A/N: Here's chapter two, thank you to the four of you who reviewed! I love
you guys, your what's made me update. Please review, and of course enjoy!
Disclaimer: If I really owned Harry Potter, do you really think I'd spend my time writing fanfics?
Chapter Two
Yuriko felt like she was draped in something heavy, something that was stopping her from waking up. She fought and slowly opened her eyes to be almost blinded by sunlight. Turning to her alarm clock she saw it was only 6:45 in the morning. With a groan she raised her body and the covers fell off of her.
Hermione instantly sat up in her bed, her eyes somewhat puffy and red. "Yuriko! Your awake!"
Smiling she nodded. "Yeah, good morning to you too Hermione." Hermione laughed softly and got up and hugged her.
"We were so scared, you were so pale... you'd lost so much blood..." Hermione sounded like she was about to cry and Yuriko wouldn't have that.
"I'm fine now. Thanks to you, I'm alive. Thank you Hermione, you really saved me." She patted her new friend on the back who pulled away.
"I didn't do anything, you're the one who fought that man off! You were amazing!" Hermione complimented her but Yuriko simply shrugged it off.
"We'd better get ready, today's the first day of school." Yuriko surprised Hermione by moving around normally. But after witnessing last night, when she was stabbed and still having the strength to wield the blade and drive it into the man's foot, Hermione mused that Yuriko's pain tolerance must be something else.
Yuriko quickly made her bed and dressed. Then her and Hermione made their way down to the common room and sat by the fire. Soon after Harry and Ron stumbled down the steps, still sleepy.
"I'm telling you mate, she won't be awake, she was poisoned for god sakes-" Ron grumbled put stopped short when he saw Hermione beam at him from her chair and Yuriko waved weakly at Harry who gaped. In a record amount of time the two were at the girls' side.
"Are you all right?" Harry asked Yuriko anxiously.
"I'm fine Harry..." Now she blushed and looked down at her lap and pulled at her beads.
"She woke up before I did." Hermione announced and then stood up, "Ron, can I speak to you for a moment, over here..." She didn't give him a choice, tugging him by his robes to the corner of the room.
"What is it Hermione?" He asked looking at her quizzically.
"Well it's just that... you helped me. I was so scared for her... and you helped me." Her shoulders slumped, she could think of no better words.
"Well of course I helped you, what did you think I would do, just sit there and stare while you cried?" He pulled her into a quick hug, noticing that she fit against him perfectly. Pushing the thought away he released her and noticed that she looked as if she would cry again, but this time her tears would be happy.
Yuriko fidgeted in her chair and briefly closed her eyes. 'It hurts... a lot more than I thought it would...' With as much effort as she could muster she opened them to see Harry staring at her, concerned.
"Thank you."
That took him off guard all right. "For what?" He asked incredulously.
"For holding my hand. For carrying me to my bed so I'd be more comfortable. For... worrying." She stood and blushed, then leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "I owe you,"
Harry's face flamed red. "Uh, it was nothing..." Hermione and Ron came over grinning at the look on Harry's face.
"C'mon Yuriko, we'd better go, can't miss breakfast!" Hermione said cheerfully tugging her friend out the portrait hole leaving the two boys alone.
Ron whistled. "Wow mate, looks like she's grown rather attached to you!"
"Yeah..." Harry mumbled as the two started out towards the Great Hall. "She's really something else..."
"Well yeah, she's from Japan. And she can certainly handle herself, the only reason that guy got a hit in was because he had height and the strength and clearly surprise." By now they had reached the entrance of the Great Hall and to their surprise saw Hermione standing with Yuriko. Not that that was strange, but Malfoy was with them!
"-Are you sure your all right? Professor Snape said you'd been injured badly..." Malfoy said clearly concerned and Yuriko backed up a bit, into Harry.
"No, no, I'm fine really... oh, Harry, I'm sorry-" Yuriko mumbled and Harry nodded, and then gave Draco a hard stare.
"Well if your sure..." He said watching her uneasily; "I'll see you in class. Good-bye Yuriko... Hermione..." Then he left, without so much as a goodbye to Harry or Ron.
"Guess we know where we stand eh mate? We're just not pretty enough." Ron said with a fake sob and threw himself onto Harry's shoulder making the girls laugh.
"It just shows how love can change a person." Hermione said with a smile and Yuriko smiled back. They used to say her Grandfather was a harsh man, but he'd only been stern, and there was always a note of love underneath it. If what the villagers had said been true, love certainly changed him.
"Did you hear that Ron, maybe you'll actually change into a human being once you tell Her-" Fred said brightly but Ron elbowed him hard in the stomach, causing him to cough. "Well, that wasn't necessary." With a wave he followed a pretty Ravenclaw girl into the Great Hall.
The Weasley twins had decided to come back for their final year, mostly because of the fit Mrs. Weasley threw once she found out. But partly because this way they had a whole load of kids who were willing to order from their shop right at their finger tips.
"Bloody git." Ron grumbled as they walked into the Great Hall and sat with each other at the last table. Hermione across from Ron, with Harry across from Yuriko they ate quickly as the new schedules were passed out.
"Oh joy, we've got Potions first thing... then History of Magic." Harry groaned and slumped down in his seat.
"I'm looking forward to Potions." Yuriko said happily munching on her toast.
"You won't be for long, Malfoy's in that class with us." Ron warned her.
She shrugged. "He can't be that bad, I mean, he's been nice to Hermione and me."
"But that's only because he fancies you, I bet, tell her Hermione." Ron said confidently spreading jam on his own toast.
"Well... maybe she's right Ron." Hermione said quietly and he choked on his toast, making Harry start to wallop him on the back, "I mean, he hasn't done one foul thing since we got here, he's been... pleasant."
Ron simply stared at her when Harry shifted in his seat. "Hermione, I know you believe that everyone deserves a second chance in all... but it's Malfoy, I mean c'mon." Nodding in agreement, since he seemed to have lost the ability to talk, Ron continued to goggle at her.
"No, I believe Yuriko's right you two, we're going to give him a chance." Hermione said firmly and Yuriko nodded in agreement.
"Oh come on! You two just think he deserves a second chance because most girls think he's attractive!" Ron yelled making Hermione go scarlet and Yuriko choke on her water.
"That is not true Ron! Unlike you, I don't judge people on how they look, attractive or not!" Hermione snapped back and Yuriko glanced at the two uneasily before catching Harry's eye.
He mouthed; 'They always fight, don't worry,' and she seemed to loosen up a bit before nodding.
"-Yeah that must be true! You went out with Krum after all!" Ron yelled, the tips of his ears red and Harry groaned. This was not going to be a fun day...
"Don't insult Viktor! In fact, don't talk to me at all!" She yelled, and whirled to face Yuriko, red in the face while Ron fumed slamming his goblet on the table.
"Uh..." Yuriko looked curiously at Harry until an idea struck her. Turning to Hermione she whispered, "I'll be right back, I promise." Rising from her seat she grabbed Harry's arm and dragged him away from the table.
"What is it?" He asked.
"Am I right in thinking that they both like each other?" She asked and he arched his eyebrow.
"You know you've been here all of two minutes, and they haven't figured it out over the past six years."
Yuriko laughed and he grinned. "Well now you're going to have some help, what do you say we help... nudge them in the right direction?"
"Your suggesting we get those two together? I don't know... I always kinda thought when one of them was dying the other would admit it..." Harry mumbled running his hand through his hair.
Yuriko laughed her musical laugh and put her hand on his arm. "Girls live for this kind of thing, oh please?" She put on her puppy dog eyes and whimpered. "Please?"
Harry sighed and tried to ignore the flutter in his stomach when she touched him. "All right, but if this goes wrong it's your head."
Yuriko grinned. "I promise it'll be worth it, just leave it up to me." With a wink she grabbed his arm and tugged him back to the table to see Ron glaring at Hermione's back who looked quite happy to have company besides Ron.
"C'mon Hermione, let's go get good seats for Potions." Yuriko said as they gathered their stuff and started to leave when Yuriko leaned close to Harry's ear and whispered, "We'll start tomorrow, good luck with Ron!"
He turned to see them leave the Great Hall, then back to his best friend who moodily stabbed at his eggs. "What could she possibly see in that grouchy git?"
"I don't know Ron,"
~*~b~l~a~c~k~j~a~d~e~b~e~a~d~s~*~
By nine o'clock Hermione's anger had diminished somewhat and she was calmly writing a letter in the corner of the common room with Yuriko right beside her writing her own. Harry and Ron cautiously approached the table and sat down but Hermione didn't even look up.
Yuriko gave Ron a sympathetic look before finishing her letter as Hermione sealed hers. "Here Yuriko, I'll take yours while I send mine." She said getting up but Yuriko grabbed her arm.
"I'm not sure that's a good idea Hermione... someone should go with you at least." Yuriko said cautiously.
"Yuriko, it's perfectly safe inside the castle." Hermione said calmly and stood and strode out the room leaving the three alone.
"... Not for her I don't think so." She said looking at Hermione's empty seat.
"What do you mean," Ron asked sharply.
"Well it's just... the man saw Hermione's face... if she hadn't been awake... she ruined his plans... wouldn't he go after Hermione too?" Yuriko said quietly twisting her beads in her hand.
Ron almost knocked over the chair getting to his feet. "Hermione!" He yelled as he ran out the portrait hole after her.
Harry turned to Yuriko. "Was that part of your plan?"
Yuriko looked surprised. "No... I was just thinking aloud. I mean, I don't want her to get hurt... he really does like her doesn't he?"
"Yeah..."
Disclaimer: If I really owned Harry Potter, do you really think I'd spend my time writing fanfics?
Chapter Two
Yuriko felt like she was draped in something heavy, something that was stopping her from waking up. She fought and slowly opened her eyes to be almost blinded by sunlight. Turning to her alarm clock she saw it was only 6:45 in the morning. With a groan she raised her body and the covers fell off of her.
Hermione instantly sat up in her bed, her eyes somewhat puffy and red. "Yuriko! Your awake!"
Smiling she nodded. "Yeah, good morning to you too Hermione." Hermione laughed softly and got up and hugged her.
"We were so scared, you were so pale... you'd lost so much blood..." Hermione sounded like she was about to cry and Yuriko wouldn't have that.
"I'm fine now. Thanks to you, I'm alive. Thank you Hermione, you really saved me." She patted her new friend on the back who pulled away.
"I didn't do anything, you're the one who fought that man off! You were amazing!" Hermione complimented her but Yuriko simply shrugged it off.
"We'd better get ready, today's the first day of school." Yuriko surprised Hermione by moving around normally. But after witnessing last night, when she was stabbed and still having the strength to wield the blade and drive it into the man's foot, Hermione mused that Yuriko's pain tolerance must be something else.
Yuriko quickly made her bed and dressed. Then her and Hermione made their way down to the common room and sat by the fire. Soon after Harry and Ron stumbled down the steps, still sleepy.
"I'm telling you mate, she won't be awake, she was poisoned for god sakes-" Ron grumbled put stopped short when he saw Hermione beam at him from her chair and Yuriko waved weakly at Harry who gaped. In a record amount of time the two were at the girls' side.
"Are you all right?" Harry asked Yuriko anxiously.
"I'm fine Harry..." Now she blushed and looked down at her lap and pulled at her beads.
"She woke up before I did." Hermione announced and then stood up, "Ron, can I speak to you for a moment, over here..." She didn't give him a choice, tugging him by his robes to the corner of the room.
"What is it Hermione?" He asked looking at her quizzically.
"Well it's just that... you helped me. I was so scared for her... and you helped me." Her shoulders slumped, she could think of no better words.
"Well of course I helped you, what did you think I would do, just sit there and stare while you cried?" He pulled her into a quick hug, noticing that she fit against him perfectly. Pushing the thought away he released her and noticed that she looked as if she would cry again, but this time her tears would be happy.
Yuriko fidgeted in her chair and briefly closed her eyes. 'It hurts... a lot more than I thought it would...' With as much effort as she could muster she opened them to see Harry staring at her, concerned.
"Thank you."
That took him off guard all right. "For what?" He asked incredulously.
"For holding my hand. For carrying me to my bed so I'd be more comfortable. For... worrying." She stood and blushed, then leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "I owe you,"
Harry's face flamed red. "Uh, it was nothing..." Hermione and Ron came over grinning at the look on Harry's face.
"C'mon Yuriko, we'd better go, can't miss breakfast!" Hermione said cheerfully tugging her friend out the portrait hole leaving the two boys alone.
Ron whistled. "Wow mate, looks like she's grown rather attached to you!"
"Yeah..." Harry mumbled as the two started out towards the Great Hall. "She's really something else..."
"Well yeah, she's from Japan. And she can certainly handle herself, the only reason that guy got a hit in was because he had height and the strength and clearly surprise." By now they had reached the entrance of the Great Hall and to their surprise saw Hermione standing with Yuriko. Not that that was strange, but Malfoy was with them!
"-Are you sure your all right? Professor Snape said you'd been injured badly..." Malfoy said clearly concerned and Yuriko backed up a bit, into Harry.
"No, no, I'm fine really... oh, Harry, I'm sorry-" Yuriko mumbled and Harry nodded, and then gave Draco a hard stare.
"Well if your sure..." He said watching her uneasily; "I'll see you in class. Good-bye Yuriko... Hermione..." Then he left, without so much as a goodbye to Harry or Ron.
"Guess we know where we stand eh mate? We're just not pretty enough." Ron said with a fake sob and threw himself onto Harry's shoulder making the girls laugh.
"It just shows how love can change a person." Hermione said with a smile and Yuriko smiled back. They used to say her Grandfather was a harsh man, but he'd only been stern, and there was always a note of love underneath it. If what the villagers had said been true, love certainly changed him.
"Did you hear that Ron, maybe you'll actually change into a human being once you tell Her-" Fred said brightly but Ron elbowed him hard in the stomach, causing him to cough. "Well, that wasn't necessary." With a wave he followed a pretty Ravenclaw girl into the Great Hall.
The Weasley twins had decided to come back for their final year, mostly because of the fit Mrs. Weasley threw once she found out. But partly because this way they had a whole load of kids who were willing to order from their shop right at their finger tips.
"Bloody git." Ron grumbled as they walked into the Great Hall and sat with each other at the last table. Hermione across from Ron, with Harry across from Yuriko they ate quickly as the new schedules were passed out.
"Oh joy, we've got Potions first thing... then History of Magic." Harry groaned and slumped down in his seat.
"I'm looking forward to Potions." Yuriko said happily munching on her toast.
"You won't be for long, Malfoy's in that class with us." Ron warned her.
She shrugged. "He can't be that bad, I mean, he's been nice to Hermione and me."
"But that's only because he fancies you, I bet, tell her Hermione." Ron said confidently spreading jam on his own toast.
"Well... maybe she's right Ron." Hermione said quietly and he choked on his toast, making Harry start to wallop him on the back, "I mean, he hasn't done one foul thing since we got here, he's been... pleasant."
Ron simply stared at her when Harry shifted in his seat. "Hermione, I know you believe that everyone deserves a second chance in all... but it's Malfoy, I mean c'mon." Nodding in agreement, since he seemed to have lost the ability to talk, Ron continued to goggle at her.
"No, I believe Yuriko's right you two, we're going to give him a chance." Hermione said firmly and Yuriko nodded in agreement.
"Oh come on! You two just think he deserves a second chance because most girls think he's attractive!" Ron yelled making Hermione go scarlet and Yuriko choke on her water.
"That is not true Ron! Unlike you, I don't judge people on how they look, attractive or not!" Hermione snapped back and Yuriko glanced at the two uneasily before catching Harry's eye.
He mouthed; 'They always fight, don't worry,' and she seemed to loosen up a bit before nodding.
"-Yeah that must be true! You went out with Krum after all!" Ron yelled, the tips of his ears red and Harry groaned. This was not going to be a fun day...
"Don't insult Viktor! In fact, don't talk to me at all!" She yelled, and whirled to face Yuriko, red in the face while Ron fumed slamming his goblet on the table.
"Uh..." Yuriko looked curiously at Harry until an idea struck her. Turning to Hermione she whispered, "I'll be right back, I promise." Rising from her seat she grabbed Harry's arm and dragged him away from the table.
"What is it?" He asked.
"Am I right in thinking that they both like each other?" She asked and he arched his eyebrow.
"You know you've been here all of two minutes, and they haven't figured it out over the past six years."
Yuriko laughed and he grinned. "Well now you're going to have some help, what do you say we help... nudge them in the right direction?"
"Your suggesting we get those two together? I don't know... I always kinda thought when one of them was dying the other would admit it..." Harry mumbled running his hand through his hair.
Yuriko laughed her musical laugh and put her hand on his arm. "Girls live for this kind of thing, oh please?" She put on her puppy dog eyes and whimpered. "Please?"
Harry sighed and tried to ignore the flutter in his stomach when she touched him. "All right, but if this goes wrong it's your head."
Yuriko grinned. "I promise it'll be worth it, just leave it up to me." With a wink she grabbed his arm and tugged him back to the table to see Ron glaring at Hermione's back who looked quite happy to have company besides Ron.
"C'mon Hermione, let's go get good seats for Potions." Yuriko said as they gathered their stuff and started to leave when Yuriko leaned close to Harry's ear and whispered, "We'll start tomorrow, good luck with Ron!"
He turned to see them leave the Great Hall, then back to his best friend who moodily stabbed at his eggs. "What could she possibly see in that grouchy git?"
"I don't know Ron,"
~*~b~l~a~c~k~j~a~d~e~b~e~a~d~s~*~
By nine o'clock Hermione's anger had diminished somewhat and she was calmly writing a letter in the corner of the common room with Yuriko right beside her writing her own. Harry and Ron cautiously approached the table and sat down but Hermione didn't even look up.
Yuriko gave Ron a sympathetic look before finishing her letter as Hermione sealed hers. "Here Yuriko, I'll take yours while I send mine." She said getting up but Yuriko grabbed her arm.
"I'm not sure that's a good idea Hermione... someone should go with you at least." Yuriko said cautiously.
"Yuriko, it's perfectly safe inside the castle." Hermione said calmly and stood and strode out the room leaving the three alone.
"... Not for her I don't think so." She said looking at Hermione's empty seat.
"What do you mean," Ron asked sharply.
"Well it's just... the man saw Hermione's face... if she hadn't been awake... she ruined his plans... wouldn't he go after Hermione too?" Yuriko said quietly twisting her beads in her hand.
Ron almost knocked over the chair getting to his feet. "Hermione!" He yelled as he ran out the portrait hole after her.
Harry turned to Yuriko. "Was that part of your plan?"
Yuriko looked surprised. "No... I was just thinking aloud. I mean, I don't want her to get hurt... he really does like her doesn't he?"
"Yeah..."