Chapter 16: Bloody Soap Opera
"This is really nice."
"I know! We should do this more often."
"I like you like this."
"Like what?"
"The way you're acting"
"I'm always like this."
"Well then I'm sure I'll enjoy seeing this side to you more often."
"You see me everyday I told you I'm always like this."
"You just seemed to be more at ease for some reason, you couldn't care less."
"I guess you bring that out in me," she said turning over to face him.
"I've missed you Hermione."
"I haven't gone anywhere Harry," she looked at him puzzled.
"Well it seems that way, or maybe it's been me," Harry looked back at her earnestly.
Hermione sighed, "Let's just be for a moment."
"Yea, just be," Harry's voice sounded far away.
After their overly dramatic fight earlier, Harry and Hermione decided that they would spend the rest of the evening together, as Harry had pointed out it had been awhile since it was just the two of them.
They were now situated on the floor of the common room, well Harry was anyways. Hermione had jumped on the couch first and sprawled out on it, Harry didn't even bother attempting to move her, and instead he grabbed a pillow and propped up his head under it and lay down beside her on the floor.
Hermione tried to convince him to share the couch with her, but he refused, so she leaned over the edge of the couch and looked down on him as they talked.
"Talk to me Harry," she had said.
"What about?"
"I don't know just what ever you feel like, there are too many times I'm yakking your ear off, and the only times you ever talk about how you feel is when your tried and cranky and then it's not always in the nicest way," she'd said matter of-factly.
Harry laughed, "Gee thanks Hermione, and you're so kind."
He rolled over on his back; put his hands behind his head, "what do you want me to say?"
"I don't know, the last time we had a heart to heart about you was after... well you know..." she trailed off; she didn't want to be blunt and say 'after Sirius died'.
Harry knew what she was talking about though, he sighed, "I know. I guess there hasn't been too much happening to me, I have he occasional nightmare, but it isn't Voldemort caused, its just bad memories coming back to haunt me, or fears for the future."
Hermione tried to look into his eyes but he was far away, his voice continued, "its coming Hermione, he's coming for me, I know it, and I'm not sure if I should meet him head on or wait. Waiting is horrible, waiting to die is the most agonizing thing a person can ever do." His voice choked a bit.
Hermione got off the couch and crawled over to him, "Harry don't say that of course you're not going to die, and wreak your living streak," she attempted at humor, Harry tried to smile but she could see the worry lines etched across his face.
She crawled closer to him, and then put her hands on either side of his head so she was looking down on him, "Harry look at me... common look at me."
Harry who'd been averting his gaze met hers straight on. His eyes showed the suffering and torment he'd kept hidden so many times before, "Harry your not going to die, you've faced evil many times and you will defeat it, good always wins, got that? You can't die, if you can't die for the rest of wizarding kind needs you. You can't die because of me, I need you Harry." Her voice had stared out strong but ended in a whisper.
Harry was trembling beneath her, "Oh Hermione," he whispered. Then sat up and pulled her on to his lap so he could embrace her, they sat together rocking back and forth, all the while she heard him murmuring, "If you only knew..."
././././.
"I knew this would happen! I bet he tied her up to keep her from coming here!" Draco muttered fiercely under his breath.
It was the first time he could ever remember that he'd been stood up! Draco Malfoy stood up! It was such a ridiculous oxymoron that when he'd first thought of it he'd burst out laughing.
But as he looked at his pocket watch again, and it read 9:38 he knew he'd been stood up.
'Maybe she thought I said 9:30?' he'd tried to make the situation seem better then it was.
'Or maybe she just didn't want to come, because the girl who can remember random facts about history, sure can remember what time to meet a person', the rational but brutally honest part of his, mind said.
"This is stupid, ok in five minutes I'm out of here and she better explain herself tomorrow," he said looking at his pocket watch.
"Draco? What are you doing here?"
Draco turned around quickly, then gave a half smile, "Well well look who it is? Ms. Parkinson has decided to grace me with her presence after so long?"
Pansy smiled, or attempted to, all her smiles were coy half smiles, none were sincere.
"You didn't answer my question Malfoy," she said as she walked over to him, exaggerating her hip swinging walk.
"Would you like me to say I was waiting for you?" he said with a wink.
Pansy laughed, she and Draco had an unusual relationship, it was based of flirtations but everyone assumed it was always more.
In response to his wink she licked her lips slowly, "It would be awfully sweet of you."
Draco chuckled, "Sorry to break it to you Pans, I wasn't. In fact I was just leaving. Why are you here all alone?"
"Who says I'm alone?" she retorted.
"The invisible nonexistent person accompanying you?" Draco said as he started to walk away.
Pansy started to glare but couldn't help but laughing, "Oh Draco again your wit astounds me, so who were you waiting for?"
Draco sighed, "it doesn't really matter she didn't show up," he started to walk away towards the door.
"It does matter, despite what people in our house are saying, I like you this way, you're a nice guy, "she grabbed his arm preventing him from leaving, "I want to give this girl a good talking to, for standing you up."
"How do you know if it's a girl?" Draco said mockingly.
"Draco you don't know how to have fun, relax nor do anything that happy people consider normal, I don't think you could handle hiding in a closet or coming out of it or whatever it's called," Pansy remarked.
Draco laughed and shook his head, "oh Pansy."
"Oh Pansy what?"
"nothing, I'll see you later on," Draco said as he left the Astronomy Tower.
"He gets more unusual everyday," Pansy muttered to herself, before leaning on the windowsill.
"Miss me?"
Pansy felt arms of her boyfriend encircle her from behind, "Of course not."
././././.
"Chocolate frog?"
"No thank you, you know I'm beginning to wonder how we all aren't 2000 pounds? It seems as though all we're ever doing is eating candy from Honeydukes"
Harry laughed, "You have a point, I'm not sure, maybe there's a slimming spell on them?"
"I doubt that," said Hermione as she reached across Harry's midriff to grab the box.
They were lying side by side, Harry was still on his back, Hermione was on her stomach.
Harry tried to ignore the feeling of her arm reaching across him, and her soft chest rubbing against his arm.
"I can't seem to reach the box," Hermione said with a giggle.
Harry fought back a groan, "Umm let me get it," and he turned away from her to get it. "Here you are," he said lying back down handing it to her.
"Another Dumbledore," Hermione sighed and pitched the card.
"Notice how that's all everyone seems to get?" Harry pointed out.
"Yea, it is strange,"
The two lay silently, there was an unsettling air about them, ever since before, when Hermione had eased up on her grip around Harry's neck and had mumbled an apology and lay down on the ground beside him.
Harry had mentally be kicking himself in the pants for not making a move, but then he'd question why he'd wanted to make a move to kiss her, she was his best friend and had never implied that she liked him as more.
Hermione spoke into the silence, "would you like to be on a card?"
Harry shook his head from his thoughts, "huh? Oh why would I want that?"
"I don' t know, just made sense when I thought it, you will you know, who would be stupid enough not to?"
"You should get a card then," Harry pointed out, "you've done as much work as I have, if you hadn't helped me all those times I'd be dead."
"I don't want a card," Hermione whispered.
Harry turned to his side to face her, "What do you want?" he whispered back.
Hermione swallowed, 'I wonder what he'd think if I were to...'
Her thoughts were cut off by the chiming of the clock, marking the hour at ten.
Hermione's head snapped upwards away from Harry's face as she looked at the clock.
"Are you going to meet him?" Harry's voice sounded quiet and far away.
"I messed up big time, he won't be there I'm over an hour late, I hope I didn't disappoint him, but whatever he wanted to meet about he can tell me tomorrow," Hermione reasoned with an attempt at a smile.
"Sure Hermione, whatever you say," Harry said as he got up.
"Now what's that suppose to mean?" Hermione said she stood up fast, hands on her hips.
"Common Hermione, you think he was asking to meet you about project stuff? Where did he ask you to meet him, the Astronomy Tower? Oh yea you're really going to discuss DADA at 9 at night in the Astronomy Tower," Harry's voice had started low and calm but had quickly risen.
Hermione looked at Harry angrily, "Harry you're acting like a jerk! You don't know his motives! You're acting like you're jealous or something, maybe he does like me! That isn't so much a crime!"
"Hermione it's Draco Malfoy! I'm not jealous, but there's no way he likes you!"
Hermione looked like she'd been slapped, she looked like she was about to yell right back at him, instead she shook her head and turned away from Harry, she sat down on the couch her face in her hands, her shoulders were shaking.
Harry felt awful, he didn't mean for what he said to come out the way it did, but it had happened and now she was crying.
Harry knelt down in front of Hermione, and tried to pull her hands away, while apologizing.
But when he was able to remove her hands from her face he saw that she was laughing!
"What?" was all Harry could think to say.
She was laughing so hard that no sound was coming out.
Then she tried to speak and was able to rasp out, "...bloody soap opera," before dissolving again.
Harry caught on; Hermione was right, breaking out into a sudden pointless fight about relationships then resolving it before it had ended.
He started to laugh as well.
Hermione was laughing so hard that she couldn't sit up straight and leaned her hands on Harry's shoulders, Harry was leaning his forehead on her knees.
When they'd calmed down, Harry chuckled, "oh Hermione what would I do without you?"
"Curl up and die?"
"Most definitely"
"This is really nice."
"I know! We should do this more often."
"I like you like this."
"Like what?"
"The way you're acting"
"I'm always like this."
"Well then I'm sure I'll enjoy seeing this side to you more often."
"You see me everyday I told you I'm always like this."
"You just seemed to be more at ease for some reason, you couldn't care less."
"I guess you bring that out in me," she said turning over to face him.
"I've missed you Hermione."
"I haven't gone anywhere Harry," she looked at him puzzled.
"Well it seems that way, or maybe it's been me," Harry looked back at her earnestly.
Hermione sighed, "Let's just be for a moment."
"Yea, just be," Harry's voice sounded far away.
After their overly dramatic fight earlier, Harry and Hermione decided that they would spend the rest of the evening together, as Harry had pointed out it had been awhile since it was just the two of them.
They were now situated on the floor of the common room, well Harry was anyways. Hermione had jumped on the couch first and sprawled out on it, Harry didn't even bother attempting to move her, and instead he grabbed a pillow and propped up his head under it and lay down beside her on the floor.
Hermione tried to convince him to share the couch with her, but he refused, so she leaned over the edge of the couch and looked down on him as they talked.
"Talk to me Harry," she had said.
"What about?"
"I don't know just what ever you feel like, there are too many times I'm yakking your ear off, and the only times you ever talk about how you feel is when your tried and cranky and then it's not always in the nicest way," she'd said matter of-factly.
Harry laughed, "Gee thanks Hermione, and you're so kind."
He rolled over on his back; put his hands behind his head, "what do you want me to say?"
"I don't know, the last time we had a heart to heart about you was after... well you know..." she trailed off; she didn't want to be blunt and say 'after Sirius died'.
Harry knew what she was talking about though, he sighed, "I know. I guess there hasn't been too much happening to me, I have he occasional nightmare, but it isn't Voldemort caused, its just bad memories coming back to haunt me, or fears for the future."
Hermione tried to look into his eyes but he was far away, his voice continued, "its coming Hermione, he's coming for me, I know it, and I'm not sure if I should meet him head on or wait. Waiting is horrible, waiting to die is the most agonizing thing a person can ever do." His voice choked a bit.
Hermione got off the couch and crawled over to him, "Harry don't say that of course you're not going to die, and wreak your living streak," she attempted at humor, Harry tried to smile but she could see the worry lines etched across his face.
She crawled closer to him, and then put her hands on either side of his head so she was looking down on him, "Harry look at me... common look at me."
Harry who'd been averting his gaze met hers straight on. His eyes showed the suffering and torment he'd kept hidden so many times before, "Harry your not going to die, you've faced evil many times and you will defeat it, good always wins, got that? You can't die, if you can't die for the rest of wizarding kind needs you. You can't die because of me, I need you Harry." Her voice had stared out strong but ended in a whisper.
Harry was trembling beneath her, "Oh Hermione," he whispered. Then sat up and pulled her on to his lap so he could embrace her, they sat together rocking back and forth, all the while she heard him murmuring, "If you only knew..."
././././.
"I knew this would happen! I bet he tied her up to keep her from coming here!" Draco muttered fiercely under his breath.
It was the first time he could ever remember that he'd been stood up! Draco Malfoy stood up! It was such a ridiculous oxymoron that when he'd first thought of it he'd burst out laughing.
But as he looked at his pocket watch again, and it read 9:38 he knew he'd been stood up.
'Maybe she thought I said 9:30?' he'd tried to make the situation seem better then it was.
'Or maybe she just didn't want to come, because the girl who can remember random facts about history, sure can remember what time to meet a person', the rational but brutally honest part of his, mind said.
"This is stupid, ok in five minutes I'm out of here and she better explain herself tomorrow," he said looking at his pocket watch.
"Draco? What are you doing here?"
Draco turned around quickly, then gave a half smile, "Well well look who it is? Ms. Parkinson has decided to grace me with her presence after so long?"
Pansy smiled, or attempted to, all her smiles were coy half smiles, none were sincere.
"You didn't answer my question Malfoy," she said as she walked over to him, exaggerating her hip swinging walk.
"Would you like me to say I was waiting for you?" he said with a wink.
Pansy laughed, she and Draco had an unusual relationship, it was based of flirtations but everyone assumed it was always more.
In response to his wink she licked her lips slowly, "It would be awfully sweet of you."
Draco chuckled, "Sorry to break it to you Pans, I wasn't. In fact I was just leaving. Why are you here all alone?"
"Who says I'm alone?" she retorted.
"The invisible nonexistent person accompanying you?" Draco said as he started to walk away.
Pansy started to glare but couldn't help but laughing, "Oh Draco again your wit astounds me, so who were you waiting for?"
Draco sighed, "it doesn't really matter she didn't show up," he started to walk away towards the door.
"It does matter, despite what people in our house are saying, I like you this way, you're a nice guy, "she grabbed his arm preventing him from leaving, "I want to give this girl a good talking to, for standing you up."
"How do you know if it's a girl?" Draco said mockingly.
"Draco you don't know how to have fun, relax nor do anything that happy people consider normal, I don't think you could handle hiding in a closet or coming out of it or whatever it's called," Pansy remarked.
Draco laughed and shook his head, "oh Pansy."
"Oh Pansy what?"
"nothing, I'll see you later on," Draco said as he left the Astronomy Tower.
"He gets more unusual everyday," Pansy muttered to herself, before leaning on the windowsill.
"Miss me?"
Pansy felt arms of her boyfriend encircle her from behind, "Of course not."
././././.
"Chocolate frog?"
"No thank you, you know I'm beginning to wonder how we all aren't 2000 pounds? It seems as though all we're ever doing is eating candy from Honeydukes"
Harry laughed, "You have a point, I'm not sure, maybe there's a slimming spell on them?"
"I doubt that," said Hermione as she reached across Harry's midriff to grab the box.
They were lying side by side, Harry was still on his back, Hermione was on her stomach.
Harry tried to ignore the feeling of her arm reaching across him, and her soft chest rubbing against his arm.
"I can't seem to reach the box," Hermione said with a giggle.
Harry fought back a groan, "Umm let me get it," and he turned away from her to get it. "Here you are," he said lying back down handing it to her.
"Another Dumbledore," Hermione sighed and pitched the card.
"Notice how that's all everyone seems to get?" Harry pointed out.
"Yea, it is strange,"
The two lay silently, there was an unsettling air about them, ever since before, when Hermione had eased up on her grip around Harry's neck and had mumbled an apology and lay down on the ground beside him.
Harry had mentally be kicking himself in the pants for not making a move, but then he'd question why he'd wanted to make a move to kiss her, she was his best friend and had never implied that she liked him as more.
Hermione spoke into the silence, "would you like to be on a card?"
Harry shook his head from his thoughts, "huh? Oh why would I want that?"
"I don' t know, just made sense when I thought it, you will you know, who would be stupid enough not to?"
"You should get a card then," Harry pointed out, "you've done as much work as I have, if you hadn't helped me all those times I'd be dead."
"I don't want a card," Hermione whispered.
Harry turned to his side to face her, "What do you want?" he whispered back.
Hermione swallowed, 'I wonder what he'd think if I were to...'
Her thoughts were cut off by the chiming of the clock, marking the hour at ten.
Hermione's head snapped upwards away from Harry's face as she looked at the clock.
"Are you going to meet him?" Harry's voice sounded quiet and far away.
"I messed up big time, he won't be there I'm over an hour late, I hope I didn't disappoint him, but whatever he wanted to meet about he can tell me tomorrow," Hermione reasoned with an attempt at a smile.
"Sure Hermione, whatever you say," Harry said as he got up.
"Now what's that suppose to mean?" Hermione said she stood up fast, hands on her hips.
"Common Hermione, you think he was asking to meet you about project stuff? Where did he ask you to meet him, the Astronomy Tower? Oh yea you're really going to discuss DADA at 9 at night in the Astronomy Tower," Harry's voice had started low and calm but had quickly risen.
Hermione looked at Harry angrily, "Harry you're acting like a jerk! You don't know his motives! You're acting like you're jealous or something, maybe he does like me! That isn't so much a crime!"
"Hermione it's Draco Malfoy! I'm not jealous, but there's no way he likes you!"
Hermione looked like she'd been slapped, she looked like she was about to yell right back at him, instead she shook her head and turned away from Harry, she sat down on the couch her face in her hands, her shoulders were shaking.
Harry felt awful, he didn't mean for what he said to come out the way it did, but it had happened and now she was crying.
Harry knelt down in front of Hermione, and tried to pull her hands away, while apologizing.
But when he was able to remove her hands from her face he saw that she was laughing!
"What?" was all Harry could think to say.
She was laughing so hard that no sound was coming out.
Then she tried to speak and was able to rasp out, "...bloody soap opera," before dissolving again.
Harry caught on; Hermione was right, breaking out into a sudden pointless fight about relationships then resolving it before it had ended.
He started to laugh as well.
Hermione was laughing so hard that she couldn't sit up straight and leaned her hands on Harry's shoulders, Harry was leaning his forehead on her knees.
When they'd calmed down, Harry chuckled, "oh Hermione what would I do without you?"
"Curl up and die?"
"Most definitely"