Harry knew very well what would be waiting for him once Hermione and
Ron had gone upstairs. Renata had stared at him in such a way that it
somehow conveyed to him that he was to remain after they left. She stayed
too.
Harry braced himself for her anger. Sure enough it came, though it wasn't exactly what he expected.
"Harry, Hermione can take care of herself, and so can I. We don't know you to look after us." Worse than yelling, her voice was cold and distant.
"I know both of you can take care of yourselves. And that I had no right to say you should both stay home but.I care about you.both. I care about both of you. Hermione's practically my sister."
"And me?" she asked.
Harry gritted his teeth. Now that it came down to it what was he supposed to say? He said nothing.
"What about me, Harry?" She was still standing and he sitting and she leaned down and repeated viciously, "What about me?"
Rage gripped Harry and he stood up, "Renata, I hate you!"
"What?" she asked, startled. Clearly she hadn't thought this is what his response would be and must have thought she'd heard him wrong.
"I hate you." he repeated.
"W-w-why?" she stammered. Harry could see in her eyes that she was confused. He'd given her no sign that this would be coming.
"Because.because.because I love you! I hate you for making me fall in love with you! I hate it! It makes me feel helpless!"
"What?" She blinked in surprise.
"Helpless because I need you! I hate you because I love you! It tortures me and makes me want to pull out my hair! I love you and I hate you! You lead me on and then verbally abuse me when you don't outright hit me or hex me! I can't take this anymore! We've got to either love each other or hate each other but I can't put up with this anymore! I just can't!" He was surprised to find himself near tears and hysteria. He should stop now, he should have stopped a while ago but now that he'd said all this he couldn't.
Her eyes widened in further shock.
"I just can't, Renata. I can't." He took her face in his hands and kissed her deeply. She wasn't fighting him, not anymore at least. At first she had tried to remove his hands from her face but now she just loosely gripped his wrists. When he stopped kissing her, he gently but firmly pushed her away from him and transferred his grip to her shoulders, keeping her from coming any nearer to him again. "Choose. Please, choose. I can't struggle like this anymore. Tell me you love me and I'll the happiest man alive, tell me you hate me and I'll try to get on with life. But please. just choose."
"I choose you. I love you, too."
A grin of joy spread across Harry's face. "Really?"
She nodded.
Harry moved his hands to her waist, lifted her off the ground, and twirled her around. He laughed and so did she. "Put me down!" she laughed.
"Why are we both idiots?" he asked still twirling her around and around.
"I'm not an idiot. Just you."
He set her down on her feet. "We're both idiots if we were stubborn enough to miss out on this." He kissed her again.
He heard laughing from behind him and turned around to see Ron as well as the rest of the boys from his dormitory. Hermione stood next to Ron and if she wasn't quite laughing as openly as the rest she was definitely smiling.
Ron laughed even harder than the rest. "What did I tell you?" he said to Seamus elbowing him in the ribs. "I knew that once they started talking there'd be major snogging going on." He laughed again.
"You were right," admitted Dean; Seamus nodded agreement.
"Yeah." Harry smiled fondly at Renata and was pleased when she returned the smile. *********************************************************
Harry smiled. It had been a week since he had told Renata how he felt. It had been a very good week, there was no longer anything awkward about being alone together and she stopped being so acid toward him (most of the time). She suddenly started showing up to Quiditch practice early again and staying after to help him put away all the team equipment again, and she never objected if Harry stole a kiss or two in an abandoned hallway. Yes, things with Renata had improved but things with everyone else became unpleasant.
Harry's rant in the common became common knowledge among a good number of Gryffindors and a few students of other houses (mainly fifth years). The guys had been giving him a hard time at first and there were a great many "I told you so's" from the boys in his dormitory who said he should have started dating Renata ages ago and they asked uncomfortable questions; uncomfortable for Harry at least and questions they had no business asking at all. The most common of which was from the boys in his dormitory (except for Anthony) asking if Renata was a good kisser. Harry's only reply was a grin and the words, "I'm not telling and I don't plan on giving you the opportunity to find out for yourself".
Harry had no choice but to endure their taunting. Ginny became somewhat distant to him. When he pointed this out to Hermione-he was fairly sure that pointing it out to Ron would not have been wise-she answered him, "It could be because she had a crush on you for so long and now you have a girlfriend that's not her. Or maybe it's because Colin Creevy seems to be occupying most of her spare attention. It's probably a combination of the two." At the moment she chose to say this Harry saw that Ginny and Colin were sitting together off to the side of the common room and she suddenly laughed at some joke he had just told.
There was another new development in the major romances among Harry's friends. Harry had been shocked to come into the common room late Thursday night after meeting with Sirius for a while to discover two of his friends alone in the common room.
Harry blinked in surprise. The boy sat with an arm around the waist of a bushy haired brunette and the other arm draped over her shoulder, holding her fairly close. The girl held the boy's head with one hand and the other hung limply at her side. They were thoroughly engrossed in kissing one another and didn't notice Harry walk in. He couldn't see their faces but slowly Harry's mind started to make some connections.
Bushy brown hair.
Red hair.
Bushy brown hair. Hermione.
Red hair. Ron.
Ron. Hermione. Ron. Hermione. It suddenly dawned on him. His two best friends were down here in the common room kissing each other and if he wasn't mistaken they seemed to have little intention of stopping any time soon. As often as not those two would as soon yell at each other as they gave a kind word. "Ron? Hermione?" He had to repeat their names twice more before either of them looked up at him. Ron had a momentary grin and then he looked rather annoyed at being interrupted. Harry thought Hermione blushed a little when she saw him and realized he'd been standing there. "You two?" he asked, still in disbelief.
Ron replied, "Yeah. Us. We didn't want to tell you before because you refused to admit you liked Renata and Hermione insisted that it wasn't fair to you to leave you either alone or with Renata the way the two of you were. And since the two of you got together we just never found a good time to tell you. Hermione and I have been dating for several months now."
Harry wondered how he'd been so oblivious to this. He realized just how much he must have been wrapped up in his own problems. He grunted. Maybe he wasn't as arrogant as Renata claimed he was but he was apparently more self-absorbed than he'd ever realized.
Thinking back on it Harry was surprised he hadn't noticed it before. That was catch about hindsight; it often did come twenty/twenty and make you wonder how you missed it the first time. ***************************
After Quiditch practice the next day, the Gryffindor Quiditch team approached Renata and Harry.
Claire told them, "We need to up the number of practices until our last game."
"That's right. Our last game is May 4th. That's only a week and a half away you know. We want practice five nights a week," said Ginny.
Dennis added, "We want to pulverize those Slytherins!"
There was a general air of agreement with that last statement.
"Okay. You've got it. Five nights a week. What two nights do you want free?"
"I suggest Friday and Sunday."
"Okay. Then I'll be sure to see you at practice tomorrow." The team began to disperse. Harry rubbed his head.
"What's the matter?" asked Renata.
"Thinking."
"Don't think too hard. No wonder you've got a headache." She grinned.
"My back hurts. I think I've got a knot in it, just here." He indicated a spot just under his left shoulder blade. "Will you.?"
"Alright, but don't make a habit out of this. Sit down." He knelt down on the ground and she started massaging his back. "How are you going to handle extra Quiditch practice on top of all your school work? The final exams are coming if you haven't forgotten."
"How can I forget? Hermione already started drawing up a study schedule for the four of us." Harry closed his eyes. This was nice. He could sit here forever with Renata massaging his back. He didn't want to move from this spot. "I love you, Renata," he murmured.
"I love you, too. Come on. It's time to go inside."
They stood up and walked back to the castle. Harry stole a kiss or two on the way to the common room. Once they reached the common room they settled down by Ron and Hermione to try and muddle through their Herbology homework.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay what do you think? Kinda cheesy and mushy I know, don't kill me over it.
Harry braced himself for her anger. Sure enough it came, though it wasn't exactly what he expected.
"Harry, Hermione can take care of herself, and so can I. We don't know you to look after us." Worse than yelling, her voice was cold and distant.
"I know both of you can take care of yourselves. And that I had no right to say you should both stay home but.I care about you.both. I care about both of you. Hermione's practically my sister."
"And me?" she asked.
Harry gritted his teeth. Now that it came down to it what was he supposed to say? He said nothing.
"What about me, Harry?" She was still standing and he sitting and she leaned down and repeated viciously, "What about me?"
Rage gripped Harry and he stood up, "Renata, I hate you!"
"What?" she asked, startled. Clearly she hadn't thought this is what his response would be and must have thought she'd heard him wrong.
"I hate you." he repeated.
"W-w-why?" she stammered. Harry could see in her eyes that she was confused. He'd given her no sign that this would be coming.
"Because.because.because I love you! I hate you for making me fall in love with you! I hate it! It makes me feel helpless!"
"What?" She blinked in surprise.
"Helpless because I need you! I hate you because I love you! It tortures me and makes me want to pull out my hair! I love you and I hate you! You lead me on and then verbally abuse me when you don't outright hit me or hex me! I can't take this anymore! We've got to either love each other or hate each other but I can't put up with this anymore! I just can't!" He was surprised to find himself near tears and hysteria. He should stop now, he should have stopped a while ago but now that he'd said all this he couldn't.
Her eyes widened in further shock.
"I just can't, Renata. I can't." He took her face in his hands and kissed her deeply. She wasn't fighting him, not anymore at least. At first she had tried to remove his hands from her face but now she just loosely gripped his wrists. When he stopped kissing her, he gently but firmly pushed her away from him and transferred his grip to her shoulders, keeping her from coming any nearer to him again. "Choose. Please, choose. I can't struggle like this anymore. Tell me you love me and I'll the happiest man alive, tell me you hate me and I'll try to get on with life. But please. just choose."
"I choose you. I love you, too."
A grin of joy spread across Harry's face. "Really?"
She nodded.
Harry moved his hands to her waist, lifted her off the ground, and twirled her around. He laughed and so did she. "Put me down!" she laughed.
"Why are we both idiots?" he asked still twirling her around and around.
"I'm not an idiot. Just you."
He set her down on her feet. "We're both idiots if we were stubborn enough to miss out on this." He kissed her again.
He heard laughing from behind him and turned around to see Ron as well as the rest of the boys from his dormitory. Hermione stood next to Ron and if she wasn't quite laughing as openly as the rest she was definitely smiling.
Ron laughed even harder than the rest. "What did I tell you?" he said to Seamus elbowing him in the ribs. "I knew that once they started talking there'd be major snogging going on." He laughed again.
"You were right," admitted Dean; Seamus nodded agreement.
"Yeah." Harry smiled fondly at Renata and was pleased when she returned the smile. *********************************************************
Harry smiled. It had been a week since he had told Renata how he felt. It had been a very good week, there was no longer anything awkward about being alone together and she stopped being so acid toward him (most of the time). She suddenly started showing up to Quiditch practice early again and staying after to help him put away all the team equipment again, and she never objected if Harry stole a kiss or two in an abandoned hallway. Yes, things with Renata had improved but things with everyone else became unpleasant.
Harry's rant in the common became common knowledge among a good number of Gryffindors and a few students of other houses (mainly fifth years). The guys had been giving him a hard time at first and there were a great many "I told you so's" from the boys in his dormitory who said he should have started dating Renata ages ago and they asked uncomfortable questions; uncomfortable for Harry at least and questions they had no business asking at all. The most common of which was from the boys in his dormitory (except for Anthony) asking if Renata was a good kisser. Harry's only reply was a grin and the words, "I'm not telling and I don't plan on giving you the opportunity to find out for yourself".
Harry had no choice but to endure their taunting. Ginny became somewhat distant to him. When he pointed this out to Hermione-he was fairly sure that pointing it out to Ron would not have been wise-she answered him, "It could be because she had a crush on you for so long and now you have a girlfriend that's not her. Or maybe it's because Colin Creevy seems to be occupying most of her spare attention. It's probably a combination of the two." At the moment she chose to say this Harry saw that Ginny and Colin were sitting together off to the side of the common room and she suddenly laughed at some joke he had just told.
There was another new development in the major romances among Harry's friends. Harry had been shocked to come into the common room late Thursday night after meeting with Sirius for a while to discover two of his friends alone in the common room.
Harry blinked in surprise. The boy sat with an arm around the waist of a bushy haired brunette and the other arm draped over her shoulder, holding her fairly close. The girl held the boy's head with one hand and the other hung limply at her side. They were thoroughly engrossed in kissing one another and didn't notice Harry walk in. He couldn't see their faces but slowly Harry's mind started to make some connections.
Bushy brown hair.
Red hair.
Bushy brown hair. Hermione.
Red hair. Ron.
Ron. Hermione. Ron. Hermione. It suddenly dawned on him. His two best friends were down here in the common room kissing each other and if he wasn't mistaken they seemed to have little intention of stopping any time soon. As often as not those two would as soon yell at each other as they gave a kind word. "Ron? Hermione?" He had to repeat their names twice more before either of them looked up at him. Ron had a momentary grin and then he looked rather annoyed at being interrupted. Harry thought Hermione blushed a little when she saw him and realized he'd been standing there. "You two?" he asked, still in disbelief.
Ron replied, "Yeah. Us. We didn't want to tell you before because you refused to admit you liked Renata and Hermione insisted that it wasn't fair to you to leave you either alone or with Renata the way the two of you were. And since the two of you got together we just never found a good time to tell you. Hermione and I have been dating for several months now."
Harry wondered how he'd been so oblivious to this. He realized just how much he must have been wrapped up in his own problems. He grunted. Maybe he wasn't as arrogant as Renata claimed he was but he was apparently more self-absorbed than he'd ever realized.
Thinking back on it Harry was surprised he hadn't noticed it before. That was catch about hindsight; it often did come twenty/twenty and make you wonder how you missed it the first time. ***************************
After Quiditch practice the next day, the Gryffindor Quiditch team approached Renata and Harry.
Claire told them, "We need to up the number of practices until our last game."
"That's right. Our last game is May 4th. That's only a week and a half away you know. We want practice five nights a week," said Ginny.
Dennis added, "We want to pulverize those Slytherins!"
There was a general air of agreement with that last statement.
"Okay. You've got it. Five nights a week. What two nights do you want free?"
"I suggest Friday and Sunday."
"Okay. Then I'll be sure to see you at practice tomorrow." The team began to disperse. Harry rubbed his head.
"What's the matter?" asked Renata.
"Thinking."
"Don't think too hard. No wonder you've got a headache." She grinned.
"My back hurts. I think I've got a knot in it, just here." He indicated a spot just under his left shoulder blade. "Will you.?"
"Alright, but don't make a habit out of this. Sit down." He knelt down on the ground and she started massaging his back. "How are you going to handle extra Quiditch practice on top of all your school work? The final exams are coming if you haven't forgotten."
"How can I forget? Hermione already started drawing up a study schedule for the four of us." Harry closed his eyes. This was nice. He could sit here forever with Renata massaging his back. He didn't want to move from this spot. "I love you, Renata," he murmured.
"I love you, too. Come on. It's time to go inside."
They stood up and walked back to the castle. Harry stole a kiss or two on the way to the common room. Once they reached the common room they settled down by Ron and Hermione to try and muddle through their Herbology homework.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay what do you think? Kinda cheesy and mushy I know, don't kill me over it.
