Chapter Twelve.

Harry crashed down on Hogwarts grounds only moments later, grunting loudly at the pain in his hand. He scrambled to his feet and ran the distance, focusing hard on the towers before him instead of his aching body.

It had grown dark outside, and cold. The first snowflakes of the year came drizzling down and buried themselves in Harry's hair, melting into his collar and down his back. He scarcely felt it. All he could think about was the image of his hand, wrapped around Hermione's throat, and her blouse, stained with dark red blood.

When he finally burst into Hogwarts, he sprinted straight into the Great Hall, where hundreds of students were sitting at their dinner, chatting and laughing heartily. As Harry, looking wild and limping, hurried to the Gryffindor table, their faces turned and their mouths fell quiet. A murmur rose up into the air, and Harry soon heard his name echo back at him from all four walls.

Harry spotted Ginny sitting with Luna, Neville, and Dean. He hadn't spoken to Ginny since his fight with Ron, but she was still the closest thing to Hermione's best friend, and Harry didn't feel that this was the time to yield to awkwardness.

'Ginny!', Harry called out, and she turned around immediately, her eyes widening as she spotted Harry rushing towards her.

Harry came to an abrupt halt before her and rested heavily on the table. 'Where's Hermione?', he demanded, breathing hard.

Ginny frowned. 'I- I don't know. Why are you-'

'Well – where have you last seen her?'

'This morning at breakfast, but-'

'She's in the library', Luna said with a bright, unassuming smile. 'She's catching up on some reading for-'

Harry thanked her quickly, turned promptly, and ran from the Hall, leaving hundreds of frowning faces behind. Up the stairs he sprinted, two steps at a time, apologising continuously to the protesting students he knocked into. He hurried down the corridor and into the library, exerting himself to be as calm and unobtrusive as possible, though his heart was beating with what felt like a dozen beats per second.

It was quiet within the library, and thick snowflakes tapped rhythmically against the tall windows. Harry limped from row to row, peering in to see, his hand closed around his wand. He was prepared to jump at any moment and the spell lay ready at the tip of his tongue, but as he neared the final rows of bookcases and didn't see Hermione, his heart began to beat even harder, and a constricting feeling took hold of his lungs.

Harry came to a halt before the final row. Be here, Harry begged. Right here.

He spun around the corner, his eyes flashing from left to right. In the back, near the window, a girl with sleek, blonde hair sat lost in thoughts, tapping her quill against parchment restlessly. To her left and a little closer to Harry stood a Ravenclaw boy, running his fingers across the abundance of leather spines, tilting his head so as to find the correct book. They were there, but Hermione wasn't.

The pain in his body suddenly stung twice as hard, and Harry felt lightheaded as the images of Hermione's blood crept back into his mind. No, he thought. She has to be here. The library, she-

'Harry?'

Harry spun around as if he'd been struck by lightning and looked straight into Hermione's wondering eyes. He gasped at the sight of her and couldn't stop himself. 'Hermione!', he breathed, and his arms wrapped reflexively around her.

Hermione stiffened in surprise, unaccustomed to Harry's overly affectionate behaviour.

'You're all right', Harry sighed, feeling relief wash over him like a flood wave. He let go of Hermione, only to make sure that she was indeed unharmed. She was, of course, fully intact, and looked at him quizzically as Harry studied her face. Her brows were set in a deep frown, her eyes studied him as he did her, and her lips had pursed as they often did when she felt tense.

'Yes, Harry – I'm perfectly fine. Are you all right?', she looked at him with concern, and then regarded the sweat on his foreheat, his slanted posture, and the wand held tight in his hand. 'What are you doing here?', she whispered. 'Why do you look so… well-' With the hand that wasn't wrapped around her book, she motioned up and down.

Harry smiled at her assessment and had to keep himself from hugging her again. He hadn't felt this relieved in months, he knew. Ever since they'd argued and Hermione had left, he'd felt like something was missing… something important. Every day that he'd spent away from her and every day that had gone by without receiving word from her had been harder than the last, and Harry could no longer deny, especially after what had just happened in the Training Hall, that he was unable to suppress his feelings for her any longer. He wasn't even sure he wanted to try.

But then, quite quickly, the realisation set in that if Hermione was okay now, she wouldn't be in a while. Harry's smile dropped.

'I-', he stuttered, and he swallowed. 'I just came back from Training. With the Aurors. I just- I just wanted to make sure you were okay.'

Hermione's frown softened, and a slight blush crept into her freckles cheeks. 'I-I'm fine, Harry, thank you. Besides, I should have answered your letters. I just didn't know-'

'It's fine', Harry said quickly, and he nodded assuringly. 'You're fine. It's fine.'

Hermione smiled again and picked unconsciously at the leather of her book.

'Hermione', Harry said then, rather impulsively. 'I need you to come back to Godric's Hollow with me.'

'What- Why?!'

The scraping of a throat made them turn around, and Madam Pince looked at the pair gravely from behind her desk.

Hermione took Harry's arm and half guided, half dragged him towards the exit of the library. Another scrape of Madam Pince's throat made her stop dead in her tracks, glance down at the book in her hands, put in down, smile quickly and apologetically, and walk out of the library.

Harry wasted no time. 'I need you to come back with me', he repeated, before Hermione had even shut the door.

Hermione's frown deepened again. 'Harry, I can't. I have to be here, I can't study at your place and heaven knows I won't have access to a library, and besides, we-', she stopped herself suddenly, closed her mouth, and blinked twice. 'Why?', she said, finally.

Harry opened his mouth and stared at Hermione. Why, he asked himself. 'Because I've just found out someone will try to kill you' didn't seem like the right answer, and if he said: 'because I need to protect you', she'd laugh and say she could protect herself perfectly well, thank you very much. Harry swallowed, and stared deep into Hermione's questioning eyes.

Without lying, he said: 'Because I miss you.'

Hermione looked startled.

'Because we parted terribly, last Spring, and I- I want to make things right.'

Hermione realised that she had waited for words like these since she'd left Harry standing in the hills. She'd missed him too, and when she looked at him now, she wanted nothing more than to go with him. Still, she also remembered the pain she suffered after his rejection. She'd taken a chance, that day… something that she had wanted to do for ages, something that she'd thought Harry had wanted, and it had backfired completely. She'd been heartbroken for weeks.

'Harry-', Hermione whispered, and she looked at him apologetically.

'Please', Harry asked again, and he stepped a little closer to her. When Harry breathed in, he felt the sharpness of spearmint in the back of his throat. 'Just for a while, Hermione… please.'

Hermione's heart skipped a beat and she instinctively raised her chin, staring into Harry's pleading eyes. Defiant, yet willing, her head battled her heart, until finally she felt Harry's fingers brush against her own, and her head backed away.