*ducks away from apples thrown at her*
I know… It's been months since I last updated…
I'M SORRY!!!!!!!!!
Here's my (hopefully good enough) explanation, which I think you really deserve:
My beta had very drastic problems with her PC (see her note at the end of the chapter), and I just don't wanted to send you a chapter full of mistakes.
Well, that's it. So please forgive me!!!! The next chapters are ready to be corrected and so I hope it doesn't take me so long to update next time.
Thanks to all of you who reviewed!!!!!
@ ALEXA: I'm so sorry it took so long!!!!!!
@ distel: Yo, selber Alte! *g* Ich bin 18 (also tatsächlich alt *g*).. Aber denk nicht, ich mach das hier alles alleine. Ich war einfach so klug und hab mir nen Beta-reader besorgt, der meine Fehler beseitigt.
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Hagrid's advice"So, what's botherin yeh, Harry?" Hagrid asked while making some tea.
Harry sat down in one of Hagrid's oversized chairs. Immediately, Fang was resting his head on Harry's lap.
Harry starred at Fang, giving the large dog a scratch behind the ears. After a few moments he sighed, about to tell Hagrid what had been bothering him.
"We had a fight," he said, " Ron, Hermione and I." Hagrid gave him a mild smile, which, if Harry hadn't been used too, would have scared him.
"Friends argue, Harry. It will be over soon." With that Hagrid placed a cup of tea in front of Harry and offered some biscuits which looked a little too similar to rocks for Harry's liking. He shook his head and watched as Hagrid took the seat across the table.
"It wasn't just a little fight between friends, Hagrid" Harry said. "It was really, really bad."
Hagrid just stared at him, not entirely understanding what could have happen to rip the Golden Trio apart. He nodded his head for Harry to continue.
"First, Ron doesn't tell me that he's dating Lavender Brown," Harry said. " But that's not the worst of it, that I could have lived with. But then I find out that Hermione has…has...has been having some sort of an affair with Draco-bloody-Malfoy."
Hagrid just listened, but flinched at the mention that Hermione had been dating a Malfoy.
"I mean, Malfoy, of all people!" Harry continue, practically yelling. "And what's worst is that Ron knew about them, and didn't tell me!" Harry slammed his fists on the table in his fury, almost knocking his mug to the ground.
"And then?" Hagrid asked hesitantly.
"Then I told them we were no longer friends."
As suddenly as it had come, his anger vanished and Harry put his face in his hands. His breath coming in hectic gasps. "I mean, what else could I have done?" he asked desperately.
"Maybe yeh should have talked to 'em. Instead of yellin' at 'em and ending yer friendship," Hagrid said calmly, taking a drink of his tea.
"Harry, even a blind man can see that yeh miss 'em. And I bet they feel the same way. Look at the things you three have experienced together. Yeh can't just forget all that because of 'em snogging someone."
Harry's breath came more slowly now. He looked at his giant friend, and asked in a whisper: "So what do you think I should do?"
"Go, talk to 'em," Hagrid said. "As soon as possible.They're probably just afraid to make the first move because they feel guilty. So it's up to yeh, Harry. Yeh still want to be friends with 'em, right?"
"Of course," Harry replied without hesitation.
"Then there yeh 'ave it , Harry," said Hagrid. "Yeh know what yeh need to do."
"Yeah, thanks, Hagrid," said Harry, a small grin appearing on his face. Feeling as though a large weight had been lifted from his shoulders, Harry pulled the Invisibility cloak over his head.
Hagrid continued looking at the place where Harry had disappeared. "Well, Harry, go and get yerself to bed. It's late. And tomorrow mornin' yeh go and talk to Ron and Hermione."
***flashback***
Friday, two weeks ago
It had cost Hermine a lot to talk to Draco that night after their kiss in the library.
"Hey, Mal… Draco. Please wait," Hermione said as she saw him walking around a corner. He stopped so quickly that Hermione could have sworn that someone had put a Stunning spell on him. Hermione caught up with him, slightly out of breath.
"I want to talk to you, Draco," she said, taking him by the hand and leading him into an empty classroom.
Draco starred at her in amazement. "What is it?" he asked.
Instead of answering, she asked a question on her own.
"Did you mean what you said yesterday?"
For a second Draco contemplated saying "no". She had hurt him immensely by not saying anything yesterday, after his declaration of love. He'd finally worked up the nerve to tell someone about his feelings, and this person of all people said nothing about it. But then he saw the pleading look in her eyes, and decided to tell the truth. Even if it would mean that he'd get hurt again.
"Yes, I meant every single word," he answered quietly. The laces on his shoes were suddenly very interesting.
"Listen," Hermione said. "I don't wanted you to feel rejected, but your… ah...announcement was a little bit…er... unexpected," a small smile crept over the Gryffindor's face. "And yes, I enjoyed the kiss," she blushed slightly as she said this.
"Really?" Draco asked. A devilish grin snaking it's way on to his face.
Instead of answering, she leaned forward, and softly brushed her lips against his. The world around them fell apart as Draco deepened the kiss. After what seemed like an eternity Hermione loosened herself from Draco's grip.
"By the way," Hermione whispered into his ear, "Mia sounds great."
***end of flashback***
Hermione awoke early the next morning. She rubbed her eyes, stretching lazily and then glanced at her bedside table.… her eyes fell onto the letter... Draco.
Draco had broke up.
He had ended it after only two weeks. Hermione fought back the tears with all she had. No! She would not cry again. She had done enough of that yesterday.
And Draco was right. When Harry and Ron realized that the two of them had broken up, they'd probably talk to her again.
But what they didn't…?
Then she would have lost the three people in the world that she cared for the most.
Hermione dressed herself in silence, dark thoughts plaguing her mind. Then she headed down to breakfast. It shouldn't be too hard to pretend that nothing had happened between her and Draco. After all, they'd spent the last two weeks pretending that very thing.
The Great Hall was nearly empty, except for a few students at the Ravenclaw table. And a few early birds at her own table. At the far end of the table, a student sat on his own. Slowly Hermione made her way towards him.
"Harry?" she asked hesitantly. Slowly he turned to face her.
"Good morning," he said tonelessly, then turned back to shoving his scrambled eggs around his plate with his fork.
"Harry, can we talk? Please?" Hermione said in a pleading voice.'Please Merlin, let him stay and not run away again,' she thought.
Harry turned and stared at her expectantly.
Hermione and Harry grinned at each other. "You first," Harry said, still smiling.
"Harry, I'm sorry, for not telling you about Dra… Malfoy and I. And I'm sorry for ignoring you lately. I just didn't know how to explain it to you. It sounded weird, even to me. Hermione Granger, and Draco Malfoy. Together..."
She trailed off as she realized that this lay in the past. Harry used her pause to start talking.
"And I'm sorry for all the things I said to you. I shouldn't have said those things. I don't care if you snog with Malfoy or the monster of Loch Ness; … although I would prefer the monster instead of Malfoy."
The two of them stopped and looked at each other. Both bursting into laughter, it was just like old times. After a moment it went still again and they eyed each other, both unsure of what to do next.
"Friends again?" Hermione asked finally. Harry embraced Hermione around her shoulders, and hugged her for all he was worth.
"Friends!"
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Beta note: You guys will not...I repeat NOT blame Friedl for the lack of updates. It's my fault. I took the beta job during the summer, and I've had a really hard time adjusting to the amount of work that I'm getting in grade eleven. I haven't even updated my own stories yet. And then I've just had the worst luck...first my computer dies, and I lose everything...it takes a couple weeks to get back to me...then I get sicker that a dog (not very pleasant). If I find out that you guys blamed any of the lateness on Friedl, I'll personally hunt you down, and submit you to every torture that I know...and believe me...I know a lot. *Grins Sadistically*