Author's notes: The second chapter's finished... yahoo!!! *gasps* How long would it take for me to finish the whole trilogy then?! *curses silently* Oh no!!! It's our periodical exams and I can't concentrate... This whole fanfic's ruining my life!!! *heads to rooftop and prepares to leap* Hey, not now... Legions of fans await my next story... (Well, maybe not.) Okay! I admit! I love myself enough to stop blabbering and get on with this story... (This one's seen in Harry's POV)
Disclaimer: You already know that I'm not Harry Potter's author. I have no right to mess up with its characters but that's what I'm doing now... (Stupid me!!!)
"Lumos!" I whispered, trying hard to concentrate on what I'm reading.
"Harry? You got any unicorn hair left?" Ron croaked, "My bag's full of junk that I can't find the needed materials for Snape's Mimicry Potion. I don't want to give Draco another chance to criticize my dad's annual income. You see my point, huh?"
I sighed and handed him my bag, "Look for it there... no not that pocket... the left one... no, not that one...gimme that bag..." I got my bag from him and fumbled the back pocket for the UH vial.
"Thanks, Harry..." He grinned at me sheepishly and I felt a twinge of guilt.
* * *
"I've never thought about the possibility that I'd fall for my best friend. I would've stopped my heart from beating if I could. I know that Ron's got something going on with her but my heart doesn't care. How I wish that Snape would teach us a poisonous potion so that I could kill myself painlessly. If I could just turn back time, then I'd accept a kiss or two from those horrible dementors... If I only knew..."
I read the page over and over again, sighing in disbelief. If I only knew that it would amount to this, I would've chosen to stay with the Dursleys'.
I closed my diary and tucked it neatly into my bag pocket. Time to go and tell her... All I want to know is whether she's in love with Ron too... mainly because I want to know when I'd start throwing bits of my heart away. I'm not the cheesy type of person but my heart's been aching for so many years now...
I strode towards her table and braced myself for the inner battle that I know I'm about to lose.
"*coughs* Excuse me, Hermione... Can I talk to you?" I muttered under my breath.
She smiled weakly and my legs turned to mush...
"Okay..." I heard her say.
I sat down and inhaled deeply, feeling my heart's steady rhythm.
"I...I... w-want... t-to... t-tell... y-you... s-some-th-thing..." I covered my mouth with my right hand. I can't believe I'm stuttering like this. I scanned the whole library, almost hoping to see Malfoy pointing his wand at me or something to justify this dilemma of mine.
"D-d-don't... l-laugh-ff" I guess somebody just turned me into a croaking frog.
I closed my eyes and prayed to all the saints I knew, hoping for a miracle... praying to see a shimmer of light somewhere...
Then the miracle came...
Neville, the walking accident, came running, holding my prized miracle in his hands. I stared purposefully at the frog, running the numbers in my head...
One... the frog leaped off his hand...
Two... he stretched forth his hand to catch the toad which landed on top of Hermione's usual pile of books...
Three... BLAG!!!
Half a second later, Neville was seen lying face down on the table, his right hand clutching his miraculous toad. Hermione's things were scattered all over the table, some of them strewn across the floor- my miracle did happen...
I looked at Hermione, thinking about her possible reaction if I told her about my feelings for her...
But her mind's obviously drifting into space. She was wearing a blank expression on her face, her eyes headed in my direction though I knew she's looking past me. I turned, hating this whole idea.
"(snaps) Hey, Hermione! A penny for your thoughts..." I said - my composure fully regained.
"Oh - Harry... Sorry..." she paused, wiping beads of sweat from her forehead.
"S'okay..." I wanted to give her my handkerchief but I knew that she won't appreciate my shows of affection unless...
"I thought you're gonna tell me something..."
I just sat there, feeling horrible mainly because my heart's banging like a sledgehammer, so much that I bet everyone in the room can hear it.
'C'mon, man! Tell her...'
'Okay, here goes nothing...'
"Hermione?" 'That's it, man! Keep it up!'
"Yes?"
"Y-your... th-things..." I exhaled (finally!) and pointed a nervous finger at the heap behind her.
A brief pause followed as she hastily gathered her books. That's when I noticed her Muggle Studies book lying on the floor. I lifted it up to place it on the table but a slip of paper fell from its pages. I picked it up carefully, careful not to draw her attention to me. I guess my burning curiosity got the best of me...
I read it carefully... word for word...
And now I wish I didn't notice it, much less pick it up...