Harry's Missed Adventure

Harry Potter slid his glasses back on his nose, brushed his fingers through his mop of black hair and straightened his tie on his way down the marble staircase. When he approached the Entrance Hall his steps slowed. He quietly observed his friend, Blaise Zabini, almost give in to the temptation of rolling his eyes at Daphne Greengrass.

Daphne flicked her long blonde tresses over her slender shoulder and smiled up at Blaise, showing pearly white teeth, while batting her eyes. Each of her actions was a calculated move and a measured attempt in order to gain his favor.

Blaise had been dodging Daphne for the past few months. Harry tried not to laugh at his friend's predicament and decided to save him from the girl's feminine wiles.

"Ah, there you are. I've been looking for you." Harry smiled at Daphne as he plucked her hand off of Blaise's shoulder. He held it in his as he bowed over it in a formal gesture, loading as much sincerity he could muster into his voice. "I do apologize for this intrusion, Miss Greengrass." Harry stepped closer to her in order to throw her off balance, pressing Daphne's hand to his chest and covered it with his own. Harry lowered his voice intimately, "I do hope you can find it in your kind heart to forgive me. I'm afraid I must steal Mr. Zabini away without delay."

Daphne was stunned silent long enough for them to make their escape, which was more than Harry could have hoped for. Her mouth opened and closed with no sound. "You're too kind." He told her as a small smile danced across his features and he easily steered Blaise away. Harry whispered conspiratorially, "You owe me."

Blaise chuckled and nodded his consent, "Indeed."

Harry looked around and frowned, "Where's Vaisey?"

"He went home for Christmastide." Blaise frowned at Harry, unsure of what to make of his sudden memory lapse. "Are you okay?"

"Oh. Right. I'd know that."

"Potter…"

"I'm fine." Harry pushed his slid his glasses in place again while making his way into the Great Hall.

"You are acting oddly, Potter… even for you." Blaise smirked at his friend.

"Right," Ignoring the jibe, Harry looked around the Hall indecisively until something caught his eye. His look turned instantly resolute, "So um, I'll see you later."

He didn't wait for a response, leaving Blaise at the doorway to watch him walk away. Making his way to the one of the two center tables, Harry looked over the remaining food and smiled at those still seated. He greeted distractedly, "Hey."

Harry took a seat at the end of the table and poured pumpkin juice. He stared at the contents for a moment as if he wasn't sure what it was and then took a small sip as if testing its purity.

Blaise leaned against the doorway, folded his arms and watched Harry, wondering what his friend was up to. Just as curious as Blaise was, one of the girls, Sara Fawcett, who sat at the table with Harry, hissed in his direction, "Harry?"

"Hmm…" Harry sipped the juice again, carefully putting the glass down with a pleased grin, "Interesting."

Displeased with being ignored, Sara slid over to sit beside Harry and shrugged her confusion to her friends. She attempted again to get Harry's attention. "What are you doing?"

"I'm drinking pumpkin juice. Care for some?" Harry, still grinning, offered to pour a cup for her.

"Harry… you're sitting at the Ravenclaw table." Sara watched closely and was surprised when Harry blushed.

"It's Christmastide, Fawcett. Houses don't matter." Harry nudged Sara playfully and turned his attention back to his beverage. He took another drink of his juice before setting his glass down again.

Sara bit her lip and glanced around. "Where's Hermione?"

He stilled before responding and chose a vague half-truth response. "I left her upstairs."

"Harry, when are you going to stop dating her?"

Harry, who had raised his glass for another sip, stiffened and set his glass down carefully. His mind reeled with questions and self-doubt. He swallowed thickly before attempting to speak, which came out as more of a deflection than a true response. "Aren't you her friend?"

"Sure, but you have to think of your fans."

"Fans? What fans? There are fans?"

"Of course, you have fans." Sara giggled and flicked her ebony hair over her shoulder. Harry was suddenly reminded of Daphne and wondered if Sara was going to bat her eyes at him next. "Every girl in this school would give their right arm to date you."

"What about Hermione?"

"What about her? She's nice and all, but you're… well, you're Harry Potter. You need a girl who can live up to your status."

"My. Status. And let me guess." Harry turned in his seat to face Sara. There was no playfulness or smile noticeable on his features. He was frowning when he said, "You can live up to the status."

"Of course I can. I am a pureblood." Sara smiled up at Harry while batting her eyes, "I could be good for you."

"Thanks for the pumpkin juice." Harry leaned closer, his lips inches from her ear. "I don't abandon my friends."

He left the table then, never looking back. He stopped at the door and sighed at Blaise. "I had no idea. I thought…"

"I told you to watch out for her, that she likes you."

"But she doesn't. She likes the status of being Harry Potter's girlfriend." Harry glanced at the time and paled. "I have to go."

"Harry?"

"Hmm?"

"Why do you like me?"

"You're my best friend. We've been through this, Hermione. What happened?"

Hermione stepped from the bathroom stall and shook her head slowly, "I thought she was my friend."

"Who?"

"Never mind," Hermione stared at the cauldron with the polyjuice potion and looked so devastated Harry found his arms around her holding her as she cried into his chest.

"It's okay, Hermione." Harry rubbed circles on her back as she clung to his robes. "Talk to me."

"Do you remember Sara Fawcett?" Hermione felt him stiffen and she sighed. "She would make a better girlfriend for you. If you wanted to, you could do that fake break up thing we talked about last year."

"I'd rather not. She doesn't like me. She likes the Harry Potter persona that lives in books and fantasies. She doesn't even know me," He pressed his cheek against her temple. Harry's voice was low and sincere, "not like you do."

Harry cupped her face and he brushed the tears from her eyes. Hermione gave him a sad smile, "Thanks, Harry."

AN: This companion piece to Same Destination, Different Journey fits snugly between Chapters 26: Heir and a Spare and Chapter 27: Pleasantries. Since SDDJ is written purely from Harry's POV of what he sees/hears, he would have no idea what Hermione was up to while running around under the guise of polyjuice potion unless she told him. So I wrote this quick response to Reaper7's review. I hope you enjoyed this slight deviation and insight.

Edited 10/14/2016