Note: From the very inspirational fanart by MuddGutts at Portkey.org. Which I decided to make a very short story of! ^^ Harry/Hermione fans will love this! This is just my own story about Harry and Hermione trying to tell their feelings for one another…which leads to a kiss that will last forever… Find out what I mean! ;) Note: Ron is not a Keeper here…sorry! ^^;
Sealed With a Kiss
Outside was bright and clear. Birds were chirping and the warm, summer breeze blew through the window. She glanced out the window and sighed. She could hear the crowds cheering as Ewan McDuff a Gryffindor in the third year, announced the Gryffindor players and as soon as she heard his name, she immediately felt her heart flutter. Hermione regretted of ever volunteering to help Neville with his Potions homework. When Snape found out, he punished her by making her clean out the substance that stuck itself around the walls of the room because of one mistake Neville did on making a very complicated potion in which she knew he would have forgotten. She couldn't blame him of course. Snape made everything harder for poor Neville by writing the formulas down and then erasing it ten minutes later. Neville was too confused with what Snape was saying that he had forgotten to write down the formulas in his parchment.
"And they're off!" she could hear McDuff yell in the wall opposite to where she stood. The wall showed her exactly what was happening, thanks to the generosity of Professor McGonagall. The voices of the crowd grew louder and Hermione could feel her heart race when she heard Harry's name being mentioned. She looked up as Malfoy tried to smash into Harry, but the young man with the scar on his forehead dodged the platinum blond Slytherin. Hermione fumed at the thought of Malfoy trying to hurt her best friend, but calmed herself down. She went back to work into scrubbing the muck off the floor, but it wouldn't come out. Hermione wished she could just point her wand and make it all go away, but she knew that if she did, Snape would surely notice that she was cheating. He would surely turn it around that she wasn't working hard enough to get her grades and would conclude that all the years she's been in Hogwarts, she has been cheating her way into high grades by using magic.
"OH NO!" By the sound of McDuff's gasp, Hermione couldn't help but look back up at the wall. The camera zoomed in on a bludger that collided into Harry's broom, forcing Harry to plummet towards earth. Hermione squealed as the crowd became silent.
"HARRY!" Hermione yelled. Abandoning all her things, she stood up and ran for it. Down the corridor she went, she dashed down the stairs and made her way to the Quidditch stadium. Everyone was quiet and as soon as Hermione stepped into the field, with the sun bright in her eyes, the crowd cheered again. She stepped back into the shadows and noticed that Harry was mounting back on his broom. Sighing in relief, she smiled when she saw that he wasn't injured. Once again, he was back in the air, still able to play and the battle for the cup was still on.
"Ms. Granger, shouldn't you be back in my classroom cleaning out the muck from the floor and the wall that you caused?" came a very sinister voice.
Hermione jumped in astonishment and turned around. Professor Snape was standing there, tall and lank in his usual black robes. His nose, long and crooked was visible through the shadow as he stepped into the bright light. Without a word, she nodded and went back up into the castle to the Potions room. She was relieved to see Harry still in tact as soon as she entered the classroom. Hermione went back to cleaning the muck, while listening to Ewan McDuff commentating about Harry's sudden brush with death. Though, she wasn't surprised with that comment, because Harry Potter encountered death many times and was able to conquer them all. It wasn't because he was 'famous Harry Potter' that she loved him, it was because he WAS Harry James Potter. Harry was not only famous because of his survival against Lord Voldemort as an infant; he was famous for his skills in Quidditch. He had the eyes to see where the snitch would be and his eyes were one of the things that caught her heart; the other was that he was brave and risked his lives many times to protect the people he cared about and his heart was always in the right place, no matter how unconventional his plans were. Hermione always thought of him as her best friend, but when last year suddenly came, she saw through that and found out that she was in love with him. She didn't know if he loved her in return, but she knew that today would be the day to tell him, because this was their last year. They may not see each other again.
"NOT AGAIN! Come on Harry! Come on, chap!" Hermione's head jerked upwards towards the screen. Two bludgers now had hit the edge of Harry's broom sending him towards earth once again in a downward spiral. She squeaked and made no notice of the cloth that fell from her hand and on to the floor. Hermione dashed back in the stadium, her heart pounding with each step she took. But before she had a chance to get there, she heard McDuff yell, "And once again Harry is back up! Good one, Harry! If you can survive You-Know-Who, you can survive anything!" That comment received a shout of disapproval from Professor McGonagall. Even after seven years, none are STILL able to say his real name, except for Harry, Hermione and Dumbledore. Hermione sighed. She has to stop worrying about Harry so much! He was a big boy and she knew he could handle himself, but even if he could, she was still a bit concerned by his health. It was only a few days ago that he had a fight with Malfoy about something even she didn't know about and ended up with a broken right leg from Draco's Break Charm. Apparently from what she heard from Lavender, Harry got really mad at Malfoy for insulting the 'one person he truly cared about' and before Hermione got a chance to ask who it was, Lavender was interrupted by Ron, who immediately pulled her inside a room. That scene gave suspicions on Hermione, but she chose to ignore that thought and went on with that day.
"'Mione? What are you doing here?" Hermione blinked. Harry was standing there looking at her curiously, with his hand around his broom. Everyone else in the Gryffindor team had already descended down to earth and disappeared into the changing room, while the Slytherin team on the other side of the field gave Harry angry looks in which he was already used to.
"The game's over?" Hermione suddenly asked.
Harry looked at her strangely and nodded, showing the golden snitch in his hand in front of her. "Yeah, I caught the snitch. Tomorrow, we get to play against Ravenclaw, which would be my final victory for me if we win, since it's our last year." When he realized she was really there, he eyed her suspiciously. "I thought you were in Snape's room cleaning up the gunk?"
Hermione shrugged. "Oh uh…I'm almost done."
"Want me to walk you back?" he politely asked.
The brown haired girl shook her head and smiled. "No, it's all right, Harry. You should go cleaned up. I have to get back before Snape realizes I'm not there." She waved good bye and turned to leave.
"Hey, 'Mione?" he called.
Hermione stopped and turned around. "Yeah?"
"You'll be at the Quidditch final game tomorrow, right?"
Hermione smiled. "Of course!"
Harry smiled back. He really loved to see her smile. That added to the good mood he was feeling when they won the game against Slytherin, so with high hopes that Gryffindor would win against Ravenclaw, Harry gripped his hand around his Firebolt tightly and walked into the change room.
***********
The final night before the Quidditch final was the warmest nights out of all other days. Harry, Hermione and Ron sat on their usual spot near the fireplace (which was not lit since it didn't need to be). Harry, as the Captain of the Gryffindor team was writing some moves down on a piece of parchment, while trying to mix in some from Oliver Woods' the former Captain of their team some four years ago. He could still remember some of the best moves Oliver Wood had planned for the team when they defeated Slytherin for the cup during his third year. Ron was sitting on the couch, looking bored, while eating the head of a Chocolate Frog, his favorite sweets, while Hermione, as usual, took to studying. But this night was different than usual because the girl, whom Harry knew as his best friend, seemed tense today. She kept glancing at him, as if wanting to say something. Unable to take it any longer, Harry turned his head towards her. "What is it, Hermione?"
"Nothing…" she mumbled, jerking her head back towards the parchment.
Annoyed, Harry put his quill down and looked at her. "Come on, Hermione, you know how much it annoys me when you want to say something and then not say anything at all!"
"Okay, I just want to ask you something," Hermione said. She pointed her quill at Harry's leg. "Did you go see Madam Pomfrey about that leg?"
Harry turned away and mumbled, "No," under his breath.
Angry, she put her quill down on the table. "Why not?" She knew he was stubborn, but he was going too far. "Listen Harry, I'm really worried about you. So, can you please get your leg checked by Madam Pomfrey?"
Harry looked into her eyes. Indeed, there was genuine concern towards his best friend…not that he hasn't seen it before, but there was more to it than that. Nah, it couldn't be, he thought. "All right, I will," he lied.
She smiled, taking a breath of relief. "Good, I'm glad we have that settled."
After a moment of silence, Ron finally stood up and stretched. "I think I'm going to bed now," he said, adding a yawn. "Good luck with that strategy parchment Harry! See you tomorrow at the game!"
Harry and Hermione nodded. "Good night, Ron," they said in unison then went back to writing on their parchments. Harry continued to think of a strategy for tomorrow's game, but none came to mind at the moment because he couldn't stop thinking about the way Hermione looked at him with her large brown eyes. Harry turned to look at Hermione and ended up locking eyes with her. "What?" he asked.
"You're lying aren't you?" Hermione said, frowning in disapproval. She couldn't believe she almost let him out on that one. Although she knew for a long time that Harry would do anything to play Quidditch, even if it means lying to his best friend, Hermione, for the first time was very hurt by it. Tonight was different, however, because she thought she could tell him tonight about her feelings, but what he did made her change her mind. She'll tell him when she's in a better mood with him.
Harry smiled awkwardly. There was no way he could get out of lying from Hermione. She knew him too well and she was too smart. "If you know that already, why did you ask?" he retaliated with another question. He looked at her. Over the years, he has watched her change from that bushy brown haired girl, with bucked teeth, to a pretty seventeen year old with long and wavy dark brown hair. Being friends with Ginny must have caused her hair to change from very curly to just wavy.
His reply caused Hermione to frown. "Harry, I know that Quidditch means a lot to you but…" she paused, trying to figure out what to say. "Your health means a lot to me." She stopped again, feeling her face go red. Hermione turned away from him, trying to hide her red cheeks.
"Stop worrying about me, 'Mione because like what Ewan said, I can survive anything, even if it means having a broken leg!" Harry said, rather harshly. He looked back down at his parchment, wishing that Hermione would change the subject into something that didn't involve them arguing. "Besides…Do you know how long it takes for a leg to heal? WEEKS, Hermione…I can't afford that since the match is tomorrow."
Hermione nodded, ignoring Harry's tone of voice. She knew he didn't mean to say it like that. Harry is always trying to be brave, she thought. Pursing her lips together, she gathered up her parchments and books in her arms and stood up. "Well, I'm done my homework." For once though, she wished that Harry would understand WHY she was worried about him ALL THE TIME. She didn't want to upset him more than she already did. "I…I think I'm going to bed now." Without even looking at him, Hermione began walking up the stairs to the girls' dormitories, but as soon as she reached the sixth step, the weight of the books in her arms caused her to lose her balance down the stairs. She yelped, careful not to yell too loud to wake everyone else. Her books and parchments went flying from her arms, landing all at once on the floor, causing a loud 'crash!' around her. Luckily, no one heard that. She could feel her body falling backwards and Hermione had no chance to grab unto something since everything around was cement. She prepared for the impact and closed her eyes, but for some reason, she felt none of it. Hermione looked up and was face to face with Harry.
"Are you all right?" he asked, worriedly.
Hermione stared into his bright green eyes. His face was much too close and what made it worst was the fact that she was suddenly blushing. Wanting to keep him from seeing her like that, Hermione quickly straightened herself up on her feet. "Yes, I'm fine," she said. "Thanks."
Harry nodded. "That's good." He couldn't stop staring into her eyes. They were strangely attracting him.
"Um…Harry?" he heard Hermione say.
"What?" he said, his mind blinking back to reality. She pointed to his arms that were still around her waist. Harry quickly withdrew them, took a step back and mumbled an apology.
Hermione kneeled down to pick up her stuff. "It's all right." She felt someone kneeling beside her, also grabbing her books and parchments. Hermione looked up to find Harry helping her. He had grabbed the heavier books and gathered them all in his arms. "You don't need to help me," Hermione said when she noticed him holding the books.
Harry shook his head. "I don't want you to fall backwards again," he replied. He had made up his mind and Hermione knew she couldn't argue anymore. Giving up, she picked up the rest of her stuff from the floor and started walking up the stairs, followed by Harry carrying her books. "I can't believe you're still taking more classes than me and Ron," he suddenly suggested.
Hermione looked at him over her shoulder. "Well I've learned to conserve my time without having to use that 'thing' again."
"Ah," Harry said. He remembered that time when they had to use one of Dumbledor's precious tools that Professor McGonagall lent to Hermione four years ago to use while taking classes that were merely impossible to take. She obviously learned her lesson after that. Despite the many courses Hermione took, she made sure that they were on different times and different places. She also made sure that she had time during breaks to study for exams. Harry wasn't sure HOW though, but he would rather not ask.
"Well…" She turned and grabbed the books from Harry. "Good night," she whispered.
Harry stuffed his hands in his pockets and nodded. "Good night." They stared at each other for the longest time that night. Hermione wanted so bad to tell him, but not with the presence of everyone behind her. Even though the girls were fast asleep, she still felt nervous. Harry, too, wanted to tell Hermione how he felt, but the anxiety he felt for tomorrow's match was suddenly dawning on him. Without warning, he turned and left, fairly disappointed with himself. Hermione sighed and closed the door behind her, wishing that she had the guts to tell him.
*************
The next morning, when Hermione began her descent down the stairs, sounds of excitement echoed throughout the Gryffindor common room. Harry was already gone, along with the rest of the Gryffindor team, though she wished that he'd stayed so she could wish him good luck. Ginny greeted her with a hug and was smiling brightly as usual. "Are you excited, Hermione!? It's the last game for Harry! This is the chance that he could get into the Ballycastle Bats team!"
"Ballycastle Bats?" Hermione gave the younger girl a curious look.
"Didn't you know?" Ron appeared beside Ginny, his face twisting into an odd smile. "He was approached by the owner of Ballycastle Bats just a week ago! If they win this, Harry will get to go to Ireland to be in their team! Even though I'm a big fan of the Chudley Cannons, I don't mind rooting for Ballycastle if Harry is on their team!"
Ireland? Hermione thought. Didn't that mean he was going to live in Ireland if Harry were to be chosen by them? Didn't that mean that he was going to leave after they graduate from school? She felt as though her heart sank at the thought of Harry leaving her life forever. "Hermione is something wrong?" Ginny asked, looking at her worriedly.
Hermione looked up and shook her head. "That's great! I mean he's always wanted to go to Ireland right?" Without giving Ginny and Ron a chance to reply, she quickly left the common room and decided to head down to the library where she was most comfortable. Right now, the commotion of the match did not make her feel better at all. The thought of Harry leaving for good for Ireland made her feel lower than ever before. Holding back the tears that threatened to fall, she dashed inside the library and to where she usually sat at the table right by the window. In order to drown her thoughts of Harry leaving, she decided to look through her Potions homework to make sure she didn't make any mistakes, but even then, the noise in the hall made it much worse for her to concentrate. There were shouts of 'Go Gryffindor!' and 'Go Ravenclaw' at the same time, but lucky for her, being Head Girl; she didn't need to give them detentions since Gryffindor and Ravenclaw held no grudges against one another. Now, if it was Gryffindor and Slytherin, there would be a large commotion and a fight would ensue. Hermione looked down at her Potions parchment and began looking over it, trying her best not to lose her concentration. After what seemed like hours, she managed to go through the assignment without any problems. But even then, she couldn't stop thinking about Harry….leaving…for Ireland. Even then… she couldn't stop her eyes from filling with tears just thinking about why she never told Harry how she felt. If Harry leaves, she will feel very lonely without him.
"OH NO!" she suddenly gasped, glancing at the clock in the wall. She had forgotten she had History of Magic with Professor Binns. Hermione gathered up her books quickly and stuffed them eagerly in her backpack. As she crossed the hall, students she passed by stared at her, looking as though there was something in her face. Hermione decided to go the bathroom first to wash her face before adding anymore suspicions from her History of Magic class.
_____
He glanced up at the clock. It was now past ten minutes since the class started and as he turned to look at the empty seat beside him, he was starting to feel worried. Hermione was never late for class and even if she was, she would at least be only two minutes late, not ten. Harry turned his head towards Ron who mouthed, 'Where is she?' under his breath. All Harry could do was shrug in response. He felt someone poking him in the back, followed by Malfoy saying in a low voice, "So where is the Mudblood? She's never late for her classes…What happened? Decided to head back where she belongs in the Muggle world?"
"Shut up, Malfoy," Harry spat quietly, trying not to attract attention and trying the best he could to behave so he wouldn't get in trouble.
"Or perhaps she decided to continue cleaning up the mess she made in Potions class? She deserved it, since she is such a know-it all little-!" But before he could finish his sentence, Harry's hand managed to go around his throat, choking him.
"Go get 'em, Harry!" Ron was yelling.
Suddenly, the class was filled with the mixture of shouts of encouragement from the Gryffindor side and spits of anger from the Slytherin. Professor Binns was suddenly alerted from his drowning lectures and was forced to separate the two. "What has gotten into you two!?" he yelled, pulling Harry of off Malfoy.
Harry sat back down on his seat, fuming with frustration, while Malfoy, still trying to find the air in his lungs leaned back on his chair, coughing. Professor Binns sighed and sat back down on his seat. "Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy, you two will have your detention after school."
"What?" Harry suddenly stood up. He glared at Malfoy, who was smirking with satisfaction and turned his head back towards the ghostly Professor. "But the Quidditch match is today after school! I can't miss that!"
"Is it today? Dear me, I must have forgotten…" He looked around at everyone, to confirm that the final match WAS today. There were pleading looks from the Gryffindor team and hopeful looks that he wasn't going to play from the Slytherin team. "All right, since I plan on watching the game anyway, I will let you off on this one, Mr. Potter."
Harry smirked, while Draco folded his arms across his chest, still red in the face from his brush with death and looking unsatisfied.
Just then, the door to the classroom opened. All heads turned to Hermione who quietly came in, unaware that she was being watched at by all her peers and sat down beside Harry. She took out her parchment, quill and ink and her book from her backpack and looked up. Startled that Professor Binns was staring right at her, she grinned. "Um…sorry I'm late Professor," she said faintly. "I was just-"
Professor Binns sighed and shook his head. "No need to explain why you're late Ms. Granger. This is your first ever tardy in the years you've been here so I don't need to write up a report on you. Now… as I was saying…" He opened the book and began reading aloud to the whole class.
Harry took this opportunity to look at Hermione curiously. "Where have you been?" he asked, giving Draco another glare behind him. Draco said nothing, but was giving him dirty looks.
"It's nothing," she replied, unnerved by the idea that her response wasn't quite the answer he was looking for.
Knowing that she wasn't planning on telling him anything more, Harry went back to his side and continued to listen to Professor Binns' explanation on why the war between giants and witches occurred. It took him only ten minutes until he felt his mind slipping away from the lecture to the Quidditch final. One more win and the cup would be theirs…his last cup of his life in Hogwarts. Then, his mind wandered to Ballycastle. Ireland… He glanced at Hermione whose eyes were still trained towards Professor Binns and frowned. How was he ever going to tell her now? How is he ever going to stand the thought of leaving the life he knew and loved for a whole new place where he would meet new people and new friends?
Hermione pretended not to look at him. She did the best she could to keep her eyes on Professor Binns as he explained the bit about the trial of Gobly Weston, a wizard accused of murdering thousands of giants. The brown haired girl ignored Harry the whole time in class, while he continued to stare into nothingness, still thinking about the Quidditch cup and Hermione. And as soon as the bell rang, Hermione was the first one to leave, but not before Harry caught up to her first, followed by a flustered Ron who was told by Professor Binns that he had failed the last exam they had.
"Hermione!" Harry stared at his best friend, giving her a curious look. "Why are you in a hurry? You never told me and Ron why you were late and…" He paused when he noticed tears coming out of Hermione's eyes. Alarmed, he stopped walking and pulled her aside so that they were out of the way of the students dashing pass them without a moment's care on who they bump into. Ron, whose mind was still on the test, walked absent-mindedly pass them and it wasn't until he was at the very end of the corridor did he notice that his two best friends weren't walking by his side anymore.
Hermione hastily wiped the tears from her eyes and shook her head, still unable to look at Harry in the eyes. "It's nothing…"
"What's wrong? Why are you crying?" Harry forced her to look at him, but she would just keep turning away, avoiding his face. He sighed and took off his glasses, then rubbed the top of his nose irritably. "All you're saying is 'it's nothing…' Will you please stop with the secrets? I thought we were best friends?"
"I wish it was more than that…" she mumbled.
"What?" Did he hear right?
Tell him…a little voice spoke in her head. Tell him now or you'll regret it for the rest of you life! "I…" Finally, she had the courage to look into his eyes, but her tears never stopped flowing. She took a deep breath and opened her mouth to say something, but all that came out was, "YOU TELL ME!"
Her outburst startled everyone, consisting mostly of Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaw heading for class together, in the hall. All eyes were suddenly fixed upon them, but Harry gave them all a 'none of your business so stop staring look,' before turning his head back at Hermione. Startled by what came out of her mouth, Hermione clasped her hands over her mouth and pushed Harry aside gently out of her way. Harry, still shocked by her words, stood there, his mouth wide open. 'What on earth just happened here?' he thought.
****************
What did she just do? She just yelled at him right in front of everyone! Wasn't she supposed to tell him how she feels about him leaving for Ireland? Hermione, feeling uncomfortable sitting beside Harry, decided to sit beside Ginny, who sat beside Neville, who sat beside Ron, who sat beside Harry. No one seemed to have noticed what happened between Hermione and Harry, except for Ginny, who had friends from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. Hermione could tell Ginny found out from them, since she, out of everyone else in the table, was eating too quietly in her spot. But Hermione chose not to approach her with that subject.
"Hello everyone!" Luna, a Ravenclaw joined them at the table, on the other side of Ginny. Luna has become such good friends with Hermione and Ginny that no one seemed to mind anymore the way she always talked about things that didn't make sense, such as monsters, that was proven did not exist.
On the other end of the table, Harry was staring blankly in front of him, once in a while stealing glances towards Hermione. "Harry, what's wrong?" Ron asked, putting down his mug full of Butterbeer.
Harry looked up and shook his head. "Nothing…" He proceeded to eat his dinner, while at the same time, still thinking about why Hermione had yelled at him. He didn't understand what she meant by, 'you tell me…' and he was eager to find out so much. Right now though, it seems Hermione was not in an approachable mood.
"Oh all right then, chap," Ron replied behind his mug of Butterbeer.
The noise suddenly grew even louder. Hermione couldn't concentrate on anything at all, so she decided, against the protesting looks of Harry, to leave the table. Ginny was too busy listening intently to Luna's stories about a Bogart that was trapped inside the Forbidden Forest to notice Hermione leave. Neville was busy trying to remember Snape's formulas on antidotes, while Ron was too busy having a go at a turkey that no one was touching. The only person who wasn't busy doing anything to notice Hermione leave was Harry. He watched her go, eager to speak with her, but decided against going after her.
************
The end of class came by so quickly than he expected. In order to keep himself busy before the match started, Harry decided to call upon his team for some warm ups in the field. They were lucky that no one was there yet, so they took this opportunity to do some passing and shooting.
As they continued this, time just suddenly flew by when Harry noticed a swarm students and teachers taking their seats in the bleachers. Neville, Ginny, Luna and Ron were first in the Gryffindor side, while the Slytherin side was already filled with the students, including Malfoy and his cronies. Right beside Crabbe sat Professor Snape, sitting rigid on his spot. Ewan McDuff took his usual seat in the commentator's box with Professor McGonagall sitting beside him. Students and teachers in Ravenclaw slowly filled their side of the bleachers, as well as Hufflepuff. Harry's head swerved back towards his friends sitting at the very top of the bleachers. It was still in the order of Ron, Ginny, Neville and Luna and the spot beside Luna was still empty. He was hoping that Hermione would come, but remembering the words she spat into his face, confirmed him that she wasn't attending the match to see him anymore. Frowning a little, he looked up at the sound of the whistle from Madam Hooch. He watched as his usual team of chasers faced off against the usual Ravenclaw chasers. The bludger was thrown into the air and game began, the snitch was released and the game began.
Ginny watched the crowd go wild as the snitch zoomed around the field, Harry carefully searching for it. She glanced to Luna's side, where an empty spot, usually left for Hermione was still left unoccupied. Curious, she turned to her brother. "Where's Hermione?"
Ron shrugged and turned to look behind him in the crowd of Gryffindors his eyes searching for his best friend. "She's probably studying or something." He looked back at the game and roared when Gryffindor scored against Ravenclaw's new Keeper, Kyle Fellowes. Ginny sighed and left their spot to go look for Hermione.
_______
"There you are! They just started and already, Gryffindor scored against Ravenclaw!" Ginny explained, approaching Hermione sitting in the library at the table by the window. She found her sitting, hunched up over her table and it took the red head a while to realize that she had her face buried in her folded arms. Ginny heard the soft whimpers of Hermione. Alarmed, she placed a hand on her back, her eyebrows furrowed. "What's wrong Hermione?"
Hermione looked up, her face red and her eyes full of tears. "I yelled at him, Ginny! I yelled at him and I don't know why! I was so angry at him for not telling me he was leaving for Ireland! And…and…" She hiccoughed and lead her head back down on the table. Ginny wrapped an arm around her friend, whispering comforting words in her ear. This did not help, unfortunately, when Hermione hiccoughed for the fifth time that day.
"He didn't want to tell you because… Because he didn't want to hurt you."
Hermione looked up suddenly, startling Ginny. "He didn't want to hurt me? I'm his best friend unless….He doesn't think of me that way!" She stared at the younger girl for explanation.
"Don't be silly! Of course he thinks of you as his best friend, why else would he not tell you about it!?"
"Ron's his best friend and he knows about it. You know about it because-"
"Because I made Ron tell me!" Ginny interrupted. "Listen Hermione, it's none of my business, but the reason why he couldn't tell you is…well…" She hesitated, rubbing the back of her neck nervously. Hermione could tell that Ginny was contemplating whether she should tell the older girl or not.
"Just tell me, Ginny!" Hermione asked, impatiently. What was Ginny hiding so much that she couldn't tell her?
It took a moment until Ginny finally said, "Harry cares a lot about you, Hermione. I mean A LOT! Out of everyone else, YOU were the only one he couldn't tell about the Ireland team." She didn't want to spell it out that much. She wanted Hermione to guess on her own…besides… she was smart.
Hermione continued to stare at Ginny, which was now making her quite nervous. "You're not joking are you?" Ginny let out a loud laugh, causing the people present in the library to 'shush' her. She closed her mouth, trying to suppress a giggle, but this only made Hermione angry. "What's so funny?" The tears seemed to have dissipated quickly than Ginny thought.
"Hermione, do you have any idea how many times he's defended you against Malfoy's insults? Why else do you think he got that broken leg?"
A strange realization suddenly occurred to her. So all this time…the broken leg…was her cause? The brown haired girl suddenly stood up, startling the younger girl. "So… he…he…" She looked at Ginny, making sure she wasn't dreaming and when she received a nod from her friend, Hermione turned and ran to the direction of the stadium.
"Hey! Wait up, Hermione!" Ginny yelled, finally catching up to her when they reached the end of the hallway. They ran passed several doors until they could hear the sound of the crowds cheering and Ewan McDuff screaming at the top of his lungs. "OH WHAT A CLOSE CALL THAT WAS!" Hermione felt her heart beat much faster than she thought and pushed her way through the Gryffindor students now yelling louder than ever. By the time she made it to where Neville, Ron and Luna were Harry was now chasing the snitch across the field. No one seemed to notice that Hermione had joined them, because they were too caught up watching Harry fly magnificently around the field chasing the snitch around, while at the same time, dodging the bludgers that the beaters hit his way. She watched intently, her face shining with a smile she never knew she had. She knew what to do now to resolve this argument (even though there was none in the first place) between her and Harry. It was something that would linger on even if he left for Ireland.
Harry felt the wind in his hair and he knew he was alive again. He flew downwards and did a turn on his broom, flying after the snitch with great speed, but as soon as he turned his head to find that Hermione was finally there, the snitch disappeared from his sight. 'Damn!' he muttered. Hermione was staring at him and to his surprise, she smiled and waved. Harry smiled back and turned his broom around to look for the snitch, the confidence that left him earlier, finally coming back to him.
The game went on, more brutally now. Eager to win this year's cup, Ravenclaw seemed much tougher to beat. Erik Heimann, sixteen the new Ravenclaw captain and seeker, seemed to know Harry's moves as he yelled out some commands to his chasers. He mirrored every move Harry made, but Harry was cautious about that. And in the corner of his eye, he noticed something gold fluttering around the corner of the opposite end of Gryffindor's goal. It stayed in one spot, but Harry was quick enough to steer his broom towards it. He felt a jolt of pain go into his broken leg, but Harry ignored that as he continued to chase it.
Ron screamed, "Harry saw the snitch!" He pointed to where Harry was now, flying towards Ravenclaw's side at a snitch that decided to fly around for a while, as if to tease the seekers.
"GO HARRY!" Hermione yelled at the top of her lungs. "WIN FOR ME!" She noticed all her friends looking at her astonishingly, but she ignored them. Hermione felt her face go hot, but she ignored that too.
Harry flew as fast as he could, but the snitch decided to move downwards towards earth, hoping to lose him, but Hermione knew it could not escape Harry's quick steering and his sharp eyes. Erik Heimann was suddenly on his tail, also trying to catch the snitch, but Harry swerved in front of him to keep him from catching up and jumped up, diving down towards the snitch. He promised himself he would win this for Hermione…just for her.
Everyone in the crowd held their breaths, except for the Slytherins who obviously knew what was going to happen. As soon as Harry hit the ground, his hand clutching unto the snitch as tightly as he could, he felt something crack. Harry knew at once that it was his leg. It had finally broken itself from the plastic cast that Harry created in attempt to hide the injury from everyone else. When he opened his hand, the snitch went flying out, fluttering beside him, but Harry, despite the pain in his leg, held it out for everyone to see and stood up. The loudest roar he has ever heard to ever erupt in the stadium was louder than ever. Every Gryffindor flew down excitedly to greet Harry with hugs and loud cheers. They lifted him up on his shoulders, his eyes suddenly looking up at Hermione who had the widest smile on her face.
After seconds of cheering, Harry let himself down from his teammates' shoulders and rode back on his broom to greet his friends at the Gryffindor side, carrying the snitch in his hand. He didn't bother to carry the cup. Only the Gryffindor who were back on the ground were the ones who carried it on their shoulders, replacing Harry.
Hermione's heart stopped when she noticed Harry flying over to them. She couldn't back out now. She had to tell him. To her surprise, Harry stopped right below her. Without a second thought, Hermione leaned down until she felt her hand touch Harry's cheek. Harry looked up, allowing his broom to go higher so he could reach Hermione. For a moment they stared at each other and to everyone's surprise, they were locked into a kiss.
Neville stared at them, shocked, while Ron, unaware that this was happening, kept on cheering for Gryffindor at the top of his lungs. Ginny and Luna watched them, Ginny with her face still holding that smile she held when Harry approached Hermione and Luna, with a look of interest. Colin Creevey suddenly appeared out of nowhere, aiming his camera at Harry and Hermione locked in a loving gaze, and stole a shot.
After what seemed like forever, Harry pulled away first, his face blushing. Hermione kept her hand on his face, afraid that if she let go, she wouldn't be able to see him. Without even bothering to say anything after that, knowing full well what the kiss meant, Harry went back to join his teammates in carrying the cup, his face still red. Hermione watched him go.
Even if he leaves for Ireland, her heart and his are sealed together with a kiss…
GoodGurl: Well it was a one shot thing, so I hope you all guys like! The ending was abrupt, but it does give you an idea on what happens next...I might have another story after this...if I'm not too busy! XP LOL! Please review! And...no flames please!
Sealed With a Kiss
Outside was bright and clear. Birds were chirping and the warm, summer breeze blew through the window. She glanced out the window and sighed. She could hear the crowds cheering as Ewan McDuff a Gryffindor in the third year, announced the Gryffindor players and as soon as she heard his name, she immediately felt her heart flutter. Hermione regretted of ever volunteering to help Neville with his Potions homework. When Snape found out, he punished her by making her clean out the substance that stuck itself around the walls of the room because of one mistake Neville did on making a very complicated potion in which she knew he would have forgotten. She couldn't blame him of course. Snape made everything harder for poor Neville by writing the formulas down and then erasing it ten minutes later. Neville was too confused with what Snape was saying that he had forgotten to write down the formulas in his parchment.
"And they're off!" she could hear McDuff yell in the wall opposite to where she stood. The wall showed her exactly what was happening, thanks to the generosity of Professor McGonagall. The voices of the crowd grew louder and Hermione could feel her heart race when she heard Harry's name being mentioned. She looked up as Malfoy tried to smash into Harry, but the young man with the scar on his forehead dodged the platinum blond Slytherin. Hermione fumed at the thought of Malfoy trying to hurt her best friend, but calmed herself down. She went back to work into scrubbing the muck off the floor, but it wouldn't come out. Hermione wished she could just point her wand and make it all go away, but she knew that if she did, Snape would surely notice that she was cheating. He would surely turn it around that she wasn't working hard enough to get her grades and would conclude that all the years she's been in Hogwarts, she has been cheating her way into high grades by using magic.
"OH NO!" By the sound of McDuff's gasp, Hermione couldn't help but look back up at the wall. The camera zoomed in on a bludger that collided into Harry's broom, forcing Harry to plummet towards earth. Hermione squealed as the crowd became silent.
"HARRY!" Hermione yelled. Abandoning all her things, she stood up and ran for it. Down the corridor she went, she dashed down the stairs and made her way to the Quidditch stadium. Everyone was quiet and as soon as Hermione stepped into the field, with the sun bright in her eyes, the crowd cheered again. She stepped back into the shadows and noticed that Harry was mounting back on his broom. Sighing in relief, she smiled when she saw that he wasn't injured. Once again, he was back in the air, still able to play and the battle for the cup was still on.
"Ms. Granger, shouldn't you be back in my classroom cleaning out the muck from the floor and the wall that you caused?" came a very sinister voice.
Hermione jumped in astonishment and turned around. Professor Snape was standing there, tall and lank in his usual black robes. His nose, long and crooked was visible through the shadow as he stepped into the bright light. Without a word, she nodded and went back up into the castle to the Potions room. She was relieved to see Harry still in tact as soon as she entered the classroom. Hermione went back to cleaning the muck, while listening to Ewan McDuff commentating about Harry's sudden brush with death. Though, she wasn't surprised with that comment, because Harry Potter encountered death many times and was able to conquer them all. It wasn't because he was 'famous Harry Potter' that she loved him, it was because he WAS Harry James Potter. Harry was not only famous because of his survival against Lord Voldemort as an infant; he was famous for his skills in Quidditch. He had the eyes to see where the snitch would be and his eyes were one of the things that caught her heart; the other was that he was brave and risked his lives many times to protect the people he cared about and his heart was always in the right place, no matter how unconventional his plans were. Hermione always thought of him as her best friend, but when last year suddenly came, she saw through that and found out that she was in love with him. She didn't know if he loved her in return, but she knew that today would be the day to tell him, because this was their last year. They may not see each other again.
"NOT AGAIN! Come on Harry! Come on, chap!" Hermione's head jerked upwards towards the screen. Two bludgers now had hit the edge of Harry's broom sending him towards earth once again in a downward spiral. She squeaked and made no notice of the cloth that fell from her hand and on to the floor. Hermione dashed back in the stadium, her heart pounding with each step she took. But before she had a chance to get there, she heard McDuff yell, "And once again Harry is back up! Good one, Harry! If you can survive You-Know-Who, you can survive anything!" That comment received a shout of disapproval from Professor McGonagall. Even after seven years, none are STILL able to say his real name, except for Harry, Hermione and Dumbledore. Hermione sighed. She has to stop worrying about Harry so much! He was a big boy and she knew he could handle himself, but even if he could, she was still a bit concerned by his health. It was only a few days ago that he had a fight with Malfoy about something even she didn't know about and ended up with a broken right leg from Draco's Break Charm. Apparently from what she heard from Lavender, Harry got really mad at Malfoy for insulting the 'one person he truly cared about' and before Hermione got a chance to ask who it was, Lavender was interrupted by Ron, who immediately pulled her inside a room. That scene gave suspicions on Hermione, but she chose to ignore that thought and went on with that day.
"'Mione? What are you doing here?" Hermione blinked. Harry was standing there looking at her curiously, with his hand around his broom. Everyone else in the Gryffindor team had already descended down to earth and disappeared into the changing room, while the Slytherin team on the other side of the field gave Harry angry looks in which he was already used to.
"The game's over?" Hermione suddenly asked.
Harry looked at her strangely and nodded, showing the golden snitch in his hand in front of her. "Yeah, I caught the snitch. Tomorrow, we get to play against Ravenclaw, which would be my final victory for me if we win, since it's our last year." When he realized she was really there, he eyed her suspiciously. "I thought you were in Snape's room cleaning up the gunk?"
Hermione shrugged. "Oh uh…I'm almost done."
"Want me to walk you back?" he politely asked.
The brown haired girl shook her head and smiled. "No, it's all right, Harry. You should go cleaned up. I have to get back before Snape realizes I'm not there." She waved good bye and turned to leave.
"Hey, 'Mione?" he called.
Hermione stopped and turned around. "Yeah?"
"You'll be at the Quidditch final game tomorrow, right?"
Hermione smiled. "Of course!"
Harry smiled back. He really loved to see her smile. That added to the good mood he was feeling when they won the game against Slytherin, so with high hopes that Gryffindor would win against Ravenclaw, Harry gripped his hand around his Firebolt tightly and walked into the change room.
***********
The final night before the Quidditch final was the warmest nights out of all other days. Harry, Hermione and Ron sat on their usual spot near the fireplace (which was not lit since it didn't need to be). Harry, as the Captain of the Gryffindor team was writing some moves down on a piece of parchment, while trying to mix in some from Oliver Woods' the former Captain of their team some four years ago. He could still remember some of the best moves Oliver Wood had planned for the team when they defeated Slytherin for the cup during his third year. Ron was sitting on the couch, looking bored, while eating the head of a Chocolate Frog, his favorite sweets, while Hermione, as usual, took to studying. But this night was different than usual because the girl, whom Harry knew as his best friend, seemed tense today. She kept glancing at him, as if wanting to say something. Unable to take it any longer, Harry turned his head towards her. "What is it, Hermione?"
"Nothing…" she mumbled, jerking her head back towards the parchment.
Annoyed, Harry put his quill down and looked at her. "Come on, Hermione, you know how much it annoys me when you want to say something and then not say anything at all!"
"Okay, I just want to ask you something," Hermione said. She pointed her quill at Harry's leg. "Did you go see Madam Pomfrey about that leg?"
Harry turned away and mumbled, "No," under his breath.
Angry, she put her quill down on the table. "Why not?" She knew he was stubborn, but he was going too far. "Listen Harry, I'm really worried about you. So, can you please get your leg checked by Madam Pomfrey?"
Harry looked into her eyes. Indeed, there was genuine concern towards his best friend…not that he hasn't seen it before, but there was more to it than that. Nah, it couldn't be, he thought. "All right, I will," he lied.
She smiled, taking a breath of relief. "Good, I'm glad we have that settled."
After a moment of silence, Ron finally stood up and stretched. "I think I'm going to bed now," he said, adding a yawn. "Good luck with that strategy parchment Harry! See you tomorrow at the game!"
Harry and Hermione nodded. "Good night, Ron," they said in unison then went back to writing on their parchments. Harry continued to think of a strategy for tomorrow's game, but none came to mind at the moment because he couldn't stop thinking about the way Hermione looked at him with her large brown eyes. Harry turned to look at Hermione and ended up locking eyes with her. "What?" he asked.
"You're lying aren't you?" Hermione said, frowning in disapproval. She couldn't believe she almost let him out on that one. Although she knew for a long time that Harry would do anything to play Quidditch, even if it means lying to his best friend, Hermione, for the first time was very hurt by it. Tonight was different, however, because she thought she could tell him tonight about her feelings, but what he did made her change her mind. She'll tell him when she's in a better mood with him.
Harry smiled awkwardly. There was no way he could get out of lying from Hermione. She knew him too well and she was too smart. "If you know that already, why did you ask?" he retaliated with another question. He looked at her. Over the years, he has watched her change from that bushy brown haired girl, with bucked teeth, to a pretty seventeen year old with long and wavy dark brown hair. Being friends with Ginny must have caused her hair to change from very curly to just wavy.
His reply caused Hermione to frown. "Harry, I know that Quidditch means a lot to you but…" she paused, trying to figure out what to say. "Your health means a lot to me." She stopped again, feeling her face go red. Hermione turned away from him, trying to hide her red cheeks.
"Stop worrying about me, 'Mione because like what Ewan said, I can survive anything, even if it means having a broken leg!" Harry said, rather harshly. He looked back down at his parchment, wishing that Hermione would change the subject into something that didn't involve them arguing. "Besides…Do you know how long it takes for a leg to heal? WEEKS, Hermione…I can't afford that since the match is tomorrow."
Hermione nodded, ignoring Harry's tone of voice. She knew he didn't mean to say it like that. Harry is always trying to be brave, she thought. Pursing her lips together, she gathered up her parchments and books in her arms and stood up. "Well, I'm done my homework." For once though, she wished that Harry would understand WHY she was worried about him ALL THE TIME. She didn't want to upset him more than she already did. "I…I think I'm going to bed now." Without even looking at him, Hermione began walking up the stairs to the girls' dormitories, but as soon as she reached the sixth step, the weight of the books in her arms caused her to lose her balance down the stairs. She yelped, careful not to yell too loud to wake everyone else. Her books and parchments went flying from her arms, landing all at once on the floor, causing a loud 'crash!' around her. Luckily, no one heard that. She could feel her body falling backwards and Hermione had no chance to grab unto something since everything around was cement. She prepared for the impact and closed her eyes, but for some reason, she felt none of it. Hermione looked up and was face to face with Harry.
"Are you all right?" he asked, worriedly.
Hermione stared into his bright green eyes. His face was much too close and what made it worst was the fact that she was suddenly blushing. Wanting to keep him from seeing her like that, Hermione quickly straightened herself up on her feet. "Yes, I'm fine," she said. "Thanks."
Harry nodded. "That's good." He couldn't stop staring into her eyes. They were strangely attracting him.
"Um…Harry?" he heard Hermione say.
"What?" he said, his mind blinking back to reality. She pointed to his arms that were still around her waist. Harry quickly withdrew them, took a step back and mumbled an apology.
Hermione kneeled down to pick up her stuff. "It's all right." She felt someone kneeling beside her, also grabbing her books and parchments. Hermione looked up to find Harry helping her. He had grabbed the heavier books and gathered them all in his arms. "You don't need to help me," Hermione said when she noticed him holding the books.
Harry shook his head. "I don't want you to fall backwards again," he replied. He had made up his mind and Hermione knew she couldn't argue anymore. Giving up, she picked up the rest of her stuff from the floor and started walking up the stairs, followed by Harry carrying her books. "I can't believe you're still taking more classes than me and Ron," he suddenly suggested.
Hermione looked at him over her shoulder. "Well I've learned to conserve my time without having to use that 'thing' again."
"Ah," Harry said. He remembered that time when they had to use one of Dumbledor's precious tools that Professor McGonagall lent to Hermione four years ago to use while taking classes that were merely impossible to take. She obviously learned her lesson after that. Despite the many courses Hermione took, she made sure that they were on different times and different places. She also made sure that she had time during breaks to study for exams. Harry wasn't sure HOW though, but he would rather not ask.
"Well…" She turned and grabbed the books from Harry. "Good night," she whispered.
Harry stuffed his hands in his pockets and nodded. "Good night." They stared at each other for the longest time that night. Hermione wanted so bad to tell him, but not with the presence of everyone behind her. Even though the girls were fast asleep, she still felt nervous. Harry, too, wanted to tell Hermione how he felt, but the anxiety he felt for tomorrow's match was suddenly dawning on him. Without warning, he turned and left, fairly disappointed with himself. Hermione sighed and closed the door behind her, wishing that she had the guts to tell him.
*************
The next morning, when Hermione began her descent down the stairs, sounds of excitement echoed throughout the Gryffindor common room. Harry was already gone, along with the rest of the Gryffindor team, though she wished that he'd stayed so she could wish him good luck. Ginny greeted her with a hug and was smiling brightly as usual. "Are you excited, Hermione!? It's the last game for Harry! This is the chance that he could get into the Ballycastle Bats team!"
"Ballycastle Bats?" Hermione gave the younger girl a curious look.
"Didn't you know?" Ron appeared beside Ginny, his face twisting into an odd smile. "He was approached by the owner of Ballycastle Bats just a week ago! If they win this, Harry will get to go to Ireland to be in their team! Even though I'm a big fan of the Chudley Cannons, I don't mind rooting for Ballycastle if Harry is on their team!"
Ireland? Hermione thought. Didn't that mean he was going to live in Ireland if Harry were to be chosen by them? Didn't that mean that he was going to leave after they graduate from school? She felt as though her heart sank at the thought of Harry leaving her life forever. "Hermione is something wrong?" Ginny asked, looking at her worriedly.
Hermione looked up and shook her head. "That's great! I mean he's always wanted to go to Ireland right?" Without giving Ginny and Ron a chance to reply, she quickly left the common room and decided to head down to the library where she was most comfortable. Right now, the commotion of the match did not make her feel better at all. The thought of Harry leaving for good for Ireland made her feel lower than ever before. Holding back the tears that threatened to fall, she dashed inside the library and to where she usually sat at the table right by the window. In order to drown her thoughts of Harry leaving, she decided to look through her Potions homework to make sure she didn't make any mistakes, but even then, the noise in the hall made it much worse for her to concentrate. There were shouts of 'Go Gryffindor!' and 'Go Ravenclaw' at the same time, but lucky for her, being Head Girl; she didn't need to give them detentions since Gryffindor and Ravenclaw held no grudges against one another. Now, if it was Gryffindor and Slytherin, there would be a large commotion and a fight would ensue. Hermione looked down at her Potions parchment and began looking over it, trying her best not to lose her concentration. After what seemed like hours, she managed to go through the assignment without any problems. But even then, she couldn't stop thinking about Harry….leaving…for Ireland. Even then… she couldn't stop her eyes from filling with tears just thinking about why she never told Harry how she felt. If Harry leaves, she will feel very lonely without him.
"OH NO!" she suddenly gasped, glancing at the clock in the wall. She had forgotten she had History of Magic with Professor Binns. Hermione gathered up her books quickly and stuffed them eagerly in her backpack. As she crossed the hall, students she passed by stared at her, looking as though there was something in her face. Hermione decided to go the bathroom first to wash her face before adding anymore suspicions from her History of Magic class.
_____
He glanced up at the clock. It was now past ten minutes since the class started and as he turned to look at the empty seat beside him, he was starting to feel worried. Hermione was never late for class and even if she was, she would at least be only two minutes late, not ten. Harry turned his head towards Ron who mouthed, 'Where is she?' under his breath. All Harry could do was shrug in response. He felt someone poking him in the back, followed by Malfoy saying in a low voice, "So where is the Mudblood? She's never late for her classes…What happened? Decided to head back where she belongs in the Muggle world?"
"Shut up, Malfoy," Harry spat quietly, trying not to attract attention and trying the best he could to behave so he wouldn't get in trouble.
"Or perhaps she decided to continue cleaning up the mess she made in Potions class? She deserved it, since she is such a know-it all little-!" But before he could finish his sentence, Harry's hand managed to go around his throat, choking him.
"Go get 'em, Harry!" Ron was yelling.
Suddenly, the class was filled with the mixture of shouts of encouragement from the Gryffindor side and spits of anger from the Slytherin. Professor Binns was suddenly alerted from his drowning lectures and was forced to separate the two. "What has gotten into you two!?" he yelled, pulling Harry of off Malfoy.
Harry sat back down on his seat, fuming with frustration, while Malfoy, still trying to find the air in his lungs leaned back on his chair, coughing. Professor Binns sighed and sat back down on his seat. "Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy, you two will have your detention after school."
"What?" Harry suddenly stood up. He glared at Malfoy, who was smirking with satisfaction and turned his head back towards the ghostly Professor. "But the Quidditch match is today after school! I can't miss that!"
"Is it today? Dear me, I must have forgotten…" He looked around at everyone, to confirm that the final match WAS today. There were pleading looks from the Gryffindor team and hopeful looks that he wasn't going to play from the Slytherin team. "All right, since I plan on watching the game anyway, I will let you off on this one, Mr. Potter."
Harry smirked, while Draco folded his arms across his chest, still red in the face from his brush with death and looking unsatisfied.
Just then, the door to the classroom opened. All heads turned to Hermione who quietly came in, unaware that she was being watched at by all her peers and sat down beside Harry. She took out her parchment, quill and ink and her book from her backpack and looked up. Startled that Professor Binns was staring right at her, she grinned. "Um…sorry I'm late Professor," she said faintly. "I was just-"
Professor Binns sighed and shook his head. "No need to explain why you're late Ms. Granger. This is your first ever tardy in the years you've been here so I don't need to write up a report on you. Now… as I was saying…" He opened the book and began reading aloud to the whole class.
Harry took this opportunity to look at Hermione curiously. "Where have you been?" he asked, giving Draco another glare behind him. Draco said nothing, but was giving him dirty looks.
"It's nothing," she replied, unnerved by the idea that her response wasn't quite the answer he was looking for.
Knowing that she wasn't planning on telling him anything more, Harry went back to his side and continued to listen to Professor Binns' explanation on why the war between giants and witches occurred. It took him only ten minutes until he felt his mind slipping away from the lecture to the Quidditch final. One more win and the cup would be theirs…his last cup of his life in Hogwarts. Then, his mind wandered to Ballycastle. Ireland… He glanced at Hermione whose eyes were still trained towards Professor Binns and frowned. How was he ever going to tell her now? How is he ever going to stand the thought of leaving the life he knew and loved for a whole new place where he would meet new people and new friends?
Hermione pretended not to look at him. She did the best she could to keep her eyes on Professor Binns as he explained the bit about the trial of Gobly Weston, a wizard accused of murdering thousands of giants. The brown haired girl ignored Harry the whole time in class, while he continued to stare into nothingness, still thinking about the Quidditch cup and Hermione. And as soon as the bell rang, Hermione was the first one to leave, but not before Harry caught up to her first, followed by a flustered Ron who was told by Professor Binns that he had failed the last exam they had.
"Hermione!" Harry stared at his best friend, giving her a curious look. "Why are you in a hurry? You never told me and Ron why you were late and…" He paused when he noticed tears coming out of Hermione's eyes. Alarmed, he stopped walking and pulled her aside so that they were out of the way of the students dashing pass them without a moment's care on who they bump into. Ron, whose mind was still on the test, walked absent-mindedly pass them and it wasn't until he was at the very end of the corridor did he notice that his two best friends weren't walking by his side anymore.
Hermione hastily wiped the tears from her eyes and shook her head, still unable to look at Harry in the eyes. "It's nothing…"
"What's wrong? Why are you crying?" Harry forced her to look at him, but she would just keep turning away, avoiding his face. He sighed and took off his glasses, then rubbed the top of his nose irritably. "All you're saying is 'it's nothing…' Will you please stop with the secrets? I thought we were best friends?"
"I wish it was more than that…" she mumbled.
"What?" Did he hear right?
Tell him…a little voice spoke in her head. Tell him now or you'll regret it for the rest of you life! "I…" Finally, she had the courage to look into his eyes, but her tears never stopped flowing. She took a deep breath and opened her mouth to say something, but all that came out was, "YOU TELL ME!"
Her outburst startled everyone, consisting mostly of Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaw heading for class together, in the hall. All eyes were suddenly fixed upon them, but Harry gave them all a 'none of your business so stop staring look,' before turning his head back at Hermione. Startled by what came out of her mouth, Hermione clasped her hands over her mouth and pushed Harry aside gently out of her way. Harry, still shocked by her words, stood there, his mouth wide open. 'What on earth just happened here?' he thought.
****************
What did she just do? She just yelled at him right in front of everyone! Wasn't she supposed to tell him how she feels about him leaving for Ireland? Hermione, feeling uncomfortable sitting beside Harry, decided to sit beside Ginny, who sat beside Neville, who sat beside Ron, who sat beside Harry. No one seemed to have noticed what happened between Hermione and Harry, except for Ginny, who had friends from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. Hermione could tell Ginny found out from them, since she, out of everyone else in the table, was eating too quietly in her spot. But Hermione chose not to approach her with that subject.
"Hello everyone!" Luna, a Ravenclaw joined them at the table, on the other side of Ginny. Luna has become such good friends with Hermione and Ginny that no one seemed to mind anymore the way she always talked about things that didn't make sense, such as monsters, that was proven did not exist.
On the other end of the table, Harry was staring blankly in front of him, once in a while stealing glances towards Hermione. "Harry, what's wrong?" Ron asked, putting down his mug full of Butterbeer.
Harry looked up and shook his head. "Nothing…" He proceeded to eat his dinner, while at the same time, still thinking about why Hermione had yelled at him. He didn't understand what she meant by, 'you tell me…' and he was eager to find out so much. Right now though, it seems Hermione was not in an approachable mood.
"Oh all right then, chap," Ron replied behind his mug of Butterbeer.
The noise suddenly grew even louder. Hermione couldn't concentrate on anything at all, so she decided, against the protesting looks of Harry, to leave the table. Ginny was too busy listening intently to Luna's stories about a Bogart that was trapped inside the Forbidden Forest to notice Hermione leave. Neville was busy trying to remember Snape's formulas on antidotes, while Ron was too busy having a go at a turkey that no one was touching. The only person who wasn't busy doing anything to notice Hermione leave was Harry. He watched her go, eager to speak with her, but decided against going after her.
************
The end of class came by so quickly than he expected. In order to keep himself busy before the match started, Harry decided to call upon his team for some warm ups in the field. They were lucky that no one was there yet, so they took this opportunity to do some passing and shooting.
As they continued this, time just suddenly flew by when Harry noticed a swarm students and teachers taking their seats in the bleachers. Neville, Ginny, Luna and Ron were first in the Gryffindor side, while the Slytherin side was already filled with the students, including Malfoy and his cronies. Right beside Crabbe sat Professor Snape, sitting rigid on his spot. Ewan McDuff took his usual seat in the commentator's box with Professor McGonagall sitting beside him. Students and teachers in Ravenclaw slowly filled their side of the bleachers, as well as Hufflepuff. Harry's head swerved back towards his friends sitting at the very top of the bleachers. It was still in the order of Ron, Ginny, Neville and Luna and the spot beside Luna was still empty. He was hoping that Hermione would come, but remembering the words she spat into his face, confirmed him that she wasn't attending the match to see him anymore. Frowning a little, he looked up at the sound of the whistle from Madam Hooch. He watched as his usual team of chasers faced off against the usual Ravenclaw chasers. The bludger was thrown into the air and game began, the snitch was released and the game began.
Ginny watched the crowd go wild as the snitch zoomed around the field, Harry carefully searching for it. She glanced to Luna's side, where an empty spot, usually left for Hermione was still left unoccupied. Curious, she turned to her brother. "Where's Hermione?"
Ron shrugged and turned to look behind him in the crowd of Gryffindors his eyes searching for his best friend. "She's probably studying or something." He looked back at the game and roared when Gryffindor scored against Ravenclaw's new Keeper, Kyle Fellowes. Ginny sighed and left their spot to go look for Hermione.
_______
"There you are! They just started and already, Gryffindor scored against Ravenclaw!" Ginny explained, approaching Hermione sitting in the library at the table by the window. She found her sitting, hunched up over her table and it took the red head a while to realize that she had her face buried in her folded arms. Ginny heard the soft whimpers of Hermione. Alarmed, she placed a hand on her back, her eyebrows furrowed. "What's wrong Hermione?"
Hermione looked up, her face red and her eyes full of tears. "I yelled at him, Ginny! I yelled at him and I don't know why! I was so angry at him for not telling me he was leaving for Ireland! And…and…" She hiccoughed and lead her head back down on the table. Ginny wrapped an arm around her friend, whispering comforting words in her ear. This did not help, unfortunately, when Hermione hiccoughed for the fifth time that day.
"He didn't want to tell you because… Because he didn't want to hurt you."
Hermione looked up suddenly, startling Ginny. "He didn't want to hurt me? I'm his best friend unless….He doesn't think of me that way!" She stared at the younger girl for explanation.
"Don't be silly! Of course he thinks of you as his best friend, why else would he not tell you about it!?"
"Ron's his best friend and he knows about it. You know about it because-"
"Because I made Ron tell me!" Ginny interrupted. "Listen Hermione, it's none of my business, but the reason why he couldn't tell you is…well…" She hesitated, rubbing the back of her neck nervously. Hermione could tell that Ginny was contemplating whether she should tell the older girl or not.
"Just tell me, Ginny!" Hermione asked, impatiently. What was Ginny hiding so much that she couldn't tell her?
It took a moment until Ginny finally said, "Harry cares a lot about you, Hermione. I mean A LOT! Out of everyone else, YOU were the only one he couldn't tell about the Ireland team." She didn't want to spell it out that much. She wanted Hermione to guess on her own…besides… she was smart.
Hermione continued to stare at Ginny, which was now making her quite nervous. "You're not joking are you?" Ginny let out a loud laugh, causing the people present in the library to 'shush' her. She closed her mouth, trying to suppress a giggle, but this only made Hermione angry. "What's so funny?" The tears seemed to have dissipated quickly than Ginny thought.
"Hermione, do you have any idea how many times he's defended you against Malfoy's insults? Why else do you think he got that broken leg?"
A strange realization suddenly occurred to her. So all this time…the broken leg…was her cause? The brown haired girl suddenly stood up, startling the younger girl. "So… he…he…" She looked at Ginny, making sure she wasn't dreaming and when she received a nod from her friend, Hermione turned and ran to the direction of the stadium.
"Hey! Wait up, Hermione!" Ginny yelled, finally catching up to her when they reached the end of the hallway. They ran passed several doors until they could hear the sound of the crowds cheering and Ewan McDuff screaming at the top of his lungs. "OH WHAT A CLOSE CALL THAT WAS!" Hermione felt her heart beat much faster than she thought and pushed her way through the Gryffindor students now yelling louder than ever. By the time she made it to where Neville, Ron and Luna were Harry was now chasing the snitch across the field. No one seemed to notice that Hermione had joined them, because they were too caught up watching Harry fly magnificently around the field chasing the snitch around, while at the same time, dodging the bludgers that the beaters hit his way. She watched intently, her face shining with a smile she never knew she had. She knew what to do now to resolve this argument (even though there was none in the first place) between her and Harry. It was something that would linger on even if he left for Ireland.
Harry felt the wind in his hair and he knew he was alive again. He flew downwards and did a turn on his broom, flying after the snitch with great speed, but as soon as he turned his head to find that Hermione was finally there, the snitch disappeared from his sight. 'Damn!' he muttered. Hermione was staring at him and to his surprise, she smiled and waved. Harry smiled back and turned his broom around to look for the snitch, the confidence that left him earlier, finally coming back to him.
The game went on, more brutally now. Eager to win this year's cup, Ravenclaw seemed much tougher to beat. Erik Heimann, sixteen the new Ravenclaw captain and seeker, seemed to know Harry's moves as he yelled out some commands to his chasers. He mirrored every move Harry made, but Harry was cautious about that. And in the corner of his eye, he noticed something gold fluttering around the corner of the opposite end of Gryffindor's goal. It stayed in one spot, but Harry was quick enough to steer his broom towards it. He felt a jolt of pain go into his broken leg, but Harry ignored that as he continued to chase it.
Ron screamed, "Harry saw the snitch!" He pointed to where Harry was now, flying towards Ravenclaw's side at a snitch that decided to fly around for a while, as if to tease the seekers.
"GO HARRY!" Hermione yelled at the top of her lungs. "WIN FOR ME!" She noticed all her friends looking at her astonishingly, but she ignored them. Hermione felt her face go hot, but she ignored that too.
Harry flew as fast as he could, but the snitch decided to move downwards towards earth, hoping to lose him, but Hermione knew it could not escape Harry's quick steering and his sharp eyes. Erik Heimann was suddenly on his tail, also trying to catch the snitch, but Harry swerved in front of him to keep him from catching up and jumped up, diving down towards the snitch. He promised himself he would win this for Hermione…just for her.
Everyone in the crowd held their breaths, except for the Slytherins who obviously knew what was going to happen. As soon as Harry hit the ground, his hand clutching unto the snitch as tightly as he could, he felt something crack. Harry knew at once that it was his leg. It had finally broken itself from the plastic cast that Harry created in attempt to hide the injury from everyone else. When he opened his hand, the snitch went flying out, fluttering beside him, but Harry, despite the pain in his leg, held it out for everyone to see and stood up. The loudest roar he has ever heard to ever erupt in the stadium was louder than ever. Every Gryffindor flew down excitedly to greet Harry with hugs and loud cheers. They lifted him up on his shoulders, his eyes suddenly looking up at Hermione who had the widest smile on her face.
After seconds of cheering, Harry let himself down from his teammates' shoulders and rode back on his broom to greet his friends at the Gryffindor side, carrying the snitch in his hand. He didn't bother to carry the cup. Only the Gryffindor who were back on the ground were the ones who carried it on their shoulders, replacing Harry.
Hermione's heart stopped when she noticed Harry flying over to them. She couldn't back out now. She had to tell him. To her surprise, Harry stopped right below her. Without a second thought, Hermione leaned down until she felt her hand touch Harry's cheek. Harry looked up, allowing his broom to go higher so he could reach Hermione. For a moment they stared at each other and to everyone's surprise, they were locked into a kiss.
Neville stared at them, shocked, while Ron, unaware that this was happening, kept on cheering for Gryffindor at the top of his lungs. Ginny and Luna watched them, Ginny with her face still holding that smile she held when Harry approached Hermione and Luna, with a look of interest. Colin Creevey suddenly appeared out of nowhere, aiming his camera at Harry and Hermione locked in a loving gaze, and stole a shot.
After what seemed like forever, Harry pulled away first, his face blushing. Hermione kept her hand on his face, afraid that if she let go, she wouldn't be able to see him. Without even bothering to say anything after that, knowing full well what the kiss meant, Harry went back to join his teammates in carrying the cup, his face still red. Hermione watched him go.
Even if he leaves for Ireland, her heart and his are sealed together with a kiss…
GoodGurl: Well it was a one shot thing, so I hope you all guys like! The ending was abrupt, but it does give you an idea on what happens next...I might have another story after this...if I'm not too busy! XP LOL! Please review! And...no flames please!