A/N: Sorry for the delay! Hope you all had a wonderful holiday!!! Thanks
to everyone who reviewed on the last chapter!
Disclaimer: Nope!
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The next morning was hectic to say the very least. Hermione was up and ready with her bag by the door before the boys even made it downstairs for breakfast. She noticed right away the funny way Harry looked at her, and she knew that Ron must have told him about everything. She caught Ron's eye in question, and he half-nodded before looking away.
The three of them sat in silence while the adult Grangers bustled around with cellular phones on their ears, discussing the schedule for the day with their office. Mrs. Granger pulled hers away long enough to tell the kids that they had to leave in an hour. This, of course, was followed by the sound of the doorbell and the appearance of Gia, who smiled nicely at everyone before disappearing up the stairs with Harry, who still hadn't finished packing. Ron hadn't, either, and Hermione nudged him up the stairs, thankful for once for her parents' busyness.
She followed him into his room and locked the door behind them. "So, what did he say?" she asked immediately as she dropped to the floor beside him and started folding the clothes he was throwing aimlessly at his bag.
Ron rolled his eyes. "He went all overprotective about you and tried to turn it around and say that the way he feels about us is the same way I would feel about him and Ginny.
"What?" Hermione wrinkled up her brow, momentarily forgetting about the freshly ironed shirt she was trying to save from wrinkled doom. "Since when did I turn into Harry's little sister?"
"You tell me!" Ron exclaimed. "That's what I was like. I told him you didn't need anyone to take care of you."
A strange feeling, something close to anger, filled her. "And what else did he say?"
"He said we fight too much."
Hermione was now positive that it was anger. "He should mind his own business."
Ron shrugged and threw another school shirt into the bag and then pulled it back out. "I need something to change into on the train," he explained before carrying on with the story. "And then he was mad because we hadn't told him."
"Well, maybe if he'd been around for more than two damn minutes a day, he would have noticed." The sarcasm was quite evident.
Ron nodded. "I said that, too."
"If he's got a problem with me doing something without his permission, then he better just come out and say it to my face. And I'll tell him exactly what he can do with himself." Ron's eyes widened in shock at her suggestion, but she was too angry to care. "Who the hell does he think he is anyway? He's not my bloody keeper!"
When it was clear that her tirade was over, Ron spoke carefully. "Well, yeah, I mean I know. But I sort of understand why he's upset. I think he's going a bit overboard with the whole overprotective thing, but I can kind of see where he's coming from."
"What do you mean? He's got no right to get mad at us."
"Well, it's one thing when we're here. He didn't even notice because Gia's around to distract him. But when we're back at school, he probably thinks we're going to leave him out or something."
"But we wouldn't do that," she protested at once. "Especially not now with everything the way that it is. He should know that."
Ron once again got the look that showed he felt like he was giving too much away. "We're the only people he's ever been able to really depend on. He's probably just scared we're going to abandon him or something. He's probably got some kind of deeply hidden resentment toward his parents for leaving him when he was just a baby, and he doesn't want us to do the same."
He finished quietly, and Hermione stared at him in silent shock. "When did you become a psychologist?"
Ron blushed slightly. "I read a book about orphans once. You know, just to see if I could help..." he mumbled as he looked away.
It was almost as if he was embarrassed to care about his best friend so much, but Hermione's heart literally swelled at the motion. It was the sweetest thing she'd ever heard in her life. Without so much as a second of hesitation, she grabbed his face in her hands and pressed her lips tightly to his own. When she pulled away, she didn't remove her hands from his chin. She looked him straight in the eye and said, "You are so perfect."
He laughed uneasily, obviously embarrassed but pleased. In an attempt at humor, he said, "Yeah, you say that now, but wait until the O.W.L.s come around."
Hermione laughed and gave him one more quick kiss before returning to the clothes folding. "Well, we won't ignore him," she went on. "We'll make sure that we don't, okay?"
Ron mumbled, " 'Course, we won't," before taking back over his packing and shoving all of his clothes in anyway they would fit.
**************************
"I guess that's it." Harry zipped up his bag and reached for his schoolbooks, which were going on the train with him.
Gia was sitting on the floor with her back leaned against the bed. "Are you okay?" she asked suddenly. "With the whole Ron and Hermione thing, I mean."
Harry had filled her in on his conversation with Ron while she'd helped him pack. She'd listened without interrupting, and he was grateful that there was someone he could just openly vent to while he felt betrayed by the only other people he could vent to.
In answer to her question, he shrugged. "I don't know. It's just weird." Frowning slightly, he said, "And it will never work."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because it just won't," he said simply. "You don't know them like I do. All they do is fight and bitch about each other. And they're total opposites- like night and day. And Hermione nags him too much, and he does things to purposely annoy her, just to get a rise out of her."
Gia was smirking in a strange way that Harry wasn't sure he liked. "They sound perfect for each other."
"What?!" She was supposed to be on his side, not theirs.
Gia rolled her eyes. "When you guys were younger, I bet he teased her all the time, didn't he?"
"Yeah, but so what?" Harry shrugged. "Everyone teased her. She was annoying and got on everyone's nerves. She didn't have any friends."
Gia laughed. "That's mean."
He shrugged again. "Well, it's the truth. You knew her back then; you know how she was." He gave her a pointed look. "And from what I hear, you weren't exactly nice to her."
Gia laughed again. "She told you about that?"
"It was the first thing she told me." Harry stood up and walked over to the bed where he sat down. "But anyway, what does him teasing her have to do with anything?"
"Because that's how little boys are," she said with an obvious sigh. "When a little boy likes a little girl, he's mean to her. He pulls her pigtails and puts frogs in her chair."
"Hermione never wore pigtails- I don't think she could even brush her hair, much less restrain it." They both snickered before he went on. "And Ron wouldn't have dared to put a frog in her chair because she would have hexed him until he couldn't do anything but jump and ribbit."
Gia's eyes widened. "Can you really do that?"
"Hermione could- even as an eleven year old. I don't think there's a spell that she can't do. Ron and I aren't so lucky," he added ruefully.
She giggled. "Well, anyway, what I mean is that they fight because they like each other. It's pent up sexual tension."
Harry wrinkled his nose. "Okay, let's not talk about it anymore."
Gia laughed again and joined him on the bed. "Right," she said, glancing at her watch. "We have twenty-six minutes left, and I don't want to waste them."
Harry knew what she meant and didn't protest when she kissed him.
"I'm going to miss you," she mumbled against his lips.
He lowered his forehead to lean against hers. As he looked into her eyes and linked his fingers through hers, he wondered what to say. Saying that he would miss her, too, didn't seem like enough; missing her wouldn't even come close to what he would feel when he got back to school. Missing was a word he would use when he couldn't play Quidditch for a whole summer- nothing compared to the way he felt about Gia.
But how was he supposed to tell her how he felt about her, how much she meant to him, when he couldn't even sort it out in his mind?
He kissed her again, trying to commit the feeling to memory. It would be all he had to go on until at least Easter.
"I wish I wasn't leaving," he whispered, pulling away to kiss the bottom of her earlobe.
But some things can't be helped, and twenty minutes later, Harry and Gia broke away from each other to the sound of Mr. Granger yelling up the stairs for everyone to hurry up. A knock on the door revealed an awkwardly smiling Hermione.
"You ready?" she asked Harry a little too brightly.
No, he wasn't ready. He wasn't ready to go back to classes, to a nagging McGonagall, to a sneering Snape; he wasn't ready to face an annoying Malfoy; he wasn't ready to go back to reality where he was plagued by nightmares and terrifying mental images. And he was ready to leave Gia. But he only shrugged and said, "Yeah, I guess."
Ron's door opened and he appeared in the hallway, lugging his bag behind him. "Time to go, huh?"
Hermione nodded a little. "Yeah," she added quietly. An odd moment of silence hovered over them for a moment before Hermione finally forced a smile and turned to Gia. "Well, I guess we'll see you at Easter. Maybe we'll get to bring the baby."
Ginny grinned. "Oh, I hope so! Do you think your mum'll let you?" she turned her eyes on Ron.
He shrugged. "Not if it was just me, but she probably trusts them," he swung his head in the direction of his best friends.
Gia laughed. "Well, I hope so." She smiled at them. "I guess I'll see you later then."
Hermione returned the smile for a second before wrapping the other girl in a hug. Gia whispered something to Hermione that Harry couldn't hear but that caused both of the girls to giggle and glance at Ron when they pulled apart. Gia then gave Ron a quick hug, which Harry noticed Hermione watched rather closely; he chose to ignore the fact that he was watching it rather intently himself. Afterwards, Ron and Hermione disappeared down the stairs.
As soon as they were gone, a feeling of dread settled heavily in the air. This was it. Time was up.
Without warning, Gia threw her arms around Harry's neck and buried her face into the front of his coat. For a long moment, they simply hugged each other; neither of them wanted to move, but they both knew they had to. When Gia lifted her head without removing her arms, there were tears glistening in her eyes.
Harry couldn't stand there and watch her cry; it was too much to ask of him. Her tears seemed to leak into his very soul, and he didn't know what to do. He had to leave; he had to go right then. There was no time left.
But before he left, there was one thing he had to do. He pulled away from her just long enough to unzip the front pocket of his bag. A second later, he produced a thin package he'd picked up on the last trip to London he'd taken with the Grangers.
He held the small bag out to her, feeling his cheeks heat up slightly. "I bought his for you," he said quietly. "Sorry it's not wrapped or anything."
Gia looked at him for a moment before taking the package and slowly removing the item from the bag. Harry saw her breath catch as she looked at the present. "Little Bear..." she mumbled absently, her eyes studying the book in her hands.
No explanation was needed. Harry knew that the book had been lost after her mother's death. He knew how much he'd give to have something to remind him of his own mother, and he knew that he would do anything in his power to give Gia the same opportunity.
He watched silently as she ran a hand over the cover in awe. And then the tears that had been glistening in her eyes before started to fall. She didn't say a word as she cried.
Feeling something tug at the back of his own eyes, Harry swallowed and spoke up. "Gia, I have to go," he said quietly.
Finally snapping back, Gia looked up at him with tear-streaked cheeks. After a brief second of silence, she once again wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him. But not before whispering something that would change his life forever.
"I love you."
Harry wasn't sure why his eyes fluttered shut as she said it, but he felt like the breath had just been knocked out of him. No one- that he could recollect anyway- had ever said those three words to him. He couldn't remember ever hearing that statement in reference to him, except for the times he'd dreamed of his mother saying it. But this was different. It wasn't a dream; it was real.
The words echoed in his mind, and he knew that the only way to let her know how much she really meant was to return them.
Opening his eyes and brushing a soft kiss against her forehead, he whispered the most important, the truest words he'd ever said in his life.
"I love you, too."
Gia pulled back just enough to search him with open and honest eyes. Then, as if staying was causing her pain, she barely brushed his lips with her own. And then, with a "Goodbye" that was so quiet he could barely make it out, she turned and disappeared down the stairs.
Gone.
Harry wasn't even aware of the fact that he hadn't moved until Ron and Hermione showed back up. They both regarded him silently for a long moment before Ron finally managed a timid question.
"Are you okay?"
Harry looked up with a suddenly clear mind. Not even worrying about his best friends' reactions, he shook his head and spoke clearly. "No, I'm in love with her."
There was another moment of silence. Ron and Hermione exchanged a wordless look, but Harry didn't care. All he cared about was speaking the truth.
He'd never done a better job of it.
*************************************
An hour later, Hermione found herself outside of Platform 9 ¾ in the middle of her parents, a lot of redheads, and Harry. The Weasleys had waited on them to arrive at Mrs. Weasley's insistence that she get to tell the children goodbye. Of course, Hermione wasn't entirely unsure that Mr. Weasley had protested too much, as he'd already offered to buy her parents drinks after they'd left the train station. When Ron rolled his eyes, Hermione caught him in a quick glance and giggled. The loud coughs by Fred and George did not go unnoticed by Ron, who sent his brothers a death glare.
Blushing, Hermione decided to busy herself with Ginny while the adults chatted. Ron and Harry were caught up in a quiet conversation, but instead of being hurt by the fact that they were leaving her out, she was just happy that they were talking.
Ginny seemed to be in a better mood than she'd been in the last time Hermione had seen her.
"So, how as the rest of your holiday?" Hermione remembered how Mrs. Weasley's mood swings had been driving her children mad.
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Mum taught me how to knit," she said dully, pulling up the ankle of her jeans to reveal a pair of blue socks. "Socks are the only thing I can do, and I can't even get them the same size. The left one is about four inches longer than the right."
Hermione giggled. "Sounds fascinating."
"Thrilling." Ginny laughed and shook her head. "So, what all did you do?"
Without meaning to, Hermione glanced briefly in the direction of Ron, who was still talking with Harry. "Uh... Not a whole lot."
Ginny followed Hermione's gaze and whipped her head back around immediately. Her brown eyes widened. "Did you kiss my brother?" she hissed pointedly.
Hermione felt her cheeks heat up, and she stuttered about for an answer. "Er..."
Ginny needed no more of an explanation. She grabbed Hermione's arm and yanked her around to the back of the barrier. The second they were hidden from view, Ginny let go of Hermione and popped her against the upper arm.
Hermione jumped and reached to rub her arm. "Ow! What was that for?"
"Because you kissed my brother! Ew! Just ew!" Ginny wrinkled up her slightly freckled nose.
Hermione rolled her eyes and pursed her lips. "Oh, shut up."
Ginny promptly ignored her. "So, tell me everything. I want details." She paused for a moment and shook her head. "No, I don't. Okay, yes, I do." She cocked her head slightly. "Is that weird?"
Rolling her eyes again, Hermione glanced around uneasily. "I can't tell you here," she whispered. "Our parents are like two feet away."
Ginny glanced at the still chatting adults. "Just tell me what it was like," she urged quietly. "I've never been kissed; I just want to know what it's like."
"I already told you about Viktor."
Ginny frowned. "Well, I would hope that this was better than that. I mean, please tell me Ron didn't shove his tongue down your throat."
"He didn't," Hermione giggled. "Not the first time anyway."
"Hermione!" Ginny laughed but then, as if remembering who they were talking about, looked quite ill. "Okay, I don't need all the details. Just tell me how it felt."
Hermione considered the question. "How could she put it into words? Kissing Ron was like nothing she'd ever felt. The only word worthy of it was...
"Perfect."
"Perfect?"
"It felt perfect," Hermione said quietly. "Like everything I ever wanted was finally happening."
Ginny got the starry look that all girls get when hearing about a first kiss. Then she literally gave a quiet squeak. "Oh, I hope you marry him!"
"Ginny!" Hermione felt herself blush. "That's a bit premature."
Rolling her eyes, the redhead shook her head. "I don't mean anytime soon. But someday. I mean, think about it. We'd be sister! And with the baby, there'd be three girls in the family! And if any of my other brothers ever keep a girlfriend for more than a week..." She slowed down just enough to notice the look Hermione was giving her. "Just if you do get married, you don't have to keep giving me all the details of your love life."
"Ginny!" Hermione went very red and turned the tables long enough to smack Ginny on her own arm.
Ginny burst into laughter and, realizing how easy it was to embarrass the other girl, pressed on. "I'm serious, Hermione. Anything past kissing, I don't need to know about it. It is my brother, after all."
"Shut up," Hermione hissed warningly, looking around to make sure they weren't being eavesdropped on.
Ginny laughed again, but then she suddenly frowned. "Damn!" she exclaimed loudly, immediately flipping her head to make sure her mum hadn't heard her swear.
"What's wrong?"
"It's January," she mumbled. But then brightening a bit, she said, "Wait- when did you guys kiss for the first time?"
"Christmas night. Why?"
"Yes! December!" Ginny actually jumped a little. "I won the bet!"
"What bet?" Hermione asked sharply.
Ginny stopped. "Uh... Nothing. Your hair is really cute."
Hermione eyed her suspiciously for a long moment before finally accepting the compliment. "Thank you. Gia taught me how to get it curly without making it frizzy."
"Gia?" Ginny looked up. "Harry's girlfriend?"
Hermione hadn't even though before speaking, but there was no way around it now. "Yeah," she mumbled quietly.
"So," Ginny crossed her arms. "What? Are you guys like best friends now or what?"
Sighing, Hermione fought the urge to tell Ginny that she was being she stupid. "We went to primary school together. She lives in my neighborhood."
"So, I take it they're still together?"
Hermione nodded, making sure not to tell Ginny that Harry had confessed to being in love with Gia just that morning. She wasn't sure how she even felt about it. Love was a big word- especially at fifteen. But maybe it was possible.
At that moment, she heard Mrs. Weasley say, "Where are the girls? It's time to go."
"Right here," Ginny said, stepping around the barrier with no sign of the resentment she was feeling on her face. Hermione had to give it to her- she was good actress if nothing.
Hermione watched closely as Ginny strolled innocently up to Ron and lifted herself onto tiptoe to whisper something in his ear. He turned very read and immediately shoved his sister very roughly into Fred, who managed to catch her before she hit the ground. She stood back up and headed at Ron with the obvious intent to fight, her face set in anger. Luckily, though, Mr. Weasley stepped in just in time to stop his two youngest children from resorting to punches, hissing at them to stop it or else. Or else what, Hermione had no clue, as they would both be on a train headed hundreds of miles away in a manner of minutes.
Ron looked at Hermione with a small glare before looking away. Hermione groaned inwardly. She was going to kill Ginny.
Mrs. Weasley, surprisingly, chose to ignore the near scuffle and started checking to make sure that of the kids had their bags. "You all should get going. The train leaves soon." She then went about saying her goodbyes.
Hermione turned to her own parents, hugging them and promising to call at the first opportunity. Ron and Harry made their rounds with the Grangers while Mrs. Weasley caught Hermione up in a hug.
"Take care of my baby boy," she whispered, brushing a stray curl away from Hermione's face. She grinned. "Your mother's told us all about it," she answered the unasked question of how she knew. Hermione mentally cursed motherly intuition; she hadn't said anything about it past the Christmas Eve conversation. Mrs. Weasley kissed her forehead. "But I knew a long time ago that it would happen."
A few minutes later when she crossed the barrier onto Platform 9 3/4 , Hermione noticed all too well that Ron hadn't bothered to wait on her. He was already loading his bag onto the train, and when she joined him to do the same, he turned away.
"Ron, wait," she caught his arm and halted his getaway. "I'm sorry."
Ron turned hooded blue eyes on her. "How many people did you tell?"
"What?" She'd only told Ginny.
"Your dad just threatened to kill me if I ever hurt you," he said shortly. "I sure as hell didn't tell him."
"I didn't, either," she protested immediately. "My mum figured it out; she told your parents, too."
Ron rolled his eyes. "Oh, brilliant."
A sudden bout of anger surged in her. "What's the big deal anyway?" she challenged. "Are you embarrassed about it?"
"Don't put words in my mouth."
"Well, what is it then? If you're embarrassed, just say it." She let go of his arm and crossed her own.
"Hermione, shut up." He narrowed his eyes at her, and Hermione found herself furious.
"Don't tell me to shut up!" she said rather loudly.
"Then stop making shit up!" he countered just as loudly.
A few people, mostly fellow Gryffindors who were used to being entertained by their fights, had stopped to listen.
"You're so..." No. She wasn't going to have this out with him right here. Cutting off her original though, she lowered her voice and said, "Whatever. That's just fine." And without another word, she turned away to leave.
"Hermione, stop." He caught her by the elbow and spun her around to face him. "That's not it at all."
She hated the way he could make her feel so hurt when all she wanted to be was mad. Yanking her arm away, she commanded herself not to cry. "Just leave me alone."
Without so much as a warning, he grabbed her shoulders and kissed her. Hard. The kiss left Hermione dizzy, so dizzy that she didn't notice the collective gasp of shock from several of their schoolmates who were milling around the train. When he finally released her, she could barely think.
"I'm not embarrassed," he said seriously. Lowering his voice to where only she could hear it, he said, "I'm too lucky to be embarrassed."
She wanted to cry for a whole other reason now.
He offered up a shy smile. "I just know my family, though. They're going to tease us."
Finally reclaiming some sense of coherence, Hermione reached for his hand and squeezed it gently. "I don't care."
Ron watched her for a long moment before finally grinning and placing her bag in the luggage compartment beside his. "And I'll just ignore them."
Hermione smiled, knowing that Ron had never ignored anyone in his entire life. It was a nice sentiment, though, and she decided to let it pass. They climbed onto the train hand in hand but not before Hermione spotted a grinning Ginny surrounded by three scowling boys, Fred, George, and Harry. All the boys were grumbling as they dug into their bags for money to pay up the youngest member of the Weasley family.
Must have been some bet.
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Please review!
Disclaimer: Nope!
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The next morning was hectic to say the very least. Hermione was up and ready with her bag by the door before the boys even made it downstairs for breakfast. She noticed right away the funny way Harry looked at her, and she knew that Ron must have told him about everything. She caught Ron's eye in question, and he half-nodded before looking away.
The three of them sat in silence while the adult Grangers bustled around with cellular phones on their ears, discussing the schedule for the day with their office. Mrs. Granger pulled hers away long enough to tell the kids that they had to leave in an hour. This, of course, was followed by the sound of the doorbell and the appearance of Gia, who smiled nicely at everyone before disappearing up the stairs with Harry, who still hadn't finished packing. Ron hadn't, either, and Hermione nudged him up the stairs, thankful for once for her parents' busyness.
She followed him into his room and locked the door behind them. "So, what did he say?" she asked immediately as she dropped to the floor beside him and started folding the clothes he was throwing aimlessly at his bag.
Ron rolled his eyes. "He went all overprotective about you and tried to turn it around and say that the way he feels about us is the same way I would feel about him and Ginny.
"What?" Hermione wrinkled up her brow, momentarily forgetting about the freshly ironed shirt she was trying to save from wrinkled doom. "Since when did I turn into Harry's little sister?"
"You tell me!" Ron exclaimed. "That's what I was like. I told him you didn't need anyone to take care of you."
A strange feeling, something close to anger, filled her. "And what else did he say?"
"He said we fight too much."
Hermione was now positive that it was anger. "He should mind his own business."
Ron shrugged and threw another school shirt into the bag and then pulled it back out. "I need something to change into on the train," he explained before carrying on with the story. "And then he was mad because we hadn't told him."
"Well, maybe if he'd been around for more than two damn minutes a day, he would have noticed." The sarcasm was quite evident.
Ron nodded. "I said that, too."
"If he's got a problem with me doing something without his permission, then he better just come out and say it to my face. And I'll tell him exactly what he can do with himself." Ron's eyes widened in shock at her suggestion, but she was too angry to care. "Who the hell does he think he is anyway? He's not my bloody keeper!"
When it was clear that her tirade was over, Ron spoke carefully. "Well, yeah, I mean I know. But I sort of understand why he's upset. I think he's going a bit overboard with the whole overprotective thing, but I can kind of see where he's coming from."
"What do you mean? He's got no right to get mad at us."
"Well, it's one thing when we're here. He didn't even notice because Gia's around to distract him. But when we're back at school, he probably thinks we're going to leave him out or something."
"But we wouldn't do that," she protested at once. "Especially not now with everything the way that it is. He should know that."
Ron once again got the look that showed he felt like he was giving too much away. "We're the only people he's ever been able to really depend on. He's probably just scared we're going to abandon him or something. He's probably got some kind of deeply hidden resentment toward his parents for leaving him when he was just a baby, and he doesn't want us to do the same."
He finished quietly, and Hermione stared at him in silent shock. "When did you become a psychologist?"
Ron blushed slightly. "I read a book about orphans once. You know, just to see if I could help..." he mumbled as he looked away.
It was almost as if he was embarrassed to care about his best friend so much, but Hermione's heart literally swelled at the motion. It was the sweetest thing she'd ever heard in her life. Without so much as a second of hesitation, she grabbed his face in her hands and pressed her lips tightly to his own. When she pulled away, she didn't remove her hands from his chin. She looked him straight in the eye and said, "You are so perfect."
He laughed uneasily, obviously embarrassed but pleased. In an attempt at humor, he said, "Yeah, you say that now, but wait until the O.W.L.s come around."
Hermione laughed and gave him one more quick kiss before returning to the clothes folding. "Well, we won't ignore him," she went on. "We'll make sure that we don't, okay?"
Ron mumbled, " 'Course, we won't," before taking back over his packing and shoving all of his clothes in anyway they would fit.
**************************
"I guess that's it." Harry zipped up his bag and reached for his schoolbooks, which were going on the train with him.
Gia was sitting on the floor with her back leaned against the bed. "Are you okay?" she asked suddenly. "With the whole Ron and Hermione thing, I mean."
Harry had filled her in on his conversation with Ron while she'd helped him pack. She'd listened without interrupting, and he was grateful that there was someone he could just openly vent to while he felt betrayed by the only other people he could vent to.
In answer to her question, he shrugged. "I don't know. It's just weird." Frowning slightly, he said, "And it will never work."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because it just won't," he said simply. "You don't know them like I do. All they do is fight and bitch about each other. And they're total opposites- like night and day. And Hermione nags him too much, and he does things to purposely annoy her, just to get a rise out of her."
Gia was smirking in a strange way that Harry wasn't sure he liked. "They sound perfect for each other."
"What?!" She was supposed to be on his side, not theirs.
Gia rolled her eyes. "When you guys were younger, I bet he teased her all the time, didn't he?"
"Yeah, but so what?" Harry shrugged. "Everyone teased her. She was annoying and got on everyone's nerves. She didn't have any friends."
Gia laughed. "That's mean."
He shrugged again. "Well, it's the truth. You knew her back then; you know how she was." He gave her a pointed look. "And from what I hear, you weren't exactly nice to her."
Gia laughed again. "She told you about that?"
"It was the first thing she told me." Harry stood up and walked over to the bed where he sat down. "But anyway, what does him teasing her have to do with anything?"
"Because that's how little boys are," she said with an obvious sigh. "When a little boy likes a little girl, he's mean to her. He pulls her pigtails and puts frogs in her chair."
"Hermione never wore pigtails- I don't think she could even brush her hair, much less restrain it." They both snickered before he went on. "And Ron wouldn't have dared to put a frog in her chair because she would have hexed him until he couldn't do anything but jump and ribbit."
Gia's eyes widened. "Can you really do that?"
"Hermione could- even as an eleven year old. I don't think there's a spell that she can't do. Ron and I aren't so lucky," he added ruefully.
She giggled. "Well, anyway, what I mean is that they fight because they like each other. It's pent up sexual tension."
Harry wrinkled his nose. "Okay, let's not talk about it anymore."
Gia laughed again and joined him on the bed. "Right," she said, glancing at her watch. "We have twenty-six minutes left, and I don't want to waste them."
Harry knew what she meant and didn't protest when she kissed him.
"I'm going to miss you," she mumbled against his lips.
He lowered his forehead to lean against hers. As he looked into her eyes and linked his fingers through hers, he wondered what to say. Saying that he would miss her, too, didn't seem like enough; missing her wouldn't even come close to what he would feel when he got back to school. Missing was a word he would use when he couldn't play Quidditch for a whole summer- nothing compared to the way he felt about Gia.
But how was he supposed to tell her how he felt about her, how much she meant to him, when he couldn't even sort it out in his mind?
He kissed her again, trying to commit the feeling to memory. It would be all he had to go on until at least Easter.
"I wish I wasn't leaving," he whispered, pulling away to kiss the bottom of her earlobe.
But some things can't be helped, and twenty minutes later, Harry and Gia broke away from each other to the sound of Mr. Granger yelling up the stairs for everyone to hurry up. A knock on the door revealed an awkwardly smiling Hermione.
"You ready?" she asked Harry a little too brightly.
No, he wasn't ready. He wasn't ready to go back to classes, to a nagging McGonagall, to a sneering Snape; he wasn't ready to face an annoying Malfoy; he wasn't ready to go back to reality where he was plagued by nightmares and terrifying mental images. And he was ready to leave Gia. But he only shrugged and said, "Yeah, I guess."
Ron's door opened and he appeared in the hallway, lugging his bag behind him. "Time to go, huh?"
Hermione nodded a little. "Yeah," she added quietly. An odd moment of silence hovered over them for a moment before Hermione finally forced a smile and turned to Gia. "Well, I guess we'll see you at Easter. Maybe we'll get to bring the baby."
Ginny grinned. "Oh, I hope so! Do you think your mum'll let you?" she turned her eyes on Ron.
He shrugged. "Not if it was just me, but she probably trusts them," he swung his head in the direction of his best friends.
Gia laughed. "Well, I hope so." She smiled at them. "I guess I'll see you later then."
Hermione returned the smile for a second before wrapping the other girl in a hug. Gia whispered something to Hermione that Harry couldn't hear but that caused both of the girls to giggle and glance at Ron when they pulled apart. Gia then gave Ron a quick hug, which Harry noticed Hermione watched rather closely; he chose to ignore the fact that he was watching it rather intently himself. Afterwards, Ron and Hermione disappeared down the stairs.
As soon as they were gone, a feeling of dread settled heavily in the air. This was it. Time was up.
Without warning, Gia threw her arms around Harry's neck and buried her face into the front of his coat. For a long moment, they simply hugged each other; neither of them wanted to move, but they both knew they had to. When Gia lifted her head without removing her arms, there were tears glistening in her eyes.
Harry couldn't stand there and watch her cry; it was too much to ask of him. Her tears seemed to leak into his very soul, and he didn't know what to do. He had to leave; he had to go right then. There was no time left.
But before he left, there was one thing he had to do. He pulled away from her just long enough to unzip the front pocket of his bag. A second later, he produced a thin package he'd picked up on the last trip to London he'd taken with the Grangers.
He held the small bag out to her, feeling his cheeks heat up slightly. "I bought his for you," he said quietly. "Sorry it's not wrapped or anything."
Gia looked at him for a moment before taking the package and slowly removing the item from the bag. Harry saw her breath catch as she looked at the present. "Little Bear..." she mumbled absently, her eyes studying the book in her hands.
No explanation was needed. Harry knew that the book had been lost after her mother's death. He knew how much he'd give to have something to remind him of his own mother, and he knew that he would do anything in his power to give Gia the same opportunity.
He watched silently as she ran a hand over the cover in awe. And then the tears that had been glistening in her eyes before started to fall. She didn't say a word as she cried.
Feeling something tug at the back of his own eyes, Harry swallowed and spoke up. "Gia, I have to go," he said quietly.
Finally snapping back, Gia looked up at him with tear-streaked cheeks. After a brief second of silence, she once again wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him. But not before whispering something that would change his life forever.
"I love you."
Harry wasn't sure why his eyes fluttered shut as she said it, but he felt like the breath had just been knocked out of him. No one- that he could recollect anyway- had ever said those three words to him. He couldn't remember ever hearing that statement in reference to him, except for the times he'd dreamed of his mother saying it. But this was different. It wasn't a dream; it was real.
The words echoed in his mind, and he knew that the only way to let her know how much she really meant was to return them.
Opening his eyes and brushing a soft kiss against her forehead, he whispered the most important, the truest words he'd ever said in his life.
"I love you, too."
Gia pulled back just enough to search him with open and honest eyes. Then, as if staying was causing her pain, she barely brushed his lips with her own. And then, with a "Goodbye" that was so quiet he could barely make it out, she turned and disappeared down the stairs.
Gone.
Harry wasn't even aware of the fact that he hadn't moved until Ron and Hermione showed back up. They both regarded him silently for a long moment before Ron finally managed a timid question.
"Are you okay?"
Harry looked up with a suddenly clear mind. Not even worrying about his best friends' reactions, he shook his head and spoke clearly. "No, I'm in love with her."
There was another moment of silence. Ron and Hermione exchanged a wordless look, but Harry didn't care. All he cared about was speaking the truth.
He'd never done a better job of it.
*************************************
An hour later, Hermione found herself outside of Platform 9 ¾ in the middle of her parents, a lot of redheads, and Harry. The Weasleys had waited on them to arrive at Mrs. Weasley's insistence that she get to tell the children goodbye. Of course, Hermione wasn't entirely unsure that Mr. Weasley had protested too much, as he'd already offered to buy her parents drinks after they'd left the train station. When Ron rolled his eyes, Hermione caught him in a quick glance and giggled. The loud coughs by Fred and George did not go unnoticed by Ron, who sent his brothers a death glare.
Blushing, Hermione decided to busy herself with Ginny while the adults chatted. Ron and Harry were caught up in a quiet conversation, but instead of being hurt by the fact that they were leaving her out, she was just happy that they were talking.
Ginny seemed to be in a better mood than she'd been in the last time Hermione had seen her.
"So, how as the rest of your holiday?" Hermione remembered how Mrs. Weasley's mood swings had been driving her children mad.
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Mum taught me how to knit," she said dully, pulling up the ankle of her jeans to reveal a pair of blue socks. "Socks are the only thing I can do, and I can't even get them the same size. The left one is about four inches longer than the right."
Hermione giggled. "Sounds fascinating."
"Thrilling." Ginny laughed and shook her head. "So, what all did you do?"
Without meaning to, Hermione glanced briefly in the direction of Ron, who was still talking with Harry. "Uh... Not a whole lot."
Ginny followed Hermione's gaze and whipped her head back around immediately. Her brown eyes widened. "Did you kiss my brother?" she hissed pointedly.
Hermione felt her cheeks heat up, and she stuttered about for an answer. "Er..."
Ginny needed no more of an explanation. She grabbed Hermione's arm and yanked her around to the back of the barrier. The second they were hidden from view, Ginny let go of Hermione and popped her against the upper arm.
Hermione jumped and reached to rub her arm. "Ow! What was that for?"
"Because you kissed my brother! Ew! Just ew!" Ginny wrinkled up her slightly freckled nose.
Hermione rolled her eyes and pursed her lips. "Oh, shut up."
Ginny promptly ignored her. "So, tell me everything. I want details." She paused for a moment and shook her head. "No, I don't. Okay, yes, I do." She cocked her head slightly. "Is that weird?"
Rolling her eyes again, Hermione glanced around uneasily. "I can't tell you here," she whispered. "Our parents are like two feet away."
Ginny glanced at the still chatting adults. "Just tell me what it was like," she urged quietly. "I've never been kissed; I just want to know what it's like."
"I already told you about Viktor."
Ginny frowned. "Well, I would hope that this was better than that. I mean, please tell me Ron didn't shove his tongue down your throat."
"He didn't," Hermione giggled. "Not the first time anyway."
"Hermione!" Ginny laughed but then, as if remembering who they were talking about, looked quite ill. "Okay, I don't need all the details. Just tell me how it felt."
Hermione considered the question. "How could she put it into words? Kissing Ron was like nothing she'd ever felt. The only word worthy of it was...
"Perfect."
"Perfect?"
"It felt perfect," Hermione said quietly. "Like everything I ever wanted was finally happening."
Ginny got the starry look that all girls get when hearing about a first kiss. Then she literally gave a quiet squeak. "Oh, I hope you marry him!"
"Ginny!" Hermione felt herself blush. "That's a bit premature."
Rolling her eyes, the redhead shook her head. "I don't mean anytime soon. But someday. I mean, think about it. We'd be sister! And with the baby, there'd be three girls in the family! And if any of my other brothers ever keep a girlfriend for more than a week..." She slowed down just enough to notice the look Hermione was giving her. "Just if you do get married, you don't have to keep giving me all the details of your love life."
"Ginny!" Hermione went very red and turned the tables long enough to smack Ginny on her own arm.
Ginny burst into laughter and, realizing how easy it was to embarrass the other girl, pressed on. "I'm serious, Hermione. Anything past kissing, I don't need to know about it. It is my brother, after all."
"Shut up," Hermione hissed warningly, looking around to make sure they weren't being eavesdropped on.
Ginny laughed again, but then she suddenly frowned. "Damn!" she exclaimed loudly, immediately flipping her head to make sure her mum hadn't heard her swear.
"What's wrong?"
"It's January," she mumbled. But then brightening a bit, she said, "Wait- when did you guys kiss for the first time?"
"Christmas night. Why?"
"Yes! December!" Ginny actually jumped a little. "I won the bet!"
"What bet?" Hermione asked sharply.
Ginny stopped. "Uh... Nothing. Your hair is really cute."
Hermione eyed her suspiciously for a long moment before finally accepting the compliment. "Thank you. Gia taught me how to get it curly without making it frizzy."
"Gia?" Ginny looked up. "Harry's girlfriend?"
Hermione hadn't even though before speaking, but there was no way around it now. "Yeah," she mumbled quietly.
"So," Ginny crossed her arms. "What? Are you guys like best friends now or what?"
Sighing, Hermione fought the urge to tell Ginny that she was being she stupid. "We went to primary school together. She lives in my neighborhood."
"So, I take it they're still together?"
Hermione nodded, making sure not to tell Ginny that Harry had confessed to being in love with Gia just that morning. She wasn't sure how she even felt about it. Love was a big word- especially at fifteen. But maybe it was possible.
At that moment, she heard Mrs. Weasley say, "Where are the girls? It's time to go."
"Right here," Ginny said, stepping around the barrier with no sign of the resentment she was feeling on her face. Hermione had to give it to her- she was good actress if nothing.
Hermione watched closely as Ginny strolled innocently up to Ron and lifted herself onto tiptoe to whisper something in his ear. He turned very read and immediately shoved his sister very roughly into Fred, who managed to catch her before she hit the ground. She stood back up and headed at Ron with the obvious intent to fight, her face set in anger. Luckily, though, Mr. Weasley stepped in just in time to stop his two youngest children from resorting to punches, hissing at them to stop it or else. Or else what, Hermione had no clue, as they would both be on a train headed hundreds of miles away in a manner of minutes.
Ron looked at Hermione with a small glare before looking away. Hermione groaned inwardly. She was going to kill Ginny.
Mrs. Weasley, surprisingly, chose to ignore the near scuffle and started checking to make sure that of the kids had their bags. "You all should get going. The train leaves soon." She then went about saying her goodbyes.
Hermione turned to her own parents, hugging them and promising to call at the first opportunity. Ron and Harry made their rounds with the Grangers while Mrs. Weasley caught Hermione up in a hug.
"Take care of my baby boy," she whispered, brushing a stray curl away from Hermione's face. She grinned. "Your mother's told us all about it," she answered the unasked question of how she knew. Hermione mentally cursed motherly intuition; she hadn't said anything about it past the Christmas Eve conversation. Mrs. Weasley kissed her forehead. "But I knew a long time ago that it would happen."
A few minutes later when she crossed the barrier onto Platform 9 3/4 , Hermione noticed all too well that Ron hadn't bothered to wait on her. He was already loading his bag onto the train, and when she joined him to do the same, he turned away.
"Ron, wait," she caught his arm and halted his getaway. "I'm sorry."
Ron turned hooded blue eyes on her. "How many people did you tell?"
"What?" She'd only told Ginny.
"Your dad just threatened to kill me if I ever hurt you," he said shortly. "I sure as hell didn't tell him."
"I didn't, either," she protested immediately. "My mum figured it out; she told your parents, too."
Ron rolled his eyes. "Oh, brilliant."
A sudden bout of anger surged in her. "What's the big deal anyway?" she challenged. "Are you embarrassed about it?"
"Don't put words in my mouth."
"Well, what is it then? If you're embarrassed, just say it." She let go of his arm and crossed her own.
"Hermione, shut up." He narrowed his eyes at her, and Hermione found herself furious.
"Don't tell me to shut up!" she said rather loudly.
"Then stop making shit up!" he countered just as loudly.
A few people, mostly fellow Gryffindors who were used to being entertained by their fights, had stopped to listen.
"You're so..." No. She wasn't going to have this out with him right here. Cutting off her original though, she lowered her voice and said, "Whatever. That's just fine." And without another word, she turned away to leave.
"Hermione, stop." He caught her by the elbow and spun her around to face him. "That's not it at all."
She hated the way he could make her feel so hurt when all she wanted to be was mad. Yanking her arm away, she commanded herself not to cry. "Just leave me alone."
Without so much as a warning, he grabbed her shoulders and kissed her. Hard. The kiss left Hermione dizzy, so dizzy that she didn't notice the collective gasp of shock from several of their schoolmates who were milling around the train. When he finally released her, she could barely think.
"I'm not embarrassed," he said seriously. Lowering his voice to where only she could hear it, he said, "I'm too lucky to be embarrassed."
She wanted to cry for a whole other reason now.
He offered up a shy smile. "I just know my family, though. They're going to tease us."
Finally reclaiming some sense of coherence, Hermione reached for his hand and squeezed it gently. "I don't care."
Ron watched her for a long moment before finally grinning and placing her bag in the luggage compartment beside his. "And I'll just ignore them."
Hermione smiled, knowing that Ron had never ignored anyone in his entire life. It was a nice sentiment, though, and she decided to let it pass. They climbed onto the train hand in hand but not before Hermione spotted a grinning Ginny surrounded by three scowling boys, Fred, George, and Harry. All the boys were grumbling as they dug into their bags for money to pay up the youngest member of the Weasley family.
Must have been some bet.
***********************
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