Harry Potter and a Marauder Revival
Chapter 10: A Second Chance
Darkness overtook the sky; the temperature in the still air seemed to plummet to colder, unexplored levels. All was quiet in the wide lane of Hogsmeade Village with the shop's lights growing brighter and brighter upon the rising dark night.
Harry and Hermione stood facing one another, their gazes locked on each other. They seemed as if they were the last two people left in the village, although it felt they could be the last two people left on the planet.
There was no hint of a question in Harry's burning green eyes, only determination while Hermione's face gave way to some trepidation and uncertainty. Both of their hearts started beating faster and faster, the air surrounding the pair growing chillier as the moments seemed to creep by like a shadow in the night.
Harry had leaned his face down towards Hermione, closing the gap between them slowly. Mere inches away from her face, he gave her one last, searching look before they both shut their eyes.
Growing closer and closer, Harry waited until his lips met with Hermione's. They now could each feel each other's breaths on their faces until RING, RING. The door of a nearby shop clambered open, shocking both Harry and Hermione that the pair jumped apart by the sudden and unexpected noise.
Harry looked around and saw a middle-aged woman exiting the greengrocer's store, The Magic Neep, carrying a large brown bag full of fresh vegetables and herbs.
Harry stole a quick glance over at Hermione whose cheeks were burning a severe red; he reasoned he looked no better.
"Well, then…um, shall we head back then," Harry asked Hermione.
Hermione gave a small start at the sound of Harry's voice. She looked up at him and gave a small nod as she replied, "Yeah, sure."
The pair walked up the wide lane towards Honeydukes. Harry looked over at Hermione again and frowned when he saw her hugging herself instead of having re-hooked her arm back within his.
"Are you cold?"
"What? Oh, um, no, I'm fine, actually," she replied quietly, peeking over at him.
Harry nodded his head once and the two continued on in silence. Harry couldn't help but feel extremely confused by what had almost transpired: he had almost kissed his best friend.
Although there have been misunderstandings about his relationship he shared with Hermione before, mainly from Victor Krum, Ron, and Mrs. Weasley, the bond they shared together was a mark of fierce loyalty and friendship…so Harry thought.
Never had Harry felt anything more than friendship with Hermione however maybe there was something hidden deep within Harry that was just now threatening to surface. Could he, Harry Potter, have romantic feelings for Hermione Granger?
After all, being as close as they have been ever since first year, were these new feelings to be expected from the pair of students?
As Harry mulled over these new, unfounded thoughts, Hermione cried out, "Oh no, Harry! We're locked out!"
Harry's attention whipped back to the present as he followed the direction Hermione's finger was pointing: a 'closed' sign hung in the window of Honeydukes, there one escape route back into Hogwarts castle.
"Well we could try and walk back to Hogwarts," Harry suggested.
"The gates will probably be closed by now," Hermione replied, looking up at the dark sky.
Harry took out his wand when Hermione intervened, "Harry, what are you doing?"
"I have to let us in, haven't I? We can't stay out in Hogsmeade for the night," he replied, looking back into the worry that now filled Hermione's wide eyes.
"Don't you think we should put on the invisibility cloak first, just in case someone sees us?"
Harry thought about this for a short moment and said, "Yeah, you're probably right." Hermione grabbed his hand and led him down a small, dark alley.
Harry retrieved his father's invisibility cloak from his jacket pocket and draped it over himself and Hermione.
The pair walked back over to the front door of the sweet shop; Harry took out his wand again, pointed it at the keyhole and whispered, "ALOHOMORA," and the door swung open with a small creaking sound.
The two invisible Gryffindor's stepped over the threshold of the quiet shop. Hermione closed the door softly behind her.
Once the door had shut itself to small village outside, Harry and Hermione were cast in total blackness with the only light provided to them was from the large window situated at the front of the store. The shop's yellow lights that hung outside the door gave way to small slivers of light rays that shone through the window and onto the wooden floor of Honeydukes.
The couple silently made their way past rows of shelves filled with sweets of all kinds. Harry looked to his side at one of the candies; when he did so, however, he walked directly into the store's low counter.
"Ouch," Harry cried out, as he knee collided with its hard surface.
"Are you alright," Hermione asked, her voice whispered quietly in his ear.
"Yeah, I'm fine," he mumbled back, rubbing his now sore knee.
After walking beyond the counter and past the door that led down in the cellar, the two students warily made their way down the rickety staircase, wincing as each step they took, the stairs creaked like a lone ghost, wailing into the silent night.
Once they made their way onto the stone floor of the cellar, Harry crept out from under the cloak and opened the passageway which looked like an endless pit.
Harry whispered, "LUMOS," and his wand tip ignited immediately. "Climb in before me, Hermione," he said. She took off the cloak, handed it to him while she nodded in agreement, and climbed in.
Harry stuffed the cloak into his jacket pocket and climbed in after Hermione, shutting the passageway closed behind him.
"Well, that could've gone a lot worse," Harry said, smiling in amusement.
"Yes, well, at least we're heading back now," Hermione said back.
"Are you alright Hermione," Harry asked, noticing she had been quiet ever since sunset.
"Yeah, why?"
"You just seem quiet is all," he replied.
Hermione laughed once and said back, "Well, I can't say you're keeping up with your end of the conversation."
He smiled at her playful banter she could still share with him ever after the two had almost kissed.
"How worried do you think James and Sirius will be," Hermione asked.
"Why would they be worried?"
"The invisibility cloak is an extremely rare item. I'm sure James will be worried that we suddenly disappeared with it and I'm positive Sirius was surprised at James when he agreed to lend it to us," Hermione said knowingly.
"Yeah, well, I guess we have to give it back if I want to have a chance at escaping Hogwarts in the future," Harry said jokingly.
Hermione gave a huff and replied, "Well, you shouldn't be sneaking out of the castle anyway, especially given that Voldemort is now back."
"And what about now? Voldemort is creating chaos here in this time too, Hermione."
Hermione stopped in her tracks, turned around and looked at Harry. "I guess it's always dangerous for you, then, no matter what time we are in."
"Well, it's not so bad when you think about everyone I have with me, whether it's James, Lily, Ron, and you."
Hermione gave him a small smile in return while she replied, "Sometime, Harry, in the future, I believe there will be a time when you don't have to worry about Voldemort or about Death Eaters. You will only worry about normal problems, for once, that is of course if one can classify our problems as normal."
"It's definitely hard going on, not knowing what tomorrow will bring since Voldemort came back and all. But I guess we can't be at all surprised since Dumbledore has said he would try to return again," Harry told Hermione.
Hermione's smile faded as she nodded, turned back around, and walked on through the passageway. After a few minutes of complete silence, Hermione suddenly said, "Harry, I think someone is coming our way."
Harry looked past Hermione's shoulder and he saw a bright blue light slowly approach them. He moved in front of Hermione, trying to make out where the sudden bright light was coming from.
"Who's there," Harry called out, taking out his wand.
"There you two are! I was worried you had lost your way in the village!" James' face appeared abruptly as he lowered his ignited wand, a large smile of what looked like relief etched across his face.
"You two have been gone ages! Students are supposed to be back before nightfall, you know," James told the two of them.
"Oh, right," Harry said, "We got a little side-tracked, I guess."
"Side-tracked by what," he asked back, a hint of doubt laced within his voice.
"We were having a look at the Shrieking Shack when we noticed the village had gone quiet. When we made our way back to Honeydukes, it was already closed," Hermione said at once; Harry was impressed by her quick thinking-skills.
"Right…well come on, then," James replied, waving his hand forward. "Also, you have invisibility cloak, right Harry?"
"Yeah," Harry replied. He looked back at Hermione who gave him another knowing look, as she had correctly deduced James would be worried about his rare artifact.
"Did you two get what you needed for the Wolfsbane Potion," James asked, leading the way down the dark passageway.
"You already asked us that," Hermione replied.
"What?"
"I said, back in the Three Broomsticks, you already had asked us if we got all of the ingredients," Hermione said.
"And is there some sort of law forbidding me to ask again," James replied.
Hermione rolled her eyes and said, "Yes, James, we got all of the ingredients."
"Yeah, my mind has been elsewhere ever since I got back to Hogwarts."
Harry looked over at his father and asked, "Why?"
"Because Evans has been questioning me about how the two of you actually escaped from the castle! She keeps hounding me with all sorts of questions and theories…I feel as if I'm being questioned by the Wizengamot before being shipped off to Azkaban! It's a nightmare."
Harry laughed loudly as Hermione asked, "So how are we going to avoid her questioning us?"
"That is something I do not have the answer to, Hermione. But be warned, at her first opportunity, she's going to question the two of you again. She's one to strictly follow the rules…something I think you would abide by, Hermione."
"Of course I follow the rules! This was just one time and we only went so we could help Remus," she retorted, growing flustered at James insinuation that Hermione broke the rules on a regular basis.
"So when are thinking about starting to brew it," James asked, changing the topic quickly.
"I was thinking we could start either tomorrow or Monday."
"And where, may I ask, are you to brew a potion without getting caught," James asked, looking back at Hermione.
"The second-floor girls' lavatory," Harry and Hermione replied in unison.
"The what," James asked. "Why on earth would you brew a potion in there and what do you know of the second-floor girls' lavatory Harry?"
Harry grew wide-eyed at his mistake when Hermione intervened by saying, "I went in there the first week of term. A ghost named Moaning Myrtle haunts the loo so no one ever goes in there."
"A ghost actually haunts one of the bathrooms in Hogwarts," James asked incredulously. "And all this time, I thought Remus was giving us a go!"
"Remus knows about Moaning Myrtle," Harry asked.
"Well, I don't think he knows her name but he's heard her several times when patrolling the corridors at night."
"James, I think we should also tell Remus about the potion," Hermione said.
"And when do you think we should do that?"
"Soon…very soon. I don't know if he's going to trust us or not about the potion," Hermione replied, nervousness sifting through her voice.
"I'm sure he will. We just have to tell him it's for his benefit and that it won't harm him to drink the potion," James replied confidentially.
Silence had then ensued among the trio as they walked on through the passageway. A long while later, they finally found themselves stepping out from behind the bust of the one-eyed witch and into the wide and empty third-floor corridor of the castle.
Hermione took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, a smile gracing her face. "Are you okay, Hermione," James asked, looking over at her.
She nodded, "Yes, but being in that musty passageway for as long as we have, it just feels great to breathe in the fresh air again."
"Right," James started, shaking his head and walking down the corridor towards Gryffindor tower.
As James walked forward, Harry and Hermione walked on together. Harry had wanted to talk about what had nearly happened back in Hogsmeade Village but he didn't want James to know about it; in fact, he didn't want anyone to know about it. It felt like a personal, fragile secret between him and Hermione.
When Harry noticed James had walked on farther ahead of him he seizied his opportunity; Harry opened his mouth to talk to Hermione when he was instantly cut off by James.
"Say Hermione? What do you know of Slughorn's Christmas party?"
Annoyed, Harry heard Hermione say, "What of it?"
Ahead of them, James had stopped walking and was staring off at nothing in particular. "I just want to know about it is all."
"Well, Professor Slughorn said many of his personal contacts from within the ministry are going to be there along with some other professors and some famous Quidditch players he once taught at Hogwarts. We are actually allowed to bring guests too."
James turned to her and asked, "You are allowed to bring guests?"
Hermione nodded her head in confirmation. A small smile crept its way upon James' face as he hurried off away from the pair.
"What was that about," Hermione asked.
"I have no idea," Harry responded. "Anyway, Hermione, I need to talk to you."
"What about, Harry," Hermione asked, stopping to look over at him.
He shifted his feet nervously as he responded, "About what we almost did back in Hogsmeade."
"Oh," Hermione said quietly, her cheeks starting to burn a ferocious red. "Yes, well, um, shall we pretend that that never happened?"
Harry was taken aback by her response; in reality, Harry wanted to tell her that he had indeed wanted to kiss her. Perhaps this whole charade was a one-sided ordeal: maybe Hermione actually did not share feelings for Harry as he currently shares for her.
"Well, I guess we could do that, if you're okay with it," Harry responded, not meeting her eyes.
"Yes, um, I guess I'm alright with that," she clarified again, nodding and walking away from him.
Harry had observed before that maybe his best mate, Ron, and Hermione had shared feelings for one another. Maybe Harry was not destined to have a relationship other than friendship with Hermione; it was probable that she could end up with Ron.
As a small bout of anger mixed in with depression overcame him; he trudged on behind Hermione, trying to sort through his thoughts.
Their footsteps echoed loudly off of the wide corridors as Harry had resigned himself that his feelings for Hermione would eventually go away. The more and more he willed himself to stop thinking of Hermione, the harder it was to actually do so.
Harry and Hermione came upon the portrait of The Fat Lady. "Wattlebird," Hermione said, giving the password into Gryffindor tower.
The Fat Lady, who seemed to have dozed off, did not hear her. She looked over at Harry who gave a shrug. "Wattlebird," Harry said, slightly more forcefully.
At this, the Fat Lady awoke, her eyes fluttering open. When she looked down at Harry and Hermione she said, "And what on earth are the two of you doing up at this late hour? Waltzing about the empty halls of Hogwarts castle, are you? I have never seen such refutable behavior before by Gryffindors, such as you! Shame on those who raised you to have such little tolerance -,"
"Wattlebird!" Harry shouted the password over the lecture the Fat Lady was giving.
After giving him a rather cold stare, she granted entry to Harry and Hermione. After the two stepped over the threshold, the portrait slammed shut behind them.
"Well I guess we now know not to come back to Gryffindor tower after hours," Hermione said with a small laugh.
"Yeah, I guess not," Harry replied, looking everywhere but at Hermione. "Well, I should head up to bed then," Harry mumbled, walking over to the staircase leading up to his dormitory.
Right before Harry could step onto the staircase, Hermione called out, "Harry, wait!"
He paused and turned around to see Hermione's arms folded across her chest, concern echoing off of her facial features.
"Listen, I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry. I just had so much fun this afternoon back in Hogsmeade and I feel like I somehow ruined our day together. You have been acting differently ever since James left the two of us alone in the corridor."
"You have no need to apologize, Hermione. I just…well, I don't really know how I feel right now, actually. I guess I've never been one to share emotion of any kind."
"Do you think that has to do with you growing up with your aunt and uncle," Hermione asked, looking at Harry wearily.
"Probably to some degree," he nodded. "But it's not a big deal. I think it would be best for the both of us to forget what might've happened earlier today. I don't think it's worth it to risk our friendship over."
Hermione looked as if she wanted to respond but instead she kept silent. She walked up to Harry and asked, "Do you want to come with me to Professor Slughorn's Christmas party?"
He looked down at her, happiness seeping up through his limbs and into his heart.
"I know that it is quite random to ask you about it just now, but I've been wanting to ask you ever since I found out about the party. I think it might be fun, you know, if the two of us went together."
Harry smiled down and replied, "I think that's actually a great idea, Hermione." She smiled back up at Harry.
"Well then, I think I'll head up to bed," Hermione said awkwardly, stepping around Harry who seemed to be glued to a spot on the floor.
As Hermione bade Harry 'good night,' Harry thought to himself that until he and Hermione had to go back to their own time, he could look forward to accompanying Hermione to Professor Slughorn's Christmas party.
As the midnight hour rolled on by, Harry made a deal with himself that he would tell Hermione how he truly thought about her…even if it meant risking her friendship because in the end, it might be worth it.
Well, here is Chapter 10 to "Harry Potter and a Marauder Revival!" Chapter 11 is a work-in-progress and will be posted TOMORROW NIGHT. We have a Quidditch match to look forward to along with who Lily will ask to go with her to Slughorn's Christmas party. We are approaching a tipping point in my story in which many questions will be answered and many questions will be run anew. Let me know what you guys thought of Chapter 10 with a review!