p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"strongemspan style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"Three weeks ago/span/em/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"strongspan style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" /span/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"Harry sighed as he collapsed into a chair, defeated. He'd heard the crack of the apparition. Ron had sealed the deal; he and Hermione were alone. Hermione shuffled into the tent, trying to hide her tears, though Harry wished she wouldn't. After all they'd been through, shouldn't she know not to hide her emotions from him?/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;""He's g-g-gone! Disapparated!" She said between breaths. She shifted side to side, wringing her hands. There was a long silence between them, neither daring to speak about it. Instead, Harry chose to focus in on the steady pelting of rain drops on the roof of the tent. He closed his eyes. What he wouldn't give to be on the quidditch pitch right now. No Voldemort, no horcruxes, and no best friend leaving him. Just the wind, the rain, his firebolt, and the snitch./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"Horcruxes… while it was clear what caused Ron's outburst, it couldn't be everything. Was he wrong, after all? Dumbledore hadn't really given him much to go on. He'd been pointed out into the world and told to destroy at least five horcruxes, and then Snape killed him. Ron's words started to bounce around in his head, over and over./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"emspan style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;""Your parents are dead. You have no family."/span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"emspan style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" /span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"He was right. What family did Harry Potter have? His parents had been murdered, and his extended family… it was best not to think about. He got his godfather killed, all because he couldn't just listen to Hermione. Molly and Arthur were great, but they could never be a real substitute, despite how fond of them he was. That left Ron and Hermione. Well, Hermione./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"Harry was only vaguely aware that Hermione had collapsed into her bed, likely in tears. He decided that perhaps not bothering her was the best course of action and let her work it out on her own./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"emspan style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;""I get it. You choose him."/span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"emspan style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" /span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"He had to cough to cover the snort that suddenly forced its way out. emAs bloody if. /emHermione had been falling over herself for Ron for a couple years now. He knew that Ron was always a jealous git, but Hermione had been clear as crystal that she didn't have interest in him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"Why had she stayed?/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"The question permeated his being, intense and all-consuming. Why on earth would she choose to stay behind with him, half starving on the run, when she could go with Ron and be nourished, possibly leave the island to escape Voldemort permanently?/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"After wrestling with it for nearly half an hour, he got up from the chair, and slowly shuffled towards Hermione's bed. She was huddled in a pile of blankets, her form largely hidden. Attempting to softly say her name, his voice stalled. He decided instead to sit at the edge of the bed, watching where her head should be./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"She stirred briefly but went still. If she was still crying, Harry couldn't tell. He realized that he had come over to her without really knowing what to say. Words normally came to him when the time presented itself, but he found himself without a clue./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;""Hermione, I-" He stalled off when Hermione sat up suddenly, putting a finger to his lips. She was a right mess. Puffy eyes, blotchy face, the works. A fierce look of determination graced her features, and the combination made her quite scary./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;""Harry, no. We're not talking about this tonight. There is so much to be said… just let it wait until tomorrow, okay?" She asked. Her finger dropped from his lips lamely as he nodded, and he started to make his way to take watch./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;""Harry please don't. No taking watch tonight. Just sleep. In fact, please come here. Please. For me."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"He looked back at her quizzically. She had already scooted over to allow him space on the small bed. Her stare was strong and challenging, daring him to say no. He tried to hide his small flash of embarrassment as he slipped under the covers next to Hermione Granger. As he drifted off to sleep, his best friend against him, he realized with horror that Hermione would be there when he woke up. He was able to correct nothing though before giving in to the heaviness in his eyelids,/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"strongspan style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" /span/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"Harry sighed as he collapsed into a chair, defeated. He'd heard the crack of the apparition. Ron had sealed the deal; he and Hermione were alone. Hermione shuffled into the tent, trying to hide her tears, though Harry wished she wouldn't. After all they'd been through, shouldn't she know not to hide her emotions from him?/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;""He's g-g-gone! Disapparated!" She said between breaths. She shifted side to side, wringing her hands. There was a long silence between them, neither daring to speak about it. Instead, Harry chose to focus in on the steady pelting of rain drops on the roof of the tent. He closed his eyes. What he wouldn't give to be on the quidditch pitch right now. No Voldemort, no horcruxes, and no best friend leaving him. Just the wind, the rain, his firebolt, and the snitch./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"Horcruxes… while it was clear what caused Ron's outburst, it couldn't be everything. Was he wrong, after all? Dumbledore hadn't really given him much to go on. He'd been pointed out into the world and told to destroy at least five horcruxes, and then Snape killed him. Ron's words started to bounce around in his head, over and over./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"emspan style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;""Your parents are dead. You have no family."/span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"emspan style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" /span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"He was right. What family did Harry Potter have? His parents had been murdered, and his extended family… it was best not to think about. He got his godfather killed, all because he couldn't just listen to Hermione. Molly and Arthur were great, but they could never be a real substitute, despite how fond of them he was. That left Ron and Hermione. Well, Hermione./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"Harry was only vaguely aware that Hermione had collapsed into her bed, likely in tears. He decided that perhaps not bothering her was the best course of action and let her work it out on her own./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"emspan style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;""I get it. You choose him."/span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"emspan style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" /span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"He had to cough to cover the snort that suddenly forced its way out. emAs bloody if. /emHermione had been falling over herself for Ron for a couple years now. He knew that Ron was always a jealous git, but Hermione had been clear as crystal that she didn't have interest in him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"Why had she stayed?/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"The question permeated his being, intense and all-consuming. Why on earth would she choose to stay behind with him, half starving on the run, when she could go with Ron and be nourished, possibly leave the island to escape Voldemort permanently?/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"After wrestling with it for nearly half an hour, he got up from the chair, and slowly shuffled towards Hermione's bed. She was huddled in a pile of blankets, her form largely hidden. Attempting to softly say her name, his voice stalled. He decided instead to sit at the edge of the bed, watching where her head should be./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"She stirred briefly but went still. If she was still crying, Harry couldn't tell. He realized that he had come over to her without really knowing what to say. Words normally came to him when the time presented itself, but he found himself without a clue./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;""Hermione, I-" He stalled off when Hermione sat up suddenly, putting a finger to his lips. She was a right mess. Puffy eyes, blotchy face, the works. A fierce look of determination graced her features, and the combination made her quite scary./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;""Harry, no. We're not talking about this tonight. There is so much to be said… just let it wait until tomorrow, okay?" She asked. Her finger dropped from his lips lamely as he nodded, and he started to make his way to take watch./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;""Harry please don't. No taking watch tonight. Just sleep. In fact, please come here. Please. For me."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"He looked back at her quizzically. She had already scooted over to allow him space on the small bed. Her stare was strong and challenging, daring him to say no. He tried to hide his small flash of embarrassment as he slipped under the covers next to Hermione Granger. As he drifted off to sleep, his best friend against him, he realized with horror that Hermione would be there when he woke up. He was able to correct nothing though before giving in to the heaviness in his eyelids,/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" /span/p