A/N: I'm back with the new chapter with a hint of action at the end. Thanks, once again, for all the great reviews and all those who followed the story. A few of you mentioned that I should not use "Dudley" and his gang. In my opinion, it's not that big of a issue as they aren't really big characters and they aren't going to be developed in later chapters. If you guys really want it, I can change the names, but it'll hardly make ANY difference.
Regarding the harmony relationship issue, I'm really conflicted. Half of you support it, while the others think it's too fast. Personally, given their background and personalities (maturity), there's nothing much to question. But then I remember that they are only 8 (in Chapter 2) and that's really early to start a relationship.
7 November: Edits done.
Thank you to Philosophize, Taliesin19 and joemjackson for the support. If you guys haven't, go check their stories out. It's a lot better than mine and I get a lot of help from them and their fics.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. And no children or adults were harmed in the writing of this chapter.
Standing By Your Side, Forever
"Love is when you would give up your whole world, give up your life, your everything just to make sure that person you love is okay." ~ Unknown
Chapter 3 - Burning in the Flames
The day after they finished with the packing of Hermione's room, they had moved into their new room. Two beds were placed beside each other in the centre of the room and, like in their original rooms, bookcases lined the walls. In one side of the room, a small study table sat with two chairs and a table lamp. The room was visibly larger than any room either had ever had.
They immediately dragged all of their belongings into their new room with the help of a few trolleys. They then spent the rest of the day organising their books on the bookshelves. Both had a permanent grin on their faces as they weaved through the books on the floor to get to the bookshelves.
Harry was currently placing a book on the shelf when he bent down to reach for another. When he lifted his head up, he came face to face with Hermione who had also bent down to retrieve a book. Their faces were less than an inch apart and they could feel the other's warm breath on their faces. Emerald green eyes met brown ones and they immediately jumped away from one another, both with large blushes on their faces.
Hermione is really pretty. Harry thought.
Harry was shocked at his own thoughts and immediately looked down in shame. Why did I think that? She's my best friend, for heaven's sake. She really is pretty though...
Across from him, Hermione was having similar thoughts, thinking about how nice Harry looked at that moment. Both were confused by their emotions that were running through them as they felt an attraction to the other unlike anything they felt before.
"I'm sorry..." They both spoke up at the exact same time before looking down again, the blush growing larger.
"It was my fault!" They said again.
"Um... it's okay. It was probably an accident." Harry concluded. They resumed their unpacking.
It had been a few days since that incident and Harry was once again deep in thought about what happened. For some reason, he felt really awkward around Hermione now and she probably felt the same. They normally spent their free time cuddling and sitting close to one another, but now, after a short "face-to-face" encounter, they had become awkward with one another and barely talked to each other, giving short replied when they had to. They still walked together, but they kept their distance from one another. They didn't hold hands any more, nor did they cuddle in an armchair enjoying a book.
Harry hated this distance that was created between him and Hermione. He remembered when they were both fragile from their encounters with bullies and they were unbelievably close. Then, they had only each other for support. The thought of losing each other was enough to cause them to break down into tears. But now, their friendship is on the rocks. They lost the closeness that they usually had. They barely spoke. How do you maintain a friendship when you don't interact with one another.
Harry let out a sigh. As he thought about his slowly vanishing friendship with Hermione, all the good times he had with Hermione came back to him. That time when Harry stood up for Hermione when she just came to the orphanage. The times when they stood together when they were beaten and laughed at. The times when they studied together. The recent times when they held each other tightly in a warm embrace.
A tear escaped Harry's eye. It trailed down his cheek slowly, staining his cheek in a wet trail.
Hermione doesn't need me any more.
Tears fell freely now. He thought he had learned not to be too hopeful when his "friends" went away one by one. He thought he could keep to himself and protect himself from this emotional damage. But Harry had confided in Hermione, and now, he was broken. Lying on the cold, hard floor. Alone. Again.
In another side of the orphanage, Hermione was crying her heart out, hugging her knees to her chest. The familiar warmth of Harry's body pressed against her, with his arms wrapped around her was replaced with the cold chill of the cold night air and the hard, rough floor causing her feet to ache.
The feelings of awkwardness was now replaced by a feeling of loss. The loss of a friend.
Line Break
Both returned to their room at the same time, after spending an hour crying. When they saw each other, their red, swollen eyes filled with tears again. They turned away from one another and started preparing for bed.
That night was torture. Hermione lay on one side of the bed and Harry lay on the other, both feeling only the occasional chilling breeze and their bed beneath them. They had stopped hugging each other to sleep after the incident but now that they both came up with their explanations for the separation, the reality of the situation hit them hard. It was worse than any of the pain the bullies put them true. This was emotional harm. And they had been harmed, deeply.
They both fell asleep with they eyes drenched in unshod tears.
When Harry woke, Hermione was already gone from the room, along with her bag and all of the materials she needed for the day. Harry slowly prepared himself for the day, the pain of losing his friend still fresh in his mind. When Harry arrived at the dining hall, he saw Hermione eating at their usual spot on the table and started walking towards her. But then Hermione looked up and noticed Harry. She quickly averted her eyes, grabbed her bag and left.
Harry's eyes never left Hermione's retreating back. I guess I'm right. He thought to himself. She doesn't need me by her side any longer.
He quickly left the dining hall, the reawakened pang of loss making him lose any of the appetite he had left. As he was walking down the hall way however, he heard someone calling for him.
He turned slowly, finding Ms. Claire looking at him with only concern in her eyes. "Are you okay, Harry?" she asked him.
Harry nodded slowly, not wanting to trouble Ms. Claire with his personal issues. But nonetheless, she already knew.
"I've noticed that you and Hermione has been distant this past few days. Ever since the day I allocated the new room to the both of you, the two of you have barely talked. I was afraid that this would happen when the two of you brought the issue of sharing a room with me. But I had convinced myself that the two of you would be fine, with your close friendship and all. Now, I see that I should not have made this choice as it has caused problems between the two of you." Ms. Claire told him.
Harry looked down and mumbled, "I'm sorry Ms. Claire."
"It is not me you have to apologise to. But it is to yourself, for allowing yourself to lose a great friend that is in Hermione. Tell me, what happened that caused this? An argument?"
"No Ms. Claire." Harry sighed. No harm in telling Ms. Claire. "We were unpacking our books then when both of us bent down to pick a book up, our faces came very close to one another and after that, I just felt really awkward around her. I really don't know what happened. We normally are very close. We hug each other, cuddle together, but after this strange feeling emerged during this incident, we just didn't know what to do."
Ms. Claire smiled at Harry, having an idea of what might have actually happened. "Yes. I understand. Go on for your next lesson now. See me at my office during dinner."
Harry nodded his understanding and trudged off to the next lesson.
Both Harry and Hermione were uncharacteristically quiet in class that day. They both seemed to stare off into space, and for the first time, not paying attention to the class. This lead to scolding from the teacher and a lot of laughing from their classmates. But no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't seem to pay attention. They had too much on their mind.
They thought about their deteriorating friendship with one another. They thought about how it was their fault for avoiding each other due to awkwardness. They thought about the meeting they had with Ms. Claire after the lesson. While they both wanted to have their friendship and closeness back, neither were able to take the first step as both were now feeling awkward around the other.
The rest of the class seemed to drag on forever. Finally, the class bell rang and Harry left the class quickly, heading to Ms. Claire's office. Hermione took a longer time with her materials, without Harry's help, it became harder for her to pack her things. Once she was done, she left the class and started walking towards Ms. Claire's office.
Halfway there, she bumped into Peter and his gang again. Dudley walked straight into Hermione as if she wasn't there, causing her to fall to the ground and dropping all of her books. He and his gang burst into laughter and walked away, not before kicking a few of her books, causing them to be spread all across the hallway. Still in pain, she slowly gathered all of her books and placed them back in her bag.
In Ms. Claire's office, Harry sat patiently on the chair, waiting for Ms. Claire to start. Ms. Claire said that they still had to wait for one more person, and so, Harry waited patiently.
Finally, the door opened, revealing a sobbing Hermione, with her bag hugged tightly to her chest. Upon seeing this, Harry immediately leapt out of the chair and hugged Hermione tightly, trying to calm her. Once Hermione had calmed down, both had large blushes on their faces. Both remained this way for a few minutes, before Harry spoke up, "Hermione... I'm so sorry! When we were unpacking, I thought you looked really pretty, but after that incident, I just felt really awkward and couldn't work up the courage to talk to you." Harry had tears in his eyes now and it was getting hard for him to speak. But he knew that he had to let it all out in order for him to get his friend back. "I'm... I'm sorry Hermione. It was my fault... I should have talked to you about it. Please forgive me, Hermione. I can't survive without you with me." Tears fell off his eyes and dripped onto Hermione's shoulder. He felt the clothes on his shoulder slowly getting damp and he knew that Hermione was crying as well.
"Did you really think I'm... I'm pretty?"
Harry could only nod mutely on Hermione's shoulder.
Hermione's sobbing softened and a small smile appeared on her face. "I thought you looked really nice too. That's why I didn't talk to you about it... I was afraid that you would reject me for this and I didn't want to lose you. I really like being with you, Harry."
"Me too... I promise you, I will make sure we are never separated ever again. We'll stand together in everything, k Mione?" Harry whispered in Hermione's ear.
"Yes..."
Ms. Claire smiled knowingly at the pair, slightly relieved that she wouldn't have to explain the feelings the pair were feeling. Not yet, at least. At that thought, Ms. Claire felt a shiver go down her spine.
Once Harry and Hermione had calmed down, Ms. Claire spoke up, "I trust that the two of you are fine now?"
Harry nodded sheepishly while Hermione told Ms. Claire, "Yes Ms. Claire. Thank you for helping us sort out this problem."
Ms. Claire chuckled, "The only thing I did was allow the two of you to have a chance to sit down and talk to each other. I hope that this would be a lesson to both of you. No matter what, we should always take the time to clarify, before the situation gets worse and more people get hurt."
Harry and Hermione both nodded before heading back to their rooms, with their hands entwined, both of them enjoying each other's company after days of separation. When they finally arrived at their door, they quickly changed into comfortable clothing before they cuddled on the bed, holding each other tightly.
Hermione fell asleep first, a small, cute smile on her face as the events of the past few days caught up to her. Harry was still awake, focused solely on Hermione. He truly felt that Hermione was pretty and was glad to have Hermione as a friend.
Harry softly kissed Hermione on her forehead before leaning towards her and whispering,
"I swear I'll protect you for the rest of my life from harm. I... I love you 'Mione. Good night."
Line Break
Hermione and Harry woke up a few nights later to sounds of laughter and explosions. A weird combination. Harry was instantly alert and switched on the lights to the room while Hermione sat upright on the bed, eyes widened in shock and fear. Harry extended a hand towards Hermione, and she took it, holding it tightly, drawing comfort from it.
Slowly, they inched towards the door, careful not to make any sounds that could alert anyone nearby. The explosions continued, now coupled with screams from both children and adults.
Harry gently opened the door, feeling terrified at the possibility of something dangerous in the halls of the orphanage. But Harry had to stay strong for his Hermione. He had to put on a strong face and protect Hermione, just as he had swore.
The hallway was dark and were it not for the light from their room, Harry wouldn't have been able to see a thing.
He heard an explosion to his right, so he immediately ran towards his left, pulling Hermione along with him. Hermione was shivering in fear. Were it not for Harry's presence, Hermione would have collapsed minutes ago.
They ran as quickly as their legs could take them, but the explosions seemed to come closer and closer. Hermione had tears in her eyes, causing her vision to blur and unable to see what was happening. Hermione heard another explosion upfront, and Harry instantly pulled her into a room, away from the most recent explosion.
There were bookshelves lining the large area, all of them filled with books. Suddenly, crazed laughter filled the air while Harry and Hermione immediately dived behind some bookshelves.
Harry peeked his head out slightly to investigate and saw a figure a figure dressed in black... robes? The figure was holding out a stick and there was a slight glow on it. The light was reflected off a mask made of silver. She had curly dark hair flowing down to her shoulders. She was laughing crazily as she pointed her stick towards the librarian's counter. An orange fire-like blast emerged from the tip of the stick and was propelled towards the counter. Once it came into contact, the counter along with anything close to it exploded, leaving nothing but rubble.
Behind him, Harry felt Hermione sobbing silently in terror. Harry could only squeeze her hand to calm her down as he continued to observe the lady with the stick. Suddenly, she turned to face Harry and immediately flicked the stick in her hand, sending a bright white light in Harry's direction. Being bullied for years had its uses, as Harry easily dodged the beam by swerving to the side. However, the beam impacted with the floor behind Harry and exploded, blasting Harry across the library, crashing into a few bookshelves before coming into a stop. Hermione was shot straight into what was left of the librarian's counter, depositing her right in front of the lady.
The lady continued laughing maniacally, "Little kids have come out to play... Crucio!"
Hermione started convulsing on the spot as her face grew red and she started screaming. "Harry! HELP! HARRY!" Hot tears fell off Hermione's eyes as she continued screaming for help and in pain.
Several of Harry's bones were already broken, including a few in his right leg. However, upon hearing Hermione's cry for help, he started dragging himself towards Hermione to help her.
With another flick of her wand, Harry was levitated into the air, spinning in circles, with his whole body screaming in pain. Hermione's screams stopped, replaced now by sobbing while she muttered Harry's name.
Harry tried everything he could to break out of this sorcery that the lady inflicted upon him, but to no avail. He would give his life right now just to help Hermione with her pain. Seeing Hermione in such pain and no being able to do anything broke Harry's heart over and over again, inflicting pain upon him beyond that of his broken bones.
Suddenly, the lady gripped her left forearm, swearing under her breath, before vanishing into thin air.
Harry was dropped onto the floor heavily, his body screaming in pain at the sudden impact. It took him several minutes to get used to the pain and when he did, he made his way towards Hermione, who was still lying in a foetal position, shivering in pain. He heard the desperate whispers of "Harry" coming from Hermione's lips and Harry felt another wave of guilt and remorse wash over him. He wasn't able to protect Hermione just as he had swore. He had allowed Hermione to get into harm's way. He allowed Hermione to get hurt.
Harry lightly wrapped Hermione in his undamaged right arm, his left arm dangling uselessly beside him. Hermione calmed visibly but she continued to shiver in pain, with an occasional spasm. Harry silently sobbed as he looked as his friend's fragile form, wishing to do something about it. He felt a slight warmth trailing from his heart through his arms into the tip of his fingers. He saw the slight glow travelling out of his fingers, through the air and into Hermione's body.
Slowly, Hermione stopped shaking. She felt no more of the intense pain she felt in the past few minutes. She felt the warm, comforting embrace of Harry and she looked up to face Harry. Upon seeing that Hermione was okay, Harry let a slight smile appear on his exhausted face as he said, "I'm sorry Hermione. I didn't manage to protect you."
Harry collapsed onto the floor of the destroyed library, his hand that was once wrapped around Hermione falling to the floor. Hermione leaned towards Harry and hugged him, tears gathering in her eyes, "It wasn't your fault Harry. I don't blame you... just come back to me. I need you... I... I love you, Harry."
A/N: And... I'm done. I'm changing quite a few things once I post this chapter. Firstly, the genre is probably going to change. Next, the summary is DEFINITELY changing. I'm not sure if you guys would like this chapter. I think it's bad. I think you can tell, I have an inferiority complex. But it's getting better. So far, I've gotten only positive reviews with slight comments on how to improve and its really helping with my morale. So, once again, review if you have any suggestions, comments or questions, or just for the sake of reviewing. Cheers, Primevere!
