Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. They are owned by J.K. Rowling and WB.
~~Rain~~
The rain ricocheted off the sidewalk; roaring in the single pedestrian's ears. It was dangerous for her to be out in weather like this; cold, dark, wet, and lonely. Nothing could be seen. She could easily slip or get hit by a car if she were not careful. Plus, she was in the muggle world. Muggle criminals preyed on people like her. The storm was a perfect place for them to find lonely victims like her. She did not want to be alone, not at all. But it was not her choice. That was why she was out in the storm. Looking.
She heard a car pass by; saw the headlights flash in the rain. She did not know exactly where he was, so she started in the muggle world. She had already checked with Ron. She had already checked with Cho. She had already checked with Parvati. None of them knew, nor cared, except of course for Ron, who could only tell her he was not in the wizarding world.
Ridiculous, she thought. No one has a clue where the famous Harry Potter is. No one has a clue where he moved after he beat Voldemort once again. Pitiful.
She had reached the edge of the neighborhood she was searching. This was the sixth one that night. The heavy rain had started at the fifth. She was actually considering giving up. She was tired and numb from the cold wetness.
That was when she saw the lights go on in the little house on the corner. This caught her eye. Someone could not sleep obviously, for it was midnight.
Harry never slept very well, was what ran through her head. He was always waking up in the middle of the night. Or keeping busy, so he would not have to sleep at all, the tiniest evidence of a smile flashed across the young woman's face, thinking of some of the memories nearly forgotten.
Curiosity getting the best of her, she began to approach the house. She reached the front windows after about a minute, and peered inside.
She saw the most heart-warming scene. The fire in the fireplace was lit and a single stocking hung from the mantle.
One… only one stocking… she continued to scrutinize the room's features. Obviously a family does not live here. Someone single. He's single.
A miniature Christmas tree sat on the coffee table adorned with tiny little ornaments to match, and sparkling little lights. There was a large armchair set in front of the crackling fire. There appeared to be someone sitting there, for she could she the top of a head over the back of the chair.
Messily spiked hair, she smiled at the thought. But I shouldn't jump to conclusions. Spikes are still popular.
The person in the chair stood, mug in hand (probably filled with hot chocolate), and back turned to the girl in the window. She kept her eyes on the figure. He turned.
~*~
Harry jumped in fright. There was someone at the window. He was scared. Could it be a death eater? Could it be Voldemort in someone's body? Could it just be some freak that escaped from the insane asylum? But then, as he looked harder at the face, it looked familiar.
"It can't be," he whispered under his breath as he continued to watch the woman at the window. She put her hand on the pane, as if her hand would go through and be able to touch him. Her hair was dripping waterfalls of rain.
"Brown hair…" he said to himself as if it would trigger his memory. It did. He recognized the face. It was now unmistakable.
Harry quickly ran to the door and flipped the locks. The person had followed him to the door. He flung it open to see her standing in the rain; wet, and about to pass out from the numb, bitter cold.
"Hermione," he breathed as she fell into his secure arms and sobbed into his warm, comforting shoulder. He picked her up as if she were a child and carried her to the kitchen, where he sat her in a chair and quickly fetched some towels. As he wrapped the towels around her shivering body he spoke.
"How did you get here? Why did you come? What is wrong?"
"I had to find you," she choked out through the tears of joy mixed with pain. "I searched. I've been searching. I'm sick of being alone every night. I'm tired of coming home to a dark, empty apartment. I… you're the only one who understands what that's like. You're the only one who cares. Ron has such a big family, and is always with Lavender now that they're engaged. I don't know Cho that well, and Parvati… well… she's a full blood snot like Draco."
Harry handed Hermione some hot chocolate and brushed her hair out of her eyes, tucking it behind her ear. He smiled at her and she smiled back.
"I'll be right back," Harry reassured her as he got up. Minutes later he returned with a loose white turtleneck and some grey sweat pants.
"You should probably change before you catch cold. The bathroom is right around the corner. This is all I have that wouldn't be way to big for you," he was referring to the shirt and sweats.
"Thanks, I need something warm on my body," she grabbed the clothes and trotted off to change. Harry just sat down to wait for her return and began to think. Why had he not contacted her in such a long time? Was it because he was so busy, what with Voldemort's attacks? He shooed the thoughts away as Hermione stepped back into the room.
"You look exquisite," he joked. The sweat pants were as baggy as Jncos on her petite body, and the shirt hung only a few inches above her knee. She had pushed the sleeves back so that her hands were actually visible. Hermione just gave a sarcastic smile at the comment.
"So, what have you been doing lately? I mean, haven't really been keeping up... sorry," Harry apologized.
"Oh, that's okay. I mean, there's not really that much time to do stuff like that when you're saving the world every week. It must suck, having to always be on guard."
"Yeah, sometimes I wish I hadn't survived that attack. Then I would be in heaven with my mother and father and I wouldn't have anything to worry about," Harry stated truthfully.
"Harry! Don't say that! Just think… the world would be a living hell if it weren't for you! Voldemort would be in power. He would be unstoppable. I would be dead, as well as Ron, Lavender and just about every other non-death-eater," she sighed. "I never would have met you. And if I had, we probably wouldn't be as good friends as we are now. Don't ever forget that. You are really special to the world. To me."
Harry blushed at this last comment.
"Now… I…" Hermione continued. "Well, I wouldn't matter. I'm a psychiatrist in the crummy end of town, I hardly get any patients because I live in the shadow of Dr. McGraw, and the little patients that I do get are so difficult to cure of their problems, they're better off not wasting their money on me at all," she was starting to cry. "I live alone in a one bedroom apartment that can hardly be called an apartment. I don't even have Crookshanks anymore. He died a year ago. I don't have a boyfriend, and I don't really know anyone outside of work, except of course for my school friends like you. I can barely pay my bills and my car is in the shop. That's why I walked here in the rain. Ron is better off than me!"
"Oh, Herm, come here," they walked into the living room and sat on the couch hugging. Harry stroked the hair out of her eyes. They watched the fire in silence, and fell asleep in each other's arms.
~*~
TO BE CONTINUED…
A/N: So? What do you think? I know it's kind of fluffy but I don't care. I'm allowing myself this one fluff fiction. But anyway… if you like good reading I suggest you check out my friend Aurora the Enchantress. Her writing is really, really good. We also host a site together, which has some song fiction on it as well. Here is the link:
Check it out please! Oh, and please review my fic as well, and constructive criticism is welcome. Chiao!
