The chirping of birds outside her window forced Hermione's sleepy eyes open. She groaned inwardly and turned her head, squinting automatically as the bright sunlight hit her full force. A breeze wafted into the room, blowing wisps of hair back from her face. The wind was cool and comforting. Obviously someone had opened the window. Something fluttering in and out of sight by it made Hermione sit up slowly, rubbing her eyes.
" ..Hedwig?" she said in delight, scrambling up from her bed and hurrying over to the window, the light bedsheets wrapping around her ankles. She tripped and her hands flew out instantly to catch herself. The big, snowy white owl gave hoots of panic until Hermione was able to steady herself. With a sheepish grin, she pushed open the window further, and Hedwig flew inside, landing gracefully atop Hermione's bed.
" Wha..wha happened?" came a groggy voice from behind her. Hermione whipped around and smiled faintly at the sight of Harry, his clothes he had been wearing yesterday still on, his glasses askew on his head, and his hair, if possible, messier than ever.
Before she could respond, Harry's half-closed eyes fell on Hedgwig, who was looking up at him expectantly. " Hedwig!" he cried out cheerfully, walking swiftly over to the bed and allowing the owl to perch on his shoulder. She gave a hoot of delight and stuck out her leg; a small piece of parchment was attached to it with gold ribbon.
" Is it from Dumbledore, Harry?" Hermione asked, looking over Harry's shoulder.
Harry nodded mutely. He unfolded the note and skimmed through it. Hermione quickly read it as well, before Harry folded it shut again.
Dear Harry,
You'll have to excuse this impromptu letter. Hedwig arrived looking awfully tired, and since I have no time at the moment to write a letter except this short note to you, I will send one of my owls to your home with my response. Say hello to Sirius and Narcissa for me..and Draco as well, I almost forgot!
Hermione must be arriving soon, shouldn't she? Say hello to her for me as well.
All my best,
Dumbledore
" I wonder where Dumbledore goes on holiday," Harry mused. He poked Hedwig slightly in her side; she ruffled her feathers in annoyance. " I've got some food in my room for you. It's in your cage. Go on," he added, giving his owl another poke.
Hermione giggled as Hedwig nipped at Harry's ear before flying out the door and into the other room. She glanced at Harry, rather shyly, not knowing what to say next. To keep herself occupied, Hermione busied herself by gathering up the bedsheets that had fallen and piling them on the bed. Then, feeling Harry's eyes watching her every move, she continued to make her bed, just like she did every morning at Hogwarts. At home, she usually forgot. That task finished, she perched upon the corner of the newly-made bed, hands clasped tightly in her lap. Hermione looked up at Harry expectantly, but he was still hovering by the bed, mouth closed. His eyes were squinted slightly and he had a faraway expression on his face, which Hermione knew all too well. Harry was thinking.
After what seemed like forever, Harry turned to Hermione, gave her a small smile, and stepped closer to her. " Are you hungry for breakfast?" he asked.
Hermione nodded, took his arm, and followed him downstairs. She tried to push thoughts of yesterday in the far back of her mind, which left only a slight, buzzing noise. Hermione snapped back to attention when she felt Harry nudging her in the side, like he had Hedwig. Obviously when she tried to push thoughts of Draco kissing her and Harry looking shattered away, it was hard to concentrate.
" Hermione!" Harry said loudly in her ear.
Hermione jumped and pulled away, frowning. " I felt you poking me, you know," she said irritably.
Harry gave her an apologetic smile. " Sorry, Mione. You looked kind of..gone for a minute."
" I was," Hermione replied back shortly, following Harry into the kitchen. Sirius was the only one sitting at the table. The aroma of freshly baked coffea filled her nostrils as she took a seat across from Harry's godfather.
" Good morning you two," Sirius greeted cheerfully, pushing a plate of bacon towards them. " I received a letter from Remus today, you know. He's doing fine. I think Dumbledore's trying to talk him into accepting another job at Hogwarts.."
Hermione was barely listening. She wondered where Draco was. Who cares, she told herself angrily, hands clenching into fists underneath the table, remembering what the jerk had done to her yesterday. I hope I don't see him for the rest of this week, she thought, her eyes narrowing slightly, yet she knew it wasn't possible. Hermione glanced at Sirius quickly, who was now in deep conversation with Harry about how the Wizarding World treated Werewolves( " It's not fair, how they're treated so unkindly."
" Yes, well, you know how others are. Narrow-minded, and all." ). She wondered why Sirius had to go and marry Narcissa Malfoy in the first place,anyway. Yes, it was true, the two loved each other. And Narcissa really was a sweet, kind person. But a nice, loving mother didn't mean nice, loving kids all the time. Who knew how Narcissa got stuck with a cold-hearted, disgusting prat like Draco for a son. He probably got his attitude from Lucius Malfoy's side of the family. Stop that. You don't mean it, she reprimanded herself. You know Draco can be a nice person when he wants to be. You're just angry because of what he did to you. Another voice inside Hermione's head shot back, Of course you should be angry after what he did! He knows you're with Harry! He doesn't care! All he wants is what's best for him!
" Hermione? Mione, you there?" came Harry's voice from what seemed miles away.
" You all right, Hermione?" added Sirius' voice.
Hermione jumped back into reality, startled. She looked sheepishly from Harry to Sirius and back again. " Yes, I'm all right. Must've dozed off for a minute," she apologized. To show Sirius and Harry that she was in fact, sane and able to think right, Hermione ate a few pieces of bacon and drank some pumpkin juice with no trouble, giving them a wide smile afterwards.
Harry chuckled and got up from the table, Hermione doing the same thing. They excused themselves from the table and Hermione followed Harry upstairs. She wasn't paying attention again and smacked into Harry's back, Harry, who had stopped in front of his room, turned and steadied his girlfriend, looking at her curiously.
" Are you sure you're all right?" he asked, his voice low.
Hermione nodded quickly and looked away, feeling shots of pink growing on her face. She really needed to start paying attention, or else Harry was bound to send her to St. Mungo's Hospital for the Ill-minded and Un-cured. She glanced up; Harry was staring at her with the utmost concern that Hermione's heart squelched. Barely thinking, Hermione pulled Harry into her bedroom and shut the door behind her. Harry looked at her in suprise then, smiling gleefully, sat atop the bed and patted the seat behind him.
" Is this what you've been thinking about, have you?" Harry asked her, smiling wickedly.
Hermione shook her head, smiling. She went to sit beside Harry, but pushed him away when he moved in to kiss her. " Harry, I need to tell you something," she said, her voice quiet and serious.
Harry's eyes widened slightly behind his glasses, and his face paled. He looked down at his hands, swallowed hard, then looked back up into Hermione's eyes. Nodding slightly, he said," Okay..I'm ready."
Chuckling to herself at the way Harry was acting, Hermione scooted in closer to him. " Harry..my mind's been on other things...about -- about what happened yesterday. And I --"
Harry cupped his hand over her mouth quickly. Hermione fell silent and he released it.
" Hermione, I've been doing some thinking too. And..and I decided to just forget about it..shall we? There's no use worrying about it so much..it's done with, right? And besides, Malfoy's really the one at fault here."
" But Harry, I still feel bad about -- "
" It's alright, Hermione. I know you feel bad. In fact," Harry said, ducking his head slightly. " I'm kind of glad you do -- " Hermione smiled. " But I'd really rather enjoy beating Malfoy's head in instead of yours."
Hermione laughed and threw her arms around Harry's neck, feeling a sense of great relief. She felt Harry patting her back and she leaned back and gave him a quick kiss, knowing that's what he was expecting when she first pulled him into the room in the first place.