Chapter 7
AN: Well, folks, this story is drawing to a close. Maybe one, maybe two chapters left, I haven't decided, but it has come a long way from being originally a two-shot. I'm so grateful for all the wonderful reviews and all my wonderful readers, truly. This will be my first finished story shortly, and I'm proud of that. I will continue to write Harmony fanfiction as well as others, so if you wish to see more by yours truly, (and there will definitely be more, I'm currently planning a few more Harmony fics as I type,) then follow me as an author or follow my other story for more updates. It's your choice. Enjoy!
Hermione stared fixedly down at her Defense against the Dark Arts textbook, ignoring the pitying glances of Lavender and Parvati, who were sitting on either side of her like a sort of honor guard. They were not the only ones. Ron, who had finally coaxed the story of what had happened out of Harry, kept looking worriedly at his friend, but she didn't notice him; nor did she notice Harry's lingering, questioning gaze on her; if she had, she would have noted how lost he looked. But she did not look at him, did not think of him. In fact, if she had her way, she would avoid him altogether, as she had done Sunday, having Lavender and Parvati bring her food and refusing to leave her bed. But today was a Monday, and, as she had to be in class, she could not very well avoid him again, but she could pretend he wasn't there.
The students were not the only ones who noticed the little drama going on betweenHarry and Hermione. Severus noted it too, grimly. But by tonight, he hoped the drama would be all over and solved due to the plan he had hatched.
He wrinkled his nose in distaste at his plan. The couple's path to a relationship should have been delicate, subtle, but because of Granger's foolhardy, he would have to resort to a distastefully Gryffindorish plan, a plan he knew must succeed, as it would be the couple's last chance. He just hoped it worked.
He went on with his lecture, Granger still staring resolutely down at her book and Potter still gazing at Granger. Perfect.
"Detention, Potter and Granger. Tonight at eight, my classroom. Pay attention or I'll shall make it a week's worth," Snape said silkily. The plan was now in motion.
The Gryffindors who knewwhat was going on between Harry and Hermione glared up at Snape, but he ignored them. Curiously, Potter simply blinked, turning slowly away from Granger and staring forward sullenly, not bothering to answer. Granger went very pink and looked up, staring at Severus as resolutely as she had at her book, and likewise said nothing.
Perfect, Severus thought, and went on with his lesson.
"I still cannot believe that bat gave you detention, Hermione!" Lavender positively squealed at dinner that night. The trio of girls were sitting at opposite ends of the table from the boys, which seemed to ignite their classmate's curiosity as to why, but Hermione ignored them. She shrugged, picking at her food. "Well, I wasn't paying attention," she said fairly, however, her voice was a monotone.
"But he should have just taken house points, not given you detention!" Parvati retorted, flipping her long black plait over one shoulder. "Besides," she added, leaning in closer to Hermione, "It's cruel of him to put you in detention with everything going on,"
Hermione winced at the mention of the current situation, and answered, "Well, he doesn't know about that, does he? And I doubt he'd care." Sighing heavily, she pushed her food away and got up. When Lavender and Parvati made to follow her, she waved them away, saying, "No, no, I'll be fine…just going to go get some homework done before my detention," and with that, she walked to the door, head bowed, so she would not have to see Harry and the boys.
Ron watched her go, and then leaned closer to Harry, hissing, "Mate, you have to talk to her." Neville, Seamus, and Dean nodded and murmured their consent. Harry did not answer immediately, staring after Hermione as she left. When she left his view, he slumped down, sighing. "But I don't know what to say! I mean, she kissed me. What am I supposed to say in this situation? 'Hi, Hermione. So, tell me why you kissed me, huh?'" He winced at how stupid it sounded out loud.
Neville piped up, "No, you don't even have to ask her about the kiss. Just talk to her. She's got to be feeling low right now."
"Yeah, especially since you just let her run off without saying anything," Dean added, cuddling Ginny, who nodded.
Harry sighed and rubbed his eyes. "I just…I just don't know what to say to her!"
Seamus leaned in. "Harry, mate, if you don't like her, just tell her. She'd appreciate hearing the truth more than being left in the dark."
There was a murmur of agreement around the group.
Harry sighed again, and looked down. "Well, that's just the thing. I…I don't know how I feel about her. Even before the kiss, I've, well, I've felt like I might've…you know, fancied her, but…I just don't know!"
Ron patted Harry's back. "We won't tell you what to do, mate. But you should sort out your feelings soon. I didn't tell you, but…Hermione really likes you. If you like her too, tell her. If not, tell her too, as gently as you can. You don't want to ruin your friendship with her over this,"
"Hear, hear," Neville said, raising his goblet slightly.
"Yeah, Harry. You have to figure out how you feel and tell her, before it's too late," Ginny said empathetically.
Harry sighed, and looked down. He really wished he could sort out the tangled jumble that was his mind…
A couple of hours later, Severus stood in his office, with two goblets of an ordinary Wellness potion; however, they were both laced with Veritaserum. His plan would come to a close in the matter of minutes, and everything would be decided.
Granger entered first, head bowed, not looking at Severus, and went to stand before his desk, which he sat at, fingers steeped together, the two goblets of potion in front of him. He said nothing to her, and she said nothing to him.
A few minutes later Potter entered. He glanced at Hermione, eyes filled with an unfathomable emotion, and went to stand next to her in front of the desk.
For a moment, Severus just stared at the pair from over his fingers. Granger was clasping her hands together, as they were trembling, and Potter bit his lip, looking at her from the corners of his eyes.
"So," Severus said silkily. "You will not pay attention in my class when I am teaching, so I will have you pay attention now." He gestured at the goblets in front of him. "Madame Pomfrey just received a shipment of Wellness Potion; however, she believes there is something wrong with the Potion, and has asked me to inspect it." This was a lie. Madame Pomfrey had asked no such thing; the potions were perfectly normal Wellness Potions, but he needed something to put the Veritaserum into.
"So, for your detention, the pair of you will drink the potion, and I will observe its' effects on you. If it is a proper Wellness potion and Madame Pomfrey is mistaken, you shall glow with health and feel altogether healthy. If not…" He trailed off, smiling nastily.
Potter glanced at Hermione before saying, "Sir, isn't this dangerous for us?"
Snape shrugged. "Possibly. But if you will not pay attention in class, then I shall have to…persuade you to do so. Now drink."
Snape leaned back in his chair, smiling nastily. With an apprehensive glance at the goblets, the pair also looked to each other; a habit, after so many years, before looking away, faces burning.
They each took a goblet and, hesitantly, drank it.
At once, their expressions became glassy, and Severus leaned forward, all business.
"Miss Granger, tell Mr. Potter how you feel about him."
Hermione swayed on the spot before saying, "I love you. I've loved you since first year, but I've just discovered my love for you."
Snape went on with another question. "Tell him what you did to get his attention."
"I let Parvati and Lavender give me a makeover," Hermione answered promptly. "When it didn't seem to get your attention in a positive way, I went back to my old self and instead enhanced the way I looked, which seemed to catch your eye. I was forever staring at you, hoping you'd catch on about my feelings."
"Tell him why you kissed him."
"I do not know. The impulse came over me and I went with it. For a second, I thought it was the right thing to do."
Snape nodded, and the turned to Harry. "Potter, tell her why her first makeover did not catch your eye."
"It didn't look like her," Harry answered, "I didn't like how changed she looked, and I didn't understand why she had changed. She'd been beautiful before the makeover, and now she just looked wrong, and I was afraid the change was for some bloke."
"Why did you like her second makeover?"
"It looked more like her, like the girl I've known for nearly six years, and I was happy about that."
"Did you notice or know how she might have felt?"
"No, not before the kiss."
"Why did you not say anything to her after the kiss? Why did you not follow her?"
"I was going to say something, but she ran before I could. I didn't run after her because I was too surprised and I thought it would upset her."
Now, the final question, Severus thought, and, clearing his throat said, "Mr. Potter, how do you feel about Miss Granger."
Potter turned his glassy eyes to stare straight into Hermione's, and he took an unconscious step forward. "I didn't know until just now. I was confused. I thought perhaps that I fancied her, but I kept insisting that I didn't, that she was just a friend, like a sister to me. But I was wrong. I know that now. I know I've been lying to myself since first year. She's not just my friend. She's not just a girl I fancy. She's Hermione Granger, and I love her."
Snape smiled, a true smile, and asked his final question. "Do the two of you want to be together?"
The pair took another step closer to each other, and were inches apart. "Yes," they answered in unison, and a second later the potion wore off, leaving them blinking and confused, before they stared into each other's eyes, unaware, for the moment, of Snape.
"You…you love me?" Hermione asked Harry breathlessly, gazing up at him. "You…you really love me?"
Potter stared into her eyes, looking wonderstruck. "I didn't know before, but now I do. Yes, Hermione, I love you. And…you love me? All this time, you've loved me?"
Hermione stared up at him, only too aware her arms were around his neck without her remembering putting them there, and his arms were around her waist. She looked up into his beautiful green eyes, and answered simply, "It was always you."
And then, completely ignoring Snape, they kissed, a long, passionate kiss.
Snape felt himself smiling at the scene. Who would have thought him a hopeless romantic? Finally, he cleared his throat, and Granger and Potter broke off their embrace, blushing furiously, before staring at him in wonder, for not only was he smiling, he was the reason they were together. He had dosed them with Veritaserum, and now they were together.
"I think that is enough for one night's detention," he said. "You may leave."
He turned to exit into his office, but was interrupted.
"P-professor?" Hermione called breathlessly.
Snape turned so they could see his profile. "Yes?"
"Why…why did you do it?"
There was a long pause, and then, he answered, "Because I was sick of you two's long unspoken and quite annoying love life," and with that, he turned and exited, leaving the astonished pair behind, not to notice the grin on his face.
They headed back to the Common Room, hand in hand, talking about their new found love. Right in front of the Fat Lady's portrait, however, Harry stopped, pulling Hermione close.
"Hermione, I love you. I know this probably goes without saying, but….will you be my girlfriend?"
Hermione wrapped her arms around his neck, marveling at the unsureness in his eyes. Had he not just heard her confess her love for him? She pretended to think it over before saying, "Well, I guess so…yes."
And then she grabbed his face, bringing it down to hers, his arms around hear wait, lifting her closer to him, and so preoccupied were they in their embrace, they did not immediately notice the portrait opening before someone yelled, "Well, it's about bloody time!"
Startled, the pair stopped kissing, and found Lavender, Parvati, Dean, Seamus, Ginny, Neville, and Collin, with Ron standing at the front of the crowd, having been the one who shouted, all beaming at them.
"Collin passed Snape's classroom while you guys were confessing your undying love for each other, and ran up here to tell us," Ron said, grinning. "So we decided to wait for you."
And so, they pulled the pair into the common room, where a party was waiting to celebrate the new found love of The Boy-Who-Lived and the Brightest Witch of her Age, more commonly known as Harry and Hermione, who happily joined the party, never letting go of each other's hands, as it should be.
Fin.
