Some news: First of all….wow! Thanks you guys! I'm glad you like my story, and surprised you liked chapter two! I'm also glad some of you found it funny.
Also: I've fixed the formatting problem. I thought it looked a bit weird, but hopefully it's fixed. (I didn't single space it before.) And I really meant to post this days ago, but the site wasn't working, on my computer at least.
A big thank you to clyde, Ramy, Lady Starlight so kiss my ass, babygirl4U, Hawkeye, Danski (good job on the straight A's! yay for dancing!), Alexi Lupin, PotterGirl (lol, I'm mentioning you again!!), dan fan & Bachy A, who all reviewed chapter 2. Yay! Thanks again!
Personally I think this chapter is a bit better. Something happens! Lol. It's pretty important.
Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling and that means Harry Potter et al isn't mine. Also, I do not own "Haven't Got Time For the Pain." Carly Simon does. (I think.)
So…r&r (if you want…) and enjoy!
~*~
Hermione shuffled her way through the campus in search of Derrick. True, it was Friday and she didn't have any classes, but poor Derrick did. As much as she hated the thought of it, she'd have to break up with him between classes.
Oh, well, he's gping to hate me anyways, she thought, not feeling the slightest bit cheered up.
I almost don't want to find him, she admitted to herself, scanning the student union.
No sooner had she thought that, though, there he was.
Damn.
"Hermione? Hey, what are you doing here? It's your day off!" he exclaimed, running up to her.
She gave a feeble smile. "Yeah, well, you know," was her lame reply. He gave her a puzzled look, so she tried to gain her composure. "Have you got a minute? I…we need to talk."
She held her breath, hoping he'd picked up her clue. Hermione knew perfectly well what the phrase "we need to talk" signified, and she only assumed that everyone else did, too.
Apparently not. He took her hand and led her to a private area of the student union, completely clueless.
"Derrick, I like you a lot—"
"And I like you. A lot."
"We've been together for a while now—"
"I know. It's been great, hasn't it?"
"Yes, yes it has. But—"
"I mean, we've been doing really well here, haven't we? No major fights, no drama, you know?"
"Derrick, I'm breaking up with you!" she blurted out. She hadn't intended to be so blunt, but really! If he hadn't interrupted me so many times…
Derrick's handsome features fell. "Hermione, why?"
Looking at the expression on his face made her eyes water. It was only then she realized how much she cared for him.
"I'm really sorry, but things have changed."
"They have?"
"Well, yes. For me, at least."
"I see." His voiced had dropped so low, she could barely hear it. He wouldn't meet her eyes. "Is there someone else?"
"Well…" she repeated. "Yes, I think."
"'You think'? What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means that, ok, I have feelings for someone else. But I don't know if he feels the same way."
"It's Harry, isn't it?"
Hermione was taken aback. Was she that obvious? "Er…yes. Yes, it is."
"How long has it been going on for?"
"I don't know," she answered honestly.
Derrick nodded for a moment, then spoke. "I should've seen this coming, actually. I've noticed the way you look at him these days, like he's the only person you can see. But I thought..." His voice trailed off, and he cleared his throat before speaking again. "See you around, Hermione."
He spun around on the stool he had been sitting off and left the room without a backwards glance.
Hermione sat by herself for a while, thinking about what she had done, then took off for home.
*
Harry pushed the door to Lavender's shop open. It was great being in Hogsmeade again, and he was tempted to visit the school before he took off for his flat. Well, even if I don't, I'll be seeing it again soon anyways. Fred and Angelina picked the perfect place to get married.
Lavender was busy with a customer, so Harry looked around the shop for a while. Dozens of pretty dress robes were displayed, each a different colour. Another witch was measuring a middle-aged wizard, who was apparently buying a bunch of robes. Harry felt a surge of pride for Lavender. She was doing well for herself.
"Harry!" Lavender called out, beckoning him over.
"Hey, Lav," he greeted, walking over. "You getting off now?"
"Mm-hmm," she said, suddenly interested in the counter.
"Let's go, then. Is there anywhere you need to go first, or are you all set to go out for lunch?"
"Hmm? Oh, um, yeah. Okay."
"Okay, what? You didn't answer me."
"Yes I did."
"Well? Which is it?"
"The, um, second one?"
"What's with you?" Harry asked as they left the shop. "You seem distracted."
"I'm not. Well, I am a little. I've been thinking a lot, and I….oh, Harry, I met somone else!"
Harry froze. He tried to say something, but found he couldn't open his mouth.
"I'm so sorry, Harry!" she exclaimed tearfully. "But his name is Robert and he's really interested in my work. He works for some big company, and he said he could help me get really famous and open a store in Diagon Alley and he's really nice and funny and sweet and we got along so well and he wants to take me out and I really want to go out with him because I think something could really come of it." Lavender said this pretty quickly, and she needed a moment to catch her breath.
Harry found his voice at last. "So—so, you're breaking up with me?"
Lavender nodded, her eyes streaming tears. "I'm so sorry, Harry," she repeated.
He had nothing to say to her. Instead, he turned and walked briskly, in search of a good place to Disapparate away from Hogsmeade, from her.
"Harry, wait! Harry!" she called out.
He didn't turn around. Instead, he Disapparated right where he was, leaving her behind.
*
Hermione was snuggled on the couch, under a thick blanket, watching a sappy, romantic movie. It was nighttime, and Harry and Ron weren't home yet.
Ron, she knew, was going to be spending the night at the Burrow. The entire family was to be there to discuss the wedding plans. But Harry had yet to show.
Or call, Hermione thought, looking at the telephone on the wall. Hermione's Muggle parents had insisted she get a telephone in her flat. They were usually the only ones who phoned them, but it had come in handy a few times.
Where is he? He's usually home on Friday afternoons, but he hasn't been here since this morning.
Then it hit her. He's out with Lavender.
Hermione made a face at the thought of Lavender. It was amazing how much she hated her. Reluctantly, Hermione turned her attention back to the movie.
Half an hour later, the door to the flat swung open. Harry walked in without saying a word.
"Harry?" Hermione called out. She flicked off the movie. "Harry, is that you?"
"Yeah," he replied, shuffling towards her. "It's me."
"Where were you?" she demanded. "How come you didn't—Harry, what's wrong?" She was shocked to see the miserable expression on his face.
He collapsed beside her on the couch. "Lav and I broke up."
"Oh, Harry."
"Actually, no. She chucked me."
"Ohhh," she said sympathetically. "I'm sorry to hear that."
He shrugged half-heartedly. "Yeah, well…She chucked me for some bloke named Robert who's apparently going to help her get famous."
"You're kidding me."
"No, actually, I'm not."
Hermione paused to think. This was exactly what she wanted! She was single, Harry was single. She finally had a chance. Suddenly she felt very grateful towards Lavender.
"Are you okay, Harry?" she asked.
He shrugged again. "All right, I suppose," he replied, but Hermione could tell that he wasn't "all right."
"If you're sure," Hermione said with a little sigh. "Do you want to get a pizza for dinner or something? I haven't eaten yet."
"Sure." Harry got up off the couch and slowly made his way to the phone. Hermione could tell how upset he was.
"Hey," she said, getting off the couch too. When he turned around, she gave him a big hug.
He welcomed it. He held on tight. They stayed liked this for a few minutes, taking comfort in each other before letting go.
Their eyes met and Hermione felt her breath catch slightly.
It was going to happen.
Their heads inclined towards each other. Slowly they got closer and closer to each other until their lips were touching.
A moment later, they both jumped back, surprised at what had just happened. But what Hermione found more surprising was that she leaned in to kiss him again. Then again. And again. After the next kiss, they didn't let go.
Don't let this be some sort of horribly wonderful dream, she prayed as the kiss heated up. His hands slid down to the small of her waist, then pulled her closer to his body. Hermione slid her hands behind his neck and ever so slightly under his shirt. His skin was warm beneath her fingers.
Harry's lips left hers and began to trail down her neck. She couldn't believe this was happening. This was exactly what she wanted. She'd even dreamt about this moment.
Hermione eventually pushed him back slightly. She had every intention in the world to say something, and maybe even stop him. But before she could, his lips were pressing against hers again, and she found herself melting.
In fact, she found herself melting into him so much, that she began to pull him in the direction of her bedroom. Harry didn't resist her at all. Together they headed towards her room, kissing each step of the way.
They reached her room. She fumbled behind herself until she found the doorknob. The door swung open. They stepped into the room and shut the door behind them…
~*~
See? Something did happen! I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I've changed the rating of this story, just in case, though I don't think it's totally necessary. Moving on, chapter four will be up shortly.
