Time And Time Again
Disclaimer: I don't own anything about Harry Potter. I only own this story, Tai Parker and Austin Smith. I also have no ownership of, only borrowing the lyrics from "Not Ready To Make Nice" by The Dixie Chicks or the "Cuppycake Song" from Strawberry Shortcake.
A/N: Hey guys, there is so much to say especially since it's been about 5 years since I've updated ANYTHING but this extra long chapter is only the beginning for those of you who may still be out there. I want to send out a special apology and thank you to the wonderful reviews that I received from lilred-07, Nina Ashliee-Skye, pinkythesnowman, moonlightwitch, StarAngel613, Jenny Cullen, Kat69159, Kristen, melC, Rebehka, DanRadcliffeLuver, mandy, Kaitlyn, zoepearson and SweetBlackAngel16.
There is no excuse why I took such a long hiatus but contrary to my past actions, it is very rare that I start something and not finish it, so consider this my apology to all who consistently reviewed, personal messaged and story and author alerted me to continue this story. I am determined to finish this as well as One More Chance very soon.
To those of you that have never read Time And Time Again before, I hope you like it and I totally welcome suggestions and requests.
Chapter 11: Can I Do This?
Ron fell to the ground with the sudden weight of Hermione sagging him down. He quickly cradled his arms to catch her fall and was concerned as all hell about what just happened.
"Hermione!" Tai shouted as well and fell to her knees to keep Hermione's head from slamming to the ground as they all crowded around her.
"Wait, you guys please give her some room!" Harry knelt down next to her and snatched her out of Ron's arms quickly. "Hermione, love, can you hear me?"
He shook her head and grabbed her face with one turning it side to side and whispered directly into her ear. "Hermione?"
Dean said a spell quietly that allowed a foul smelling substance to fill the air and held his wand closer to Hermione's face. A few seconds later, her eyelids fluttered and she took in a deep breath, her body shaking against Harry's. She looked up at him and a smile of relief filled his face.
"I swear Hermione you make me worry more than Voldemort ever did," he said with a slight laugh. "Are you alright?"
She sat up slowly and blinked a few times, still trying to clear her head. "I think so. What happened? Why am I on the floor?"
"We don't know," Dean said. "You tripped and Ron here caught you. Then it was lights out as soon as he touched you. Ron, what happened?"
Tai looked at Ron, hoping that he wouldn't give away anything and could come up with a suitable enough excuse for Hermione's reaction to his touch.
"Um, nothing at all. I was, uh…simply walking toward the doorway and she tripped and fell in my arms. Maybe she's more knackered than she thought she was."
"Is that it Hermione? Are you just tired?" Tai asked with concern.
"I don't know, maybe. Perhaps I should visit Madam Pomfrey to get a once over just in case." Harry helped her to her feet and wrapped an arm around her waist.
"Sure, I'm so sorry. It didn't even cross my mind that she should make sure everything was okay," he said shamefully. "I was just so happy that you were back and you weren't hurt."
Tai took Dean's hand in hers and said, "No, it's all my fault. We should have never made you guys run out here like this. Can we come with you?"
"Sure," Hermione smiled at her. "Thank you for being so concerned. You're such a good friend."
"Of course, that's what I'm here for." The smile on her face hiding the guilt she felt in her heart. Dean kissed her forehead and they all started walking away to the Hospital Wing.
"Hmm, so this is home sweet home eh?" Austin said as his bags floated behind him and landed on his new bed in the Gryffindor boys 5th year dormitory. "This place is absolutely foul!"
The Limpiesco charm that he then uttered cleaned the area around his bed, the bed that once belonged to Seamus and while he took in his surroundings, the Eropanea charm instantly put his clothes away. "Thank gods I'm finally inside so I can use my wand again. Those bags were damn heavy."
He walked over to Ron's bed and noticed that it was made and the area surrounding was neat and tidy. 'Hm, now that's a bloke who knows how to have dorm mates. I'll have to try to meet him soon.' The bed belonging to Neville was slightly better but he was told beforehand that this was the roommate who didn't really count. Moving on to the next bed, 'Well take a look at this bed; the infamous Boy Who Lived sleeps here. He's just as messy as the other one and speaking of the other one.'
Austin walked over to Dean's bed and after clearing a spot, made himself comfortable on the edge. He leaned over to the bed head and took down a book that read, "For My Favorite You, By Your Favorite Me". The title was in Tai's handwriting and when he opened it, he saw a large picture of Tai giving Dean a kiss on his cheek again and again.
In anger and disgust, he threw the book near the foot of the bed and began to get up but curiosity over what could be inside compelled him to sit back and take advantage of this rare moment of solitude he knew he would now have in his new room.
Picking the book up again, he hurriedly flipped past the first page so as not to see the picture again and inside was a scrapbook in progress that held photos and items chronicling Tai and Dean's relationship. Coasters from bars they snuck into and napkins from restaurants were magically adhered to the pages with comments from Tai about the significance of each item.
Concert tickets that they went to "Elves and Son were so awesome but the best part was seeing them with you!", "Coldplay has the power to change lives. They changed mine and I'm so glad that you love them too!"
Pictures of Tai in a bikini on a muggle beach smiling and waving caused him to get angry once again. "Don't worry honey, everyone gets a bellyful of water at the beach!"
He closed the book when he saw the next picture of Dean setting the camera down and running over to Tai and kissing her on her lips.
"I can't believe that Tai was with him when she was with me. I told her things I've never told anyone; I really thought we had something." He closed his eyes when he allowed himself to think about how much of a fool Tai made of him that last day he saw her in their Leaky Cauldron room.
When he opened his eyes however, all traces of sadness was gone and he smiled wickedly when he thought of how Dean had no idea who he was or the connection that he and Tai shared. "Hmm, I see she didn't tell you anything about me Dean old boy; doesn't she know yet that secrets don't stay secrets for long?"
Ginny burst into the Gryffindor Common room after running straight from the Great Hall and used one of the armchairs to stop and catch her breath.
"Oh, wow, I really hope that worked. Now that I think about it….I probably didn't have to go that route to distract them but bugger it all; it got the job done in the end."
Realizing that she had to hurry, she ran up to the girl's 4th year dorm and using her wand, released a floorboard beneath her bed and began lifting bottles of liquids very carefully. She took the care to wrap the light blue, orange and dark purple liquids in separate towels and placed them into a knapsack on her bed.
Walking into a closet, she changed her clothes, taking care to keep her arms and legs covered. She then picked up the knapsack and snuck across the hall to the 5th year girl's dorm and walked over the vanity that Tai and Hermione shared. Their normally clean vanity was disheveled and Ginny had to search for a moment through the mess before she found the item she was searching for on the floor.
She picked it up and placed it carefully in the knapsack with the other items and smiled to herself saying, "Can't do any of this without you."
She gave the knapsack a slight tap then turned and walked out of the room.
"Oh, oh, oh wow…that was-that was absolutely splendid! I really needed that just then; you have no idea!"
Blaise set her back on her feet and gave her arse a tug and caress before he let her go. Kissing her lips once more, he whispered softly, "I did too. Thanks for the ride," he laughed, "or maybe it should be you thanking me in that instance."
She tapped him lightly on his chest then bent to pick up her discarded underwear, slipping them back on over her shoes and socks. She looks down to fasten her skirt and sees how late into dinner it's becoming. "Oh no, I'm so sorry I've got to go. Parvarti will freak if I don't show, especially since Hermione went missing yesterday. She's sort of on edge about that still." She began racing to button her shirt back up and when she was done, she turned back toward Blaise and kissed him once more.
She began to pull away but he held on to her waist and deepened their kiss, which sent a thrill through her that hit her right in her core. Feeling arousal start once again, she dropped the satchel that was in her hand, she wrapped a thigh around his waist and gasped through the kiss when he roughly grabbed her hair tugging it backwards, giving him more access to her mouth. She looked at him in surprise, as though she were truly seeing him for the first time.
"When am I going to see you again?" he asked.
"Well, I'm not too sure. I'm still stuck on the fact that you even want to. Look", she sighed, "I know people may think otherwise but I really haven't done this a lot. I had no idea it would even be this way between us. I was looking for comfort and I found you." She lowered her head in shame. "I just don't want you to think less of me because of what's happened."
He lifted her chin with the crook of his finger so that their eyes met. "I wouldn't, I promise. I have no intention of dismissing you; in fact I don't think you have any idea how long it's been that I wished you noticed me."
"Really?"
"Yes, I don't want this to be a one time thing either but I do think we should definitely in that instance take it slower than we did today," he said laughing.
She joined him. "You're right. I do wish I didn't have to go but I do. I'll see you later then?"
"You better believe it," he said with a smile. She smiled in return and began to walk away, thinking that this was a much lighter mood than the tears she entered the room in.
"Oh and Lavender?"
"Yes?" she replied.
"I think you should fix your hair."
She looked up in alarm, pulled her wand out of her satchel and said a quick spell to fix her hair. She smiled and ran out of the classroom.
"I'll be back to check on you in the morning, alright? Please feel better and Harry, please let me know the results when Madam Pomfrey's done? Thanks, see you guys later."
Dean walked out of the room beside Tai and watched her bite her lip. He noticed that, besides cleaning like a fiend, she always did that when she was nervous. He stopped walking and turned her around to face him.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
She sighed and looked up at him saying, "Well how do you expect me to feel? My best friend is lying in your equivalent of a hospital bed and it's all my fault, all of it."
"What are you talking about? What's all your fault?" Dean was completely baffled as to why Tai was so upset.
"I'm the reason she's in there Dean, this is all because of me and what I did!"
"What did you do?"
Tai looked at him and saw his handsome brown eyes fill with concern. She opened her mouth and screamed out loud in her mind every single thing she was feeling. She screamed out loud everything she had done to him, Harry and Hermione most of all. She imagined saying the words to him and instead of understanding, a mixture of loathing and anger filled his eyes. She could see him push her away and tell her that he never wanted to see her again, that what she did was unforgiveable.
She saw all of this and she saw that her world would end in that moment; Dean was all she had ever wanted in a guy and now that she had basically ruined any sort of friendship she had with Harry and Hermione possibly forever, Dean was all she had left and she was determined not to lose him too.
"Tai, baby what are you talking about? What's all your fault?"
"I – I…um, when I say I, I really meant to say we?" she said with a shrug.
"We?" a look of sheer confusion still masked onto his face.
"Yeah, we. We both knew that she wasn't feeling well but we were so convinced that it was impossible to see them behind the pillar going at it then 30 seconds later sitting in the dining hall eating, that we didn't even hesitate to bring them out there. I bet that's why she fainted, the exhaustion she must have been feeling since her ordeal probably finally caught up with her."
"Oh, well don't condemn yourself Tai. That was an honest mistake; I mean we absolutely no idea she was that out of it and you remember how shocked we were that they were basically in two places at the same time? I mean think about it, if it was them, how could we hurry them from the dining hall to watch themselves have a roll. I mean, this entire episode was bonkers from the start!" he said with a laugh, garnering a small laugh from her as well.
"I guess you're right. You have such an annoying way of always being right," she said wrapping her arms around his neck in a loose embrace, standing on her tiptoes to look into his eyes.
"See now if we can get you to just understand that right from the start, we'll have fewer problems." He looked at his watch and groaned. "Oh no love, I promised myself I would visit Professor McGonagall to get some advice about my new position. I start on Monday and I really want to do a good job."
"Alright then. I'll just go up and go to bed. I have to get up really early and come back to sit with Hermione."
"You know you're such a good friend? She's so lucky that she has you looking out for her." He tightened their embrace and gave her a kiss that made her feel warm inside. Reluctantly releasing her, "Now you get back safe, alright? Don't need anything happening to you too.
"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow."
"Bye", Dean said, walking away from her.
As she watched him leave, she thought to herself, "I can't lose you Dean. I just can't."
Lavender walked out of the dining hall and headed back toward the Gryffindor Common Room, reliving each moment that she spent with Blaise. It was so sudden and unexpected and although her heart was still hurting from Ron's rejection for his mystery woman, she found herself excited about the prospect of Blaise being a fixture in her life. She laughed out loud at the thought.
'Wow, slow down there stallion. This is the most you've ever spoken to him since you two started school together. If he meant what he was saying and wants to continue whatever this is, we do need time to get to know each other better. I most definitely cannot handle another relationship like the one I had with Ron.'
From the beginning, Lavender always felt the presence of a third person in their relationship and she would be damned if she allowed Ron to ruin any part of potential future happiness.
'Blaise, oh, Blaise…wow I mean the way he curls his tongue alon-' Lavender hit solid flesh and fell to the floor in a heap. Her mind had wandered so far, she bumped into another person and didn't even realize she was in their way.
"Oh, I'm such a dolt, I'm so sorry; do you need any help?" She looked and met the eyes of her recent ex's little sister. "Oh, Ginny. Did I hurt you?"
Ginny looked at Lavender with scorn. 'Well if it isn't Ron's little whore living up to her nuisance title.' She ignored Lavender's outstretched and pulled herself up. "I don't need any of your help. You've done quite enough you… oh no, oh no!"
"What's wrong Ginny?"
"You stupid bloody git! Look what you've done!" Ginny screamed and pointed to the floor where her knapsack lay with liquid seeping out of it. She quickly opened it up and in her relief found that the bottles were intact with only the orange liquid's cork coming undone.
'No way, it took me weeks to collect that; I've got to save this somehow', she thought. "I've got it", she said aloud. She grabbed the sleeve of her robe and ribbed the fabric from around her arm. With the scrap cloth, she applied pressure to her knapsack and collected as much of the liquid as she could from it as well as from the floor and proceeded to ring it back into the bottle.
Lavender simply watched in amazement at the desperation of the act. "Why don't you just charm it back inside if you need it so much? I can help you." She took out her wand and prepared to say an extraction spell.
"No! Don't do anything else you idiot, you've done enough. You'll kill us all!" She was done replacing the liquid and had already put the cork back on the bottle. Her hand was now clutching Lavender's wand hand in disgust. But Lavender was too focused on the bruises on Ginny's arm than the malice in her eyes.
"Oh my gods Ginny! What the hell happened to you?" She exclaimed in shock.
Flustered that her arm was exposed, she quickly took her arm and placed it inside her knapsack. "Forget about it alright, it's none of your business!"
"But Ginny you're hurt. Does Ron know?"
"For the love of Merlin, just stop trying to help alright Lavender? I can take care of myself!" She turned with a huff and began to stalk away, determined not to be any later than she already was.
Lavender shook her head and looked down toward the ground. It was then that she spotted the brush. She picked it up and shouted, "Wait, Ginny!"
Ginny spun around quickly and yelled, "What Lavender? What do you want? I said to drop it!"
"Look, why don't you drop the attitude, you miser! I just wanted to let you know that you dropped something! But since you've got things handled yourself, you can pick it back up!"
She promptly threw the brush down the hall and turned her back to walk away. She simply would bring up what she saw on Ginny's arm tomorrow with Ron. Even though he broke her heart, she still knew that she would be there for him no matter what.
Ginny sighed, picked up the brush and quickly left as well.
It was only upon entering the passageway for Gryffindor did it cross her mind also that she had handed Ginny, Hermione's hairbrush.
Draco impatiently paced around his room wondering to himself how long it would take for Ginny to get there. 'She is so lucky that I need her there as a distraction for everyone to think that I've given up on Hermione or I would have discarded of her a long time ago!"
Ginny burst through the door and looked at him with apologetic eyes. "I'm sorry, I know I'm late. Halfwits roaming about in the halls without supervision equal trouble but I do have everything. I promise", she added when she saw the look of scrutiny glaring back at her.
"Fine then. Did you write the note and lay it out exactly like I told you?"
"Yes, I promise, everything is in place and I'm positive that no one expects a thing."
"Alright then, I promised my Father that we would reach him before the morning so we've got to hurry. Everything has to be ready by next term." He shrunk a few of his bags filled with equipment and Ginny's knapsack and placed them in his pocket. Draco then summoned his Firebolt 7000 into his hands and positioned himself on the ledge of the window.
"Why so soon?" she asked, taking his hand to climb aboard the broom herself.
"The sooner we're done brewing, the more potent it is for us both", he shook his head in irritation at her questions. 'Besides, I can't wait any longer to have her back.'
Tai walked into the Gryffindor Common Room and spotted Austin sitting on a couch while he watched Lavender ascend the stairs. Even turning the corner, he followed her until she disappeared.
Only after she was out of sight, did he let Tai know that he knew she was watching him. "How are you Tai?"
Warily making her way closer, "I'm fine. How are you? Are you settled in okay?"
"Oh, yes", he chuckled. "I had a blast searching through my new room, especially that Dean fellow's belongings. You and he seem to be incredibly close." He chuckled at the wrinkle forming in her forehead.
"In fact, it almost seems as though the two of you know everything there is to know about each other which makes me wonder, how much does he know about me?"
"H-h-he knows p-pret-pretty much all there is…to know, why are you asking me this Austin?
His eyes narrowed instantly as the time for playing games with her was over. "Because you're a liar Tai! You were a liar when I met you and you're lying now. We spent weeks together! I told you I loved you after we made love and you return the favor by telling me about your bloke back home!"
"Austin, I know that I messed up with you okay? Believe me, I do. But I just couldn't do it anymore! I was hurting inside because I was lying to you both and I never wanted to hurt either of you. You're a really good guy and I didn't treat you the way you deserved, at all. And for that I am so, so sorry Austin!" Tai pleaded with him to forgive her for how she had treated him so long ago and when she took a step closer and placed her hand on his cheek, she saw for the first time the deep hurt she had caused him.
"Please forgive me Austin." Her soft voice filled his thoughts and the softness of her hand against his face caused him to close his eyes as he drifted back in memory of the good times that they did have together. None of those thoughts however could stop the ever present bite from how cold he felt when she wrapped herself in the blanket from the bed and walked out of their room and out of his life.
He flung her hand away from his face and with his eyes still closed, he stated, "I heard this song on the radio once right after you did what you did and they were girls singing it so it shouldn't have applied to me but it was so perfect. Do you know what song I'm speaking of Tai?"
"No, I don't."
He laughed to himself and started to say slowly in a low voice, "Forgive…sounds good. Forget, I'm not sure I could. They say…time heals everything…but I'm still waiting."
"Austin, please-!"
"NO Tai! I really don't want to hear it. You have no idea what you put me through but I'll tell you what, I'm going to do you a favor. I'm going to give you a choice despite the fact that you never gave me one."
Tai shuddered at the chill she heard in his voice. "What do you mean?"
He sighed and stared at her saying, "I mean it's blatantly obvious that Dean has absolutely no idea what's going on, because you're lying to him as well. Hmm, and this is the man you say you love and who you walked out on me for? Well, like I said you have a choice, either he is told about every single thing that happened between us….."
"Or?" She couldn't believe that he was actually going to attempt to blackmail her. "What's the other option Austin?"
"Or", he said with a smile, "you can never refuse me."
"What the hell do you mean?" She simply had to hear him say it again because he could NOT mean what she thought.
"You heard me Tai, anytime I call or ask for you, anywhere and no matter what, you can't refuse me!"
Tai let out a whimper as a tear fell down her cheek. "You can't be serious Austin!"
"Take it or leave it but there's no negotiations for this."
"I can-I can't do that! I can't do that to Dean, not again! I'd rather come clean." She couldn't believe that after everything she did to hide her indiscretions, she had no choice but to come clean and hope for the best.
"Oh, that's so sweet that you now want to be noble. Oh, well then let's go find him and let him know right now. I don't know about you but I'm incredibly excited!" He turned around and headed toward the exit.
"Wait! Please just wait!" She looked at him in disbelief with what she was about to say, "Alright, I'll do it. I'll do it just please don't tell Dean, please!"
Austin looked at me in shock and all of a sudden, he just exploded, "What the hell is wrong with you? Why is it that you're willing to risk everything for him? You were willing to risk me! You're willing to basically to sell yourself to me for my silence! Why?"
I turned away from him, not really sure what to say, "You know when you said that you loved me when we were in Diagon Alley together? In a way I knew you didn't mean it and the thought that immediately crossed my mind was, how would I feel if Dean was saying this to another girl behind my back?"
"And I knew then I would have been devastated because the entire reason why I was having a relationship with you behind his back in the first place hit me dead in the face! I was in love, for the first time and I didn't know how to handle it at first! But I knew now that I if I were to lose it, my life would be worthless. You know that I don't have any family, he's all I have left."
She stopped screaming and simply looked at him, accepting and fully committing to the choice she had just made. "That's why I can do this, I have to be able to; I love him way too much to hurt him with this. I'll do it…but we have to make an Unbreakable that you can never tell him or anyone else what's going on. Promise me Austin!"
"Alright, I promise. As long as you hold up to your end of the bargain, you have my word Tai."
The effects of the day's events finally caused Tai to break down into tears. "I'll make up the draft and give it to you tomorrow." She turned around and ran up the stairs as quickly as she could without falling but she could hear him shout behind her, "I'll be waiting for you Tai."
She ran into her dorm room and collapsed onto her bed in tears. "I can't believe this is happening. Everything is falling apart."
The tears continued to flow and after awhile, she got up to hear an owl pecking on the glass of her room. She opened up the window and in flew a mail owl carrying a letter. She plucked it up when he dropped it on her vanity and fed him a treat before he flew away.
It simply said, To My Beloved and it when she saw it was in Dean's handwriting, another tear escaped.
Hello My Love,
I wish I could tell you good night in person in our favorite way but this'll have to do until I see you again tomorrow. Sleep tight my love and don't worry too much about Hermione. She's going to need you and I to get over this, especially you.
I love you Baby
Dean
Tai immediately placed the letter down on the vanity and bit her lip, her mind racing a mile a minute. 'I have to do this, I can't lose this. I cannot lose him.' As she tried to convince herself that she made the right decision, she rearranged the vanity. She always cleaned when she was stressed and tonight was definitely no exception. 'Where's my hairbrush?'
Tai wiped the still flowing tears from her face and miserably looked around the vanity; still not finding it, delegated her search to the floor. 'Oh, there it is, wait a minute, this is Hermione's brush', she thought as she could see Hermione's initials etched on the brush's side. 'Where's mine?'
"You're my honey pie, sugar bunch, spunky unky unkins, you're my sweetie pie-"
"Oh my gods, Harry please stop it. I can't take too much more of this, love", Hermione giggled. "Well, why did you stop?"
She laughed at the look of disbelief on his face at her comment. "You've been putting down my singing voice ever since Dean and Tai left and now you're asking me why I've stopped?"
"Oh Harry, you should know by now that I love every single part of you and I guess if your singing voice has to be a part of the package then I'll just have to accept that as well", she smiled softly at him.
"You know I love you, right?" He got up from his chair and slid in next to her in the small hospital bed.
"Of course I do. It's the only reason why I could think that you would choose to put up with all of this", she said in slight frustration.
"What are you talking about Hermione?"
"You know exactly what I'm talking about Harry. The abusive ex, the nosy best friend, the strange and unexplainable disappearances even a fainting episode? I mean, you're not used to this from me."
"What is this?"
"You're not used to me being the weak one. I've always been the strong one for both you and Ron and it seems everything that's been happening lately has involved me being rescued in some form or fashion. I'm just not familiar with this whole damsel in distress act. It all feels so entitled."
Harry watched as she looked down at her hands and twisted her fingers while she spoke. It was all he could do to not hug her tightly in his arms. The love he felt for her overwhelmed him in that moment. "You know Remus told me last year that when we first got together, he was really concerned. He thought that perhaps we got caught up in all the hysteria and only got together because we shared a near death experience with each other. I mean tried to argue that Ron and I shared the same experience and we're not in love or anything but I guess that's neither here nor there."
She laughed and kissed his neck while she burrowed deeper into his side. "Hey, you better stop that while we're in this room, I really want you to hear this. Remus thought that maybe we were making a mistake because I had had so much instability in my life and you were so focused and caring. I think in a way he felt that you, as determined as you were, would give the best of yourself for the people that you care about and I had to let him know that what we have together is real. Did I think that you would sacrifice your last for me? I did, but I also knew that I would do the exact same for you Hermione. Time and time again when you need me, I'm going to be there for you because I truly know that you are it for me."
"I know that you really do mean that Harry. I know you're it for me also I remember when you told me that in Hogsmeade; I just want everything to settle down again. There are so many problems that just keep cropping up and it just causes me to worry about our relationship. I know that I shouldn't and I really do try not to but I want us to just be able to live our lives without the constant drama. I truly want you to know that I'm going to do everything in my power to get us back on track."
"Hermione, this is ridiculous, we were never off track. I love you, I have since the beginning; it's never stopped. I'm here for you because I want to be, not because I feel I have to." He pleaded with her to understand what he was saying.
"So you're saying that you're okay with all of this? I just don't want to push you away Harry. Things were finally starting to become stable since Voldemort and I want you to have some sort of normality in your life. Can you at least understand where I'm coming from with this?"
Harry sighed and burrowed further down to look at her before he spoke. "Of course I understand love, but you need to understand me; you make my life normal. I actually have a life to look forward to now because of you. So you better believe that you may be a little high maintenance but I think I can put up with that."
Hermione laughed and began to tickle him on his chest and stomach. "Oh, how dare you? I'm going to get you Harry Potter!"
He laid his head on her shoulder and laughed, "I'm afraid that's not going to happen, Ms. Granger."
"And why not?"
"Well, you never lost me and I promise you sweetheart, you never will." Hermione cupped his cheek in her hand and kissed him lightly. "I love you Harry.
"I love you too….my honey pie, sugar cake, special pumpkin umpkin bumpkin…"
Hermione laughed, "You're a bumpkin and a git, those are not the words my sweetheart."
"Then what are the words?" He whispered directly into her ear.
"Well I'm not quite sure but I think we can figure it out together. Now I'm almost positive the 'You're my honey pie part is correct, sugarbunch, eh…."
He kissed her neck and laughed, "Eh hey?"
"Yes, just eh", she laughed into a kiss. "Scrumple umple….."
They continued singing the silly song to each other and eventually the medicine Madam Pomfrey gave Hermione kicked in and she drifted off to sleep. Harry continued to lay beside her singing her the song before he too fell asleep.
Ron stood outside the Hospital Wing holding a bouquet of lilies and a handwritten note. The image that met him was not surprising but still hurt nonetheless. The look of contentment on Hermione's face made him happy as it was all he ever wanted for her. He recognized that Harry looked content as well and the guilt and resentment that he had been harboring against Harry for two years bubbled to the surface and spilled over.
This bloke was his former best friend, someone who he fought with against the face of death, could he really throw all that away for a woman who never wanted him to begin with? A woman who told him in no uncertain terms that she would never forgive him for raping her when he kidnapped her.
With a sigh of reluctance, Ron knew that he needed to make a decision about what he should do but even knowing that, Ron grew angry at the happy couple sleeping mere feet away from him without a care in the world it seemed. His anger then suddenly manifested itself physically and the flowers that were already bruised and crumpled in his heads became lit in flames. He flung the flowers to the floor and walked away from the sight; knowing that he needed to make a decision about what he was going to do but not noticing that the card in the bouquet did not burn.
A/N: Thank you guys so much for reading, please read and review and let me know what you think!