrow morning." She paused for a moment before deciding that he could use a manicure too and she had already gotten one. She uncapped one of the small bottles after shaking it a little bit and took a hold of Harry's wrist. She grinned, "I think purple would look good on you, definitely your colour."
Harry looked absolutely scared but didn't pull his hand back. Maybe getting his nail painted, while not very manly, would make him feel better. How low had he sunk?
Hermione grinned and finished his left hand and started on his right. Harry continued to eat more and more chocolate as she worked but felt that he should break the silence. "So, am I really that noticeably depressed?" At her nod he laughed, "Yeah, I guess I've been a bit off lately…"
Hermione snorted, "'A bit off'? Geez Harry, you have no idea. You've been making everyone else depressed as well." She laughed and finished off his nails. "Ah ha! I was so right! Purple is absolutely your colour!" She hugged him quickly, making sure she didn't touch any of the wet nails.
He grinned at her and chuckled, returning the hug and finishing off the sweet confection he had been eating. "You know 'Mione I do feel better. Is this how you girls manage to be happy all the time?" She nodded and he shook his head, "Absolutely amazing. I never would have guessed…"
Hermione started laughing again, a bit harder this time, "You know, I'm always here if you need 'a girl's night out with Harry'"
He grinned and examined his nails, "You know, I think Ron will be mortified! But that's all the fun. Come on, I'm tired and you have to run your little study session in the morning."