I'm a bad girl. Really, I am. But I truly am sorry for the horrible delay in this, but I have been so busy these last few weeks, the moments I have had that were free, I slept instead because I've been tired. But alas, here's chapter seven. Thanks very, very much to the patient ones. I sincerely hope that this was worth the wait.
Another huge thank you to all who read this story, who look forward to it and enjoy reading it. It really makes me happy to know that someone cares about it, and that the effort is worth it. I wish I could name you all by name, but that would take forever and you know who you are. So thanks!!
Disclaimers: I do not own Harry Potter et al, sadly. J.K. Rowling does. Also, the title is a Led Zeppelin song, which they own and I do not.
Please r,r&e. (read, review and ENJOY!!)
~*~
The days that followed were certainly interesting. Harry soon found himself worn out. His free time was divided between the two girls; he rarely had time to hang out with Ron, let alone have some quiet time to himself.
What's more, time with the girls was draining. Lavender hung herself on him constantly, acting like they were madly in love. Harry tried to keep up with this charade, but Lavender invested so much of her energy into doing so, she had enough energy for them both.
With Hermione, it was mostly a physical thing. Ever since he started seeing Lavender again, Hermione was less into their time together. Harry decided that she was angry with him for taking Lavender back—and often thought, rightfully so—and started to pretend that nothing had changed.
But how wrong he was.
Harry had feelings for Hermione. He just knew it.
When had he realized this? It was on a Friday night, when he and Lavender went out for a date. They had decided to go out to their favourite restaurant, a nice, private diner not far from Lavender's flat.
"Isn't this great?" Lavender purred as they waited for their orders.
"Isn't what great?" Harry asked.
"Us! Back together."
"Oh. Right," Harry replied, not even pretending to be enthusiastic. She wouldn't even notice.
'I was so afraid that you wouldn't want me back," she admitted. "I mean, if the situation was reversed, I wouldn't have taken you back."
This caught Harry's attention. She wouldn't? After all she had said about how much he meant to her, that they were supposed to be together?
I nearly broke things off with Hermione for this? he thought angrily. He glanced up at Lavender, who was giving him her very best smile, completely unaware of what she had just done.
What am I even doing here? he wondered. This is such a waste of my time; I could be with Hermione right now.
"Lavender—" he started, but she cut him off.
"I'm looking forward to going to the wedding!" she exclaimed. "It'll be so much fun to see the school again, even if the ceremony's going to be on the pitch. Could you imagine wanting to get married there? I mean, didn't they see all the great venues in Hogsmeade? I would never want to get married on a Quidditch pitch."
"I would," Harry answered with gritted teeth. "It's only what I do for a living."
"Oh. Right," Lavender said, her face flushing slightly. "Well, they'll have a great view of the school," she said meekly.
Harry just shook his head. Yes, he liked Lavender a lot. She was a lovely person, even if she did get caught up in her own world sometimes. But was that enough? Was it enough to keep them together?
Probably not, Harry thought grimly. But what am I still doing with her?
He knew he was only with her because he had said he would be. It wasn't really what he had wanted to do that evening.
Hermione and I were going to order in from the deli, then watch that movie on TV., then go to her room… The thought of what he was missing made Harry feel slightly depressed.
I just want to be with Hermione, he admitted to himself. And only Hermione.
"Harry? What's wrong?" Lavender asked suddenly. "You look a little pale."
"I'm actually not feeling well," Harry ad-libbed. "I think I should go home." Before she could protest, he threw some bills on the table and left.
He couldn't believe himself. All he had wanted was a little fun with Hermione—nothing serious, no strings attached. That had been the deal.
But he had screwed up. He wasn't supposed to fall for her. He certainly hadn't meant to, but he had.
Now what?
*
If Harry thought things weren't going well for him, it was nothing to how Hermione felt. Ever since that horrible Lavender had come back into their lives, her world had come crashing down.
Lavender had nearly invaded their apartment. She came over at all hours of the day, and while she was there, she never let Harry out of her sight—or arms.
Harry was trying to make up for her nauseating behaviour, but it wasn't enough. He was with Lavender, and that was that. No matter how hard he tried, it wasn't enough to make Hermione forget that he was with another girl.
Soon Hermione found herself shutting Harry out. He just wasn't the same person to her anymore. It was just too painful to pretend otherwise.
The whole situation was killing her.
*
"What's wrong, mate?" Ron asked for the third time.
"Nothing," Harry replied automatically.
It was late Friday night—or early Saturday morning, depending on how you looked at it—and the two guys were watching a Gilligan's Island marathon. Ron had only discovered the show last week, and since then, he had been obsessed with it.
Harry had come in halfway through the marathon, pretending to keep Ron company, but Ron knew something was bothering him.
"No, really. What's going on? You can tell me—I am your best friend."
Harry grumbled something, then said, "I sort of have a problem," he admitted.
Ron was all ears. "What sort of problem?"
"It's about Hermione and Lavender."
"Okay, what about them?"
Harry didn't answer. Instead, he sat there, opening and closing his mouth, apparently deciding what to say. Finally he said, "I don't want to be with Lavender anymore. I want to be with Hermione."
Ron grinned. He couldn't help himself. Finally Harry had come to his senses! And it's about time! "Well, what's the problem?" he asked. "Chuck Lavender and ask Hermione for a proper date."
Harry stared at him. "It's not as easy as that," he said, somewhat testily.
"Why not?"
"Because. It's complicated," Harry muttered. He took a deep breath and said, "I'm not supposed to have feelings for Hermione. It was just supposed to be a fling. And then there's the fact that I'm supposedly Lavender's boyfriend."
"You never said you'd be exclusive to her," Ron pointed out sensibly. "She knows you're seeing someone else. Just tell Lavender the truth—who cares what she says?"
Harry looked thoughtful for a moment. "But she really likes me. She loves me. And Hermione doesn't."
Ron rolled his eyes. "You don't know that."
"Yes, I do."
"No, you don't. Besides, even if you're so convinced that Hermione doesn't love you—" Ron looked at Harry pointedly, then continued on. "You should still chuck Lavender if you don't like her that way."
"I never said that," Harry protested. "I just don't want to date her anymore."
Ron laughed. "I don't see a difference."
Harry took off his glasses, rubbed his eyes, and put his glasses back on. "You're right. I don't even know why I've wasted so much time thinking about this. I'll call Lavender soon."
"Good idea."
"I'm going to head off to bed now," Harry went on, getting up. "See you in the morning."
"Yeah, you too. And Harry?"
"Yeah?"
"Talk to Hermione."
*
Harry finally stumbled out of bed around noon. As soon as his head had hit the pillow, he'd been out like a light. It had been the first time in a long time that he had gotten a good night's sleep.
"Morning," he greeted Hermione as he entered the kitchen.
"Afternoon," she replied pointedly. She poured herself a glass of water and sat back down at the table, where she was taking notes from a large textbook.
"So what'd you do last night?" he asked, searching for something to eat.
"Nothing much," she said lightly.
"Any plans for the day?"
"Studying."
"That's it?"
"Yes," she snapped.
"Okay, okay. I was just asking."
Hermione didn't answer.
"Is anything wrong? Or is it just stress?"
"Stress," she mumbled.
Harry stopped his search for lunch and went over to her. He started to massage her shoulders. "Relax, 'Mione. You're smart. You're going to get through this."
"It has nothing to do with being smart," she said, but already he heard the tension in her voice fade away. "It's about working hard."
"You work too hard," he commented, rubbing on one particular knot.
"Mmm," was her reply.
Harry laughed softly. "That's more like it," he said. He tried to ignore how soft her skin was beneath his fingers, or how wonderful her hair smelled.
"I'm going to break up with Lavender," he announced quietly.
Hermione turned around to face him. "Why?" she asked eagerly.
He shrugged, though he knew the answer. "It's just not working out. She's really into me, but I'm not. I kind of…"
He stopped short. Should he say it? Was it going to be worth the risk?
"You kind of…" Hermione prompted.
"I kind of…I mean, I do…I have feelings for someone else."
There was a pregnant pause. "Who?" Hermione asked suspiciously.
Harry felt himself blushing. He couldn't look at her. He had lost his nerve. "Someone," he mumbled.
"Tell me," Hermione demanded. He started to turn away from her, but she grabbed his hand firmly. "Tell me," she repeated, her eyes fixed on his.
"It's you."
*~*
They froze in that position: Hermione sitting, facing Harry with his hand in hers, and Harry standing in front of her.
"It's me?" Hermione said slowly. She just wanted to be sure.
"It's you," he said again. "I didn't mean for it to happen. I'm sorry. I know we weren't supposed to—"
"Harry, it's okay."
"—Have feelings for each other," he went on. "But it just sort of happened."
"Harry, it's really okay."
"But Hermione—"
"But nothing. It's more than okay. I have feelings for you. I have for a long time."
Harry took a seat beside her. "Why didn't you say anything?"
Hermione was mildly surprised. "Because you were with Lavender and I was with Derrick."
"That long?"
She nodded. "Maybe longer."
"So…so what are we going to do about it?" he asked.
She shrugged. "What do you think we should do?"
He took her hand. "I think we should be together."
Hermione grinned. "Good answer," she said. He laughed, then leaned in to kiss her.
It wasn't their first kiss—not at all. But this one was very different from all the other kisses they'd shared. This one really meant something. When they pulled back, they both smiled at each other.
"It's really over between you and Lavender?" Hermione asked.
"It will be. I'll call her and tell her it's over, and then you and I can be together for real."
"It's about damn time, too," said a new voice—Ron's. They looked up to see him standing in the doorway. They hadn't heard him come in.
"I told you to talk to her, mate," Ron laughed.
"Yeah, thanks a lot," Harry replied with a smile. "Really."
"I'll leave you two alone, then," Ron said. "I'll be back around dinner time, but I know you won't miss me too much."
Harry and Hermione laughed. This much was true. "Bye, Ron," they said together.
"Bye, you two."
~*~
Yes yes, it's not very exciting, but I just did not know how to end this chapter. So I'm sorry. I hope this was an ok chapter. Coming soon…chapter 8: the wedding and other things. Oh, what fun! Stay tuned.
