Someone tapped Harry on the shoulder, waking him up from his tired
sleep. Slowly the black cleared around his eyes and he saw Dumbledore
standing against the darkened infirmary windows.
"Hello Harry," he said gently as the youth blinked groggily, trying to wake up. Suddenly the feelings of panic that he felt about Hermione came rushing back on Harry, and he sat up.
"Where's Hermione?" asked Harry of the head, not bothering with polite conversation.
"Miss Granger is quite all right." Dumbledore said quietly, looking at Harry from beneath his half moon glasses. His long white beard and hair hung around his face as a sort of halo. Harry breathed a sigh of relief. "Rather shaken up, but as you are whom you are, that can be imagined."
"What?" asked Harry, missing the last part of Dumbledore's sentence.
"No matter," Dumbledore said, looking down at the floor. Obviously something was going on and Harry felt his sense of relief vanish as quickly as Ron ate chocolate frogs.
"Harry, what do you think caused you to pass out?" Dumbledore asked, looking Harry in the eyes. The younger boy shook his head, his thoughts uncertain. Obviously it had something to do with Voldemort, but he wasn't sure what.
"Whenever I have pain like that it either means something has happened or Voldemort is feeling an extreme emotion."
Dumbledore seemed unfazed by the use of the name and nodded. Harry leaned on the pillows tiredly, pressing his palms against his eyes.
"Harry," the older wizard said quietly. "Hogwarts has always been a sense of sanctuary to those whom resided within these walls. As such, I do not turn away anyone that belongs here. The problem is when the threat comes from within the school and endangers those that are being protected."
Harry felt his heart hammering against his ribs, a feeling of dread settling in the pit of his stomach. Dumbledore took a deep breath and looked at Harry again.
"I believe that if Voldemort is indeed planning another assault on you, it does not seem like a wise decision for you to stay at Hogwarts."
Harry blinked, his mind reeling. Closing his eyes, he tried to steady himself against the waves of emotion that were flooding over him.
"Where do you suggest I go?" Harry said his voice dangerously quiet. "Privet drive?"
"No, I suggest that you go into hiding Harry." Dumbledore said, gazing on Harry with pity. The kind look only infuriated the boy more and he shook his head in disbelief.
"So you are making me go into hiding. Send me away from Hogwarts. I suppose you're going to tell me that I can't talk to Ron or Hermione any longer." Harry spat out, his anger getting the best of him.
"Harry, I do not wish this to happen any more then you do."
"Oh really, well why didn't you do this in my first year? Or my second? Or my third? What about fourth, and last year?" Harry narrowed his green eyes. "Why are you really doing this?"
"As I said before, I am doing this on behalf of the wellbeing of the other students. Harry, with the return of Voldemort public knowledge, I think you most of all would be ready to do your part to keep the peace."
"What peace?" Harry said loudly, causing Dumbledore to turn his head sharply. "Sir, I don't know if you noticed, but he's back. VOLDEMORT IS BACK."
"I am well aware of the current world event." Dumbledore replied coolly. Harry was taken aback at the change the professor had undergone. Once a constant and reliable role model and mentor, whom he could always trust had what seemed become a totally different person.
"There's nothing that will change that Voldemort is back, and he is obviously planning something. The only thing left for you is to draw back, leave Hogwarts and make sure you do not contact any one once you are gone."
Harry stared at Dumbledore. He must be dreaming- it couldn't be real. He looked down at the pale blue covers and the white sheets of the infirmary bed. He was being banished, sent away, and turned away from the one place he belonged.
"It has also been brought to my attention that you and Miss Granger have become friendlier. I will ask you for her sake, to break off any thoughts of anything more then friendship."
Harry turned sharply to look at his older professor.
"You're kidding me." Harry said quietly. Dumbledore shook his head, and Harry felt a blind rage erupt behind his closed eyelids.
"I don't know what you've heard, but Hermione and I aren't anything. We're just friends- whether I want that or not. I'm not about -"
"Harry." Dumbledore cut him off swiftly and silenced him by the tone of his voice which was warning. "The next time that you feel your scar hurt with an intensity such as this, you will leave the school. Make sure you tell no one where you are going."
The wizard's demeanor softened as he looked at the boy who glared angrily and bitterly at the wall in front of him.
"Harry, if I had it my way I would chose another path to take."
The boy turned and looked at the wizard, his green eyes masked suddenly.
"So would I professor." He said quietly and then looked down at his hands. Dumbledore raised his hand as if to touch Harry's shoulder, but thought the better of it, turned and walked out of the infirmary as Harry put his head in his hands in a simple gesture of defeat.
*
Harry slipped on his shoes and quietly pulled on a sweater, brushing back his unruly black hair. He made up the bed quickly and walked to the Gryffindor common room, the halls deserted at nearly midnight.
Ever since Dumbledore had visited Harry that evening, his mind had been ablaze with thoughts and emotions. He was enraged at Dumbledore, at himself for letting the scar get him into such trouble, and scared. Most of all however, he felt a blinding rage for Voldemort. He had taken everything he loved away from him, from his parents, to his guardian Sirius, and now he was loosing Ron and Hermione.
Just the thought of Hermione made him tired, the hidden feelings he had been trying so hard to fight off for so long now seemed the least of his problems and at the same time weighed down on his shoulders. He was leaving her, possibly forever, until Voldemort was found, and she would never know how he felt. He was positive that she didn't love him...but he had to tell her. He had to get something off his chest...
He told the fat lady the password and as he entered the deserted common room he stopped dead in his tracks. Hermione was lying on one of the sofas in front of the fire, asleep. He quietly walked over to where she was asleep and knelt down, careful not to wake her.
In Harry's eyes she was the most beautiful girl he had ever met. Her wit and her intelligence only intensified the way his breath caught in his chest when they touched, and that electric shock he felt when she smiled at him. Hermione slept peacefully, her lips parted slightly, a curl falling lightly against her cheek. Her eyelashes made half moons against her cheeks, her chest rose and fell slowly and Harry threw all caution to the wind.
Slowly, hesitantly, he leaned over Hermione, just inches from her face. His pulse beating dizzyingly fast against his temple, he felt her breath exhale against his lips.
"I love you." He whispered, the words forming against his lips without him even thinking. Then, he leaned down, and gently placed his lips on top of Hermione's.
"Hello Harry," he said gently as the youth blinked groggily, trying to wake up. Suddenly the feelings of panic that he felt about Hermione came rushing back on Harry, and he sat up.
"Where's Hermione?" asked Harry of the head, not bothering with polite conversation.
"Miss Granger is quite all right." Dumbledore said quietly, looking at Harry from beneath his half moon glasses. His long white beard and hair hung around his face as a sort of halo. Harry breathed a sigh of relief. "Rather shaken up, but as you are whom you are, that can be imagined."
"What?" asked Harry, missing the last part of Dumbledore's sentence.
"No matter," Dumbledore said, looking down at the floor. Obviously something was going on and Harry felt his sense of relief vanish as quickly as Ron ate chocolate frogs.
"Harry, what do you think caused you to pass out?" Dumbledore asked, looking Harry in the eyes. The younger boy shook his head, his thoughts uncertain. Obviously it had something to do with Voldemort, but he wasn't sure what.
"Whenever I have pain like that it either means something has happened or Voldemort is feeling an extreme emotion."
Dumbledore seemed unfazed by the use of the name and nodded. Harry leaned on the pillows tiredly, pressing his palms against his eyes.
"Harry," the older wizard said quietly. "Hogwarts has always been a sense of sanctuary to those whom resided within these walls. As such, I do not turn away anyone that belongs here. The problem is when the threat comes from within the school and endangers those that are being protected."
Harry felt his heart hammering against his ribs, a feeling of dread settling in the pit of his stomach. Dumbledore took a deep breath and looked at Harry again.
"I believe that if Voldemort is indeed planning another assault on you, it does not seem like a wise decision for you to stay at Hogwarts."
Harry blinked, his mind reeling. Closing his eyes, he tried to steady himself against the waves of emotion that were flooding over him.
"Where do you suggest I go?" Harry said his voice dangerously quiet. "Privet drive?"
"No, I suggest that you go into hiding Harry." Dumbledore said, gazing on Harry with pity. The kind look only infuriated the boy more and he shook his head in disbelief.
"So you are making me go into hiding. Send me away from Hogwarts. I suppose you're going to tell me that I can't talk to Ron or Hermione any longer." Harry spat out, his anger getting the best of him.
"Harry, I do not wish this to happen any more then you do."
"Oh really, well why didn't you do this in my first year? Or my second? Or my third? What about fourth, and last year?" Harry narrowed his green eyes. "Why are you really doing this?"
"As I said before, I am doing this on behalf of the wellbeing of the other students. Harry, with the return of Voldemort public knowledge, I think you most of all would be ready to do your part to keep the peace."
"What peace?" Harry said loudly, causing Dumbledore to turn his head sharply. "Sir, I don't know if you noticed, but he's back. VOLDEMORT IS BACK."
"I am well aware of the current world event." Dumbledore replied coolly. Harry was taken aback at the change the professor had undergone. Once a constant and reliable role model and mentor, whom he could always trust had what seemed become a totally different person.
"There's nothing that will change that Voldemort is back, and he is obviously planning something. The only thing left for you is to draw back, leave Hogwarts and make sure you do not contact any one once you are gone."
Harry stared at Dumbledore. He must be dreaming- it couldn't be real. He looked down at the pale blue covers and the white sheets of the infirmary bed. He was being banished, sent away, and turned away from the one place he belonged.
"It has also been brought to my attention that you and Miss Granger have become friendlier. I will ask you for her sake, to break off any thoughts of anything more then friendship."
Harry turned sharply to look at his older professor.
"You're kidding me." Harry said quietly. Dumbledore shook his head, and Harry felt a blind rage erupt behind his closed eyelids.
"I don't know what you've heard, but Hermione and I aren't anything. We're just friends- whether I want that or not. I'm not about -"
"Harry." Dumbledore cut him off swiftly and silenced him by the tone of his voice which was warning. "The next time that you feel your scar hurt with an intensity such as this, you will leave the school. Make sure you tell no one where you are going."
The wizard's demeanor softened as he looked at the boy who glared angrily and bitterly at the wall in front of him.
"Harry, if I had it my way I would chose another path to take."
The boy turned and looked at the wizard, his green eyes masked suddenly.
"So would I professor." He said quietly and then looked down at his hands. Dumbledore raised his hand as if to touch Harry's shoulder, but thought the better of it, turned and walked out of the infirmary as Harry put his head in his hands in a simple gesture of defeat.
*
Harry slipped on his shoes and quietly pulled on a sweater, brushing back his unruly black hair. He made up the bed quickly and walked to the Gryffindor common room, the halls deserted at nearly midnight.
Ever since Dumbledore had visited Harry that evening, his mind had been ablaze with thoughts and emotions. He was enraged at Dumbledore, at himself for letting the scar get him into such trouble, and scared. Most of all however, he felt a blinding rage for Voldemort. He had taken everything he loved away from him, from his parents, to his guardian Sirius, and now he was loosing Ron and Hermione.
Just the thought of Hermione made him tired, the hidden feelings he had been trying so hard to fight off for so long now seemed the least of his problems and at the same time weighed down on his shoulders. He was leaving her, possibly forever, until Voldemort was found, and she would never know how he felt. He was positive that she didn't love him...but he had to tell her. He had to get something off his chest...
He told the fat lady the password and as he entered the deserted common room he stopped dead in his tracks. Hermione was lying on one of the sofas in front of the fire, asleep. He quietly walked over to where she was asleep and knelt down, careful not to wake her.
In Harry's eyes she was the most beautiful girl he had ever met. Her wit and her intelligence only intensified the way his breath caught in his chest when they touched, and that electric shock he felt when she smiled at him. Hermione slept peacefully, her lips parted slightly, a curl falling lightly against her cheek. Her eyelashes made half moons against her cheeks, her chest rose and fell slowly and Harry threw all caution to the wind.
Slowly, hesitantly, he leaned over Hermione, just inches from her face. His pulse beating dizzyingly fast against his temple, he felt her breath exhale against his lips.
"I love you." He whispered, the words forming against his lips without him even thinking. Then, he leaned down, and gently placed his lips on top of Hermione's.