Harry Potter and the Harsh Truth
By Ruby Star
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, they are all a product of the wonderful mind of J .K. Rowling, and I merely play with them. The characters I do own are Rose, Lessa, Amy, and Meredith. They are mine, and I made them up.
Last time: "That's very mature of you, putting it all out on the table and letting him decide what to do."
"Whatever makes him happy." Lessa put her arm around Hermione.
"Let's go home. I'm starved."
"She laughed. "Me too Lessa, me too."
The next day, Sunday, the three Gryffindors had to catch up on that weekend's homework. They decided to just hang out in the common room for most of the day. Harry and Ron played wizard's chess for a while, but Ron kept winning because Harry's mind was on that Slytherin he met the day before.
"Come on Harry, pay attention, you were better than this last time we played," complained Ron.
"Sorry Ron, I guess I just have a lot on my mind."
"Let me guess- her name starts with an R and ends with an E?" Ron guessed correctly.
"Yeah so sue me."
Ron caught the look on Hermione's face at the mention of Rose's name, but Harry didn't. he was in his own little dream world.
"What's so great about her though?" Ron asked, knowing Hermione's feelings for Harry and the feelings he had for her just a couple days ago. "You did meet her just yesterday. You can't know that much about her yet."
Hermione was grateful for him trying to make Rose seem less wonderful to Harry. Ron was one of her best friends and she appreciated the fact that even though Rose was prettier and more interesting he still tried to make Hermione look better.
"I don't know Ron. She's just got this charm about her. And we did talk all day, so you can't say I don't know her that much."
"Well, what's one day? A couple hours?"
"I'm seeing her again tomorrow night at dinner."
Hermione didn't need to hear that.
"Oh no, you invited her to eat with us? Too bad, I'm going to the Ravenclaw table! Darn," claimed Hermione. Harry didn't notice the sarcasm in her voice.
"Oh Mione that's too bad. You would really like Rose. She's a muggle too, and the two of you do have quite a bit in common.
Hermione was surprised. Harry hadn't called her Mione in a while. It was his pet name for her and he was the only one allowed to use it. Ron noticed it too. It made him happy, because he knew if Harry could remember that, then he could remember his feelings for her.
"Well, maybe next time Harry." With that, she went upstairs to get some more ink and paper to do her homework. The boys had long since finished theirs because they didn't put in the effort that she did.
As soon as Hermione left, Ron pounced on Harry. "Harry, you called her Mione. I KNEW you still liked her. One day with Rose clouded your judgment a little bit, but the regular Harry is still there!"
"It's different now Ron. You don't know Rose at all."
"Neither do you. And don't give me that we-talked-all-day-yesterday BS. You know a person when you see how they react to many different situations and you meet them in their element and others. You don't know her because you talked to her for a couple hours yesterday, whereas we've known Hermione for five years now and you always got along great. Can't you tell what she's thinking now?"
"Yes, she's thinking we're not working hard enough on our homework, and that's why she went upstairs to get more ink."
Ron stared at his friend. "You're that oblivious? How is that possible?! It's been five years and you act like you want to throw it all away for a minute with this, this Slytherin!" He stormed out of the common room towards the Great Hall. It was dinner time and if one of them didn't come to dinner because of that fight, it wouldn't be Ron.
Hermione came running down the stairs. She'd heard the yelling and her own name from her room. She was afraid of what Ron might give away.
But when she got there Ron was already gone. She gulped and said, "Harry? Are you okay? What's wrong where did Ron go? I heard yelling." She tried to appear calm, but sweat was pearling on her forehead. Harry didn't look at her.
"I'm fine. He went to dinner I guess."
"What was the yelling about?"
"Nothing." He walked upstairs, and left Hermione just standing there watching him leave. There was no way he could eat with either one of them now.
~*LATER*~
As Harry sat in bed that night, while everyone was at dinner he was lost in thought. Harry had been so happy with Rose for a day, and Ron was jealous. He had to bring up Hermione, didn't he? He had totally forgotten about her and how he felt. Rose just seemed to do that to him. It was pretty amazing, too because he'd liked her for a looong time.
I'm back...the mirror...it is the Mirror of Erised. Well I guess in dreams even things destroyed can come back. Now, I supposed to look in it and figure this out; that's what Hermione wanted me to do.
He stared at the mirror and ignored the fact that it was talking. He knew what it was saying, same thing it had said every other time- that his problem could be solved, but it wasn't worth it to solve it. And it was all in a book.
Looking in the mirror, Harry saw himself with said book. He was waving at it...but that didn't make any sense. One reads a book, not talks to it. Weird.
Then he understood. Pictures!! He was waving at pictures. The photo album of his parents wedding! Of course! One of his favorite, most cherished books.
And then the mirror commanded his attention. It was, for an inanimate object, getting very mad at Harry for figuring out its puzzle so easily. It felt like it started shaking him- Harry wasn't too sure, because his vision blurred again.
He awoke in a cold sweat. He was shivering, but he hadn't screamed this time, miraculously. No one had noticed that he was awake this time. He wasn't still enough to be dead, or screaming loud enough to wake the entire castle. He was okay, he knew the answer.
Harry jumped out of bed and ran to his chest. He picked up the photo album right away. As he sat on his bed, he slowly flipped through each page, staring at each picture. There were his parents...they were alive, and he was with them in the pictures. He missed them so much.
But it still didn't make sense. The people he loved and missed were his parents, okay, that made sense, but there was no way to fix that was there? He wasn't sure. He would have to ask Hermione and Ron. Together the three of them could figure it, same as always.
But then Harry realized that he wasn't really on speaking terms with either one of them. It hurt Harry to know he was alone in the world. But wait, he wasn't alone- he was eating dinner with Rose that night, and then they were going to the library to study together. At least he had that to look forward too. He couldn't wait to see Rose again.
Classes that day were not great, to put it mildly. He spoke a little to Hermione, but didn't call her Mione and he didn't talk to Ron at all. he sat away from them, with Neville mostly. At lunch he sat off to the side and didn't talk too much. The Weasleys were interested in when the next Quidditch practice was and Harry told them that it was that afternoon, two periods before dinner, because he knew the entire team had off.
As he sat there picking at his food Hermione came up and sat next to him. "Harry, talk to me,' she said softly, "Let me know what's going on between you and Ron. Please?" She was very quiet and it was very appealing to Harry to tell her all he felt about her, because the way she was talking to him made it all flood back and the girl known as Rose was forgotten for the moment.
Harry stared into Hermione's soft eyes. He could tell she was ready to hear everything and to care for him as she had never done before. She wanted so much to believe that he did truly care for her and she would be allowed to care for him in return. She felt the connection.
"Mione, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I was so into Rose the other day. I can imagine how it must have made you feel." She nodded, tears starting to form in her eyes as she realized the moment she had been waiting for five years had come. "And that day I ran from the Great Hall and we both began to admit something to one another, I got the message. I don't know if you did, but I'm fairly sure I did."
"And what was that message?" she asked softly. There was nothing rude or embarrassed in her voice, only soft caressing love. She had waited for five years, she wanted to make sure he got it right.
"That we both have feelings for each other as more than just friends. You started to admit you like me and I started to admit I liked you and we got our signals crossed and both assumed we were both talking about ourselves, does that make sense?"
"Yes, because that's exactly what happened. What are you saying that we do about it?"
He stared into her eyes again. He had been waiting a long time too. He felt like he could read her eyes and they were telling him just what he wanted to hear. He could see her soul through her eyes. His eyes started to tear too. He leaned in slowly and in the next moment, they were sharing a much wanted, long awaited kiss. It was soft and romantic and they both enjoyed it very much.
When they looked up and realized what they had done they sat there in silence, holding hands. Ron came over and sat on Harry's other side. He said only,
"I knew you would figure it out sooner or later." And their friendship was fixed; they were best friends again.
That's when they realized two things- one, that the entire Great Hall was staring at them in silence and two, Harry realized he still had a date with what's-her-name, Rose, that was it. He whispered to Hermione that he would be right back and he got up. The rest of the school turned back to their own food, and friends and lives.
Harry walked straight up to the Slytherin table where he figured he could find Rose. He was slightly stunned to find her sitting next to Malfoy, even when she had said that she didn't like him.
"Hey, there you are. Look, I don't think that we should eat together tonight. I mean, maybe it's just not a good idea."
Malfoy and Rose both looked at him like he was crazy. Malfoy thought he had been talking to him!
"Potty, WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?" asked Malfoy.
"I wasn't talking to you, I was talking to her, you twit."
"I don't even know you. Well, everyone knows you, Harry Potter, but we never had a dinner date. You're making it up."
Harry was stumped. "Well alright then Rose, see you around." And he walked away.
"Did he just call me Rose?" the girl asked Malfoy.
Draco shrugged and they went back to their dinner.
When Harry got back to his own table Hermione and Ron realized what he had done and as soon as he sat down Hermione kissed him again. "Thank you," she whispered.
"Okay, that's quite enough thanks. I think this is all sweet and everything, but stop." Hermione and Harry laughed. Things were good again.
A/N: Okay, weeeellll... slightly confused about Rose with Malfoy at the end? Read on, you'll figure it out. She comes up again, she's not done with Harry yet. Anyone happy about how it's turning out? The H/Hr ship I mean.I was happy with it anyways.come back and read on when I have time to continue writing. I'm so proud of myself. I got three chapters out in a week or so!
Shiro Yuri- Thanks for reviewing twice! LoL The H/Hr and H/R ships should come out interestingly, for what I have planned. So read on and review!
By Ruby Star
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, they are all a product of the wonderful mind of J .K. Rowling, and I merely play with them. The characters I do own are Rose, Lessa, Amy, and Meredith. They are mine, and I made them up.
Last time: "That's very mature of you, putting it all out on the table and letting him decide what to do."
"Whatever makes him happy." Lessa put her arm around Hermione.
"Let's go home. I'm starved."
"She laughed. "Me too Lessa, me too."
The next day, Sunday, the three Gryffindors had to catch up on that weekend's homework. They decided to just hang out in the common room for most of the day. Harry and Ron played wizard's chess for a while, but Ron kept winning because Harry's mind was on that Slytherin he met the day before.
"Come on Harry, pay attention, you were better than this last time we played," complained Ron.
"Sorry Ron, I guess I just have a lot on my mind."
"Let me guess- her name starts with an R and ends with an E?" Ron guessed correctly.
"Yeah so sue me."
Ron caught the look on Hermione's face at the mention of Rose's name, but Harry didn't. he was in his own little dream world.
"What's so great about her though?" Ron asked, knowing Hermione's feelings for Harry and the feelings he had for her just a couple days ago. "You did meet her just yesterday. You can't know that much about her yet."
Hermione was grateful for him trying to make Rose seem less wonderful to Harry. Ron was one of her best friends and she appreciated the fact that even though Rose was prettier and more interesting he still tried to make Hermione look better.
"I don't know Ron. She's just got this charm about her. And we did talk all day, so you can't say I don't know her that much."
"Well, what's one day? A couple hours?"
"I'm seeing her again tomorrow night at dinner."
Hermione didn't need to hear that.
"Oh no, you invited her to eat with us? Too bad, I'm going to the Ravenclaw table! Darn," claimed Hermione. Harry didn't notice the sarcasm in her voice.
"Oh Mione that's too bad. You would really like Rose. She's a muggle too, and the two of you do have quite a bit in common.
Hermione was surprised. Harry hadn't called her Mione in a while. It was his pet name for her and he was the only one allowed to use it. Ron noticed it too. It made him happy, because he knew if Harry could remember that, then he could remember his feelings for her.
"Well, maybe next time Harry." With that, she went upstairs to get some more ink and paper to do her homework. The boys had long since finished theirs because they didn't put in the effort that she did.
As soon as Hermione left, Ron pounced on Harry. "Harry, you called her Mione. I KNEW you still liked her. One day with Rose clouded your judgment a little bit, but the regular Harry is still there!"
"It's different now Ron. You don't know Rose at all."
"Neither do you. And don't give me that we-talked-all-day-yesterday BS. You know a person when you see how they react to many different situations and you meet them in their element and others. You don't know her because you talked to her for a couple hours yesterday, whereas we've known Hermione for five years now and you always got along great. Can't you tell what she's thinking now?"
"Yes, she's thinking we're not working hard enough on our homework, and that's why she went upstairs to get more ink."
Ron stared at his friend. "You're that oblivious? How is that possible?! It's been five years and you act like you want to throw it all away for a minute with this, this Slytherin!" He stormed out of the common room towards the Great Hall. It was dinner time and if one of them didn't come to dinner because of that fight, it wouldn't be Ron.
Hermione came running down the stairs. She'd heard the yelling and her own name from her room. She was afraid of what Ron might give away.
But when she got there Ron was already gone. She gulped and said, "Harry? Are you okay? What's wrong where did Ron go? I heard yelling." She tried to appear calm, but sweat was pearling on her forehead. Harry didn't look at her.
"I'm fine. He went to dinner I guess."
"What was the yelling about?"
"Nothing." He walked upstairs, and left Hermione just standing there watching him leave. There was no way he could eat with either one of them now.
~*LATER*~
As Harry sat in bed that night, while everyone was at dinner he was lost in thought. Harry had been so happy with Rose for a day, and Ron was jealous. He had to bring up Hermione, didn't he? He had totally forgotten about her and how he felt. Rose just seemed to do that to him. It was pretty amazing, too because he'd liked her for a looong time.
I'm back...the mirror...it is the Mirror of Erised. Well I guess in dreams even things destroyed can come back. Now, I supposed to look in it and figure this out; that's what Hermione wanted me to do.
He stared at the mirror and ignored the fact that it was talking. He knew what it was saying, same thing it had said every other time- that his problem could be solved, but it wasn't worth it to solve it. And it was all in a book.
Looking in the mirror, Harry saw himself with said book. He was waving at it...but that didn't make any sense. One reads a book, not talks to it. Weird.
Then he understood. Pictures!! He was waving at pictures. The photo album of his parents wedding! Of course! One of his favorite, most cherished books.
And then the mirror commanded his attention. It was, for an inanimate object, getting very mad at Harry for figuring out its puzzle so easily. It felt like it started shaking him- Harry wasn't too sure, because his vision blurred again.
He awoke in a cold sweat. He was shivering, but he hadn't screamed this time, miraculously. No one had noticed that he was awake this time. He wasn't still enough to be dead, or screaming loud enough to wake the entire castle. He was okay, he knew the answer.
Harry jumped out of bed and ran to his chest. He picked up the photo album right away. As he sat on his bed, he slowly flipped through each page, staring at each picture. There were his parents...they were alive, and he was with them in the pictures. He missed them so much.
But it still didn't make sense. The people he loved and missed were his parents, okay, that made sense, but there was no way to fix that was there? He wasn't sure. He would have to ask Hermione and Ron. Together the three of them could figure it, same as always.
But then Harry realized that he wasn't really on speaking terms with either one of them. It hurt Harry to know he was alone in the world. But wait, he wasn't alone- he was eating dinner with Rose that night, and then they were going to the library to study together. At least he had that to look forward too. He couldn't wait to see Rose again.
Classes that day were not great, to put it mildly. He spoke a little to Hermione, but didn't call her Mione and he didn't talk to Ron at all. he sat away from them, with Neville mostly. At lunch he sat off to the side and didn't talk too much. The Weasleys were interested in when the next Quidditch practice was and Harry told them that it was that afternoon, two periods before dinner, because he knew the entire team had off.
As he sat there picking at his food Hermione came up and sat next to him. "Harry, talk to me,' she said softly, "Let me know what's going on between you and Ron. Please?" She was very quiet and it was very appealing to Harry to tell her all he felt about her, because the way she was talking to him made it all flood back and the girl known as Rose was forgotten for the moment.
Harry stared into Hermione's soft eyes. He could tell she was ready to hear everything and to care for him as she had never done before. She wanted so much to believe that he did truly care for her and she would be allowed to care for him in return. She felt the connection.
"Mione, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I was so into Rose the other day. I can imagine how it must have made you feel." She nodded, tears starting to form in her eyes as she realized the moment she had been waiting for five years had come. "And that day I ran from the Great Hall and we both began to admit something to one another, I got the message. I don't know if you did, but I'm fairly sure I did."
"And what was that message?" she asked softly. There was nothing rude or embarrassed in her voice, only soft caressing love. She had waited for five years, she wanted to make sure he got it right.
"That we both have feelings for each other as more than just friends. You started to admit you like me and I started to admit I liked you and we got our signals crossed and both assumed we were both talking about ourselves, does that make sense?"
"Yes, because that's exactly what happened. What are you saying that we do about it?"
He stared into her eyes again. He had been waiting a long time too. He felt like he could read her eyes and they were telling him just what he wanted to hear. He could see her soul through her eyes. His eyes started to tear too. He leaned in slowly and in the next moment, they were sharing a much wanted, long awaited kiss. It was soft and romantic and they both enjoyed it very much.
When they looked up and realized what they had done they sat there in silence, holding hands. Ron came over and sat on Harry's other side. He said only,
"I knew you would figure it out sooner or later." And their friendship was fixed; they were best friends again.
That's when they realized two things- one, that the entire Great Hall was staring at them in silence and two, Harry realized he still had a date with what's-her-name, Rose, that was it. He whispered to Hermione that he would be right back and he got up. The rest of the school turned back to their own food, and friends and lives.
Harry walked straight up to the Slytherin table where he figured he could find Rose. He was slightly stunned to find her sitting next to Malfoy, even when she had said that she didn't like him.
"Hey, there you are. Look, I don't think that we should eat together tonight. I mean, maybe it's just not a good idea."
Malfoy and Rose both looked at him like he was crazy. Malfoy thought he had been talking to him!
"Potty, WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?" asked Malfoy.
"I wasn't talking to you, I was talking to her, you twit."
"I don't even know you. Well, everyone knows you, Harry Potter, but we never had a dinner date. You're making it up."
Harry was stumped. "Well alright then Rose, see you around." And he walked away.
"Did he just call me Rose?" the girl asked Malfoy.
Draco shrugged and they went back to their dinner.
When Harry got back to his own table Hermione and Ron realized what he had done and as soon as he sat down Hermione kissed him again. "Thank you," she whispered.
"Okay, that's quite enough thanks. I think this is all sweet and everything, but stop." Hermione and Harry laughed. Things were good again.
A/N: Okay, weeeellll... slightly confused about Rose with Malfoy at the end? Read on, you'll figure it out. She comes up again, she's not done with Harry yet. Anyone happy about how it's turning out? The H/Hr ship I mean.I was happy with it anyways.come back and read on when I have time to continue writing. I'm so proud of myself. I got three chapters out in a week or so!
Shiro Yuri- Thanks for reviewing twice! LoL The H/Hr and H/R ships should come out interestingly, for what I have planned. So read on and review!