Disclaimer: Everything in and about Harry Potter is owned by J.K. Rowling. I'm just borrowing them for a little while.
Author's Note: Hello once again! The songs you'll find in this chapter are owned by their composeres and singers, I just wanted to include them because they're very beautiful. Hope you like this chapter. Please R&R! :)
Summary: Harry and his friends hadn't seen each other for quite a while. When they finally had this "reunion", he finds out that Hermione's is getting married. He has no say in it. All that he could possibly do is remind himself: She's happy.
***
The party was nearing to an end and Harry thought that the best night of his life was ending too. But then he saw Adrianne stand up and go to the microphone. A moment he thought that she was looking straight at him but it turned out that she was looking at Hermione. And she started to speak.
"I want to thank you all for coming to my party tonight. It does mean a lot to me. Everyone here in this room has touched my life in a special way and I just want to thank you all. And to end this celebration I would like to call on Ms Granger once again."
Harry saw that Hermione wasn't expecting this but she stood up. "Umm, I just want to request a song for you to play, if it's alright with you."
"Sure, why not." Said Hermione. "Consider it as my gift. What song do you want?"
"Do you know, 'I Knew I Loved You' by Savage Garden? I really love that song." Hermione gave her a nod. "Wait, there's got to be someone who'll sing, right? So let me see…" she looked around and her eyes fell on Harry. "How about the cute guy over there who sat with Hermione."
And the people cheered him with "C'mon" and "You can do it". Harry felt like he was cornered. Sure he knew how to sing and was quite good at it really but he didn't want to be embarrassed in front of all these people in case he made a mistake. He looked at Hermione for help, but all she did was to join in the cheering. He shook his head and stood up, causing more people to cheer him on. He went to Hermione and grabbed the mike from Adrianne.
"You owe me one." He whispered to Hermione. Then he spoke through the mike. "Umm, I'm not really good at singing in front of so many people, I usually just reserve it when I'm in the shower." The crowd laughed. "But as a gift to Adrianne, I'll do it. Happy birthday, this is for you." But the person that Harry really dedicated it to was Hermione.
And Hermione began to play the wonderful intro, and Harry sang. Not knowing that his voice melted people's hearts:
Maybe it's intuition
But some things you just don't question
Like in your eyes
I see my future in an instant
And there it goes
I think I've found my best friend
I know that it might sound more than a little crazy
But I believe
I knew I loved you before I met you
I think I dreamed you into life
I knew I loved you before I met you
I have been waiting all my life
There's just no rhyme or reason
Only this sense of completion
And in your eyes
I see the missing pieces
I'm searching for
I think I've found my way home
I know that it might sound more than a little crazy
But I believe
I knew I loved you before I met you
I think I dreamed you into life
I knew I loved you before I met you
I have been waiting all my life
A thousand angels dance around you
I am complete now that I've found you
I knew I loved you before I met you
I think I dreamed you into life
I knew I loved you before I met you
I have been waiting all my life
And the song finished and everyone once again gave them a standing ovation. It's nice to be famous for something other then quidditch, he thought. He waited for Hermione to stand up and they bowed at the same time. When the celebration was officially over, he took her hand and they casually made their way outside. Just when they thought they were alone, and about to apparate, they heard someone shouting.
"Hermione! Hey Hermione!"
They turned around and saw that it was Adrianne followed by her mom. "Oh! Hello Adrianne, Mrs. Cordero. It was really a nice party, thank you for inviting us."
"Oh, no, thank you for coming," said Adrianne. "You made my birthday extra special and I just wanted to say it in person."
"Well you're welcome." Said Hermione with a smile.
"Actually since we own this hotel, if you want, you could stay here for the night in one of the rooms upstairs." Offered Mrs. Cordero.
"No it's okay." Harry said. "Besides we didn't bring clothes with us."
"Oh I don't think that would be much of a problem, would it?" She winked at both of them.
True that they could apparate to their flats and get some stuff, but he needed Hermione's opinion on this. "What do you think?" He asked her.
"Well it might be fun, so ok," she said then turned to Mrs. Cordero. "Thank you very much Ma'am."
***
Harry found himself later that evening in the shower while listening to Hermione playing the keyboards outside. They shared one room, which shocked him at first, but it seemed that she was comfortable with it, so he agreed. He never imagined a day like this; he and Hermione sharing the same room let alone sleep in the same bed. Wait a minute, he thought; just because we're in the same room doesn't mean we have to sleep in the same bed. Besides, he told himself, the couches are big enough to sleep in.
It seemed that Hermione could never let a night go by without at least playing the keyboards for at least three hours. When they met in front of the room, Harry wondered how she managed to carry it but soon realized that someone who graduated from Hogwarts can surely remember a simple weight reducing charm. When he was finished he stepped out of the bathroom casually with only a towel to cover himself.
"Woah!" said Hermione at the sight of him. "You would cause a BIG scandal if anyone saw you like that. Honestly, what has quidditch done to you? If I only had a camera I would be making a lot of money out of this."
"Oh, shut up!" Harry snapped. "Go and take a shower, you really need it."
"Uggh!" Hermione punched him playfully before going in the bathroom.
"Hey Hermione!" he shouted through the door. "Is it okay with you if I sleep on the bed, or would you rather that I sleep on the couch."
"Anywhere's fine with me, Harry!" She shouted back.
After he finished dressing up, he tried to comb his hoplessly messy hair, but to no avail. He then laid down on the bed and waited for Hermione. The bed's really comfy, he thought. There were three pillows and a thick warm blanket. Harry took one pillow to rest his head on and another to hug. He was just about to doze off when suddenly,
WHACK!
Hermione hit him on the head with the third pillow.
"Hey!" he shouted.
"Hey yourself!" she replied. "I need that pillow you're hugging."
"Go embrace Brian." He said unknowingly, which earned him another whack on his head. "Hey! You're gonna pay for that one. You better start running 'Mione."
And she screamed and Harry chased after her, they ran in circles in the large room. When Hermione jumped to bed, Harry thought quickly that it was his chance. He held her hand and started to tickle her on her sides. He ignored her yelling "stop" and only did when she whacked yet a third time with a pillow.
Hermione caught her breath. "That was fun. I missed our pillow fights. I'm not yet sleepy. Are you?"
"I was…" answered Harry. "Before you hit me in the head three times with a pillow."
"Stop whining, c'mon…" she grabbed his hand and led him near the keyboard. "I need to practice so I play and you sing."
"Why do you need me," he asked. "You can still practice even without somebody singing."
"True… Yes…" she answered. "But you have a really great talent in singing, and I just want to hear your voice again."
"Okay," he said. "But under one condition, you'll have to sing with me."
"Sure."
And so they did. But they first put a silencing charm on the room so they won't be heard outside. It seemed that they had the same interest in muggle music. They sang "Out of My League", "On Bended Knee", "Heaven Knows", and many other love songs. Hermione has a good singing voice too, thought Harry. And singing with her just felt so natural and was almost romantic.
Finally it was already about 3 o'clock in the morning and they were both very sleepy. They sat on the bed and reminisced about the old times. The happy times when they were still at Hogwarts. Harry would rather talk about the past than the near future, which would involve her happy wedding. They both reached the end of their limit and Harry turned off the lights.
"Hey!" Hermione said turning the lights on again.
"What?"
"Could we just," she said shyly. "Sleep with the lights on."
"Hermione," he replied. "You've helped in defeating the greatest dark sorcerer and yet you can't sleep in the dark. Besides, how am I going to sleep?"
"Please Harry." She looked at him with big, pleading eyes.
"Ok, fine," said Harry. "I'll give you thirty minutes to sleep and after that I turn the lights off, is that okay?"
"Yeah, thanks."
Hermione rolled over to face the wall. Harry watched her sleep, she was so beautiful when she's sleeping, he thought. Then he thought of Brian who's going to sleep with her every night of their life. He savored this moment; surely they won't be able to do this again. But he had to tell her. It was now or never. At least if the wedding would still happen, he already told Hermione what was really in his heart, and he would not have any regrets.
"Hermione…" he called, hoping that she was still awake.
"Hmm?" she said without turning or opening her eyes.
"I just wanted to say that," he started. "I… I… umm…"
"What Harry?" she finally turned to him, her eyes open. "Is something wrong?"
"I… just wanted to say," he stammered. "That I love you."
Hermione then closed her eyes again. "I love you too, Harry."
"No, really, Hermione, please listen to what I have to say." Said Harry, and Hermione opened her eyes once again. "There hasn't been a day that gone by since you left that I haven't thought of you. I still love you, not as a friend, but as someone who'll give his whole life to you. If you'll give me a chance to prove to you my feelings, maybe, just maybe, you'll find that I can make you happier than you'll ever be in the arms of Brian."
Tears started to fall on her cheeks. "Harry, please," she said. "Don't make this hard for me. I want to marry Brian because I love him. Yes I love you, with my whole life, but you left and I was very sad back then and I knew that I had to move on. Then Brian came and he loves me too, and I thought that, he was there right at that moment, and he loves me and I've learned to love him too."
Harry sat up. "But I am back now, and I still love you." He said, tears flowing from both of their eyes. "If you can say to me, looking straight at my eyes, that you don't love me anymore then at least I can have my peace and I'll agree for you to marry Brian because it's he that you really love."
She couldn't. "Please Harry," she said. "Let's just go to sleep, we're both very tired." And she didn't wait for a reply from Harry and turned her back against him, pretending to sleep.
"Hermione…" Harry called out but she didn't answer anymore.
It left him with nothing but silence and his very sad thoughts.
