Chapter Four

You Don't Know You Love Something Until You Lose It

"Thank you for the wonderful dinner, Mrs. Granger," Harry said as he pushed the empty dish towards the center of the table. He regretted saying it, though. The food was horrible compared to the food he was served at Hogwarts. Even the food he cooked himself tasted better.

He had been living with Hermione and her parents for almost 7 full days. Tonight would be the last night at her house before they left for Hogwarts in the morning. For the last few days Harry had barely been able to talk to Hermione with her mother keeping such a close watch. Even when they went to Diagon Alley, her mother seemed to watching their every move. It was even starting to creep out Hermione's father, but her mother paid no attention. All she cared about was her precious daughter and keeping her away from Harry.

'But today was that last day of it all,' thought Harry happily as he took a quick glance at Hermione who sat diagonally from him (her mother's idea).

"May I be excused?" Harry asked as he did for the last 6 nights. Mrs. Granger nodded as she watched Harry climb the stairs to his room, and continued to stare until she was sure that he was inside. Minutes passed.

"May I be excused?" asked Hermione as she did for the 7th night in a row. And as usual her mother responded, "No, you have to help me with the dishes." Hermione sighed and carried the plates into the kitchen to be washed, wiped, and placed away orderly. An hour later she was finally excused. By this time it was already 9:00 and she was quite tired. She climbed up the stairs, her mother watching her as closely as she did Harry, making sure she didn't take a 'wrong' turn as she had done the first night Harry had arrived. She luckily went straight towards her room.

*           *           *          

Harry lied on his bed as he continued to read one of the books Hermione had lent him for those boring nights. He was just getting into it as he heard a clock chiming from the downstairs. '10:00 already?' Harry thought to himself. He had been on his bed for over 2 hours reading a book. He licked his chapped lips and thought to himself 'I'm a bit thirsty. I think I'll get myself a drink.' He climbed out of bed and slipped carefully down the stairs. In the kitchen he took a glass of water and gulped it down as quietly as he could. Feeling refreshed he walked back up the stairs. He peered into Hermione's bedroom as he passed by. [a/n Sorry if it sounds like has a peeping tom but I had to get this story exciting] The room was empty except for Crookshanks who sat on the pile of papers near Hermione's desk. One of his eyes was closed; the other one was slightly open, eyeing a piece of floating lint. The lint began to pick up speed and rise up into the air. Crookshanks now had both eyes opened, and was ready to pounce. As he jumped, the papers beneath flew about the room.

Harry was about to leave, so he wouldn't be blamed for this when he spied a piece of paper not too far from his foot. He bent down and picked it up. He knew by the first line it had to be a page from her diary: 'My dreams will probably never come true. He'll never like me the same way I like him…' he read to himself. He couldn't resist reading the rest. He skimmed through the song and read the last line in a barely audible whisper, "I will always love you—Hermione"

He suddenly heard Hermione's bathroom door open. The first thing she was Crookshanks and the scattered papers. "You naughty cat! Look what you did!! No catnip tonight!" Crookshanks shrunk into a corner; his flat face carried a saddened frown, if you could call it that. Hermione looked up to see the rest of the papers as well as Harry standing near the doorway. "Oh…hi," she said as her face began to redden.

"Hi"

"Um… do you need anything?"

"Oh," Harry said finally realizing that he didn't belong there. "I just needed some uh…mouthwash. Do you have any extra?"

"I think so- hold on a sec"

Harry nodded, pleased that the lie worked. As she turned around, he tried to remember each word from the entry. Every time he went over it in his head, he felt another piece of his heart break away. He looked up as Hermione returned with a cup of Listerine in her hands.

"Here you go. Good Night," Hermione said noticing the disappointment in his face.

"Yea. Good Night. Thanks."

'I wonder what's wrong with him…'

*           *           *

Harry walked back to his room. He felt as if he could just throw up. 'She likes someone else. I know she does. It's not me. I know it isn't. Were just friends. Just friends.' Harry fell onto his bed and looked up at the ceiling. He felt worse than when Cho had said she was going to the dance with someone else. His heart didn't hurt as much as it did now. He could feel the tears filling up in his eyes. He placed his head on the pillow and blinked, letting the tears run freely down his face. He picked up the book beside him and began to read where he left off, trying to get away from the pain. He read the title of the chapter to himself, 'You don't know you love something until you lose it.' Harry realized something as he continued to read through the chapter. He loved Hermione. But it was too late. She was gone.