Hello everyone!
Welcome to Consulting the Flower! As
some of my friends may know, this started out as a paper for English. It was
supposed to be a Valentine's Day thing, and I wanted to write about one of my favorite
couples in the world…Harry and Hermione! (Usagi and Mamoru would be too
complicated! ^_^;) Anyway, when I wrote the paper, my teacher, knowing that I
would write some huge, 100-page novel or something, gave me a terribly short
limit-2 measly pages! So, I wrote the story, but it came out much shorter than
I wanted it to, and thus, I was never quite satisfied with it. And now that I
have so much time on my hands, and I am a proud member of ff.net, I have
decided to complete my dream and restore this excellent tale to its full
grandeur! (Such descriptive words! Yay!) So, on to the story. (This is for you
Mrs. Lastra, who didn't know what you were missing or what you were messing
with when you put a limit on my creative genius!!!!! LOL)
Consulting the Flower
Rated PG, just in
case
Chapter 1: Hold On
Harry Potter, Head Boy, lay in bed in the 7th
Year boys' dorm, thinking about one thing…Hermione. Hermione Granger. She was
the only thing he could ever think about these days, their final year together
at Hogwarts. Night after night, he lay awake sleeplessly. Thinking about how he
loved her, how he longed beyond anything he had ever longed for, including
bringing his parents back to life, to tell her, and to have those feelings
returned. But how can she love me, thought
a deeply distressed Harry. I'm nothing
but a friend to her…even though I wish we were something more.
Harry had loved this girl ever since he
had gotten to know her. Even though he had a crush on Cho Chang for a little while,
it was absolutely nothing compared to the feelings he had for Hermione. He had
always wanted to tell her, but was afraid. He cherished the bond they shared,
and didn't want to ruin it. Plus, he was even more afraid that she wouldn't
feel the same way. He most certainly didn't want to hurt her. So I won't tell her… I can't bear the
thought of hurting her, he thought. Then
again… was his last contradiction, more made in his heart than his head, I don't want to lose her either… And
with this last thought, Harry Potter fell into a troubled sleep.
* * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * *
Hermione Granger, Head Girl, lay in bed in
the 7th Year girls' dorm, thinking about one thing…Harry. Harry
Potter. She was thinking about the deep longing she had to be loved by him. She
had loved him the moment she laid eyes on him, cherished every waking moment
spent with him. He was the only reason she got up in the mornings sometimes, on
those days when you feel the world is out to get you. When just the thought of
facing reality and its cruel jests is too much to bear for a single human
being. But just the thought of his smile, his voice, of just being near to him
got her up. He was her strength, her heaven on earth.
But
he'll never love me, she thought, deeply saddened. He's so wonderful, and I'm just…just… And with these last thoughts,
Hermione Granger fell asleep.
* * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * *
The next day, first day of the Christmas
holidays, Harry woke up feeling distressed. He wondered why for a moment,
trying to get his bearings, when he remembered the internal conflict he had
with himself last night, like all the nights before it. He got up, got dressed,
and headed downstairs to the Great Hall for – he checked his watch – LUNCH! He
must have gone to sleep very late, for he never woke up this late, not even on
holiday. When he walked into the Great Hall, he was not surprised to see that
it was almost empty. Most people liked to leave for the holidays. Harry, of
course, never did, seeing as the alternative was going to the Dursley's house.
This year however, he had been rid of them forever, for his godfather's name
had been cleared of all charges, and he was going to move in with him this
summer. And seeing as Sirius, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at
Hogwarts, stayed here for the holidays, Harry had another reason not to leave the
school, which had really become like home for him over the years. But even his
best friend, Ron, had left. He was spending the holiday at the Burrow with his
parents, sister, and all his brothers. He had expected to see Hermione gone
too, she had said something about visiting her parents, so he was surprised to
see her sitting at the table, reading a newspaper, and looking quite depressed.
She looks how I feel, he thought. He
pulled out a chair and sat next to her.
"Hello Hermione," he
greeted. Hermione literally jumped about a foot in the air at the sound of his
voice.
"Oh, hi Harry!"
"Weren't you going to
visit your Mum and Dad?" he inquired, slightly confused.
"Yes, well, um…a
relative got sick…and my parents wanted to be there, buts it's really very far
and I didn't want to make the trip, so I decided to stay for the holidays."
"Oh, well, cool!" he
said. Maybe, he thought, just maybe, I can use this week alone with
her to see how she feels, and maybe even get a date…He became quite excited
at the thought, and decided to take immediate action, lest his nerves and
doubts get the better of him.
"Well, I'm gonna go
to Quidditch field and practice a little," he said. "You want to come?"
"Uh…sure," she
answered timidly. Harry got up, took her by the hand, and led her to the
field.
* * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * *
Hermione sat in
the stands, watching Harry zoom around the Quidditch field. She was holding her
right hand in her left, not daring to believe what had just happened. Harry had
held her hand, taking her to the Quidditch field. It was a silly thing, she
knew, to get so excited about, people held hands all the time. He was probably
just being friendly. But she just couldn't help feeling so…
A slight whoosh of wind and the sudden appearance of Harry's face
interrupted her. She jumped, startled, and Harry laughed softly.
"Sorry I startled
you. Do you want to go for a ride?" he asked. She was confused for a minute,
then realized that he was floating on his broomstick in the stands right in
front of her.
"I'm not so sure…I
don't like flying…" she began to say.
"Come on! You flew a
broomstick when we were looking for the Sorcerer's Stone in first year, remember?
You were fine then. And then when we flew Buckbeak…"
"That was six years
since I rode a broom, I haven't even picked one up since, and when we flew
Buckbeak I almost had a heart attack…"
"Don't worry about
it, you'll be fine with me," he said, holding out his hand. She reluctantly
took it, and swung her legs over the broom. Harry pulled on it and they sped
off. Hermione instinctively grabbed him around the waist tightly.
"Oh my God…oh
Jesus…We are very high…" she
squeaked. Harry laughed again.
"Just relax," he said
soothingly. "Close your eyes." Hermione complied. She was still tense at first,
but she began to appreciate the ruffling wind, the feather-light feeling that
came with zooming around in midair. She opened her eyes, and looked down, but
was no longer afraid. She felt so free…
"Here we go," Harry
said, and she wondered for a moment what he was talking about. Then she saw him
pulling up on the broom, and they were going up…
"Oh my God!!" Hermione
screamed, grabbing Harry so tightly she was afraid he wouldn't be able to
breathe. They finished the loop, then sped around, making various sharp turns,
and then finally diving like a bird seeking it's prey…the ground rushed up
toward them, and Hermione jammed her eyes shut. They were going crash, she was
going to die…
But when she felt only a slight bump, she
opened her eyes. She was sitting in the wet, snowy grass, and beside her, Harry
was rolling with laughter on his broom a couple of feet above the ground. She
blinked stupidly, and the got the idea. Harry was in control the whole time,
and she managed to slide off somehow when he had stopped. She looked at him
with a sharp glare.
"Think that's funny
do you?"
"Yes, I do," he said,
returning her stare. They stood staring like that for a long time. Hermione
couldn't help it. The corners of her mouth twitched, and Harry let out
something of a forced snort, and then they both started cracking up for no
reason.
"Oh, yeah? I'll give
you funny!" she hid her hands behind her back, and managed to roll a clump of
snow into something that resembled a ball. She threw it at him, and it hit him
square in the face, splattering all over his glasses. He stood there,
confounded, then hopped off his broom and began to roll up snowballs of his
own.
"Ha ha HA! I'll get
you my pretty!" he cackled in an uncanny imitation of the wicked Witch of the
West, chasing her and lobbing snowballs at her. She squealed like a child with
delight as she countered ruthlessly with enchanted snowballs that followed
Harry around like seeker missiles until they hit. They ran around like
five-year-olds, and when they had finished snowball fighting, began to play a
game of tag. Hermione ran as far as her snowball-dripping, cold legs could
carry her, running past the Quidditch field onto the sloping lawns of Hogwarts,
giggling madly all the way.
"I'm going to get
you, Hermione Granger!" Harry cried, catching up to her.
"No you won't!" she
said, running faster, though that wasn't very much.
But Harry was true to his word; he ran up
directly behind Hermione, grabbing her arm. Hermione however, wasn't giving up
without a fight. She kicked snow towards Harry, making him slip, but taking
Hermione down with him. They screamed and laughed as they rolled unhindered
down a rather steep hill, coming to a stop at the bottom. Hermione's breath
came out in a fog as she laughed uncontrollably.
"I haven't – had that
much fun – since I was – a little – girl!" she exclaimed with bated breath.
"Neither have I,"
panted Harry. Hermione stared at him, and giggled harder.
"What, you were a
little girl once?" she asked between laughs.
"NO! That's not what
I said!" exclaimed Harry hotly, without laughing.
"Yes you did! I said,
'I haven't had that much fun since I was a little girl,' and you said 'Neither
have I,' meaning that you also hadn't had that much fun – since you were
a little girl!" She broke once more into hysterical laughter. Harry made a
face, but laughed too, saying,
"You win."
They lay like that, laughing in the cold
snow, for a long time. When they finally stopped laughing hard enough to get
up, they looked up the steep hill they had fallen down from, and glanced at
each other.
"Uh, Harry?" Hermione
asked. "How are we going to get back up?"
"Well, that's easy,
I'll just summon my…" But Harry couldn't just summon his Firebolt, because he
didn't have his wand.
"Um, do you have your
wand, Hermione?"
"No, I dropped it in
the Quidditch field, I think."
"Well then, it's a
steep walk, so we'd better get to it," he said, offering his hand. Hermione
took it, and they began the long walk up the hill.
It was a pretty funny sight, seeing the two
lean on each other for strength to climb the hill. It looked as though they had
entered in a two-legged race, as a matter of fact. When they had finally
finished climbing the hill and walked back to the castle, panting and dripping
wet, it was pretty late in the afternoon. But despite it all, Harry and
Hermione were still laughing.
"Remind me never
to go to Quidditch practice with you when it's snowing ever again," Hermione
commented between giggles.
"Deal," Harry agreed,
chuckling. They looked at each other's state, Hermione with hair plastered to
her face from the cold and wet, Harry's glasses askew and frosted over with
frozen drops of water, and laughed even harder.
"What got into you?"
said a deep voice from behind them. The two youths spun around to face a
grinning Sirius Black, unlike the younger pair, dry and very warm looking with
his black cotton robes and a corduroy cloak of the same color.
"I think it was the
weather," giggled Hermione, pushing back a strand of drippy hair.
"Uh huh. Well, do you
two want to come to my office? I've made some tea, and it looks like you could
use some." Harry and Hermione nodded vigorously, following their friend and
teacher.
When they reached Sirius' office, he
pointed his wand and a fire began to blaze in the grate. Another point of the
wand, this time at a kettle on the fire, and it immediately began to whistle.
Sirius sprinkled some tealeaves into the pot, then poured out three cups.
Hermione and Harry took the offered cups gratefully, sipping it and letting the
warmth flood over their cold bodies. Hermione magicked some honey into the air,
and put a plop of it into her tea.
"Thanks, Sirius. I
really appreciate it," Hermione said.
"Me too," Harry
agreed.
"I could tell,"
Sirius replied with a crooked grin. He turned to Harry and his expression
became a bit more serious.
"Hermione, do you think
I could talk to Harry? Alone? I need to speak to him about something." Hermione
shrugged, but didn't want to leave Harry after they had had so much fun.
However, her words contradicted her thoughts as she said "Sure," and walked
out, leaving the empty cup on Sirius' cluttered desk.
"Thanks," the older
man said, smiling.
"See you later," she
called, waving good-bye, and heading off to the girls dormitory, partly in
order to change, but mostly to flop onto her bed and swoon.
* * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * *
"What'd you that
for!" exclaimed Harry the moment Hermione was out of earshot.
"What? What'd I do!"
asked a shocked Sirius.
"Why'd you send
Hermione away like that!" Harry answered, beet red with anger and
embarrassment.
"Because I needed to
talk to y- Hey, wait a minute. You like her don't you?" Sirius figured
out, grinning wickedly.
"Don't be stupid, I
just thought it was rude…"
"Rude. Yeah. And
Snape's hair isn't greasy. You like her! You like Hermione! Oh, my God,
it was so obvious…"
"Shut up, Sirius.
You're acting like a little kid."
"Aw, wittle Hawwy's
all gwowed up and has a cwush…"
"I said, shut up."
"Harry and Hermione
sittin' in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G…"
"I'm warning you,
Sirius…"
"First comes love,
then comes marriage…"
"I'm not going to say
it again."
"Then comes baby in a
baby carriage! That's not all, that's not all, baby's…"
"SHUT UP, SIRIUS!!!!"
"Ok, ok." Sirius was
still grinning though. "I can't believe it, wait till Remus hears this…"
"What did you need to
talk to me about?" Harry said, pretending to ignore what Sirius just said, but
glaring daggers at him all the same.
"Oh, yes. That."
Sirius cleared his throat and stopped smiling. "It's a very serious matter of
course, so I needed to…"
"Get on with it!"
"Well, I was going to
ask if you needed me to hook you up with a date for the Christmas Ball, but it
looks like you have that covered," rushed Sirius, smiling more than ever.
Harry's eyes flashed; he took out his wand, pointed it at his godfather,
uttered something, and Sirius' robes were suddenly on fire.
"HEEEEY!!!" he
yelled, hopping around and fanning his buttocks, trying to put out the fire.
Harry smiled.
"I told you to shut
up."
