Hermione was worried. Three days before, Harry had told her something that
made her blood run cold.
"Dumbledore has reason to believe that he's here," were the exact words that had come out of his mouth. Voldemort, here! Hogwarts, the safest place on Earth. Hermione just simply couldn't believe it.
"Well, you've told Ron, haven't you?" She'd asked him that day. Harry had shaken his head no.
"You're the only one I've told so far. I'm not telling very many people, just you and Ron. But I wanted you to be the first one to know."
This had secretly pleased Hermione. He told her something first, confided in her before he told anybody else. In her secret little dream world, this meant that he loved her back. "Ha, if he only did!" she had thought to herself.
Now, here they were, three weeks later. Harry and Hermione were in the Gryffindor common room, and the rest of the Gryffindor students were slowly going up the stairs to the dorm rooms. Soon, Harry and Hermione were the only two people in there. They moved to a couch by the fire, because it was starting to get colder. Hermione was feeling rather bold that evening, so she laid her head in Harry's lap as the two talked.
"But anyway, I'm not really that scared. I mean, Dumbledore's here, and he's the only wizard that Voldemort's ever been afraid of. Dumbledore is keeping me under careful watch, he told me the other day. I don't think that anything'll happen, but if it does, I'm ready for it." Harry had been saying. Hermione was so comfortable there in his lap.she felt as though she could stay like that for forever. Just the two of them, together like this always. "Hermione?" Harry asked with concern. "Are you alright? You've got that funny look on your face again."
Hermione snapped out of her trance. "Oh yes, Harry I'm fine!" Hermione blushed. She had been thinking about Harry again. She smiled at him. "Just thinking about things."she trailed off. "Thinking about you, of course!" she thought to herself. He smiled back.
"Hermione? I've got something I want to tell you. I, well I..Hermione, I love you." Harry blushed furiously as he said this. Hermione was shocked. She didn't know what to think.her dreams had just come true! Harry Potter had said that he loved her. He really said it!
"Oh Harry, you don't mean it, do you?" Hermione couldn't keep the smile off her face.
"Of course I mean it, stupid. Why else would I say something like that?" Harry looked embarrassed, and he couldn't look Hermione straight in the eye. Smart, confident, brave, Harry Potter was scared of the reaction that he was going to get.
"Oh Harry!" Hermione threw her arms around Harry's neck and kissed his cheek. "I love you too!" She said. She could barely hold in her excitement.
"You.you mean it?" Harry asked. His brilliant green eyes lit up, and his pink cheeks grew even darker.
"Of course I mean it, stupid. Why else would I say something like that?" she smiled down at him. Harry laughed, then hugged Hermione.
"You don't know how long I've been waiting to tell you that, it's been killing me! I never thought you would feel the same! That's why I hesitated so long. Ron's been at me for ages, trying to get me to tell you."
"The same with me! He's known since our third year, and he's been after me to tell you for a while now! I never thought that you would feel the same way. Famous Harry Potter, I never thought that you would love some brainy geek like me," Hermione said. She was so happy, she couldn't contain her excitement. "He loves me!" she thought to herself.
"Your not anywhere near a geek, Hermione. I think you're beautiful," Harry smiled at her. "The most beautiful girl I've ever seen," he said softly. He leaned in to kiss her, but they were interrupted by somebody laughing.
"It's about time you two told each other!! It was getting annoying, with all those secret looks and wishful sighs you've been having!!" Ron had snuck down the stairs and had been watching the whole process.
"Ron, you git!" Hermione smiled at him. If it wasn't for him, they still wouldn't have known anything about Harry. She silently thanked him, and made a mental note to thank him in person later on.
The three friends sat talking, Harry and Hermione sitting closer to each other than usual. They were interrupted again at around one in the morning, by the portrait hole being opened hastily.
McGonagall and Dumbledore came flying in. McGonagall's hair was flying about her head, and Dumbledore's eyes had lost their usual twinkle. Both of them looked frantic. "Harry!" McGonagall cried when she saw him.
"Harry, listen to me. These are very dangerous times, and we are not going to be able to protect you all the way. Word from the Ministry confirms that Voldemort is here, at Hogwarts, along with several of his followers, all of who have possessed a student. None are here in your house, we've made sure of that. The process of seeing whom is possessed and whom isn't is very difficult and very, very, time consuming, so it'll be past Christmas break before we even get done searching one other house. Searching all three will take past the end of the year, so we are going to try our best to keep you out of danger." Dumbledore sounded very grim as he spoke to Harry. His eyes regained their twinkle, but it was dimmer than it had always been before.
"Harry, there's one thing you must know. There has to be someone at this school that you care deeply about, am I correct? A girl, somebody that you love with all your heart," McGonagall said. Her voice sounded panicky.
Harry turned at glanced at Hermione before responding. "Yes, there is somebody."
McGonagall looked worried. "Don't you dare let her out of your sight. You-Know-Who is trying to hurt you in the worst possible way before he tries to take you on head to head. He'll hunt down your best friends and hurt them, so the three of you had best stay together. Don't let them out of your sight Harry, you must listen. If you do, they're bound to be in grave danger!" She said. Her eyes darted from Hermione to Ron to Harry.
"Please take care Harry! The three of you better stay together tonight. Hermione, I want you to sleep in Harry's and Ron's dormitory tonight, until we can find out suitable arrangements," McGonagall looked embarrassed at the idea of Hermione staying in a boy's room, but that fact wasn't important. Dumbledore strode over to were Harry was standing, and handed him a silver heart locket on a silver chain.
"Give this to the one you love. It 's been enchanted, so any spell aimed at her heart will bounce back. But it doesn't keep her entirely safe, you must know," he said. He sighed, and for a moment, he looked old and frail. Then he straightened himself back up, and said "Come along then, Professor McGonagall. We've work to do." With that they left the common room.
"Well, lets get to bed, shall we?" Ron's voice broke the silence. Hermione realized with a start how tired she was.
"Yes, lets." She took Harry's hand and walked with the two boys upstairs to their room.
"Here, Hermione, you can have my bed, I'll stay on the floor," Harry said when they got up to his room. He looked at her, his green eyes sparkling once more. Hermione could have melted. She glanced over at Ron, who was already fast asleep, his flaming red hair constrasting strangely with the darkness of the room.
"I love you, Harry." It felt so good for her to finally say those words to him. She smiled, and leaned up to kiss him on the cheek. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Hermione. I love you, too." Harry said. He turned to get blankets from the closet to put on the floor when he turned back around. "Take this locket. Hopefully it'll keep you safe, for the time being." Hermione sat up and let him clasp the locket around her neck. The feeling of his hands on her neck sent chills down her spine. She turned to face him, to look into his eyes. She gently took his chin in her hands, and leaned and kissed him. He smelled so good, like oranges, like soap, like outside, like many wonderful things. She wrapped her arms around his neck when their kiss finally broke, and smiled into his shoulder. She was the luckiest girl alive, to be loved by such a person as Harry Potter.
She smiled as she settled into Harry's bed. The pillow smelled like Harry, oranges, soap, the outside, gingerbread.everything that was wonderful. She pulled the covers up to her chin and snuggled in. She caught a glimpse of Ron's red hair, and could hear Neville Longbottom's snores through the darkness. "Everything is wonderful."
She thought.
But things can change, and they can change rather quickly.
THE END! (until next time)
"Dumbledore has reason to believe that he's here," were the exact words that had come out of his mouth. Voldemort, here! Hogwarts, the safest place on Earth. Hermione just simply couldn't believe it.
"Well, you've told Ron, haven't you?" She'd asked him that day. Harry had shaken his head no.
"You're the only one I've told so far. I'm not telling very many people, just you and Ron. But I wanted you to be the first one to know."
This had secretly pleased Hermione. He told her something first, confided in her before he told anybody else. In her secret little dream world, this meant that he loved her back. "Ha, if he only did!" she had thought to herself.
Now, here they were, three weeks later. Harry and Hermione were in the Gryffindor common room, and the rest of the Gryffindor students were slowly going up the stairs to the dorm rooms. Soon, Harry and Hermione were the only two people in there. They moved to a couch by the fire, because it was starting to get colder. Hermione was feeling rather bold that evening, so she laid her head in Harry's lap as the two talked.
"But anyway, I'm not really that scared. I mean, Dumbledore's here, and he's the only wizard that Voldemort's ever been afraid of. Dumbledore is keeping me under careful watch, he told me the other day. I don't think that anything'll happen, but if it does, I'm ready for it." Harry had been saying. Hermione was so comfortable there in his lap.she felt as though she could stay like that for forever. Just the two of them, together like this always. "Hermione?" Harry asked with concern. "Are you alright? You've got that funny look on your face again."
Hermione snapped out of her trance. "Oh yes, Harry I'm fine!" Hermione blushed. She had been thinking about Harry again. She smiled at him. "Just thinking about things."she trailed off. "Thinking about you, of course!" she thought to herself. He smiled back.
"Hermione? I've got something I want to tell you. I, well I..Hermione, I love you." Harry blushed furiously as he said this. Hermione was shocked. She didn't know what to think.her dreams had just come true! Harry Potter had said that he loved her. He really said it!
"Oh Harry, you don't mean it, do you?" Hermione couldn't keep the smile off her face.
"Of course I mean it, stupid. Why else would I say something like that?" Harry looked embarrassed, and he couldn't look Hermione straight in the eye. Smart, confident, brave, Harry Potter was scared of the reaction that he was going to get.
"Oh Harry!" Hermione threw her arms around Harry's neck and kissed his cheek. "I love you too!" She said. She could barely hold in her excitement.
"You.you mean it?" Harry asked. His brilliant green eyes lit up, and his pink cheeks grew even darker.
"Of course I mean it, stupid. Why else would I say something like that?" she smiled down at him. Harry laughed, then hugged Hermione.
"You don't know how long I've been waiting to tell you that, it's been killing me! I never thought you would feel the same! That's why I hesitated so long. Ron's been at me for ages, trying to get me to tell you."
"The same with me! He's known since our third year, and he's been after me to tell you for a while now! I never thought that you would feel the same way. Famous Harry Potter, I never thought that you would love some brainy geek like me," Hermione said. She was so happy, she couldn't contain her excitement. "He loves me!" she thought to herself.
"Your not anywhere near a geek, Hermione. I think you're beautiful," Harry smiled at her. "The most beautiful girl I've ever seen," he said softly. He leaned in to kiss her, but they were interrupted by somebody laughing.
"It's about time you two told each other!! It was getting annoying, with all those secret looks and wishful sighs you've been having!!" Ron had snuck down the stairs and had been watching the whole process.
"Ron, you git!" Hermione smiled at him. If it wasn't for him, they still wouldn't have known anything about Harry. She silently thanked him, and made a mental note to thank him in person later on.
The three friends sat talking, Harry and Hermione sitting closer to each other than usual. They were interrupted again at around one in the morning, by the portrait hole being opened hastily.
McGonagall and Dumbledore came flying in. McGonagall's hair was flying about her head, and Dumbledore's eyes had lost their usual twinkle. Both of them looked frantic. "Harry!" McGonagall cried when she saw him.
"Harry, listen to me. These are very dangerous times, and we are not going to be able to protect you all the way. Word from the Ministry confirms that Voldemort is here, at Hogwarts, along with several of his followers, all of who have possessed a student. None are here in your house, we've made sure of that. The process of seeing whom is possessed and whom isn't is very difficult and very, very, time consuming, so it'll be past Christmas break before we even get done searching one other house. Searching all three will take past the end of the year, so we are going to try our best to keep you out of danger." Dumbledore sounded very grim as he spoke to Harry. His eyes regained their twinkle, but it was dimmer than it had always been before.
"Harry, there's one thing you must know. There has to be someone at this school that you care deeply about, am I correct? A girl, somebody that you love with all your heart," McGonagall said. Her voice sounded panicky.
Harry turned at glanced at Hermione before responding. "Yes, there is somebody."
McGonagall looked worried. "Don't you dare let her out of your sight. You-Know-Who is trying to hurt you in the worst possible way before he tries to take you on head to head. He'll hunt down your best friends and hurt them, so the three of you had best stay together. Don't let them out of your sight Harry, you must listen. If you do, they're bound to be in grave danger!" She said. Her eyes darted from Hermione to Ron to Harry.
"Please take care Harry! The three of you better stay together tonight. Hermione, I want you to sleep in Harry's and Ron's dormitory tonight, until we can find out suitable arrangements," McGonagall looked embarrassed at the idea of Hermione staying in a boy's room, but that fact wasn't important. Dumbledore strode over to were Harry was standing, and handed him a silver heart locket on a silver chain.
"Give this to the one you love. It 's been enchanted, so any spell aimed at her heart will bounce back. But it doesn't keep her entirely safe, you must know," he said. He sighed, and for a moment, he looked old and frail. Then he straightened himself back up, and said "Come along then, Professor McGonagall. We've work to do." With that they left the common room.
"Well, lets get to bed, shall we?" Ron's voice broke the silence. Hermione realized with a start how tired she was.
"Yes, lets." She took Harry's hand and walked with the two boys upstairs to their room.
"Here, Hermione, you can have my bed, I'll stay on the floor," Harry said when they got up to his room. He looked at her, his green eyes sparkling once more. Hermione could have melted. She glanced over at Ron, who was already fast asleep, his flaming red hair constrasting strangely with the darkness of the room.
"I love you, Harry." It felt so good for her to finally say those words to him. She smiled, and leaned up to kiss him on the cheek. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Hermione. I love you, too." Harry said. He turned to get blankets from the closet to put on the floor when he turned back around. "Take this locket. Hopefully it'll keep you safe, for the time being." Hermione sat up and let him clasp the locket around her neck. The feeling of his hands on her neck sent chills down her spine. She turned to face him, to look into his eyes. She gently took his chin in her hands, and leaned and kissed him. He smelled so good, like oranges, like soap, like outside, like many wonderful things. She wrapped her arms around his neck when their kiss finally broke, and smiled into his shoulder. She was the luckiest girl alive, to be loved by such a person as Harry Potter.
She smiled as she settled into Harry's bed. The pillow smelled like Harry, oranges, soap, the outside, gingerbread.everything that was wonderful. She pulled the covers up to her chin and snuggled in. She caught a glimpse of Ron's red hair, and could hear Neville Longbottom's snores through the darkness. "Everything is wonderful."
She thought.
But things can change, and they can change rather quickly.
THE END! (until next time)