Chapter Eleven: I'll Always be There
Harry had woken up early, and was sitting in the Gryffindor common room,
alone. As he sat in one of his favorite plush chairs, near the fireplace, he pondered
his thoughts. Hermione had been avoiding everyone, it seemed, for the past few
days.
She had finally opened up to him the day before, after Ron had gone to bed,
and she had come down from the girl's dormitories. They had sat there and talked
for what seemed like hours. She explained how she felt, the uncertainty of it all.
How she very much wanted to give Malfoy -- or had she called him "Draco"... Since
when were they on a first name basis? –- a chance. She really wanted to. But then
there was Ron. She certainly didn't want to hurt him, and was she really sure that
Malfoy could be trusted? No. She wasn't. Then again, no one really could be.
They had stayed up late into the next morning, and he had had difficulty
sleeping afterwards. 'Poor Hermione,' he thought. 'I hope she had better luck than I
did getting some sleep; she's going to need it for today...'
Apparently, she hadn't, however, since he heard the door to the girl's
dormitories creak open, and then footsteps coming down the stairs. Light, quick,
nearly noiseless. Yes, it was Hermione.
She came and sat down next to him, without a word. He looked at her.
"Good morning, 'Mione."
"Hey..." she said weakly. She looked as though she hadn't likely slept much
more than he had. Her eyes were not as red-rimmed or puffy as they had been the
past couple of days, though, so she probably hadn't cried as much. It was horrible
to see her that way; she was normally so outgoing and energetic. Hermione was
always the one to come up with solutions to everyone else's problems. Now she
needed help, and Harry had no idea what he could do to make her feel better.
"Harry," she said, taking him from his thoughts.
"Yeah, Hermione?" he looked at her with his emerald green eyes.
"Let's go for a walk, okay?"
"Sure," he said, anything to make her feel better.
The headed for the lake, where Hermione stood, looking at its waters as they
reflected the sun rising over the treetops of the Forbidden Forest. Soon everyone
would be up, and the dreaded time when she would have to go to Defense Against
the Dark Arts and confront Draco was ticking closer, looming ahead like the
execution date of an inmate on death row, whose appeals have been long exhausted.
Harry put his arm around her, to comfort his friend. She looked up at him,
with her dark chocolate brown eyes. He could see his reflection in them, emerald
green eyes to lightning bolt scar and all.
Hermione sighed. "Oh Harry. What am I going to do? I just feel so... So..."
"Lost?" he asked.
"Yes, and Harry, it feels horrible, I mean, it's like you're the only one who
understands. Ron just gets jealous, I don't know why, and I can't talk to him like I
talk to you. I just, always felt closer to you, you know?"
Harry nodded.
"I just don't know where I'm coming from or where I'm going, and I don't
even want to think about where I'll end up..." she said.
Harry looked into her eyes again. Tears were welling up in them. He pulled
her close. "Shh... It's okay, 'Mione. I'm here for you. I'll always be here for you,
no matter what, okay." He held her tighter. "Just hang in there, okay, and know
that no matter how bad things get, you can always come to me with your
problems, and I'll try my best to make them better." He passed a hand over her
smooth hair, consoling her.
"We'd better be going in now, okay, don't want to be late to class."
"More like don't want to go to class," Hermione paused. "But then I'd have to
get the notes from you or Ron, so never mind."
They both laughed, easing the tension, and went into the castle, Harry hoping
that his friend was ready to face the things that lay ahead...
Author's Note
This chapter is better than the last (and I controlled myself and didn't have Harry
kiss Hermione, because that was what the first draft looked like... I already have Ron
for the conflict, though, and it wouldn't be fair to do that since I said it would be
Draco/Hermione!!)... Hope you liked it... Chapter 12 gets more interesting...
when they have to confront one another in class... Hope you enjoy...
E. Caddy Compson (persephoneia)