When Hermione woke the next morning, Harry had already left. Her head was
throbbing a little, but it wasn't too bad, considering she hadn't gotten
around to getting a drink of water the previous night. Her stomach was more
worrying, it felt rather queasy, and she placed a hand on it with a groan.
Sitting up, she looked around. She had rather hoped Harry would have been there when she woke, so he'd have been the first thing she saw when she opened her eyes. She was such a romantic, the thought of waking to see the boy she loved lying or sitting next to her was enough to warm her insides on the coldest of nights. But he wasn't even sitting in the room. She assumed he'd gone down to breakfast. Rubbing her eyes, she rose to her feet and went to splash some water on her face in an attempt to clear the fog in her eyes. It had been rather a long night.
Yawning, she dressed and ventured out into the hallway to go to breakfast. She realized that she was actually quite hungry, all things considered. When she reached the Great Hall, however, the first thing she noticed was Ron and Seamus sitting at the table, laughing together at a private joke. Harry was not with them. She scanned the table, and then the hall to check if he was sitting somewhere else or talking to someone else, but she could not see him anywhere. Her brow furrowed in confusion.
Sitting next to Ron at the table, she asked nonchalantly, "Has anyone seen Harry this morning?"
Seamus shook his head. Ron looked at Hermione. "The last I saw of him was last night at the Ball, he took off after you. Did something happen?"
Hermione didn't know whether to tell them the truth or not. She decided to give a vague answer, they always seemed to work in these situations. "We spent a while talking everything through."
Ron raised an eyebrow interestedly, and was obviously about to ask her to elaborate, but thankfully for Hermione's sake, Ginny came and sat next to her at that exact moment.
Listening to Ginny rave on about the Ball the previous night, Hermione cast another glance at her ex-boyfriend. She could see him holding Seamus's hand beneath the table, which brought a faint smile to her lips. She couldn't tell if Ginny knew about Ron and Seamus, but she didn't want to be the one to tell her anyway, so she let it pass.
"Oh my god, Hermione, everyone heard about you and Daniel. Are you all right?" Ginny asked in concern.
Hermione uttered a humourless laugh. "I swear, I cannot believe no one told me about his 'reputation'."
Ginny's eyes widened. "We all thought you knew!" she insisted, as though desperate to prove to her friend that she had not just allowed her to walk into Daniel's wake for purposes of amusement or anything. "We thought you might have changed him or something, because no one knew anything about your relationship apart from that you two spent a lot of time alone together."
Hermione snorted.
Ron looked at Ginny. "Hey, Gins, have you seen Harry this morning?"
Ginny nodded and swallowed the bacon she was chewing. "Yes, he was out in the Gryffindor common room when I left. He was looking for something, and when I asked him whether he was coming to breakfast, he just said in a sort of distracted tone, "I've already eaten."
Ron looked astounded. "But we've been here for over an hour waiting for him and Hermione! He must have gotten up pretty bloody early to beat us."
Hermione wondered about that. Why hadn't he waited for her? They'd spent a pretty long time the night before getting quite personal, was he embarrassed that he'd kissed her? She sincerely hoped not, it was such a relief to have finally gotten their act together that to have him regret it and take it back was just such a horrible thought she tried to delete it from her brain completely.
Seamus tilted his head to the side and looked at Hermione with interest. "So what happened with you and Harry last night then? What did you say to him?"
Hermione coloured. "Nothing much." She really didn't want to divulge this information to them without Harry's consent, as they were his friends as well as hers. She stepped out over the bench and left the hall as casually as she could, fighting the mounting anxiety in her stomach as she stressed about Harry. Was he regretting last night? Did he not feel the same about her? She coloured again as she wondered if maybe he thought she was a bad kisser or something, and he didn't want to go out with her because of it.
What had happened to make him leave her so early in the morning without even a note? He hadn't waited to see her when she woke up, so he couldn't be as in love with her as he'd said he was last night. Her stomach plummeted. Maybe all this had just been a game for him, and he wasn't actually interested in anything other than tricking her into thinking that he really did like her.
All these bad thoughts resounded in her head, and she shook it to try and clear it. Maybe he was just in need of space to think about things? She tried to think of any reasons why he might have left that weren't bad. It was difficult. It was impossible. Nothing made sense. They didn't have any pressing homework that couldn't wait, and there was no other reason she could think of why Harry, one of the most easy-going and lovely boys she'd ever met, would nick off so quickly if it wasn't something bad.
As if it would clear her head, she hastened her pace and nearly ran up the corridor til she reached the main common room. Maybe Harry was still there.
As she climbed through the portrait hole, her heart sank further. Harry wasn't there. Decorations from the ball last night, empty bottles of Butterbeer, leftover food evidently purloined from the kitchen, the remnants of some of the tamer fireworks pilfered from Filch's collection of confiscated ones (she suspected Ron and Seamus of this feat), and upturned chairs all littered the cosy common room.........but there was no Harry Potter.
Defeated, she turned slowly to leave the room. She climbed out the portrait hole, walked through corridors, up and down stairs and through another hidden doorway to her own common room. As she stepped into the brightly illuminated room, she halted abruptly. She could not believe what she was seeing.
A/N: Don't worry, there isn't any more cheating in this chapter, Harry is not cheating on her. It's something else this time. This chapter was immeasurably easier to write than the last one, and hopefully the next one will be even easier, so expect to see it soon. I know I've been incredibly slack, hell, its been months since my last update, but Year Ten has more social dramas and homework than the rest of high school put together at our school. Having writers block really doesn't help either.
Thank you to everyone, and I mean absolutely everyone, who has reviewed my story so far. You have no idea how much your words brighten my days. It really gives you more enthusiasm to write if you know people are reading and liking what you've got. So thanks to everyone, and I really hope I get more reviews to come.
Sitting up, she looked around. She had rather hoped Harry would have been there when she woke, so he'd have been the first thing she saw when she opened her eyes. She was such a romantic, the thought of waking to see the boy she loved lying or sitting next to her was enough to warm her insides on the coldest of nights. But he wasn't even sitting in the room. She assumed he'd gone down to breakfast. Rubbing her eyes, she rose to her feet and went to splash some water on her face in an attempt to clear the fog in her eyes. It had been rather a long night.
Yawning, she dressed and ventured out into the hallway to go to breakfast. She realized that she was actually quite hungry, all things considered. When she reached the Great Hall, however, the first thing she noticed was Ron and Seamus sitting at the table, laughing together at a private joke. Harry was not with them. She scanned the table, and then the hall to check if he was sitting somewhere else or talking to someone else, but she could not see him anywhere. Her brow furrowed in confusion.
Sitting next to Ron at the table, she asked nonchalantly, "Has anyone seen Harry this morning?"
Seamus shook his head. Ron looked at Hermione. "The last I saw of him was last night at the Ball, he took off after you. Did something happen?"
Hermione didn't know whether to tell them the truth or not. She decided to give a vague answer, they always seemed to work in these situations. "We spent a while talking everything through."
Ron raised an eyebrow interestedly, and was obviously about to ask her to elaborate, but thankfully for Hermione's sake, Ginny came and sat next to her at that exact moment.
Listening to Ginny rave on about the Ball the previous night, Hermione cast another glance at her ex-boyfriend. She could see him holding Seamus's hand beneath the table, which brought a faint smile to her lips. She couldn't tell if Ginny knew about Ron and Seamus, but she didn't want to be the one to tell her anyway, so she let it pass.
"Oh my god, Hermione, everyone heard about you and Daniel. Are you all right?" Ginny asked in concern.
Hermione uttered a humourless laugh. "I swear, I cannot believe no one told me about his 'reputation'."
Ginny's eyes widened. "We all thought you knew!" she insisted, as though desperate to prove to her friend that she had not just allowed her to walk into Daniel's wake for purposes of amusement or anything. "We thought you might have changed him or something, because no one knew anything about your relationship apart from that you two spent a lot of time alone together."
Hermione snorted.
Ron looked at Ginny. "Hey, Gins, have you seen Harry this morning?"
Ginny nodded and swallowed the bacon she was chewing. "Yes, he was out in the Gryffindor common room when I left. He was looking for something, and when I asked him whether he was coming to breakfast, he just said in a sort of distracted tone, "I've already eaten."
Ron looked astounded. "But we've been here for over an hour waiting for him and Hermione! He must have gotten up pretty bloody early to beat us."
Hermione wondered about that. Why hadn't he waited for her? They'd spent a pretty long time the night before getting quite personal, was he embarrassed that he'd kissed her? She sincerely hoped not, it was such a relief to have finally gotten their act together that to have him regret it and take it back was just such a horrible thought she tried to delete it from her brain completely.
Seamus tilted his head to the side and looked at Hermione with interest. "So what happened with you and Harry last night then? What did you say to him?"
Hermione coloured. "Nothing much." She really didn't want to divulge this information to them without Harry's consent, as they were his friends as well as hers. She stepped out over the bench and left the hall as casually as she could, fighting the mounting anxiety in her stomach as she stressed about Harry. Was he regretting last night? Did he not feel the same about her? She coloured again as she wondered if maybe he thought she was a bad kisser or something, and he didn't want to go out with her because of it.
What had happened to make him leave her so early in the morning without even a note? He hadn't waited to see her when she woke up, so he couldn't be as in love with her as he'd said he was last night. Her stomach plummeted. Maybe all this had just been a game for him, and he wasn't actually interested in anything other than tricking her into thinking that he really did like her.
All these bad thoughts resounded in her head, and she shook it to try and clear it. Maybe he was just in need of space to think about things? She tried to think of any reasons why he might have left that weren't bad. It was difficult. It was impossible. Nothing made sense. They didn't have any pressing homework that couldn't wait, and there was no other reason she could think of why Harry, one of the most easy-going and lovely boys she'd ever met, would nick off so quickly if it wasn't something bad.
As if it would clear her head, she hastened her pace and nearly ran up the corridor til she reached the main common room. Maybe Harry was still there.
As she climbed through the portrait hole, her heart sank further. Harry wasn't there. Decorations from the ball last night, empty bottles of Butterbeer, leftover food evidently purloined from the kitchen, the remnants of some of the tamer fireworks pilfered from Filch's collection of confiscated ones (she suspected Ron and Seamus of this feat), and upturned chairs all littered the cosy common room.........but there was no Harry Potter.
Defeated, she turned slowly to leave the room. She climbed out the portrait hole, walked through corridors, up and down stairs and through another hidden doorway to her own common room. As she stepped into the brightly illuminated room, she halted abruptly. She could not believe what she was seeing.
A/N: Don't worry, there isn't any more cheating in this chapter, Harry is not cheating on her. It's something else this time. This chapter was immeasurably easier to write than the last one, and hopefully the next one will be even easier, so expect to see it soon. I know I've been incredibly slack, hell, its been months since my last update, but Year Ten has more social dramas and homework than the rest of high school put together at our school. Having writers block really doesn't help either.
Thank you to everyone, and I mean absolutely everyone, who has reviewed my story so far. You have no idea how much your words brighten my days. It really gives you more enthusiasm to write if you know people are reading and liking what you've got. So thanks to everyone, and I really hope I get more reviews to come.